single handed launch and retrieval

[dr.livingston]

Does anyone have tips or a procedure for launching and retrieving a boat from a trailer single handed? I'm in a situation where I'll probably have to do that without help most of the time. I'm not talking about a rowboat here.

The trailer has guides so lining up the boat in fairly calm wind and wave conditions should not be too difficult. However, in case of problems I might need to exit the boat and guide it on by hand from the dock. I suppose a radio controlled power winch would help. First I would need to attach the hook to the bow eye. Then I would need a way to push or pull the bow and stern into alignment before starting the winch.

As for the launching process single handed, is there a way to leave the winch
hook attached to the bow eye so the boat won't float away with nobody on board giving me time to exit the truck and tie the boat to the dock before parking the truck?

 

[Bondo]

Re: single handed launch and retrieval

As for the launching process single handed, is there a way to leave the winch hook attached to the bow eye so the boat won't float away with nobody on board giving me time to exit the truck and tie the boat to the dock before parking the truck?

Ayuh,... Don't unhook it.... Just loosen the strap tension..

I've been solo launching,+ retrieving my 22'er for Years...

The only Trick to it is,...
Making sure the Guide-ons are tall enough to influence the hull when the trailer is in Deep...

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: single handed launch and retrieval

Loading and unloading alone

be prepared before leaving home. plug in, gas line connected. etc. i launch alone all the time. parnter not allowed to back trailer (was a disaster). when i get to the launch. i remove stern strap, bow line on bow with a hook that snaps to the winch stand. i back down, jump out release winch hook, then back down, to where the stern starts to float, and tap the brakes this give the boat momentum to float off the trailer, bow line long enough, that i can pull up enough to retrieve the snap on the winch stand, and swing the boat to the dock. then move vehicle.

i have guide ons on my trailers, and 2 self centering rollers, before going to the ramp i loosen 2-3 feet of winch line, then back down the ramp. go to the boat and motor over to the trailer. i drive on never above idle, reach over the bow connect the winch line, climb over the bow on to the trailer, and winch the rest of the way, then pull up out of the way.

it takes practice. go to the ramp during the week, when it is not busy, and practice. also, when approaching the dock, another boat, or the trailer, go no faster than you are willing to hit it. you cannot count on reverse to be a brake. engines stall right at the wrong time.

 

[Dave K.]

Re: single handed launch and retrieval

Hello Dr..i also launch & retrieve solo. i have a 16' cuddy, not a really big boat but not too small either. TD & Bondo are really experienced guys & their procedures are spot on!

let me add: yes it takes a little practice.. be especially careful on bad weather or windy days. they prove to be tougher for me anyway. i always keep a bow rope (about 20') where i can get to it fast & use bumpers on the side where i tie off. i also have ropes connected to the bow & stern clete for the side i'm docking on & tie off..have to park the car ya' know. these might sound almost too common sense but you would be surprised at what you see & what happens during launches & retrieveals.

keep an eye on some posts..entire cars/trucks/suv's & trailors get swallowed up...

 

[ziggy]

Re: single handed launch and retrieval

i launch are retrieve alone often in the summer.... as stated above. prep everything prior to launch. have everything inside the boat ready to lower the drive and start and go, no dilly dallying. plug in, rear straps off, buoys out, i have two lines running to the bow, one from the rear, one from the bow. i also start the blower just prior to lauch. i leave the winch and safety chain hooked up till i'm in the water... back it into the water. release winch and safety chain and launch. control boat with the lines.. then i walk the boat back to the end of the ramp and secure it... usually, i don't start it till i can stand there and watch it warm up. so i start it after i return from parking the trailer... if it's busy at the ramp. i may start it prior to parking. depends on the situation as to when i start the engine..
retrieve is the same in reverse. raise drive (don't forget this), i walk it onto the trailer with two lines, secure winch to boat and crank her up. hook up safety chain and haul it out.
pick yer ramp careful too. a wind blowing onshore is a drag. depending on how bad the wind is. i've even gone off to a different ramp on the leeward side of the lake....
get to know your rig. get a routine and follow it. modify it if you think of a good idea to make it easier.
prep is the key to launch.... everything in it's place ready to go... know where your gonna tie up at.... secure it good too. once last fall. my buddy didn't get his secured to well. so he had to have a ride in my boat out to his boat to get aboard as his was floating away....

if my boats been sitting for a week at home. i'll also start it on the hose at home so i know it'll run when i get launched... once in a great while i'll not do this, like if i got out sat. and sun. sunday i may not start it at home, but sat. i do..

 

[Raghauler]

Re: single handed launch and retrieval

All good advice here. I launch/retrieve either of my boats solo all the time: 22' O'Day sloop with a skeg keel or my 18' bass boat. One more thing I might add: difficulty is often based on the ramp site... steep ramps, shallow ramps and variable depths due to the tide can create as much a challenge as wind, waves, etc. If you use the same ramp all the time, you'll get the hang of it pretty quickly... practice makes (semi) perfect.

