Front wheel drive launching & retrieving

[HRG]

Completed building my boat and assembling the new trailer. Will be launching it in the ocean for the first time in about 10 days if my trailer passes its safety check appointment.

This will be the first time I've ever launched or retrieved a boat from a trailer. The boat is just a simple 12 foot, flat bottom wooden jon boat that weighs about 200 lbs. The 6hp outboard adds another 55 lbs + gas and the usual additional gear for fishing. Trailer weighs 250 lbs per manufacturer's specs. There's about 4 feet of tongue forward of the bow of the boat.

With the above specs, since the load is so light, can I assume that our 2019 Honda Odyssey van with front wheel drive will be 100% safe for launching and retrieval as long as the front wheels are on dry, moss free ramp even at low tide? IOW, ZERO chance of our van ever sliding back into the water and getting submerged. (I will set the parking brake and put the trans in park before getting out of the van while on the ramp.)

It will be stressful for a first time ever launching of any boat from a trailer...

 

[briangcc]

Current specs on the Odyssey say 3500lbs towing. I don't think you're going to know its back there.

Happy launching.

 

[Scott Danforth]

a 200# boat, 55# motor, 40# of fuel (5 gallon can) and a 300# trailer

your fine..... go boating.

I would launch it with the riding mower

 

[HRG]

Briangcc & Scott,

Thanks for your responses.

From your personal experiences, would you say that there will be ZERO chance of our FWD Odyssey van sliding into the water as long as the front tires are on moss/alge free portion of the launch ramps?

I see YouTube videos of tow vehicles that slid into the water and I never want that to happen to our van.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Briangcc & Scott,

Thanks for your responses.

From your personal experiences, would you say that there will be ZERO chance of our FWD Odyssey van sliding into the water as long as the front tires are on moss/alge free portion of the launch ramps?

I see YouTube videos of tow vehicles that slid into the water and I never want that to happen to our van.

Your fine....go boating

Most vehicles that slide in ate towing more than rated and are rear wheel drive

 

[HRG]

Your fine....go boating

Most vehicles that slide in ate towing more than rated and are rear wheel drive

Thanks. Don't want to become a statistic of the boat ramp .... .

 

[tpenfield]

Nothing is ever 100% . . . so let's go with 99% safe.

 

[briangcc]

My uncle towed and launched his 18' Sylvan with a Ford Taurus for years. You're over thinking this, go boating.

 

[Scott06]

My uncle towed and launched his 18' Sylvan with a Ford Taurus for years. You're over thinking this, go boating.

Yep - we (folks and I ) towed our Sea Ray 170 with a Tarus wagon, Volvo wagon, and Honda accord over the years. Eventually bought an SUV when my kids were born....

 

[matt167]

My dad towed a 18’ StarCraft offshore with a Fwd 5spd Jeep Compass and it was doable. No it wasn’t the best tow vehicle. Lot of comments at the launch but it always did it for the short time he pulled the boat with it. An oddessy will tow a Jon boat no problem

 

[airshot]

Over my 60 plus years of boating, I have seen all types of towing scenerios. Some good and many not so good, but folks get away with it for a while. During mybteen days my summers were spent working at a marina, the launch ramp and grass mowing was my responsibility. Back then the ramp fee was one dollar, we were lucky to get 2-3 boats in per hour as people didnt know how to back up. We had a large empty grass lot next to the ramp which wasnt used for anything and an old Jeep 4 cylinder flat head that was used for errands. I convinced the marina owner to let me use the Jeep to launch peoples boats for them. I added a hitch on back and on front. I met the customer up front, we raised our prices to 1.50 to cover the Jeep and my salary for launching. With one boat and trailer on the front and another on the rear and their owners on board off we went to the ramp. The boat on front was launched first, backed up and the empty trailer was parked in the grass field, then swung the Jeep around and backed in to launch the boat in back. Worked like a charm!!! Went from 2-3 boats per hour to 6-8 boats per hour. Everyone was happy, especially me as I was now getting .50 cents for each boat launched....that was at a time many folks were only making one dollar an hour, 1.50 was good money and 2.00 was really good wages!! Needless to say, after two summers of doing this my backup and trailer handling skills became quite good!! The owner was making good enough money he took over the ramp for himself...lol, it wasvtime for me to move on anyway. Folks...it takes practice and lots of it to learn trailer backing skills, oncevyou have it down pat, you wont forget it. There was a public ramp just up the road and used to watch the tow rigs come and go, many ended up comming to our ramp because they gave up...many took there tow rigs swimming, great entertainment can be had spending a few hours at your local boat ramp...

