Recovering

[Chopppywaters]

Hey everytime i try to put my boat back on the trailer from the water i always end up getting the boat slanted or not on the keel rollers. Anyone have any tips for getting the boat on the trailer correctly?

[Biggles]

I find that not putting the trailer in the water too far and using the winch to pull it on to the rollers under pressure seems to get the best results.

[Chopppywaters]

hm..so how far do i drive the boat up?

[Nos4r2]

you don't. You get your feet wet and do it by hand.

[Chopppywaters]

lol i guess that sounds right

[Alex Brown]

You don't have to get your feet wet provided you plan ahead first....
I normally put the hook at least half way down the trailer before putting the bow of the boat onto the first set of rollers, hook up, turn off engine, and then very carefully climb up the trailer to the winch. One day it'll catch me out and I'll get wet, but for now, it works just nicely

Try and make sure any weight you have on board is central and the boat is level before winching - if it's slightly out, the boat will lean over as its being winched up.

-Alex

[Milan]

Originally Posted by Alex Brown

You don't have to get your feet wet provided you plan ahead first....
I normally put the hook at least half way down the trailer before putting the bow of the boat onto the first set of rollers, hook up, turn off engine, and then very carefully climb up the trailer to the winch. One day it'll catch me out and I'll get wet, but for now, it works just nicely

Try and make sure any weight you have on board is central and the boat is level before winching - if it's slightly out, the boat will lean over as its being winched up.

-Alex

what happens when you get a cross wind blowing the boat or a current pulling it

[geoff]

Try clicking on the attachments. They should run little animated clips to show how its done.

[Alex Brown]

I like those animated gifs Geoff - great

I find that once the bow of the boat is inbetween the rollers at the back of the trailer, it won't go anywhere unless you pop the engine back into neutral again. It does come down to timing, sometimes I can have maybe 3 or 4 attempts before being happy that the boat is going to go straight into the exact location without damaging the hull on another part of the trailer. Be prepared to go into reverse at a moments notice.

-Alex

[myndit]

Whilst waiting for my ice cream in Ryde the other day, I saw a great display of boatmanship by a hardboat driver.

Went a bit like this:

Arrive at waiting pontoon, tie up and bring car and trailer down slip
Position trailer EXACTLY at the correct height above water.
Jump back on boat, pilot up to trailer.
When just in the correct position, blip the power and drive the boat up on to the waiting trailer using the engine and inertia.
The skipper then jumped out (dry land) hooked on and wound in the last 20mm by hand.

Perfect, brave and slightly foolish!

Doug