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A question about boat weight and displacement
Sandy wrote:
How do you get the boat back on the trailer and then get the trailer back on the hitch ball? You basically reverse the process... The trick is that the trailer needs to be designed with this use in mind. It also helps if the ramp flattens out at the top so you don't have to block the trailer wheels while on the ramp. To retrieve the boat, you launch the empty trailer attached to the rope, until it sinks out of sight (as when you lauched the boat)... ideally you have attached some floats that rise and serve as a guide, letting you know where the trailer is when you inch the boat forward. Some trailers have a tall (8 ft) step ladder close to the hitch, and this portion projects out of the water. Also, all trailers will need two guide rails to help center the keel onto the cradle. Once the boat is centered over the trailer, you attach a rope to the bow and attach it to your towing rope. You don't attach the bow rope to the towing vehicle because you want some play as the bow will tend to rise as the keel settles on the cradle when you pull the boat out. You therefore have two ropes, one attached from the towing vehicle to the trailer and a second rope attached from the bow of the boat to the trailer towing rope at about the 3/4 point. You then tow the ensemble up the ramp and onto the flat portion at the top of the ramp. At this point you are free to block the wheels, remove the ropes, and attach the trailer back on the ball. One of the things that makes this whole operation work is having a third wheel at the hitch end of the trailer. The cheap hard plastic (small diameter) wheels work OK for very light boats, but for heavier keel boats you will want a real inflatable (large diameter) tire which you can raise and rotate out of the way when the hitch is back on the ball. Bob Whitaker "Free Spirit" On 2 Apr 2004 22:32:12 -0800, (Bob Whitaker) wrote: [snip] As mentioned by other posts, you need to make sure the ramp at your destination can handle the boat. With boats this size, you can not "back up" your car until the boat floats. Instead, you need to launch in several steps. First you back up the tow vehicle until it can't go any further. At this point your trailer is mostly under water (but the water is probably just barely touching the stern of the boat). Then you attach a long (strong) rope to the trailer and to your tow vehicle. Then you lift the ball off the hitch, and you let the trailer keep on rolling down the ramp... the trailer will move rather slowly because it started out partially submerged... Eventually the trailer will be completely submerged, and the boat will float off... then you pull the trailer out of the water with the rope. It is not uncommon to need about 30 feet of rope to get the boat to float off. Needless to say, you need to make sure the ramp is long enough for this maneuver. [snip] How do you get the boat back on the trailer and then get the trailer back on the hitch ball? |
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