Getting 24' toon of lake with closed ramps; lake down 5ft.

[CZSteve]

Mods - please move if this is in the wrong section.

We have a 24' pontoon (90hp outboard) on Lake Granbury south of Ft Worth TX.
We're currently in a slip with our yearly lease about to expire and want to move to another lake. Joe Pool - closer to home and more stable water tables.
Granbury is currently down 5ft and all ramps are closed.

The lake level is only expected to get worse given the La Nina weather pattern were in and supposedly the Brazos River Authority is planning a 1-2 ft discharge of the lake around the end of February.

I've been batting around ideas as to how to get the boat on our trailer (tandem axle); such as:
- Using the best ramp (De Cordova Bend). Ramp drop-off should be about four feet from water edge, not sure how big of a drop.
- Backing trailer down and obviously need the bunks down enough to get front edge of toons on.
- Using two come-alongs in addition to the winch / strap and manually pull the boat on the trailer. Float boat to trailer to avoid damage.
- Tow vehicle is a Dodge Cummins diesel (2wd w/ 5 speed).
- Obviously we'd be on our own with regards to responsibility. We can take our time at the ramps as obviously no one will be lined up.

Thoughts to improve chances:
- Construct runners for the trailer tires out of 2x10's or 2x12's w/ 2x6's flanking the edges to keep tire lined up. Thinking runners for assuming the trailer will drop off the edge of the ramp and to 'help' keep the trailer from digging into the mud. Plan on having a second vehicle and rigging a yoke to keep the board runners from sliding down too far. Can also use the second vehicle to assist in pulling out if needed.
- Bunks are traditional carpet covered: Thoughts on covering the bunks with something slick? Soap? Water Soluble grease?

In the scheme of things this is not the end of the world but would love to get the boat out. I figure that if we're careful the worse that will happen is that we're unable to load and have to take the boat back to the slip.

Above ideas crazy? Thoughts? Alternate suggestions?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Getting 24' toon of lake with closed ramps; lake down 5ft.

I'd avoid trying the brute force method of winching it up the entire length of the trailer. You can break all kinds of things on a pontoon doing that. (eyehooks come flying out, you will bend the Ibeams, or rip the aluminum hooks out of the front of the tubes if you attach to them.)

First, I'd verify that there is actually a dropoff at the end of the ramp. I've used plenty of ramps that had sand, not a dropoff, at the end. In that case, you load like normal. If there is, then I'd go to plan B. Either figure out a what to build a ramp of some sort like you were mentioning with wood (although wood floats...) or is a beach loading a possibility at this lake? People forget that it isn't that hard to load from the beach in many areas, you just need to REALLY be careful with throttle control. If your tires spin even a little bit, you are stuck. (which is where the second vehicle comes in)

 

[Bondo]

Re: Getting 24' toon of lake with closed ramps; lake down 5ft.

Ayuh,... I'd bring a Shovel, insteada planks,...
Shovel mud, or whatevers there back into the hole at the end of the concrete, IF there's a hole...
Planks will float away, before ya get the wagon on 'em....

As for dragging the toon onto the wagon,...
Dishsoap squirted onto the bunks is what I do when haulin' my houseboat, 'n the water is down...
It's 34' long, 'n slides right up the plain wood bunks, with minimal wench tension...

 

[CZSteve]

Re: Getting 24' toon of lake with closed ramps; lake down 5ft.

Thanks for the reply SC.

I agree about the concern of stress to the structure. Assuming we can get the trailer reasonably low enough into the water we should be able to use the outboard trimmed up; still thinking it wouldn't hurt to have the come-alongs for 'assistance' provided we're cautious regarding stress on the boat and safety for us.
- I figure if we build runners / skids out of wood for the trailer that once they are in place the trailer will keep them weighted down.
- I'd still like to coat the bunk carpet to lessen the friction coefficient just for additional help - suggestions?

BTW - No viable beach head that I'm aware of. We've never used the supposed best ramp; will probable make a scouting run to look at it.

EDIT: Following up on Bond-o's post.
What about 12x12 pavers set in sand lined up with the tires? Just brainstorming now...

Thanks,
Steve

 

[halfmoa]

Re: Getting 24' toon of lake with closed ramps; lake down 5ft.

