Solo Boat Launching Tips/boat Fender Advice

[The Mad Hughesy]

Hey team

Im wanting to learn to launch my boat solo. I feel like i have researched as much as i can on the net and now the time has come to just get some practical lessons under my belt and hit the boat ramp, but before i do i thought id ask on here for any recommended tips as i know a few folk go on solo trips quite often. One thing that concerns me is getting the boat back onto the trailer. Seems hard in my mind to wind the winch and guide the boat onto the trailer straight at the same time (all videos ive seen just drive the boat straight onto the trailer, which i though was terrible ramp etiquette and highyl frowned upon as it creates bad wash out holes at the end of the ramp...?? thats what ive alwasy been taught anyway)

Also, does anyone recommend using boat fenders (or some form of DIY option)? I already have a nice little dint in my hull from approaching a dock with a big wind behind me and would like to not do that again haha i know some people just beach their boat next to the ramp before backing their trailer down and loading their boat onto it.

[Guest]

Mate for what my 2 cents is worth  I am looking at the same issue, launching is no problem on your own and generally no problem retreiving where I generally launch at Spinnaker Sound, however if its windy that all goes out the window, I am looking at putting an electric remote control winch on my trailer that I believe you plug into the plug on your car that runs all the trailer lights, appears to be a matter of hooking up the boat with your strap or wire cable and standing beside the boat holding it in position while the winch does its work, sounds good in principle but might be more difficult then it looks

[The Mad Hughesy]

a electric winch would be great, not super cost effective but a very handy tool. the only thing i could think of is having a rope tied to the back of the boat  which id hold onto while winching it up...still not a great solution though

[rayke1938]

https://www.whitworths.com.au/eziguide-boat-loading-system?q=71305

https://amu.net.au/boat-rollers/self-centring-rollers.html

I use something similar to the above combined with the eziguide with both my tinnys. I like the ally centre ones as they only guide when the keel is off centre and the boat goes straight on and off whilst the plastic ones can tend to send the boat crooked when launching.

Here is another set up

 https://roxom.com.au/tutorials/boat-trailer/self-centering-boat-trailer-kits

I also use a ebay remote control winch similar to this spend a couple of extra bucks and get one with dyneema rope. Mine is 5 years old and used at least twice a week and i have just had to replace the rope.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/4000LBS-1814KG-12V-Electric-Winch-Wireless-Remote-Car-Boat-ATV-4WD-Trailer/292206551797?epid=2173371538&hash=item4408de22f5%3Ag%3AGG8AAOSwFq1bA3k9&_sacat=0&_nkw=boat+trailer+electric+winch&_from=R40&rt=nc&_trksid=p2505460.m570.l1313.TR3.TRC2.A0.H0.Xboat+trailer+electric+winch.TRS0

Cheers

Ray

 

[Doyley]

My trailer isn’t yet setup for drive on (another thing on the to do list) Drive off is fine.   I use a self centering roller and a rope.  Pull the nose of the boat by the rope attached to the anchor cleat into the v at the end of the trailer and attach the winch strap.  Start winding and the centering roller does all the work.  I try to use side lanes of multi lane ramps so I can pull the boat to the trailer.  If that isnt possible I drive slowly and nose the boat up against the rear of the trailer,  walk (run) up the front and step down on the trailer and connect the strap.

I rarely use ramps with pontoons so couldn’t justify expensive fenders.  I cut a pool noodle in half (or to whatever length you need) and fed a rope down the hole in the middle.  Tie a large knot at the bottom so the rope doesnt pull back through.  Other end tiesoff to the boat.  Works well and two fenders cost me $2 

[kmcrosby78]

Some good advice here, great thread topic @christophagus. Think I'll look at getting the self-centering rollers and possibly the eziguide latches at some stage. At the moment I have a rope tied to the nose of the boat and gently pull the boat towards the trailer, hook up the wind, then maintain pressure on the rope with one hand while winding on the winch with the other hand. Pulling on the rope at different angles mostly straightens the boat up for me but if it can't be rectified, I just let some of the winch strap back off and do it again. I took more notice of where my back roller was when reversing the trailer down last weekend so have a better idea of how much of the trailer to get wet now - that made a big difference as previously I had more trailer in the water so the boat was free to float around as it wasn't touching the first couple of rollers.