 

[dave11]

Re: single handed launch and retrieval

I always launch and retrieve by myself even when I have someone along. The best advice is above. Go during the week and practice. As Raghauler says, "Practice makes semiperfect." Don't agonize over it. You will learn very quickly.

 

[dr.livingston]

Re: single handed launch and retrieval

Good advice from all.

I bought this boat on the water without a trailer. Now I'm getting ready to trailer it for the first time. The boat has a fairly shallow draft so with a steep enough ramp I should be able to get close enough to reach the winch hook by hand. On a not-so-steep ramp I might need a boat hook to grab the winch strap and hook.

What do you think of this? Suppose I attached 1 or 2 static lines from the winch stand to the top of the guide-on posts at the rear of the trailer? That way as I drift into the trailer with the engine in neutral I can stand up, grab the lines and haul the boat forward far enough to grab the winch hook without leaving the boat.

Another possibility is to attach a temporary line from the winch hook itself to one guide-on post. I could then grab the line and either haul the boat close to the hook or haul the hook to the boat.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: single handed launch and retrieval

i say try it. i do prefer a tongue on the trailer to be longer than necessary. on my 23footer, i have 7 feet of tongue, between winch and coupler, lets me get far enough into the water.

 

[Wee Hooker]

Re: single handed launch and retrieval

Here are the things I've done to my rig to allow just that.
1) Get a set of trailer guide on's so that once the bow gets on the first roller/over the trailer, the boat is forced into the correct/centered position. These are worth their weight in gold when launching in wind, waves, current or steep ramps.
2) Mark those guide on's with paint/tape so that the roller/bunks have just the right/consistant water depth . Often, launchng too deep or shallow makes things work different and more complex.
3) Replace any rollers with the yellow urathane rollers and SS shafts. These make launchign MUCH easier ans they have much lower friction. the difference is amazing.
4)Tie a 25-30' floating(!) PVC rope to your bow cleat and put a 12" loop in the other end. Before launching, lay the rope coil on the deck/bow of the boat and then put the looped end over your winch handle. Then launch (either by pushing or buy backing in and hitting the brakes.). The boat will launch, pay out the coil but be restrained by it's attachment to the winch handle. Now that she's floating flip the rope over the guide-ons and walk the boat over to the pier/beach. With this length rope, you can usaully tie up the bow to the pier, then run the excess down teh pier, through another cleat then to your transom. No additional ropes needed. Works great for me.
4) Lastly, and this can be the hardest to acchive, is to se if you can add a gang plank down the length of your trailer so that on retrieval, you can walk down the trailer to the bow of the boat (held there with that poly rope) and hook up the winch cable. I always feed out the winch cable and hang it on teh end of the trailer or guide on prior to backing in for retrieveing. That way, it's right there waitign for you too.

FWIW, I have experimented with using that 25-30 "bow line" as teh winch rope but have never found a great solution.

hth

 

[dave11]

Re: single handed launch and retrieval

Here are the things I've done to my rig to allow just that.
1) Get a set of trailer guide on's so that once the bow gets on the first roller/over the trailer, the boat is forced into the correct/centered position. These are worth their weight in gold when launching in wind, waves, current or steep ramps.
2) Mark those guide on's with paint/tape so that the roller/bunks have just the right/consistant water depth . Often, launchng too deep or shallow makes things work different and more complex.
3) Replace any rollers with the yellow urathane rollers and SS shafts. These make launchign MUCH easier ans they have much lower friction. the difference is amazing.
4)Tie a 25-30' floating(!) PVC rope to your bow cleat and put a 12" loop in the other end. Before launching, lay the rope coil on the deck/bow of the boat and then put the looped end over your winch handle. Then launch (either by pushing or buy backing in and hitting the brakes.). The boat will launch, pay out the coil but be restrained by it's attachment to the winch handle. Now that she's floating flip the rope over the guide-ons and walk the boat over to the pier/beach. With this length rope, you can usaully tie up the bow to the pier, then run the excess down teh pier, through another cleat then to your transom. No additional ropes needed. Works great for me.
4) Lastly, and this can be the hardest to acchive, is to se if you can add a gang plank down the length of your trailer so that on retrieval, you can walk down the trailer to the bow of the boat (held there with that poly rope) and hook up the winch cable. I always feed out the winch cable and hang it on teh end of the trailer or guide on prior to backing in for retrieveing. That way, it's right there waitign for you too.

FWIW, I have experimented with using that 25-30 "bow line" as teh winch rope but have never found a great solution.

hth

How do you keep directional control of the stern? If I did that the stern would probably wander off the wrong way.

 

[Genonbamagirl]

Re: single handed launch and retrieval

Did it for years with a Center console and a fish and ski. Figure out exactly where the trailer needs to sit in the water to almost float the boat. Walk down the tongue onto the craft from the bow. Crank it, reverse off the trailer, manuever into position to tie up at the dock or beach it next to the launch.

This goes without saying that before you put the trailered boat into position that the craft is ready to launch (etc. - if we have to go over the launch details then you need to go back to boating 101).

