Drive on/off or Float on/off??

[AusFire]

Hey Guys,

Interested to know how you guys in the States load and unload your boats of your trailers. Not that location should be any difference, lol.

Currently I back mine in until the top front part of the trailer guards are just above water. Problem is it always seems to need a bit of throttle to get it loose enough to slide off.:confused: I have read on other posts here that too much throttle will kick the boat to the right and maybe damage the prop.

I have always been mindful of that as the boat always tends to drift right after leaving trailer.

When retrieving my 07 Outback, i just sink the guards a bit deeper so guards just under and drive it up nice and steady, always making sure it is nice and straight prior to throttle use. I then just hook the winch strap up and pull last 1- 2 ft.

[KG's Supra24]

I guess I do a combination when launching. I have someone pretty much back in until they see I've gone. I start it up once im deep enough and give it a little throttle to get back.

Loading ... I powerload, is that what its called? I use the throttle to get me up and into the boat buddy and then someone attaches the winch hook. It doesn't take much throttle with fenders just under the water.

[mmandley]

We back the boat down till i see the rear end float up, then start the engine, everything looks good i unhook the nose. Then i roll the truck back a little and hit the brakes, this launches the boat right off the trailer.

Loading, i dunk the entire trailer in the lake, then pull out till the fenders are slightly under water, drive the boat on till its catching on the front bunks, hook the hook, have my driver add light throttle while i winch it up tight. Sit on the tailgate and give Claudia a wave and she pulls it out and up the ramp.

[lsvboombox]

Powerloading destroys ramps. Hate looking at tools with a rooster tail(mainly the outboard and i/o peeps) as the put their boat up.

I soak my bunks and then get some momentum. Once i stop i crank the rest of the way.

[rdlangston13]

I just drop it till if floats and when I release the winch is usually just floats off. I some times have to power on as in put in gear and let idle but I try to get deep enough that I don't have to work real hard to winch it up

[Hoopskier]

I am similar to what the others do;

Unloading/launching, with 2 people. I unhook the boat first. Vehicle driver backs down the ramp. When deep enough, have driver hit the brakes-boat float off and back with the momentum. Start boat engine. Boat driver finish backing off/out of the ramp area. Trailer pulled out and parked. Return to dock and pick up people.

Loading/recovery. dunk the entire trailer in the lake, then pull out till the fenders are slightly above the water, drive the boat on till its catching on the front bunks, hook the hook, have my driver add light throttle while i winch it up tight. Not 100% powerload but some.

Some people may give me a dirty look about power loading, but I can be in and out of the ramp area faster than most, even when working solo. Also have some ramp mannors- no parking in the drive area or the ramp.

[mmandley]

Im with you Hoop, except i like to start the boat before i let her off the trailer, incase something goes wrong.

As for loading i tried the float on method a few times, way our ramps are the trailer has to be so deep to allow a float on the rear doesnt sit right on the bunks, i also tried winching her on and i broke the strap to the winch. So little power and winch action works best for my application.

I powerloaded a couple times the first year but deceided thats to risky. Lucky all our ramps i have used are concrete and very long so if you do power load your not disturbing the lake.

[moombadaze]

pretty much the same as Mmandley

[jmb]

I drive off and back on to the trailer. Never had any problems. Prop has never hit the trailer.

[KG's Supra24]

I guess there are different levels of powerloading. I use light throttle but I do use "power".

I can understand how you broke a winch strap mike. There is no way I could winch my boat up. Plus the fact with the boatmate design I don't think it is physical possible to use the winch and clear the boat buddy.

Ramps around here are concrete as well

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[jpetty3023]

Broke the winch strap? How did you trailer the boat home?

[lsvboombox]

[QUOTE=KG's Supra24;174118]
Ramps around here are concrete as well

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Unless the ramps are super long powerloading with destroy concrete loading ramps. For those smeckles who load with crazy throttle.

[rdlangston13]

What is this boat buddy you speak of kyle??

[lsvboombox]

http://www.basspro.com/Boat-Buddy-Trailer-Accessory/product/1052/37204

I had the worst experience with a boat buddy on another boat. It was sucha pita to get the bOat to hook in. Not a fan.

[wolfeman131]

Boat buddy. Some love them, some hate them.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPage?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&&mode=article&objectID=28914&catID=&subcatID=0

[wolfeman131]

Ha! Looks like me & LSV were searching the web at the same time, but he got the drop on me!

[KG's Supra24]

You seem concerned with my light use of throttle to get onto the boat buddy.

I do not promote backing your trailer in until the wheels are half covered and then ramrodding the throttle to get the boat on. I am, however, ok with light use of throttle so you dont have to back the trailer up again to get the boat properly aligned on the trailer. I've seen both extremes.

Fwiw, our lake flucuates about 20ft per year and i've never found the end of the concrete.

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[KG's Supra24]

PS, I might be a little cranky due to tax season

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[lsvboombox]

You seem concerned with my light use of throttle

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Nope. If you read my post i said the smeckles who load with crazy throttle..

I live on a hydroelectric lake and the water Varies like yours. I couldnt see the end of the ramp either but this past year the slab was cracked and ramp suddenly drops a few extra feet quickly.

