"Boater" wrote in message
...

The question isn't stupid, especially for a newbie.

If you have a roller trailer, which I suspect you do not, the boat will
roll off the trailer into the water, assuming any sort of incline on the
boat ramp. Make sure you keep the boat attacked to the trailer until you
want it to roll off!

Bunk trailer requires you to back down the ramp far enough for the stern
of the boat to float free. Once it does, you usually can push a light boat
off the trailer with an oar or boathook at the bow.

Thanks. I didn't know there were roller trailers and bunk trailers. So, I
just did an Internet search about the two and found some good information,
including a forum where people were comparing the pros and cons of each one.

I'll try the idea of using an oar or boathook to push the boat off the
trailer instead of standing in the water and pushing it off. I'll bet that
will work.