Basic Questions: Anchor Buddy, Unlaunching
 

I'm going to get an anchor buddy for my boat. That means I'm going to need
a long bow line. So, how long is long enough? I don't want to buy, or
store, more than I need, but I sure don't want to come up short either.

How far into the water is far enough with respect to backing the trailer
into the water? Do I wet the bunks then bring the trailer forward a little?
I want to minimize the stern floating about after winching the bow all the
way to the bow stop.

Thanks

Difficult to say not knowing your details. I drive onto the trailer so I
wet the bunks entirely then pull the trailer forward until about two feet of
the bunks are above the water when retriveing. Ramp angle, boat size,
windage, current, etc. can change things in a hurry.

IMO, you can do worse than to spend some time at the ramp watching others.
You can pretty much tell the more practiced owners by how well everything
works for them. If you copy them you should be off to a good start.

You'll find that practice makes perfect. I hope to get there some day.

Butch
"Bryan" wrote in message
...
I'm going to get an anchor buddy for my boat. That means I'm going to
need a long bow line. So, how long is long enough? I don't want to buy,
or store, more than I need, but I sure don't want to come up short either.

How far into the water is far enough with respect to backing the trailer
into the water? Do I wet the bunks then bring the trailer forward a
little? I want to minimize the stern floating about after winching the bow
all the way to the bow stop.

Thanks

To follow up on Butch's advice concerning practice, I would recommend
visiting the ramp on slow days so you can practice placing the boat on the
trailer numerous times, until you feel comfortable based upon current
conditions. It is hard to learn when you are rushing to get your boat on
the trailer and there is a long line of boats waiting for your ramp.


"Butch Davis" wrote in message
nk.net...
Difficult to say not knowing your details. I drive onto the trailer so I
wet the bunks entirely then pull the trailer forward until about two feet
of the bunks are above the water when retriveing. Ramp angle, boat size,
windage, current, etc. can change things in a hurry.

IMO, you can do worse than to spend some time at the ramp watching others.
You can pretty much tell the more practiced owners by how well everything
works for them. If you copy them you should be off to a good start.

You'll find that practice makes perfect. I hope to get there some day.

Butch
"Bryan" wrote in message
...
I'm going to get an anchor buddy for my boat. That means I'm going to
need a long bow line. So, how long is long enough? I don't want to buy,
or store, more than I need, but I sure don't want to come up short
either.

How far into the water is far enough with respect to backing the trailer
into the water? Do I wet the bunks then bring the trailer forward a
little? I want to minimize the stern floating about after winching the
bow all the way to the bow stop.

Thanks

I think you have the wrong name. Anchor Buddy is a bungee anchor line,
Allows you to drop an anchor, power to the shore, and get off the boat and
with a long bow line, let the boat slide back into deeper water. they work
good for about a year and then the large surgical tubing insides starts
breaking. Is the trailer catch a trailer buddy?

"Butch Davis" wrote in message
nk.net...
Difficult to say not knowing your details. I drive onto the trailer so I
wet the bunks entirely then pull the trailer forward until about two feet
of the bunks are above the water when retriveing. Ramp angle, boat size,
windage, current, etc. can change things in a hurry.

IMO, you can do worse than to spend some time at the ramp watching others.
You can pretty much tell the more practiced owners by how well everything
works for them. If you copy them you should be off to a good start.

You'll find that practice makes perfect. I hope to get there some day.

Butch
"Bryan" wrote in message
...
I'm going to get an anchor buddy for my boat. That means I'm going to
need a long bow line. So, how long is long enough? I don't want to buy,
or store, more than I need, but I sure don't want to come up short
either.

How far into the water is far enough with respect to backing the trailer
into the water? Do I wet the bunks then bring the trailer forward a
little? I want to minimize the stern floating about after winching the
bow all the way to the bow stop.