[wolfeman131]

PS, I might be a little cranky due to tax season

It's almost done! Celebrate with some suds & quit acting like a girl.

[deerfield]

With low profile Outback, float on/off. This is the only way I can ensure never taking a chunk of gelcoat from the bow accidentally smacking the winch. Trailer setup on my Nautique was completely different, allowing power on/off.

[KG's Supra24]

All good then, lol.

around here I seem to have the opposite problem of powerloading. I have the new boating couple with their new pontoon and trailer backed to deep who need 5 attempts.

I give the fisherman the award for most creative techniques as I have seen some impressive performances from single unloads/loads

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[Cigars n scotch]

I can understand how you broke a winch strap mike. There is no way I could winch my boat up. Plus the fact with the boatmate design I don't think it is physical possible to use the winch and clear the boat buddy.



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I use my winch everytime to load my boat into the boat buddy, never had an issue (though I do hate the boat buddy).

I do everything myself. River where I board has a current and i am a control freak. When unloading I just back in until the boat is floating, unhook, and move it down the dock (wife and friends do this part) so the next person can drop in. To load, I sink the bunks to get wet and the fenders almost covered and I get it centered and winch it up the last few feet.

Our ramps are a joke, poor design and cheap and there's a drop off on both sides but we have to deal. My friends and I with inboards can ONLY launch at high tide and load in between low and high. If its low tide you're waiting a few hrs more unless you want to tear off your prop or rudder. I wish we had a lake. There's nicer docks and launch area further south down the river but it's a ways out of the way.

My buddy who has a SANTE 210 drives off and on his trailer. Everyone's process is different I guess.

[mmandley]

Broke the winch strap? How did you trailer the boat home?

I was cranking her up, almost at the D ring when i herd it rip, and the boat when sliding off the trailer, that was the last time i float and winch up my boat.

To get her home i powerloaded the boat, then used the strap to tie and anchor knott on the D ring. It was a major bish cutting it off, then i had to replace the strap.

Odly enough the straps are only rated for 2500lbs or 5K lbs and the 5k wont fit in my winch. So this explains part of how it broke. The other part is my boat used to load crocked and caused the strap to rub the edge of the winch. Since then i had the bunks raised and aligned at the dealer and the problem has some what been fixed. The winch is still out of alignment but im planning on going with a Fulton to match the new jack i put on this year.

[KSmith]

Lauching I'll back the trailer down the ramp until the water is about at the tops of the trailer fenders. Unhook bow strap, jump in, start up and back boat off trailer, under power yes but not much.

Loading again I back the trailer down the ramp, dunk the bunks, pull forward so the water is again at the top sof the fenders, wife drives boat on at idle, cuts power once she passes the guide poles, I hook up the bow strap and winch it in. If there is a inch or so yet to go I have the wife give it a little throttle so I can get the last inch or two winched on tight. Otherwise when we pull out the boat will not be tight to the bow roller.

Our ramps are long concrete as well so not overly worried about what little power we are using. We certainly don't rooster tail or gun the engine.

[rdlangston13]

i was at the launch at the river today and i was waiting in line to back my buddies rig in to get his boat and these morons in front of me got in the middle of the ramp, stopped 3 feet from the water and then decided to put in the bilge plug, take off the transom straps, load all their gear ect ect. stuff that should be done in the parking lot, not the launch ramp. there were also some people loading the boat on the trailers who only backed in about 1/3 of their trailer and power loaded like crazy. doesnt make sense to me. i got all the way down in there and the boat basically floated to the roller and i winched it tight. the guide poles kept it centered and we were off...

[jpetty3023]

@Mike, sometimes my strap buckles over a bit and folds. I can usually let some out and push the bow around to align but sometimes not. I'm also looking to upgrade to the Fulton set up. Lots of plans for this summer, well see how much actually gets done. I just hope my strap never snaps, WOW

@David, You should have walked down the ramp and threw their truck in reverse for them! That would have learned 'em

[rdlangston13]

ill stash this away in my bag of tricks for the future. then i will stand off to the side and yell "Your truck is sinking!!!"

[bergermaister]

I've always power loaded and unloaded, (unless it's dangerously shallow) but very slowly and gracefully to the point where you'd hardly notice and I can be in and out faster than most. I push the front eyelet right up to the roller and leave it in gear idling, walk up and lay down over the front, hook the winch, crank it a few times until snug (I'm tall), kill the boat or have some one else do it. Climb in the truck and drive away. Whole operation from passing through the guide bunks to driving away can take as little as 30-45 seconds when all goes as planned.

I'm not in a big hurry, rather just like everyone else can't stand the guys dicking around clogging up the lanes or acting like it's the first time they've ever seen a boat being loaded or launched before.

[sandm]

I'm with mike m at loading/unloading. always make sure she starts up before giving the final "shove" with the truck and finish unloading. loading I float up to within a foot of the boat buddy and winch the rest of the way then drive out. once in a while it doesn't center on the trailer and is off by a few inches. a quick tug on the boat and it'll settle right down onto the bunks..

we have really long and wide concrete ramps so power loading here is not an issue. my cousin powerloaded his tige to the point that the boat was usually pushing the truck up the hill for the first few feet. not my preferred way, but he had the large "goalposts" at the front for the nose of the boat.