[The Mad Hughesy]

Great tips here, thanks everyone!

@Doyley like Ray mentioned, do you have issues launching your boat with the centring roller?

[Junky]

I am a solo fisho most of the time.

Your trailer set up is what will let you down in the end. Get it right and save the headache. 

I have a ladder beam down the keel and long skids either side (alloy hull). All of the weight of the boat is in the ladder beam rollers and the skids are to level the hull. My boat is a 6m full cab hardtop. 

 

Launching is simple. 

I have 2 blow up sausage fenders about 500mm long. Fit them at the stern and at the side of my cab. My boats sides are not like most boats though so you may need a 3rd fender near the bow. I have a 10m long rope with a loop spliced in the end. It goes over the bollard at the anchor well. When I loosen the winch rope the boat will sit there allowing to winch rope enough slack to unhook it. A 2 finger push and the boat rolls off keeping hold of the rope as it goes. If I am at a pontoon ramp i will climb up on the pontoon and walk back with the boat.

Now...ramp etiquette is to take your boat as far along the pontoon as you can near the end and tie off. This allows the next bloke in line to launch while you park your car. A little consideration for others goes a ling way to a great day out. 

 

 

Retrieve.....

I drive on. Reverse trailer fown about half a meter away from pontoon. This allows you to climb out and walk around to winch when boat is on trailer. 

Tilt the engine up to shallow water depth and line the bow sprit up the ladder rollers as you approach. In windy days I allow for sideways movement on approach.  You don't have to come in hot....just in gear is all. When the keel locates on the guides make sure the motor is straight. The boat will come back to center if it is skewed as long as your motor is straight. Ince you're plum again slowley increase the throttle so the boat starts to drive up. When up near the winch post I leave it there with throttle on and walk around the bow and climb down if no pontoon otherwise climb onto pontoon and climb down to ramp. Hook it all up and tighten. I then climb back up and shut it all down. 

 

All up launching takes me 2 minutes. 

Retrieve takes me 3 minutes. 

Easy as. 

 

You can get a hitch that allows easy solo release and hook up but it looks ugly as sin on the front of the boat all the time. 

 

 

[Doyley]

4 hours ago, christophagus said:

Great tips here, thanks everyone!

@Doyley like Ray mentioned, do you have issues launching your boat with the centring roller?

Haven’t had any issues with it coming off sideways.  I only have the Centre roller as the rear roller. 

[Poddymullet]

6 hours ago, Junky said:

I am a solo fisho most of the time.

Your trailer set up is what will let you down in the end. Get it right and save the headache. 

I have a ladder beam down the keel and long skids either side (alloy hull). All of the weight of the boat is in the ladder beam rollers and the skids are to level the hull. My boat is a 6m full cab hardtop. 

 

Launching is simple. 

I have 2 blow up sausage fenders about 500mm long. Fit them at the stern and at the side of my cab. My boats sides are not like most boats though so you may need a 3rd fender near the bow. I have a 10m long rope with a loop spliced in the end. It goes over the bollard at the anchor well. When I loosen the winch rope the boat will sit there allowing to winch rope enough slack to unhook it. A 2 finger push and the boat rolls off keeping hold of the rope as it goes. If I am at a pontoon ramp i will climb up on the pontoon and walk back with the boat.

Now...ramp etiquette is to take your boat as far along the pontoon as you can near the end and tie off. This allows the next bloke in line to launch while you park your car. A little consideration for others goes a ling way to a great day out. 

 

 

Retrieve.....

I drive on. Reverse trailer fown about half a meter away from pontoon. This allows you to climb out and walk around to winch when boat is on trailer. 

