Thanks. Yes, I back the trailer down into the water to where a cross
brace traverses the front of the "A-frame" and at this point, the stern
of the boat floats and I can then push it off the trailer. For
retrieval, I probably should back the trailer down a few more inches and
see what happens

For retrieving, there is a trade-off between getting the boat aligned on the bunks
(trailer higher out of the water) and not having much to winch up (trailer lower in
the water). It is difficult to get this perfect the first time, especially since
it's also affected by the ramp's pitch.

... I am not a fan of "powering" the boat onto the trailer, since that
puts a hell of a strain on the trailer bunks and uprights.

And the transom, and tends to suck dirt into the impeller, and erodes the bank under
the ramp... this last point is why "power loading" is against the rules at many
ramps. But a lot of people do it anyway.


One of the guys on a fishing board suggested I make sure I am in "low"
gear when winding up the winch, and you know, that never occurred to
me...I do have a two-speed winch, and I've never tried "low."

???



JohnH wrote:
Use low range. I'd take two feet of hand winching and be happy with it. If
winching the boat two feet is wearing you out, then you need more exercise.

Agreed. Two feet ought not be a problem.

Fair Skies
Doug King

Harry,

My brother-in-law has an electric for his 26 world cat... believe me, VERY
helpful! I an not sure of the brand, but as for wiring, he has it tied into
the plug for the trailer lights so it runs off of the battery in the truck.
That's the most advantageous way to handle the power.

Now, as for rain tolerance, he keeps the thing in his shop, so I can't help
you there!

J

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Yesterday, just for the hell of it, I did a solo launch and retrieval of
our Parker 25. The launch was easy, as I was using a deep ramp. The boat
just floated free of the trailer, so I tied it off and parked the tow
vehicle and trailer.

The retrieval was more complicated, but I was able to do it. I'm
wondering, though, whether it would be simpler to buy and install an
electric trailer winch with the capacity to pull the boat up into
position on the trailer. It's a bunk trailer, and, simply by tugging
hard on a line attached to the bow deck chock, I can get the boat pretty
much up on the trailer. I winch it up the remaining two feet using a
hand winch, and, while I can do it, it takes considerable effort. The
winch is sized properly for the boat...but it is a large, heavy boat.

Installing an electric winch on my trailer is not difficult. Where do
you put the battery, though? And...how long do these electric winches
last? I always see guys at the boat ramp struggling with "dead" electric
winches...do they burn out in a hurry? Does rain shorten their lives?

Advice? Brand recommendation? We're talking a 3-1/2 ton boat/motor/fuel
and gear load here, I'd guess.

Megalodon wrote:
Harry,

My brother-in-law has an electric for his 26 world cat... believe me, VERY
helpful! I an not sure of the brand, but as for wiring, he has it tied into
the plug for the trailer lights so it runs off of the battery in the truck.
That's the most advantageous way to handle the power.

I've going to try the "low" range on my manual winch first. Surely your
brother in law is running some heavy wire up to the battery from that
plug in the back, no? Gotta be a lot of current draw. Thanks!

Oh yeah, he increased wiring to an 8 guage to handle the extra load. He
spliced it in at first with the lights and the winch just kinda laughed at
him. Of course, he had to re-wire a new plug for the thing.


"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Megalodon wrote:
Harry,

My brother-in-law has an electric for his 26 world cat... believe me,
VERY
helpful! I an not sure of the brand, but as for wiring, he has it tied
into
the plug for the trailer lights so it runs off of the battery in the
truck.
That's the most advantageous way to handle the power.

I've going to try the "low" range on my manual winch first. Surely your
brother in law is running some heavy wire up to the battery from that
plug in the back, no? Gotta be a lot of current draw. Thanks!

I've been using a Powerwinch 912 for the last 15 yrs. It has a single
line pull of 3500 lbs. and a double line pull of 6000 lbs. The block &
tackle for the double line pull is included as are all the electrical
lines. There is enough cable to run to the car/truck battery. In my
case, I have a F150 pickup and I run the cable back and keep it in the
cap out of the weather. I have the Powerwinch attached with shoulder
bolts on top of the winch stand. I only use the Power winch for
retrieving the boat, after I have the boat firmly on the trailer, I
unhook the Powerwinch and snug the bow up with the hand winch, then
remove the Powerwinch and store it in the truck, out of sight. Its easy
to load a boat with the powerwinch because you can use a lanyard to
operate it while you stand on the dock aligning the boat. I have a
roller type trailer, so I don't have to back down as far as one would
with bunkers. This arrangement is good also, because in case the
Powerwinch fails, you always have the handwinch backing it up. If
anyone is interested in seeing a pic of how I have the winchstand set
up, I'd be glad to take a pic and post it.

Happy boating
====
Norm

N.L. Eckert wrote:

I've been using a Powerwinch 912 for the last 15 yrs. It has a single
line pull of 3500 lbs. and a double line pull of 6000 lbs. The block &
tackle for the double line pull is included as are all the electrical
lines. There is enough cable to run to the car/truck battery. In my
case, I have a F150 pickup and I run the cable back and keep it in the
cap out of the weather. I have the Powerwinch attached with shoulder
bolts on top of the winch stand. I only use the Power winch for
retrieving the boat, after I have the boat firmly on the trailer, I
unhook the Powerwinch and snug the bow up with the hand winch, then
remove the Powerwinch and store it in the truck, out of sight. Its easy
to load a boat with the powerwinch because you can use a lanyard to
operate it while you stand on the dock aligning the boat. I have a
roller type trailer, so I don't have to back down as far as one would
with bunkers. This arrangement is good also, because in case the
Powerwinch fails, you always have the handwinch backing it up. If
anyone is interested in seeing a pic of how I have the winchstand set
up, I'd be glad to take a pic and post it.

Happy boating
====
Norm


Thanks...I've "discovered" (d'oh) that my existing fulton winch has a
low range, which I have never used. I'll try that for a while. And there
are one or two manual winches larger than what I have...so I could
upgrade without going to electric.

My old tractor has a Warn electric winch on it. It's old and it still
works, and while I have not examined the Powerwinch brand, I wonder if
these truck, 4x4 and "tractor" winches are tougher than the boater
trailer winches. The guy who owned the tractor before me used the winch
to haul fallen trees and suchlike off the edges of his farm.