That Horrible Sound....

[Daibheid]

Originally Posted by Nick Hearne

What happens when you revers the trailer?
In the uk you have auto revers which means the brakes will not work going backwards!

They do work in reverse but not as sharply as forward and a rig can run backward a bit before the autoreverse mechanism allows the brakes bite. The autoreverse mechanism on most trailers (in Europe - the US often use electric relays) prevents the leading brake-shoe from self actuating by pulling it back slightly from the brake drum in reverse.

I had a wire rope snap while helping recover a friends RIB last week. Right after I made the safety tie down fast I went for another notch on the winch to snug it against the bow stop while the trailer was still in the water. It just snapped without warning. I say without warning but it was rusty like most winch wires are after the first dip in saltwater. If we'd pulled up the slip way wihtotu a bow safety a slight jerk would probably have snapped teh able and sent the RIB careering down the slipway.
If you have a wire rope on a winch I'd swop for a strap because even if it never snaps, wire rarely spools on evenly and you can wind up with the rope wedged immobile into the winch drum at the worst possible moment. It's also a lot more destructive than a strap if it breaks under load.

One thing I'd also emphasis after recovery is to tie down the bow at least to teh drawbar but really to use a check strap from the bow back along the trailer. Both measures reduce the chance of the boat riding over the back of your car in a crash stop. I'm shocked at how often I see boats unsecured at the front other than the winch or where the bow is tied down it's not prevented from going forward if the winch or indeed its post gives. Keep in mind that most tiedowns at the transom are already trying to force the boat up and over the winch post even without heavy braking.

[jezza2011]

hey dry run you must have seen me launch at camber with one hand and a rope :-)

you do see some funny sights. people who just cant reverse for toffee.

and the dive clubs using 10 people to launct a 5.5 mtr rib with the trailer in the water up the the hitch :-)

I have had comments when I tip up on my tod and back straight down the slip and launch single handed.

one group got quite upset with me and had a go for launching on my own and tying her up while i parked leaving her unattended!!! muppets

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by Poly

At least they hadn't screwed deck fittings through the hull and into the bunks though, eh Mollers!

NOoooo... Surely not....It.. Ca.....
Saves the need for Ratchet straps I spose

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by Maximus

NOoooo... Surely not....It.. Ca.....
Saves the need for Ratchet straps I spose

Ratchet straps are preferable if you want to leave the trailer on the slip.

It was my 1st boat that didn't belong to the 'Old Man' and a long time ago.

[BogMonster]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

After having webbing straps fail on me in the past, I now have a 10mm Dyneema (Kevlar) rope, spliced onto a stainless 3/4 tonne hook. I have a safety chain fastened to the trailer which goes to the bow eye. The winch is braked so I can control the boat once it starts rolling off. The winch handle is removable to stop broken arms & smashed teeth if it all goes tits up. Here's the drill:-
Reverse to bottom of slip (in low box)
Take weight off safety chain with winch & remove safety chain.
Remove winch handle
Give boat a shove & control descent using winch brake.
Recovery is a reversal, I always make sure the safety chain is attached to the eye before pulling up the slip.

Once the boat is off the slip, it's secured to the trailer with 3 ratchet straps, 2 at the stern through the towing eyes & 1 at the bow through the bow eye. The safety chain & winch strap play no part in holding the boat down. If all the straps failed or some numpty forgot to put them onthe safety chain would allow the boat to roll about 50mm back off the trailer & then stop it.

I also use Dyneema on my winch, binned the strap after using it a few times and it was starting to fray.

I have the bow eye tied down to the main trailer frame with several turns of 10mm rope up and down either side of a crossmember, because I don't trust 2 now slightly rusty U bolts holding the winch post much more than I trust a plastic strap!

And of course ratchet straps at the stern for anything other than a short trip.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by BogMonster

I don't trust 2 now slightly rusty U bolts holding the winch post much more than I trust a plastic strap!