Bond-o's dish soap idea works well and several others on here speak highly of silicone lubricant spray. It's got very low water solubility.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Getting 24' toon of lake with closed ramps; lake down 5ft.

EDIT: Following up on Bond-o's post.
What about 12x12 pavers set in sand lined up with the tires? Just brainstorming now...

Ayuh,... Personally,... I'm willin' to invest abit of time, 'n effort, Without the Expense....
Which is Why I suggested bringin' a Shovel...
No wood, or concrete required..

 

[steelespike]

Re: Getting 24' toon of lake with closed ramps; lake down 5ft.

Just spit ballin::; Back the truck down to the edge of the ramp.Unhook the trailer and walk it in as far as reasonable
Reattach to the hitch using a come along or 2 or rope or chain to make up the length.With the trailer on the come along you may be able to raise the tongue enough to get the boat started onto the trailer. Once on winch it up and let the boat right the trailer as it advances.Then comealong the trailer up to the truck.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Getting 24' toon of lake with closed ramps; lake down 5ft.

? Will the truck need to be off the back of the ramp?

If so, consider sheets off plywood to support the truck and prevent sinking in the dirt/sand.

Bring push broom to clear off the concrete of sand and debris.

Time for that scouting run.

video this for us, ok?

Good luck.



Oh, see if there are others in your situation, perhaps you can make a group effort out of it.
More minds, equipment, muscles, and $ to put into it. And help other boaters out at the same time.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Getting 24' toon of lake with closed ramps; lake down 5ft.

Just spit ballin::; Back the truck down to the edge of the ramp.Unhook the trailer and walk it in as far as reasonable
Reattach to the hitch using a come along or 2 or rope or chain to make up the length.With the trailer on the come along you may be able to raise the tongue enough to get the boat started onto the trailer. Once on winch it up and let the boat right the trailer as it advances.Then comealong the trailer up to the truck.

Still have to make sure the ramp doesn't end in a drop off... If you get the back wheels of the trailer off the ramp, its game over. The bigger the winch/vehicle you hook to it, the more damage you will do if you try to pull it back out with a load on it. Worst case (and yes, this happens!) is that you pull the trailer out, minus the wheels/axle.

 

[halfmoa]

Re: Getting 24' toon of lake with closed ramps; lake down 5ft.

I'm with Bond-o in that if a little manual labor will save me some cash I'm going for the labor! Rocks, old pallet slats, shovels, whatever you can dig up! I think it's time for a scouting run. And a report!


And pics/video of this would be awesome! There's a lot of Texans in your boat. I remember one guy's post that had a pic of his boat about 10 feet in the air hanging on the dock. I feel for you guys!

 

[CZSteve]

Re: Getting 24' toon of lake with closed ramps; lake down 5ft.

Thanks for all the responses.

We'll need to get a look at the ramps and see what it looks like beyond the edge of the concrete.
I'm sure we'll be OK keeping the trucks tires on the concrete, also sure the trailer tires will end up beyond the ramp edge.

As mentioned, time for a site survey.

I appreciate the comments about shoveling dirt, pallets, etc.
I also have a 4x8 3/4 sheet of ply in the garage just looking for something to do...I'm thinking that may work well if we have enough support underneath to prevent it from collapsing; rope attached to the corners with a person on each side should keep the sheet from sliding down while backing.

Thanks again and please keep any other ideas coming.

Best,
Steve

 

[Part-time]

Re: Getting 24' toon of lake with closed ramps; lake down 5ft.

Back in the mid 90's the French and the Pickerel river had unusual low levels one summer. The one ramp was 10-12' shy of the water line.
There was no drop at the end of the slab but the river bed was to soft to support a truck and a house boat had struck rocks and was taking on water so I bolted a ball to the back of another trailer (the longest empty trailer I could get) and made a train to get the last trailer in far enough... Keeping the tow vehicle on hard dry ground the whole time.

 

[Silver Eagle]

Re: Getting 24' toon of lake with closed ramps; lake down 5ft.

