Ridgepatrol
Cadet
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2010
- Messages
- 23
Hello, I live along the Great Lakes, and I am getting tired of having to take the boat down to the local marina, which is 10 miles away, in order to launch my boat, each time I wish to use it.
It takes about an hour from when I decide to launch, until the boat is in the water in front of my cottage.
So, I am considering storing the boat on the beach, in front of my cottage, and launching it from that location.
I feel that this would be a good solution, given the time and fuel wasted in traveling to the marina and back.
On long weekends, the marina can be a complete zoo, which I would prefer to avoid.
Also, I have found that the water can get very rough in a short time period: most mornings, the lake is like glass, but by noon hour it can be quite choppy, so being able to pull the boat out quickly would be a definite plus.
So my questions are:
-has anyone attempted beach launching on a sandy beach?
-did you modify your boat trailer with ATV type tires, so that it would pull easier in the sand?
-I have seen people use winches, tractors, and motorized trailers, in order to move the boat, which do you use?
-I am currently leaning towards purchasing a used 4WD compact tractor and then making use my current boat trailer, but I am not sure on the size of the tractor I would need.
I would appreciate any comments or suggestions you may have.
Thanks very much.
It takes about an hour from when I decide to launch, until the boat is in the water in front of my cottage.
So, I am considering storing the boat on the beach, in front of my cottage, and launching it from that location.
I feel that this would be a good solution, given the time and fuel wasted in traveling to the marina and back.
On long weekends, the marina can be a complete zoo, which I would prefer to avoid.
Also, I have found that the water can get very rough in a short time period: most mornings, the lake is like glass, but by noon hour it can be quite choppy, so being able to pull the boat out quickly would be a definite plus.
So my questions are:
-has anyone attempted beach launching on a sandy beach?
-did you modify your boat trailer with ATV type tires, so that it would pull easier in the sand?
-I have seen people use winches, tractors, and motorized trailers, in order to move the boat, which do you use?
-I am currently leaning towards purchasing a used 4WD compact tractor and then making use my current boat trailer, but I am not sure on the size of the tractor I would need.
I would appreciate any comments or suggestions you may have.
Thanks very much.