loading on trailer at low tide

603doug · 10 January 2008, 23:39

Tried to search but did not find answer. The launch we use has a very gradual slope so at low tide it is difficult to get the trailer low enough in the water to float the rib on. I do not like driving my truck into the salt and causing brake issues later. The chimes catch on the rollers as we pull the boat onto the trailer, after the rib is half way on it will settle and roll on fine. I tried repositioning the roller brackets but they are where they need to be when the rib is on all the way. Looked at different rollers on line but all the wobble roller look the same. Any one have a suggestions other than find a different launch (this one is 30 min. from my house, next closest is a dickens in the summer with traffic)

Limey Linda · 11 January 2008, 00:50

Get an extension bar for your trailer; should solve your problem.

Biggles · 11 January 2008, 01:06

I do this every time I launch and retrieve. I use lots of rope so I can push the trailer in the water far enough to get the boat on the trailer. Then I attach a long rope so I can pull it out far enough to get it hitched up without getting the car wet.
It takes two to launch and its a pain, but I use sheltered water with a pontoon to tie on to, so compared to nearby launch sites its not too bad.

603doug · 11 January 2008, 01:48

I have consider an extension bar but would need to be 15 ft long when the tide is low(we have 7 to 8 ft tides) we have launched a friend sail boat with the rope method and you are right it takes 2. I dive alot solo and if I screw up (3rd fastest navigable river current in the world) I could never swim faster enough to catch the darn thing. It is only a problem 1 hr before and after low tide and I alway seem to be coming back then
I have a machine shop so i might be able to modify the extension bar, I will give it more thought
thanks

Limey Linda · 11 January 2008, 02:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by 603doug

I have consider an extension bar but would need to be 15 ft long when the tide is low(we have 7 to 8 ft tides) we have launched a friend sail boat with the rope method and you are right it takes 2. I dive alot solo and if I screw up (3rd fastest navigable river current in the world) I could never swim faster enough to catch the darn thing. It is only a problem 1 hr before and after low tide and I alway seem to be coming back then
I have a machine shop so i might be able to modify the extension bar, I will give it more thought
thanks

Wow, that must be a really shallow ramp. Why would you need to swim after the Rib, surely you have it tied on when you launch/recover. Sounds like you need to use the rope methodwhich can be done slo if you are careful, however it does take some extra time.

codprawn · 11 January 2008, 02:51

We have 45' tides around here and people manage ok though I wouldn't fancy it on a flat beach. Here you can see what I mean - the cars and trailers are the dots you can see right out by the water!!!

The best extension pole I ever saw was made from an old scaffolding tube. It was rigged under the trailer and just pulled out like a telescopic aerial - brilliant.

It is usually not a good idea to float a boat onto a trailer - they are better driven/winched on so the rollers do their job.

Do you have keel rollers as well?

SeaSkills · 11 January 2008, 05:41

We have a similar problem here - at low springs it's not just flat, but soft too. Nightmare sometimes, and every year we get at least one tow vehicle needing to be rescued because they've got too close to the water. One of the commercial operators bought an old tractor to launch his boat and that works well (but he doesn't have any distance to trail it to and from the launch site). The only reliable and effective method for the rest of us is the long rope method. An extension bar would be OK at some stages of the tide but just not long enough at LW. The rope works every time. If I could afford one I'd have a winch on the LandRover to pull the trailer out of the water - maybe one for the future.

If money isn't a showstopper, have you seen the various ways of powering your trailer so that you can drive it in and out of the water without the car attached?

Matt · 11 January 2008, 07:38

If money isn't a showstopper, a brand new 4wd tractor from china costs under 3300 quid inc shipping (+vat).

memo · 11 January 2008, 08:07

I always launch my boat from the beach as we don't have any slipways nearby. My boat is reasonably smaller than yours but the rope method works always fine! I also dive usually solo and i know how exhausting to control the boat on your own just before a good day dive

I usually put my anchor down on sand and let enough rope for the boat to play around untill i pull the trailer somewhere safe.

