dont unhook trailer before backing down ramp

[bruc12]

I bought a 2000 Cobalt in showroom condition. The seller told me how he had even upgraded the brakes to electric and replaced the wood and carpet on the trailer. He said he had even put a gallon on silicone on the carpet to preserve it. We went to the lake, unhooded the trailer, my buddy and his wife got in the boat and halfway down the ramp the boat slid of the trailer, down the ramp and into the water. We hadnt put the plug in yet and didnt know where the battery shut off switch was for the bilge pump. I hurried and parked, run down swam out to the boat with my iphone still in my pocket, got in the boat, found the battery shut off under a seat, turned on the bilge, started the motor, drove back to the dock, got the boat back on the trailer, waved to the people watching and drove home. The damage to the boat $500 fiberglass and a new speedometer pickup. Damage to my ego, priceless.

 

[haley]

Re: dont unhook trailer before backing down ramp

Did almost same thing last Saturday. Never got wet though.

Jh

 

[scooper77515]

Re: dont unhook trailer before backing down ramp

Yeah, seen that before.

Or worse, unhook from the trailer, have the wife (she has to be 5'-2" or smaller, 120 lbs) hold a 20' chunk of rope, and back into the water. The boat comes off the trailer with a little momentum, and drags the wife into the water IF she holds on, like she is supposed to.

 

[scooper77515]

Re: dont unhook trailer before backing down ramp

Personally, I unhook the safety hook, and let out about 18" of the winch strap. I back in slowly until it starts to slide and float. done. Get in boat, start engine, let it warm up and make sure it isn't going to sink on me (brief inspection of engine bay, etc.). Then unhook the winch strap and go boating.

 

[southkogs]

Re: dont unhook trailer before backing down ramp

Whoa, that's quite an introduction. Welcome to the forum.

Firstly, I'm very glad that no one was hurt. You probably dodged a bullet there.

Is this your first boat?

 

[Thadeous85]

Re: dont unhook trailer before backing down ramp

I did that with my first boat a few years ago. Broke the depth finder off the back... Yea when a bunch of people are watching defiantly rough on the ego

 

[Silverbullet555]

Re: dont unhook trailer before backing down ramp

Personally, I unhook the safety hook, and let out about 18" of the winch strap. I back in slowly until it starts to slide and float. done. Get in boat, start engine, let it warm up and make sure it isn't going to sink on me (brief inspection of engine bay, etc.). Then unhook the winch strap and go boating.

Same as I do.

 

[scooper77515]

Re: dont unhook trailer before backing down ramp

Yeah, worst that happens is you go a little too deep and the strap catches the boat before it goes too far.

 

[dwco5051]

Re: dont unhook trailer before backing down ramp

Did almost the same thing last week. Backed the trailer in, backed off about 18" of winch strap and realized that I wasn't in quite as far as I normally should be. Two ramps at this launch about 10 feet apart and I was on the one I rarely ever use. Got in the truck and backed up another foot and got out and realized that my bow is now about five feet from the winch post and still playing out winch strap. One mistake rarely sinks the ship but two might. Did not lock the rachet back on the winch and forgot the ramp I was on is steeper than the one I usually use. Pulled it back a couple of feet by pulling on the strap, locked the winch and climbed aboard. The only two witnesses were my 4 and 7 year old granddaughters who were up at the sign post before you get to the ramp for the courtesy dock. Never a word from them. They must think that Pappy always wades out on the trailer frame and climbs up over the trolling motor to unload his boat.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: dont unhook trailer before backing down ramp

Do you have a safety chain? It might have saved you from this mishap. I don't unhook the safety chain until I'm right at the water's edge. The winch strap is off, but the safety chain is still in place until the boat is over the water.

Oh yeah, Don't forget to remove the safety chain or you will have a bruised ego from the boat not floating off and stopping abruptly.... (Don't ask :facepalm:)

 

[Dags]

Re: dont unhook trailer before backing down ramp

Do you have a safety chain? It might have saved you from this mishap. I don't unhook the safety chain until I'm right at the water's edge. The winch strap is off, but the safety chain is still in place until the boat is over the water.

Oh yeah, Don't forget to remove the safety chain or you will have a bruised ego from the boat not floating off and stopping abruptly.... (Don't ask :facepalm:)

Not sure why you would keep the safety chain on when the boat can slip and then make the chain tight, not able to remove it to launch... only to have to put the strap back on the bring the boat back up to undo the safety chain. The safety chain is mainly for trailering on the road.

The 18" is a good rule of thumb for starp slack. It allows the bow to move away from the rollers or stops so when the boat does hit the water, the bow can shift downwards and not be pinned against them... or risk the chance of scratching the bow or damaging the rollers or stops from the bow ring and latch. I've seen people catch the front part of the rub rail on the assemble only to have it rip away. People damage their boats because they're careless and usually in a hurry to launch.

