How to beach launch?

[stufft]

As the title says, how should you beach launch? Should I get waders, wellies or get feet wet? Can you do it without getting wet? At what point should I ask the other half to get in the boat?

Yeah I know I could learn from experience but I thought I'd get a few pointers first before I get the SIB wet for the first time.

Stu

[paddlers]

We beach launch all the time with our Honwave 3.5 ally floor but we don't mind getting wet. The only way to get in a boat dry is from a pontoon or wear waders but if there's any sort of swell/waves chances are you'll still get damp...
I get the family in first leaving the launch wheels down but the boat floating then push it out a bit getting my nads wet in my shorts then clamber in. At this point one of the kids starts rowing out whilst I faff on with the engine. Once it's ticking over I lift the wheels up and off we go

[stufft]

Ah ok. So in the absence of launch wheels, I should be prepared for getting a bit wet.

[paddlers]

I dare say everybody has a different take on it but we're on holiday and the kids are usually in shorts or wetsuits so getting wet's part of the fun. We've launched in rivers and gone fishing relatively dry from the bank but breaking waves on the beach can make it much more interesting as can a strong breeze.
Picking the right conditions to launch and recognising when it's not feasable are the key to enjoying it.

[Max...]

Getting out is reasonably easy, it's getting back in when the winds got up (as it always does) while you're out that's the usual problem!

Depends on the beach of course but sandy gentle shelving is easier than stony, steep shingle of course. Whatever the geography you cannot launch off a beach without getting wet feet.

So, we haul boat down on wheels dipping bow in water. Gear in, engine on, wheels off, lift/push boat further into water then turn it round 180 deg so engine is in enough water, then engine semi down I start it. Wife and son holding boat, in I get, son jumps in, kill cord on, in gear and and off we go backwards.

I used to do the whole row it out thing but much easier doing the above.

Coming in depends on surf etc but if rough come in quick, engine up, jump out and haul like ****.

[stufft]

Thanks for all the quick replies. I think I'll need to invest in some transom wheels at some point. As it is, I'll get wet on Saturday and see how things go. Need to break in the motor which is a whole other discussion lol

[paddlers]

Launch wheels make owning a sib so much easier. The things get heavy with an outboard & fuel tank , with the wheels it can be done single handed.

[blootac]

I've got transom wheels on mine so maybe it's different for me.
I have either waders or a dry/wet suit at any time other than the summer when I'm in shorts. I expect to get waist deep.
The waders normally come off once I'm out.


If there's me and other people coming out:
If it's anything but mirror smooth:

• Wheel it out nose first into the waves.
• Leaving the wheels down start engine in shallow water tilt and power out past the waves.
• Wheels up, turn around come back to shore. if the waves are breaking, I stop short of the shore, jump out and turn the boat nose out into the waves and walk it back in with the engine up.
• Get people in while, keeping them as dry as possible and holding nose into waves
• Walk boat back out while someone starts the engine
• I jump in and power out.

If it's mirror smooth

• walk boat out
• wheels up
• walk back in
• people in
• walk back out, engine down, start and off

If it's just me...

• Walk out
• Engine start with wheels down
• Jump in
• Power out past waves
• Wheels up
• Off I go

If you've got a small child then depending on their weight it might be easier to chuck them in while the wheels are up getting them to sit over the transom and wheel them out.

[stufft]

Thanks blootac. Quite a comprehensive reply. From what I've read I think wheels are the way to go but I can't wait until I fit them before I get our on the water

[blootac]

See my video here to see me launch and recover

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FE9L5i9fVQ

Also, this thread a few days ago about rollers
http://www.rib.net/forum/f50/inflata...ers-67455.html

[Max...]

Nice vid, that's a gorgeous gently shelving beach there. Round here by contrast it's all 20 deg of shingle and stone and banks of it too. Where I can almost single handedly pull the boat, engine, 20kg Pelicase of gear, 20 kg of fuel etc up a concrete slipway doing it on the beach over that terrain means taking everything up and down separately and at the end of a day a knackered back!

+ a sea like that we see maybe one launch a year - normally without fail a 3/4 SW blowing.