BogMonster · 11 January 2008, 14:55

Question for all you chaps that use the long rope method - what keeps the nose of the trailer off the ground? The jockey wheels I have seen (and the one on my trailer is fairly strong) are nowhere near man enough to take the sideways strain of rolling along like that, they'd bend over and/or break off.

Somebody here who uses the method has an old Land Rover wheel hub welded onto the side of the trailer for "roller launching" but I just wondered what others use?

codprawn · 11 January 2008, 15:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by BogMonster

Question for all you chaps that use the long rope method - what keeps the nose of the trailer off the ground? The jockey wheels I have seen (and the one on my trailer is fairly strong) are nowhere near man enough to take the sideways strain of rolling along like that, they'd bend over and/or break off.

Somebody here who uses the method has an old Land Rover wheel hub welded onto the side of the trailer for "roller launching" but I just wondered what others use?

I have always wondered that as well...........

memo · 11 January 2008, 15:05

I just pull. The little guiding wheel usually digs in sand and makes a trail.

Biggles · 11 January 2008, 15:28

No problem with the jockey wheel. Its quite a sturdy one with a pneaumatic tyre so does the job well.

I've seen these as cheap as £18 at boat jumbles but they go quick at that price.

codprawn · 11 January 2008, 15:32

I suppose it's down to loading - the less nose weight the better!!!

SeaSkills · 11 January 2008, 16:43

I keep the nose weight right down - which also helps to launch (just lift the front of the trailer and the boat rolls down .. none of that hard pushing stuff for me!), and I use the biggest pneumatic jockey wheel I can get. Try to keep the pull straight, but I still go through several jockey wheels over a season.

yoyo · 11 January 2008, 18:00

For low tide shallow beach retrievals I use a rope in conjunction with the adjustable launching wheel bogey that I made. It works really well.

The wheels can be removed in 20 seconds as they are fixed to the axels with "R" clips. I leave them on permenantly tho as they dont get in the way of anything.

BogMonster · 11 January 2008, 18:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by yoyo

For low tide shallow beach retrievals I use a rope in conjunction with the adjustable launching wheel bogey that I made. It works really well.

That looks like a good system

My trailer (home made by first owner of the boat) has quite a cunning system where the spine of the trailer which the keel sits on is a bit of box section steel about 100mm square which runs the full length of the trailer. The towing eye attaches to another slightly smaller piece which slides inside the outer "spine" so you can actually extend it by about six feet or so by taking out two bolts, pulling the middle out and popping them back into a different set of holes. Trouble is as the noseweight is about 300kg I think it would be almost impossible to do it with the boat on the trailer without uncoupling so I have never tried it... I don't usually have trouble launching and recovering at most states of the tide so it is a "round tuit" job

Limey Linda · 11 January 2008, 18:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by BogMonster

That looks like a good system

My trailer (home made by first owner of the boat) has quite a cunning system where the spine of the trailer which the keel sits on is a bit of box section steel about 100mm square which runs the full length of the trailer. The towing eye attaches to another slightly smaller piece which slides inside the outer "spine" so you can actually extend it by about six feet or so by taking out two bolts, pulling the middle out and popping them back into a different set of holes. Trouble is as the noseweight is about 300kg I think it would be almost impossible to do it with the boat on the trailer without uncoupling so I have never tried it... I don't usually have trouble launching and recovering at most states of the tide so it is a "round tuit" job

Hi Steven
300kg noseweight is far too much, or was that a typo.?

603doug · 11 January 2008, 19:23

I was looking at my trailer at making a telescoping extension, it is box steel and would be easy to make. Only thing one would want to remove it occasionally so salt would not seize it in place. I was joking about losing the boat with the rope method But the biggest problems is the chimes catch the rollers when you are winching the rib on. Do they make a convexed roller that the edge of the chime would roll up and on. The rollers are where they need to be for travel. Boston Boat show is this weekend so I going down to check because I have not found any online

codprawn · 11 January 2008, 19:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by yoyo

For low tide shallow beach retrievals I use a rope in conjunction with the adjustable launching wheel bogey that I made. It works really well.

The wheels can be removed in 20 seconds as they are fixed to the axels with "R" clips. I leave them on permenantly tho as they dont get in the way of anything.

Awesome idea!!!