Mark42
Fleet Admiral
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2003
- Messages
- 9,334
Went to launch the boat the other day and the water level was way down. Backed in as far as I could, but boat would not float off the bunks. So I start pushing, and pushing and pushing on the boat. Every push moved it about 1-2 inches.
Right about the point I thought I was going to pull a muscle in my back, I got an idea. Tie the boat off to the dock, and drive the trailer out from underneath. So I did, and it worked like a charm. Only had to pull up about 2 or 3 feet, then roll back, and I could push the boat off with one shove.
I also noticed when standing on the dock tying off the transom, that it was easy to pull the boat off the trailer with the line. Seems that when the boat is pushed from the bow, it lifts up in the front, putting more weight at the rear of the bunks making it even harder to push. But standing above it on the dock, pulling was actually lifting the transom some, and the boat was easy to move on the bunks. But I wanted to try driving the trailer out from under the boat, so I just tied off and drove the trailer out from underneath.
When it came time to retrieve, it was a simple matter of winching the boat back on the trailer, even though the water was still shallow.
And it saved my back!
This is great news for me because I often launch solo and low water is no longer a problem. Anyone else use this method when the water is low?
Right about the point I thought I was going to pull a muscle in my back, I got an idea. Tie the boat off to the dock, and drive the trailer out from underneath. So I did, and it worked like a charm. Only had to pull up about 2 or 3 feet, then roll back, and I could push the boat off with one shove.
I also noticed when standing on the dock tying off the transom, that it was easy to pull the boat off the trailer with the line. Seems that when the boat is pushed from the bow, it lifts up in the front, putting more weight at the rear of the bunks making it even harder to push. But standing above it on the dock, pulling was actually lifting the transom some, and the boat was easy to move on the bunks. But I wanted to try driving the trailer out from under the boat, so I just tied off and drove the trailer out from underneath.
When it came time to retrieve, it was a simple matter of winching the boat back on the trailer, even though the water was still shallow.
And it saved my back!
This is great news for me because I often launch solo and low water is no longer a problem. Anyone else use this method when the water is low?