[blootac]

Yeah Oxwich is a stunning, safe beach. At low tide it can be a long way to walk though!

[fastasfox]

When it comes to a beach launch and don`t think you can avoid getting a bit wet. The wheels will make it easier getting to the sea but wont stop you getting damp. Last year we took to sea for the first time in Cornwall,we launched three times in total. We launched on calm days but even when you have next to no wind there will always be small rollers.It is those little buggers that get you wet if you faff around. 1st launch we did lots of faffing and we got pretty wet 2nd launch we got a little less wet but the towels and the rest of our gear got soaked but we soon dried them out on the rocks of the bay we went to.The 3rd launch I went alone (My wife and son were not keen on getting wet again) I put all my gear in a waterproof box, put better shoes on instead of flip flops and I did not hang around.I didn't get wet above my knees, all in all a successful launch. This year we will all be wearing better gear and we will be better set up plus we have popped our launch cherry so we now know what to expect. Best of British to you mate.

[Neuner]

We have a 4.7m boat with a 20hp 4 stroke. We reluctantly put on the grey plastic transom wheels you see in searches. Since the angle they lock into placed isn't straight down but instead slightly back, they do not help with the leverage of the engine at all. With that, my wife and I were worried about how we were going to launch this heavy thing. Both of us quickly tired picking up the front and trying to move it around with only the tank and engine loaded.

After searching for front launch dollys, I got an idea. We had purchased lifting straps for the many times we have moved and I wondered how they would work with the boat. I used one end, wrapped it around a handle that is directly in front of the boat and with the straps on my shoulders, I stood up. It was so easy. I smiled as my wife asked if it had worked. To try it out, I decided to move the boat loaded up and down our steep driveway. Again, easy and simple and I did it by myself. I'm not a big guy. I was just walking without even my hands touching the boat. To pull it back up, I took the harness off, turned around and faced away from the boat. I then pulled it back up the drive. We were excited to figure out this solution. As long as you drop down and get back up vertically, this method uses the strength in your legs and not your arms and back. I know that better wheels would have made this easier yet.

We had struggled before with carrying the engine. It wasn't the weight so much as the awkwardness. I again looped mine at the top end of the engine and my wife looped her's around the prop area. We easily moved it around quite a few times without breaking a sweat.

I know the beach and gravel will be so much different but with her help pushing on the back I think we can do it with no problems.

I've attached advertisement pics of the straps we used. They are cheap and yes, it's as simple as they make it look. We've moved very heavy furniture around this way up and down difficult steps just the same.

[fastasfox]

Great idea,you should sell them for a living you would make a great salesman.
Your right by the way it`s often not the weight that makes things hard to carry but it`s bulk and how you manage to get a grip on it.

[Neuner]

Originally Posted by fastasfox

Great idea,you should sell them for a living you would make a great salesman.

At $20, there isn't enough profit to make it worthwhile...

In the US, I'm finding SIB accessories to be much less popular which is frustrating. Trying to register our boat was also daunting. The agency thought I was trying to license a kids blow up boat.

[fastasfox]

Originally Posted by paddlers

We beach launch all the time with our Honwave 3.5 ally floor but we don't mind getting wet. The only way to get in a boat dry is from a pontoon or wear waders but if there's any sort of swell/waves chances are you'll still get damp...
I get the family in first leaving the launch wheels down but the boat floating then push it out a bit getting my nads wet in my shorts then clamber in. At this point one of the kids starts rowing out whilst I faff on with the engine. Once it's ticking over I lift the wheels up and off we goAttachment 104936

You may need to translate the word NADS for our American cousins

[fastasfox]

Do you have to register your Sibs by law in the US?

[Neuner]

Originally Posted by fastasfox

You may need to translate the word NADS for our American cousins

Nope, commonly used.


Yes, you have to register in the U.S. per the states requirements. Some require Coast Guard registration as well depending on the usage. Texas appears to have some of the most strict. Since I bought mine from a place in Canada, the paperwork was excessive.

[apshutt]

These straps in Britain are called "forearm forklifts" they are good ,)