 

[HRG]

Over my 60 plus years of boating, I have seen all types of towing scenerios. Some good and many not so good, but folks get away with it for a while. During mybteen days my summers were spent working at a marina, the launch ramp and grass mowing was my responsibility. Back then the ramp fee was one dollar, we were lucky to get 2-3 boats in per hour as people didnt know how to back up. We had a large empty grass lot next to the ramp which wasnt used for anything and an old Jeep 4 cylinder flat head that was used for errands. I convinced the marina owner to let me use the Jeep to launch peoples boats for them. I added a hitch on back and on front. I met the customer up front, we raised our prices to 1.50 to cover the Jeep and my salary for launching. With one boat and trailer on the front and another on the rear and their owners on board off we went to the ramp. The boat on front was launched first, backed up and the empty trailer was parked in the grass field, then swung the Jeep around and backed in to launch the boat in back. Worked like a charm!!! Went from 2-3 boats per hour to 6-8 boats per hour. Everyone was happy, especially me as I was now getting .50 cents for each boat launched....that was at a time many folks were only making one dollar an hour, 1.50 was good money and 2.00 was really good wages!! Needless to say, after two summers of doing this my backup and trailer handling skills became quite good!! The owner was making good enough money he took over the ramp for himself...lol, it wasvtime for me to move on anyway. Folks...it takes practice and lots of it to learn trailer backing skills, oncevyou have it down pat, you wont forget it. There was a public ramp just up the road and used to watch the tow rigs come and go, many ended up comming to our ramp because they gave up...many took there tow rigs swimming, great entertainment can be had spending a few hours at your local boat ramp...

Yep, I plan to practice backing up my boat and trailer in school's parking lots on weekend days when they are empty and the classes are not in session. Less stressful than doing it at the launch ramp.

 

[airshot]

Actually reconsider using your local launch ramp, but do it when it is raining or weather is crappy when no one else is there. When my kids were learning to drive, they were required to check engines ( oil, coolant, wiper fluid etc.) Change a tire, jump a battery and learn to back up a trailer !!! And had to drivevthru one full winter.. At least they had in introduction if they needed it down the road !!

 

[Thirsty Endgrain]

There is no 100%, and I could imagine a condition where you would be susceptible to sliding, which is either an icy ramp in sub zero temps, or a super super low tide launch at the beginning of the season or anytime there is a lot of algae/seaweed growing on the ramp. Nothing in boating is ever 100%, and everything requires due diligence, and the willingness to assess the situation and say "you know what? Not today," and turn around.

However, don't be fooled by all of the YouTube vids showing people sliding into the water. You have to make some pretty outrageously bad decisions to end up in one of those videos...

Go boating!

 

[airshot]

You bet, unfortunately I have seen a few that have made some of those bad decisions !! Thevreally sad part is having them standvthere and look like " what did I do?"

 

[harringtondav]

I towed our first 3000# boat/trailer each weekend on a 200+mi round trip with a '95 Dodge Caravan 3.3 auto. I added an aftermarket trans cooler and a class 3 hitch to match the towing package's 3000# towing rating.
I had a front wheel slip at the top of a steep dry concrete ramp. ...a beefy bystander leaned on the fender and I made it back to the top. That week I bought a weight distributing hitch and no more wheel slip.
The trailer started to pass me once in a hard emergency stop. So I installed electric trailer brakes. ...no more of that after.
When accelerating from a stop I'd shift into 2nd before starting, accelerate to 2500 rpm and accelerator pedal up shift into 2nd to reduce the torque and energy on the clutch pack. Then I'd shift into D and continue to pedal up shift until I was cruising. After we got our Durango for towing I had to replace the front engine mount on the Caravan which had become mushy from the extra engine torque roll.

 

[stresspoint]

if you are in doubt , grab a block of 5x5 wood drill a hole and tie a rope long enough to reach from the rear wheel to the driver seat .
chock it behind the wheel to stop the car rolling backward , once you get moving just pull the rope . and retrieve your chock.
one ramp i use is steep and a bit slippery at times ,iv seen a few people do this when retrieving ,
i think you will be fine but for peace of mind , the wood chock will make your first launch and retrive less daunting.

enjoy your fresh restored boat

 

[HRG]

Thanks for all of the tips and sharing of experiences.

I went to a school's parking lot this past Sunday and practiced backing up my trailer. Starting to get the hang of it and it was much better at the end of the session than in the beginning. But still need a lot more practice. When I got back home, was able to back the trailer into the left side of our carport with just a couple of back & forths.

While I was at the school, I adjusted the length of my trailer's safety chains so that there is adequate slack for turning but still about 5" above the ground. Yesterday, Monday, I cut off the excess chain links and permanently installed the safety chains. No need to do the twisting of the safety chains to shorten the lengths, which I don't think is a good idea.

Have an appointment today for a safety check for the trailer.
Fingers crossed .... .

 

[QBhoy]

Be absolutely fine. Even with a heavier rig, you’d be fine. If there was any issues at all, just turn the traction control off and go for it.