Whilst recovering the boat up a steepish slip in Normandy a couple of years ago, the "U" bolts holding the winch post to the trailer snapped, the post & winch nearly took my feckin head off as the whole lot including the boat obeyed Newton & headed south. In hindsight, I had overtightened the "U" bolts & they had cracked in the corners on the bends. I replaced them with something more substantial. The trailer was 2 years old at that point & like new, be warned

[BogMonster]

I am already waiting for a quote for replacement bits including several of the U bolts!

Which reminds me, time for a PM...

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by BogMonster

I am already waiting for a quote for replacement bits including several of the U bolts!

Which reminds me, time for a PM...

Steve, PM sent.

[mick]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

Whilst recovering the boat up a steepish slip in Normandy a couple of years ago, the "U" bolts holding the winch post to the trailer snapped, the post & winch nearly took my feckin head off as the whole lot including the boat obeyed Newton & headed south. In hindsight, I had overtightened the "U" bolts & they had cracked in the corners on the bends. I replaced them with something more substantial. The trailer was 2 years old at that point & like new, be warned

We now need to know what you replaced them with and pics would be useful as well

[lukewhiting]

Good Friday goes wrong for boat owner - YouTube definatly wouldnt wanna be this bloke!

[wolfie]

and another one a couple of weeks ago in Brixham, couple of rib's turned up, started to unstrap etc in the correct area, meanwhile another 5m Rib turned up, decided not to wait in line, swung round and reversed straight to water, man / wife and kids jumped out, took off the strap going OVER the tubes then backed down last 4 foot, pushed rib off, bloke jumps in, spends next 10 mins swearing and puffing trying to start engine, mean while other Ribs now ready to go in, but car'nt due to him blocking the launch bit, finally starts and revs the b****cks out of it, loads wife and kids , says go play while i move car, they get 20 yrds and engine cuts out, he than starts yelling how to start, luckily it does after 2 mins and off they tootle, he moves car and i wandered off. NEXT time i see it, i am walking down to my dinghy and they come round the corner in it, and decide to use mine as a fender and approach at a fair rate of knots, i shoot down and ask what the hell ? to his reply, engine wont run at tickover so i have upped the revs to 3000 rpm so it runs and we can use it, i obviously point out that it is dangerous, and next time do not use my dinghy as a way to stop, a few expletives were used accordingley. A few days pass and down i go again and the bloke next to me says " better check yours, that rib has been coming and going and they keep coming in too fast and ram yours, " i left a message on it saying that if you do it again, or are seen to do it then you might develop a few punctures, and i suggest you fix your engine. funnily enough the bloody thing did not move for the best part of the next two weeks.

And a day after, saw some one recover who had NOT locked the trailer onto the hitch correctly, managed to pull said RIB and trailer up the slip a bit, tie it down, fit board and then started to drive up slip, got near top, trailer jumped off and ran 25 feet back down into water and half submerged and floated off into the RNLI lifeboat, all for the sake of rushing around.

[Andy B]

Originally Posted by whisper

...Of a rib sliding down the slipway on its hull and one tube as the family in it hold on for dear life and the driver can only watch in the rear view mirror as it all happens in a split second....

Yep, that's what I saw the other day when I was on the water 50 yards from the slip.

I've seen so many risks being taken on slipways now and I've had enough and it has to be said:

1, Always use a safety chain that can take the weight of your rib.

2, Never stand behind a boat on the slipway.

3, Never disconnect the boat from the trailer until it's safely in the water.

Please add more, I'm sure there's loads more to be said.

Go on have a rant...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_wjWD60YRg&feature=g-vrec

[whisper]

How about this:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=plpp&v=kTYCLGVPzUc

[lukewhiting]

or this

Launching a Warrior fishing boat the quick way - YouTube

[mister p]

Originally Posted by Andy B

[whisper]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ISRVScQvwSw

[EnglishLes]

Originally Posted by whisper

How on earth do they recover the boat? (Which looks more like a skip anyway!)

[HughN]

Originally Posted by EnglishLes

How on earth do they recover the boat? (Which looks more like a skip anyway!)

Is that the river in 'Deliverance'?!