Boat Retrieval at Boat Launch

[kaneboats]

The nice thing about having a black truck is that I can see the bow hook in the reflection of the tailgate so I know when I'm centered and how close I am.

I love it! I'm going to put a shiny black stripe across the back of the hatch on the Suburban.

[viking]

Just drive mine onto the trailer - run up to the bow and lean over and hook the winch up the bow hook and snug it down. And the wife pulls us out! Launching is the same but reverse order This way nobody has to get out and get wet and boat is all loaded and ready to go at launch

As for centering the back of the boat. I heard a good tip in this forum last year about attaching bungee cords to the guidepoles. I used my "stretch-n-slide" (http://www.overtons.com/modperl/prod...1&merchID=4006) dock lines and worked perfectly.

[moombabound]

Sounds like there's no one-size-fits-all. Depends entirely on the steepness of the ramp. As Jester points out, gunning the throttle to get it on the trailer at a shallow ramp causes movement of the lake bottom and the next guy dings his prop. I think it's a macho/pride thing for some, to nail that loading perfectly; gunning it hard the last 4 feet. Please people; be considerate. I've dinged twice: Once at my lake; once at an extremely popular lake/ramp in B.C. So I do two things now:
1. Leave the front of the fenders visible. Makes much better visual alignment than submersing them.
2. Align the boat as best as possible, with very slow momentum, then disengage to neutral once the nose is close to the trailer. However far onto the trailer the boat ends up is far enough. Winch it the rest of the way on.

[cab13367]

Align the boat as best as possible, with very slow momentum, then disengage to neutral once the nose is close to the trailer. However far onto the trailer the boat ends up is far enough. Winch it the rest of the way on.

That is exactly what I do.

Also, I am a one man show - I back the trailer down, then my wife picks me up at the dock and I drive the boat on the trailer. I then step over the bow and while stepping on the trailer tongue, winch the boat the rest of the way in. I then open the cargo hatch of the Durango, step inside, close the hatch and walk up to the driver's seat and drive away so I never get my feet wet. I'm sure I get some curious stares from others

[KT Mobius]

I take the boat off the trailer, just becouse my wife isnt confident in backing up. However, she puts the boat on with no problems. The last time she stopped about three inches from the winch and then I backed down a couple more inches, she slowly powered up, leaned over the bow secured the boat and we were off... I didnt even get my feet wet. She use to stop approximately 4 inches from the winch and then I would secure and winch, but I think I like our new technique better. Sometimes she comes in a little hot/fast and hits the guide post harder than I like, but no dammage yet.

Honestly Im thinking about getting a boat buddy, but Im kind of on the fence, due to the fact I have also heard a lot of negative comments... Any opinions?

[jester]

That is exactly what I do.

Also, I am a one man show - I back the trailer down, then my wife picks me up at the dock and I drive the boat on the trailer. I then step over the bow and while stepping on the trailer tongue, winch the boat the rest of the way in. I then open the cargo hatch of the Durango, step inside, close the hatch and walk up to the driver's seat and drive away so I never get my feet wet. I'm sure I get some curious stares from others

It is great to be a one man show. You do what I do so i will not stare at you too much. The funny thing is you are prob faster then most two or five man crews on getting in and out of the boat ramp.

[moombabound]

That is exactly what I do.

Also, I am a one man show - I back the trailer down, then my wife picks me up at the dock and I drive the boat on the trailer. I then step over the bow and while stepping on the trailer tongue, winch the boat the rest of the way in. I then open the cargo hatch of the Durango, step inside, close the hatch and walk up to the driver's seat and drive away so I never get my feet wet. I'm sure I get some curious stares from others

Too cooincidental! Exactly what I do. Keeps a guy nimble having to ramble up to the driver's seat via the rear hatch.

KT, I bought a boat buddy when I first got the boat, 'cause sure seemed like the cat's meow, but I realized the drawback (see my post) to gunning it (at my particular ramp), and returned it prior to using.

[phospher]

Yep, I am definitely not a fan of power loaders. They stir up the launch so that it's all muck and they ruin the launch. Plus, most people tend to miss sometimes or not have the trailer at the correct depth causing damage to your boat. The one and only blemish on my boat was from the previous owner power loading and hitting the nose of the bow (rub rail) on the winch. It cut a big gash into the rub rail but luckily didn't damage the gel coat. If your trying to use the winch and you have to give your boat gas to get it onto the trailer then the trailer is not deep enough. We push are boat onto the trailer then winch it up. Takes 1 minute.

[JesseC]

I never have centering issues at all floating on. Once hooked up i sit on the sunpad and hold the guide pole while she pulls us out and it self centers every time without fail as i know exactly how far to hold off.

I have second vote on this method. It is EXACTLY how we load ours, I do not like power loading, I prefer the slow gentle float on. My bunks on my 02 trailer still look brand new!!

[Tyger]

I almost always power the boat on, but everything depends on the circumstances. Steepness and composition of the ramp, wind, current and wake thrown up by other boats can all make it harder to load either way.

Until you are totally comfortable with your boat, winching is definitely safer. My sister-in-law was having real trouble loading an I/O on a river with a particularly fast current. She gunned it at the wrong moment and put the boat up sideways on the trailer, creasing one fender on the trailer and scraping off some gel coat on the boat. Inboards are even harder to steer, so it takes a lot of practice.

To all you haters: just because you power on doesn't mean you are going max throttle for 10 seconds. I line up the boat and drift in, then nudge the throttle to push the last bit onto the trailer and engage the boat buddy. When we unload we stop just before the winch is over the water, my buddy/driver unhooks us, backs in the rest of the way and does a little short stop, easing the boat off the trailer. He's already pulling out before I even start the motor.

All launches are going to develop a mound or ridge behind the ramp. Most places will dredge it out every few years. This happens because of power loading *and* unloading and it's inevitable. If you feel more comfortable winching that's totally fine: it's your very expensive toy and you want to take care of it. But don't condemn power loading simply because some people don't know how to do it.