Tilt the engine up to shallow water depth and line the bow sprit up the ladder rollers as you approach. In windy days I allow for sideways movement on approach.  You don't have to come in hot....just in gear is all. When the keel locates on the guides make sure the motor is straight. The boat will come back to center if it is skewed as long as your motor is straight. Ince you're plum again slowley increase the throttle so the boat starts to drive up. When up near the winch post I leave it there with throttle on and walk around the bow and climb down if no pontoon otherwise climb onto pontoon and climb down to ramp. Hook it all up and tighten. I then climb back up and shut it all down. 

 

All up launching takes me 2 minutes. 

Retrieve takes me 3 minutes. 

Easy as. 

 

You can get a hitch that allows easy solo release and hook up but it looks ugly as sin on the front of the boat all the time. 

 

 

Hey @christophagus I was a bit worried about this myself and one of the reasons I bought a 4.5m runabout 2nd hand to get my confidence up launching / retrieving solo, then moved on to a 5.2 cuddy cab. If you have watched all the YouTube videos and also the great advice on this thread you will be fine. Just remember to take it slow and don't stress about everyone on the boat ramp. Everyone has to start somewhere and as long as you don't rush you will get the job done.

But practice does make perfect and if you can do it outside of the usual 5-6am chaos you will feel a lot better about yourself and build your confidence, which is the name of the game. Also generally speaking someone will be kind enough to help if you get stuck...well in my experience anyway. Sure you might get a couple of dirty looks but don't let it bother you...some people forget that **** happens and it's better to help another human being than laugh at their misfortune. 

Although @Junky doesn't like the Launch & Retrieve latch because of it's looks  I splurged and love it, but to be honest I use it more for driving on to the trailer by myself than launching ... still find the rope the easiest option although upgrading to a 5.9m glass might change that  

 

[Junky]

19 minutes ago, Poddymullet said:

Hey @christophagus I was a bit worried about this myself and one of the reasons I bought a 4.5m runabout 2nd hand to get my confidence up launching / retrieving solo, then moved on to a 5.2 cuddy cab. If you have watched all the YouTube videos and also the great advice on this thread you will be fine. Just remember to take it slow and don't stress about everyone on the boat ramp. Everyone has to start somewhere and as long as you don't rush you will get the job done.

But practice does make perfect and if you can do it outside of the usual 5-6am chaos you will feel a lot better about yourself and build your confidence, which is the name of the game. Also generally speaking someone will be kind enough to help if you get stuck...well in my experience anyway. Sure you might get a couple of dirty looks but don't let it bother you...some people forget that **** happens and it's better to help another human being than laugh at their misfortune. 

Although @Junky doesn't like the Launch & Retrieve latch because of it's looks  I splurged and love it, but to be honest I use it more for driving on to the trailer by myself than launching ... still find the rope the easiest option although upgrading to a 5.9m glass might change that  

 

 

I thought about this after I posted and then thought that some people may say it would match my boat. 

[Poddymullet]

@Junky 

[The Mad Hughesy]

So after much research and YouTube watching, I loaded the boat up and launched this morning.

I had strict instructions for my wife to sit in the car and do nothing! She was more than happy to comply 

so, launch was easy enough solo. The retrieve was fairly easy too. Just walked it along the pontoon, pulled the winch right out, hooked up boat up and pulled the nose in via a rope and wound it on. Had to push it off and start again as it wasn’t straight but was able to do it all no worries. Happy days! Much more confident now to do it again and again.

thanks for all the advice team

[kmcrosby78]

Good to hear Chris. Just thought of one more thing that can make a difference, especially if there is wind/current - you can wind the winch out and just secure somewhere in the vicinity of the end of the trailer so that when you pull the boat along the pontoon, you can just jump down and hook it straight up.

[Drop Bear]

drive on drive off is awesome for solo launching. Trick is to set up the trailer properly like a few have said self centering rollers are great. I know some people that put uprights on each courner of the trailer to help guide it in. I have not set mine up for this but have a walk through platform so do the dodgy pull up over the rollers. Sucks in a wind.

Drive on all the way