help me launch my boat

[unclejoe411]

I bought a 1978 14' lund about 10 years ago and did fished uneventfully for a year but then never got the opportunity to do it for the past 9 years. Now I am trying to get back to it again and I can't do anything right. Either the ramp is too steep to or to shallow. I am either not backed it enough or the boat float and turn sideway and bend the trailer guide. At the end my fishing lines are all dry but I am wet, humbled and exhausted. Between keeping the boss at work and the boss at home happy I get little time to fish and I fish alone with the dog. I spend more time repairing the boat (which I actually enjoy) than being on the water. Any advise or opinion is appreciated.

 

[QC]

Re: help me launch my boat

Welcome aboard unclejoe!! I am thinking about moving this to the trailer section as there is a lot of help there specifically for launching and retrieving. You should spend some time over there searching and reading etc. With that said, I am going to leave it here as you just need a good pep talk . . . Don't give up!! There is a procedure for each boat and ramp combo you encounter. I will add though that I have one ramp where I can launch, but simply cannot retrieve. One of my trailer's crossmembers hangs up on the concrete and it just will not go. For some reason, backing in is a non-issue. The point being that there are exceptions, and I just cannot use that ramp.

Usually using the depth of your trailer's fenders is a good way to judge the right depth/distance that you should back in. Can you see them go under water in your mirror? Maybe too narrow to see?

 

[grnatl]

Re: help me launch my boat

I agree with QC. Don't give up!! Sometimes just watching other launch boats at a ramp before you launch yours is good for getting an idea of the conditions so you'll be more confident when you do launch. Then just try going to same ramp for a few times in a row until you get good at using that ramp and then you can begin to try out other ramps with your newfound confidence.

I remember the first few times I tried to launch mine. I felt like I'd never get it right. Now 20+ years later, I actually enjoy it!

Good luck!

 

[unclejoe411]

Re: help me launch my boat

Thanks guys for the pep talk and advise. I needed it.

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: help me launch my boat

It sounds like you are actually backing too far in the water and the boat is floating around. Hard to tell without seeing the rig. Is this a trailer with 4 or 5 rollers up the center of the trailer and two bunks on the side that pivot back and forth, or does it have fixed, immovable bunks?
I put my rig in today at a ramp that was so filled in it was really not a ramp at the bottom. I backed the car in until the rear wheels of the car were wet, and the back of the boat trailer was barely wet. I had to "macho-man" it and tilt and push the boat off of the trailer. 100 percent cranking it in while loading it, also.

 

[lazy-in-the-shade]

Re: help me launch my boat

I learned alot of tricks from youtube. Search boat launching. There's alot of good videos.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: help me launch my boat

unclejoe, the type of trailer you have will dictate much as to how you need to launch and retrieve. Bunk trailers will need the deepest ramps and roller or tiltbed trailers will work well on even the shallowest ramps.

All trailers need to do 2 things, Support and Transport. How they deploy the load at the water is the difference. Hard to use a bunk trailer when there is only 2' of water. So what type of trailer do you have?