I will agree with the single fisherman statement. some of them are a real treat to watch. lots of years of learning and skill..

I'm pretty good at doing it myself. when we camp on long weekends, I usually take 1/2 day off and go up early thursday am by myself and set up camp. I can be from trailered to on the water underway than most families on weekends. nothing better than a nice quiet day at a campsite enjoying a beer before the weekend partying.. some think I'm crazy, but it sure is relaxing once or twice a year..

[Jet]

Yeah! Lets clear something up hear. Drive on trailer DOES NOT MEAN DRIVE ON @ 10 MPH!! I drive up to my trailer and stop, then drop it in gear and drive on at 1 mph, because I care and love my boat. I have seen friends (none on here) owners drive on at 6-10 mph. The trailer cant take that much abuse over a 5-10 yr period. And it hurts me to watch people tear up there own equipment. I cry a lil inside. Drive off no problem. Good thread!!

[jsly04XLV]

As the wife is still not comfortable driving the boat or trailer it's float on/off for me. She stands on dock with the rear dock line and i hang the front one off the board rack so she can reach it... it's working out for now. Maybe things will change with some practice and increased comfort.

[rdlangston13]

Yeah! Lets clear something up hear. Drive on trailer DOES NOT MEAN DRIVE ON @ 10 MPH!! I drive up to my trailer and stop, then drop it in gear and drive on at 1 mph, because I care and love my boat. I have seen friends (none on here) owners drive on at 6-10 mph. The trailer cant take that much abuse over a 5-10 yr period. And it hurts me to watch people tear up there own equipment. I cry a lil inside. Drive off no problem. Good thread!!

its not so much of an issue tearing up their own equipment as much as it is tearing up the ramp. on shallow ramps when people power on it erodes the lake bottom below the ramp and builds a big sand bar right before the ramps. also the eroded area at the bottom of the ramp can take away the support for the concrete ramps and over time cause the end of the ramp to collapse. we have a ramp by out lake house that is only in 4-5 feet of water and last year when the lake was a 1 foot low you could walk down to the bottom of the ramp and it was chest deep, then go down another 2 feet and it was knee deep and you were standing on a sand bar built by power loaders

[bzubke1]

When unloading we back in so half of the fenders are covered. start the boat up, check and make sure everything is good to go. Unhook the winch strap, put the boat in reverse but only at idle speed and let the truck roll back a couple feet then hit the brakes so it slides off real smooth. The ramp we mostly use is quite steep so when loading we have to be careful not to back the trailer in too far or the bow will go under the bow roller. From there we use as much throttle as needed to get the boat up all the way. Usually it is not much more than idle speed. When we use the boat launch at the lake instead of the river there is a sand/gravelbar like you describe from people power loading. At the river the ramp just cuts off and is about a 3 foot drop off of solid concrete so power loading isn't much of an issue as far as creating a sandbar.

[WaterBullDawg1980]

I guess I wasn't clear on what float on or off meant. I voted that I float on/off, but here is what I do....

Unloading the boat- Push it almost off the trailer and my wife cranks it up to make sure it starts with part of the nose still inbetween the guide poles and after it cranks she straightens things up and waits for me to park, then comes and gets me from the dock.

Loading the boat, wife gives it just enough throttle to make sure it is floating in between the two trailer guides and cuts it off as soon as the nose gets to the end of the trailer. She has mastered this so that 90% of the time the nose stops within 1 foot of the wench give or take. The times it has came in to fast, luckily she has my strong arm and back muscles to slow things down and show the on lookers that I am still the man. :cool: When we need to get in quick, I simply jump in the water, lift the LSV on my back and walk up the ramp like a BOSS.

[jester]

I am kind of the same process as Mike. It really depends on the ramp and how I load and unload. more or less I get lined up and give it a bit of power then when i stop depending on the spot i will give it a little more power or just crank.

[AusFire]

Thanks guys,

Some really different approaches to loading and unloading our Toys. It seems those of us that do use Drive on and off only use a small amount of throttle anyway. I think I just need to go back another foot to get the back end floating to allow mine to back off easier.

The ramps I use are all concrete so no dramas with the power loading. It gets a bit tricky on one of my ramps here, cross wind and cross tide. Bit of a knack doing that one, slow and steady wins the race for sure.

Which reminds of a quote I heard recently, " Go only as fast as you want to crash"!!

We have some real Numpties over here when it comes to boat ramp etiquette. Some people just don't give a rats when it comes to loading unloading. The ones who use 2 lanes for a little tinny drive me insane as well as the ones who hog the jetty whilst waiting for all their family to turn up, I politely tell them to move so everyone can get in and out. Mostly comes down to common sense and courtesy.

Cheers

[New Guy]

Man if you guys boated on the river that I am on you would "powerload" everytime. I want to see anybody float their boat on with a 5-6 mph cross current. Its not happening I have tried.