A long time ago I had sort of the same type of problem only my boat at that time was a bowrider V bottom.I backed my truck all the way in to the river The boat was high and dry. Very low tide that day.I had a power winch and I hooked it to the bow ring Tilted the traler but unhooking it .This was a 28 ft trailer. I had to jack the front of the trailer with a bunch of loose wood laying around.It was a roller trailer. and using the power winch I finally got the boat back on the trailer. The weight of the boat helped as I pull the boat forward. So in your case I'd back up as far as I could Using those 2x12's panks ,eing a pontoon boat it should be easier to load on the trailer by getting some steeol pipe and use it as a roll on .as your pontoon boat goes onto the wood line up the pipe so it will ride up on the pipe. Two people will have to make sure thew pipe stays in place. It can roll up the plank.Then when it's high enough remove the pipe. The wood won't move if you get someone to hold it in place until you get some weight on it. Or you can get a couple of 2x4"s and nail them under the 2x12's.

 

[halfmoa]

Re: Getting 24' toon of lake with closed ramps; lake down 5ft.

I bolted a ball to the back of another trailer (the longest empty trailer I could get) and made a train to get the last trailer in far enough... Keeping the tow vehicle on hard dry ground the whole time.

I can't imagine backing that down a ramp!

 

[Silver Eagle]

Re: Getting 24' toon of lake with closed ramps; lake down 5ft.

On my pontoon boat I have a welded cleat on the end of each toon. Does your's? If so,. shop around for a rental front end loader or petty john. Get four straps and hook them to your toons and the front end load. Lift the boat out of the water and have them place your boat onto the trailer. This pasted spring I had my pontoon boat lifted off of my trailer so I could put those plastic strips on the bunks .They used four straps and the built on cleats .Only they had a boat lift on wheels. Total cost was $150.00.

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Getting 24' toon of lake with closed ramps; lake down 5ft.

If you are worried about stress pulling on the front of your toon, consider making a sling out of cargo strapping and running it around behind the boat, up along the sides and join again in front at your winch. That way you are applying all that force across across the rear of the boat and in doing so reducing the risk of damaging the structure.

I did the same with my sailboat this past summer when the bow eye snapped under high winching loads while trying to pull it up on a (poorly) designed roller system. That left me with no way to pull it out of the water. After the initial panic subsided I ran a strap across the stern as described above and it worked like a charm. You just need some light pressure on the front to "steer" the thing as it will have a tendency to wander a bit as it comes forward.

I second the others above. Whatever method you chose - just gotta video this for us. Good luck!

 

[jeeperman]

Re: Getting 24' toon of lake with closed ramps; lake down 5ft.

If the trailer drops off the ramp as causes pull out problems, you might luck out and be able to pull the stern of the trailer up to the bottom of the boat.
Enough so that you can then pull off the ramp without the tires getting stuck on the end of the ramp.
Heck, with that in mind, what if you could make your trailer float ?

 

[CZSteve]

Re: Getting 24' toon of lake with closed ramps; lake down 5ft.

Well....sorry to disappoint but looks like there will not be any entertaining videos...

The man upstairs has decided to end a drought with a flood.
We've recieved 5-6 inches in the Granbury / DFW area within a single day. When I first posted this thread the lake was down 5.1 feet; as of this morning the lake is only down .7 of a foot, still anticipatiing more runoff thru the next day or two.

I had already acquired or the implements of destruction in anticipation of a fight to load the boat; I'm still taking everything with us this Saturday just to keep Mr. Murphy on our side.

 

[BRICH1260]

Re: Getting 24' toon of lake with closed ramps; lake down 5ft.

Glad to hear your prayers were answered. I know alot of you Texas guys have been sitting in mud for a long time.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Getting 24' toon of lake with closed ramps; lake down 5ft.

glad it's solved.
for future reference, consider steel grates/mats to extend the ramp; you can still buy those old WWII runway mats. If you can't find something used at the scrap yard, you could convince a local handyman to buy them from you to rent them out to the other boaters (or do it yourself)

With a power winch and roller trailer sometimes you don't need water. I've dragged boats across mud and up on the trailer before. But heed the warning about stress points peculiar to your hull.

If you can get the bow of the boat to solid land you can use rollers. get long round landscape timbers, 4" pipe, small pilings, whatever and drag it up on a series of 3-4 rollers. You may need to stage parallel tracks if the ground is soft (4x4, 2x12). Once it's up on land you can figure out how to raise it to get the trailer under--lots of posts here about removing boats from trailers on land. and again, whatever rig you put together, someone else could use and help pay for. (or just drag it up on boards/sand. once won't hurt the boat)