Thanks

"Bill McKee" wrote in message
link.net...
I think you have the wrong name. Anchor Buddy is a bungee anchor line,
Allows you to drop an anchor, power to the shore, and get off the boat and
with a long bow line, let the boat slide back into deeper water. they work
good for about a year and then the large surgical tubing insides starts
breaking. Is the trailer catch a trailer buddy?

"Butch Davis" wrote in message
nk.net...
Difficult to say not knowing your details. I drive onto the trailer so
I wet the bunks entirely then pull the trailer forward until about two
feet of the bunks are above the water when retriveing. Ramp angle, boat
size, windage, current, etc. can change things in a hurry.

IMO, you can do worse than to spend some time at the ramp watching
others. You can pretty much tell the more practiced owners by how well
everything works for them. If you copy them you should be off to a good
start.

You'll find that practice makes perfect. I hope to get there some day.

Butch
"Bryan" wrote in message
...
I'm going to get an anchor buddy for my boat. That means I'm going to
need a long bow line. So, how long is long enough? I don't want to
buy, or store, more than I need, but I sure don't want to come up short
either.

How far into the water is far enough with respect to backing the trailer
into the water? Do I wet the bunks then bring the trailer forward a
little? I want to minimize the stern floating about after winching the
bow all the way to the bow stop.

Thanks




I guess it wasn't clear that I was asking two different unrelated questions.
The first, the anchor buddy question, is about the bungee for my anchor. I
need to by a length of line to tie the bow to something on shore when I use
the anchor buddy. I have no idea how much line to buy. 100 ft? 150 ft?
200 ft? As I said, I don't want to buy or store more than I need but I
definitely don't want to come up short.

The other question has to do with the trailer.

I used to use the anchor buddy. You need two lines. One is a regular
anchor line.Tie it to the anchor. I used an 8# coated Mushroom anchor.
Then make a loop and hook the upper end of the anchor buddy to the line.
The space between the anchor and the loop is made long enough so the anchor
buddy can stretch and put a load on the anchor and pull the boat back out to
deeper water. Maybe 25' of stretch. Use the regular anchor line to
retrieve the anchor. Saves breaking the anchor buddy elastic. You will
need at least 50' of bow line. I have a couple of 25' lengths and I just
attach them as needed. The also work as mooring lines. There is rarely
something real close to the water, unless you bring your own post to attach
the bow line to. So you need enough line to get to a tree or a big rock.

"Bryan" wrote in message
m...

"Bill McKee" wrote in message
link.net...
I think you have the wrong name. Anchor Buddy is a bungee anchor line,
Allows you to drop an anchor, power to the shore, and get off the boat and
with a long bow line, let the boat slide back into deeper water. they
work good for about a year and then the large surgical tubing insides
starts breaking. Is the trailer catch a trailer buddy?

"Butch Davis" wrote in message
nk.net...
Difficult to say not knowing your details. I drive onto the trailer so
I wet the bunks entirely then pull the trailer forward until about two
feet of the bunks are above the water when retriveing. Ramp angle, boat
size, windage, current, etc. can change things in a hurry.

IMO, you can do worse than to spend some time at the ramp watching
others. You can pretty much tell the more practiced owners by how well
everything works for them. If you copy them you should be off to a good
start.

You'll find that practice makes perfect. I hope to get there some day.

Butch
"Bryan" wrote in message
...
I'm going to get an anchor buddy for my boat. That means I'm going to
need a long bow line. So, how long is long enough? I don't want to
buy, or store, more than I need, but I sure don't want to come up short
either.

How far into the water is far enough with respect to backing the
trailer into the water? Do I wet the bunks then bring the trailer
forward a little? I want to minimize the stern floating about after
winching the bow all the way to the bow stop.

Thanks




I guess it wasn't clear that I was asking two different unrelated
questions. The first, the anchor buddy question, is about the bungee for
my anchor. I need to by a length of line to tie the bow to something on
shore when I use the anchor buddy. I have no idea how much line to buy.
100 ft? 150 ft? 200 ft? As I said, I don't want to buy or store more
than I need but I definitely don't want to come up short.