Go park the tow vehicle.

Enjoy.

I have always made my trailers into a pull on so no one else was needed to launch/recover. This can be as simple as figuring out your trailer to as difficult as building rollers on both sides, upright markers, etc.

As to handlining the craft - I'll pass. It's a powered craft for a reason - so I can power it around. If I wanted to handline something - I would row or sail it. Yes, have done both, yes, too old and cranky to do either.

 

[dr.livingston]

Re: single handed launch and retrieval

I'm nearly finished rebuilding a used trailer to handle my 22' Bayliner Deckboat. The trailer frame is heavily galvanized and in pretty good shape. I can't say the same for the nuts and bolts. I'm replacing nearly all of them. I never knew steel could get THAT rusty in 6 years. In nearly every case it was completely impossible to unscrew the nut no matter how much PB Blaster I used or how long I let it soak. I ended up using vice grips on one end and an air impact wrench on the other end to literally twist the bolts until they broke. In some cases I had to use an angle grinder to weaken a bolt before it would break. In other cases the shank of the bolt had already rusted down to spaghetti size so breaking it was not a problem.

I did lengthen the tongue by three feet. Due to the unusual shape of the bottom of my boat I'm putting the guide-ons inboard of the bunks. Great idea about marking the correct water depth on the vertical posts at the back of the trailer. Thanks too for the tip about the yellow roller and stainless steel pin. I noticed that somebody makes such a roller with large grooves that lead to the center of the roller from both sides.

For controlling the stern of the boat in a crosswind situation I thought about getting one of those telescoping aluminum poles that they use to chage light bulbs in tall ceilings. Places like Home Depot and Lowes sell them. Modify the end to grab something on your boat instead of a light bulb. That should work but it assumes you have a helper. It should also be good for grabbing other things like the floating poly line that was suggested or the winch hook itself.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: single handed launch and retrieval

to control the stern put guide ons, on the trailer. i load this 23 foot Chris Craft deck boat alone. notice the excess tongue.

 

[dave11]

Re: single handed launch and retrieval

For controlling the stern of the boat in a crosswind situation I thought about getting one of those telescoping aluminum poles that they use to chage light bulbs in tall ceilings. Places like Home Depot and Lowes sell them. Modify the end to grab something on your boat instead of a light bulb. That should work but it assumes you have a helper. It should also be good for grabbing other things like the floating poly line that was suggested or the winch hook itself.

to control the stern put guide ons, on the trailer. i load this 23 foot Chris Craft deck boat alone. notice the excess tongue.

Dr L I always singlehand, so I never have a helper.

TD My trailer already has guides.

 

[Calhere]

Re: single handed launch and retrieval

Loading and unloading alone

be prepared before leaving home. plug in, gas line connected. etc. i launch alone all the time. parnter not allowed to back trailer (was a disaster). when i get to the launch. i remove stern strap, bow line on bow with a hook that snaps to the winch stand. i back down, jump out release winch hook, then back down, to where the stern starts to float, and tap the brakes this give the boat momentum to float off the trailer, bow line long enough, that i can pull up enough to retrieve the snap on the winch stand, and swing the boat to the dock. then move vehicle.

i have guide ons on my trailers, and 2 self centering rollers, before going to the ramp i loosen 2-3 feet of winch line, then back down the ramp. go to the boat and motor over to the trailer. i drive on never above idle, reach over the bow connect the winch line, climb over the bow on to the trailer, and winch the rest of the way, then pull up out of the way.

it takes practice. go to the ramp during the week, when it is not busy, and practice. also, when approaching the dock, another boat, or the trailer, go no faster than you are willing to hit it. you cannot count on reverse to be a brake. engines stall right at the wrong time.

I do almost the same as Trashdaddy except once I have it at the launch dock I back the trailer down loosen the strap use a line on both the bow and stern kick (push) off the dock and guide my boat onto the trailer. then whinch it the rest of the way up.

 

[mymako21]

Re: single handed launch and retrieval

Always fun, with the wind, tide, current and restless other boaters waiting on you, talk about stress. Found a product just for that I think its called the Grabber, watched a video for it on fishingvideonetwork pretty cool, automatic hook up and release, one man boat launch and hook up. Worth a look. Good luck

 

[dr.livingston]

Re: single handed launch and retrieval

mymako21,

if you have any more details on "the grabber" please let me know. I googled those words ans well as searching Cabelas, Bass Pro Shops, and West Marine. There are lots of "grabber" products out there but I didn't find any that had to do with boat launching.

 

[Wee Hooker]

Re: single handed launch and retrieval

"How do you keep directional control of the stern? If I did that the stern would probably wander off the wrong way."

On my boats, which are admittedly all under 16' /light, the boat will pivot on the guide-on and bring the transom in line as I load it. i.e. Just get the bow between the posts and crank. She comes in like a dog on a leash perfectly aligned every time.
hth

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: single handed launch and retrieval

wee hooker, these larger boats have much more it the water. and free board above for the wind to catch.