 

[Stratohammer]

Re: dont unhook trailer before backing down ramp

My technique is to loosen the winch strap to allow removal of the safety chain, disconnect safety chain, flip winch ratchet, control, and lightly retighten the winch strap. Then I back down til the boat barely floats, light the fire, check for trouble, then unwind/disconnect the strap. So far, so good!

Mike

 

[KDAVID1]

Re: dont unhook trailer before backing down ramp

Same as I do.

Same here--which I figured out from this forum. I also have a short chain (as a safety when towing) attached as well. When I am lucky enough to have someone back me in I have them stop about 10ft from the water so I can unhook-then good to go.

 

[jamerson62]

Re: dont unhook trailer before backing down ramp

When I launch, I keep the chain and winch tight until the aft end of my boat lifts up. I then start the boat and make sure there is no issues. Unhook everything and back the boat down, or push it off. While I park the truck my wife takes the boat out and warms it up and makes sure everything is working while I walk back to the dock. No issues, and it seems to work well.

 

[wvstriper]

Re: dont unhook trailer before backing down ramp

Bilge pump should have a float switch wired directly to the positive connection on the battery at all times. (you can still keep the connection to the battery shut off)

 

[jigngrub]

Re: dont unhook trailer before backing down ramp

It takes me like 5 seconds to unhook the winch strap and safety cable after the boat is in the water, and I never unhook either before the boat is in the water.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: dont unhook trailer before backing down ramp

Not sure why you would keep the safety chain on when the boat can slip and then make the chain tight, not able to remove it to launch... only to have to put the strap back on the bring the boat back up to undo the safety chain. The safety chain is mainly for trailering on the road.

On a bunk trailer, the boat shouldn't move until it's in the water, so there's no way for the boat to tighten the chain. The OP had slicked up bunks, so the boat slid off, which shouldn't have happened. The SAFETY chain would have saved him. Even if it completely tightened the chain, it would have been easy enough to crank the boat back on again. Much easier than gelcoat and fiberglass repair. That's what the chain is for, safety, stuff like the OP's accident.

This isn't the first time someone dumped a boat on the ramp, where the safety chain would have saved them. I guess there's a reason they don't call it a trailering chain...

 

[mnypitboat]

Re: dont unhook trailer before backing down ramp

I did this in my Chaparral. For the first season, I had to literally jerk the trailer several times to get it to break loose and come off the bunks. I had to unstrap it completely to get it off, or it would never come off. So I asked the guy at the marine store what he suggested. Gave me a product that you spray on the bunks to make them slick. So next time we went out, I launched the same way as always. Unhooked the boat and started down the ramp. Well, you guessed it, as soon as it angled down the boat slid right off and bounced down the ramp into the water. Wife held onto it though, so it didnt float away. We immediately pulled it back out and checked for damage, and there was none at all. Only a couple scratches. We put it back in, this time with the strap still attatched, and had a nice day on the water.

Needless to say, we never completely unhooked the boat again.

I too cannot understand how leaving the chain hooked would help. Seems to me as soon as the boat starts to slide off it would tighten up and you would never get it off. I release the strap about 20 or so inches and lock it. Get it floating them release it completely. Pull it out of the way of other peoplle launching and park the truck. Whole process takes no time at all. We have a routine now that we use every time we put in, so as not to forget anything important, like plugs. We put that in before we even get to the ramp.

 

[jkust]

Re: dont unhook trailer before backing down ramp

It takes me like 5 seconds to unhook the winch strap and safety cable after the boat is in the water, and I never unhook either before the boat is in the water.

This story is almost otherworldly. I don't think even my 10 year old would unhook the thing that keeps the boat on the trailer and the thing that backs up the thing that keeps it on then expect it to not come off. He is a smart 10 year old however. Agree with jigngrub and not just because I have a roller trailer. The upshot is you won't make this choice again. Welcome to iBoats and eventually we all make a mistake or two (and expect to get razzed a bit).

 

[oops!]

Re: dont unhook trailer before backing down ramp

im sooo sorry......as im reading these posts......i cant beleive how many dont know how to launch a boat off a trailer......

when the boat is in the pre launch area...a simple walk around and check will prevent most mishaps....chain on...drive up, muffs off...plug in...tie downs off, key in....lanyard in, blower on...oil checked....battery on...

then launch.....

the key to the launch is positive control over the boat at all times. the boat is never unhooked from the trailer till someone has hold of the rope and the boat starts to float off the trailer.

back close to the dock....and one person can launch the boat and have it tied to the dock and drive the truck out in 90 seconds with out getting thier feet wet.