The other question has to do with the trailer.

"Bill McKee" wrote in message
ink.net...
I used to use the anchor buddy. You need two lines. One is a regular
anchor line.Tie it to the anchor. I used an 8# coated Mushroom anchor.
Then make a loop and hook the upper end of the anchor buddy to the line.
The space between the anchor and the loop is made long enough so the anchor
buddy can stretch and put a load on the anchor and pull the boat back out
to deeper water. Maybe 25' of stretch. Use the regular anchor line to
retrieve the anchor. Saves breaking the anchor buddy elastic. You will
need at least 50' of bow line. I have a couple of 25' lengths and I just
attach them as needed. The also work as mooring lines. There is rarely
something real close to the water, unless you bring your own post to attach
the bow line to. So you need enough line to get to a tree or a big rock.

Speaking of attachment options, I was planning on bringing my leash/rope
tether. One of those screw in metal stakes that I use for tethering a horse
or dog.

Thanks for the description.

I guess I should really be asking, how far off the beach do I want my boat
to be pulled/bungeed back to?

"Bryan" wrote:

snip
Speaking of attachment options, I was planning on bringing my leash/rope
tether. One of those screw in metal stakes that I use for tethering a horse
or dog.

Thanks for the description.

I guess I should really be asking, how far off the beach do I want my boat
to be pulled/bungeed back to?


Instead of that, look at the screw in augers like they use for mobile
home tie downs. You can also get them in different lengths. I use a
12" one.
--
Jim Rusling
More or Less Retired
Mustang, OK
http://www.rusling.org

I use one of those screw in augers designed for a dog. OK to keep my boat at
the shore - we usually beach it. The auger means I don't have to constantly
check on the boat to make sure it hasn't drifted away. I don't know how much
I'd trust it if the boat wasn't at least partly beached. 2000 pounds of boat
can probably break it free.

"Jim Rusling" wrote in message
g...
"Bryan" wrote:

snip
Speaking of attachment options, I was planning on bringing my leash/rope
tether. One of those screw in metal stakes that I use for tethering a
horse
or dog.

Thanks for the description.

I guess I should really be asking, how far off the beach do I want my boat
to be pulled/bungeed back to?


Instead of that, look at the screw in augers like they use for mobile
home tie downs. You can also get them in different lengths. I use a
12" one.
--
Jim Rusling
More or Less Retired
Mustang, OK
http://www.rusling.org

"Bryan" wrote in message
m...

"Bill McKee" wrote in message
ink.net...
I used to use the anchor buddy. You need two lines. One is a regular
anchor line.Tie it to the anchor. I used an 8# coated Mushroom anchor.
Then make a loop and hook the upper end of the anchor buddy to the line.
The space between the anchor and the loop is made long enough so the
anchor buddy can stretch and put a load on the anchor and pull the boat
back out to deeper water. Maybe 25' of stretch. Use the regular anchor
line to retrieve the anchor. Saves breaking the anchor buddy elastic.
You will need at least 50' of bow line. I have a couple of 25' lengths
and I just attach them as needed. The also work as mooring lines. There
is rarely something real close to the water, unless you bring your own
post to attach the bow line to. So you need enough line to get to a tree
or a big rock.

Speaking of attachment options, I was planning on bringing my leash/rope
tether. One of those screw in metal stakes that I use for tethering a
horse or dog.

Thanks for the description.

I guess I should really be asking, how far off the beach do I want my boat
to be pulled/bungeed back to?




So it is not hitting bottom. Depends on the beach. I used mine around big
rock beaches at a lake we like. Sand or peagravel, I just run the boat up
on the beach. But my boat is an almost 1/4" thick aluminum boat. Just do
not like it swinging around near the rocks and scratching the upper painted
part of the sides.