"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 1 Apr 2008 09:36:23 -0700 (PDT), "Robert M. Gary"
wrote:

I was thinking of taking the new boat to the lake this afternoon using
my wife's car. She has a FWD Saturn Vue with the factory larger tires.
It has the towing capacity but a friend warned me that FWD vehicles
may be more likely to spin out pulling a boat out of the water. The
car as electronic traction control. If it slips does it help to let
air out of the tires? I do carry a 10,000 lb tow rope. If someone is
around and I can't get it out I guess I could ask for a pull, but
hopefully I won't have to. Any tricks are appreciated, hopefully it
won't be an issue but I don't want to get stuck.

Well, think about it. You have 3,000 lbs hanging off the back with
4/500 lbs of tongue weight on a incline that might be slippery with
vegetation, water, etc. The weight of a small engine over the wheels
isn't going to make much of a difference. Add in how much time you
have on the tires, the tread pattern, etc. I don't know about the
Vue, but it probably has "traction" control - you might want to check
if you can turn it off because if you can't, you will lose engine
power if the tires start to slip and you wont' be going anywhere.

The chances of having problems is very high given the right
circumstances.

I could go off on a towing rant here, but I will refrain.

I'm adopting a new philosophy - to each their own. :)


This might be a good site to dig around in...
http://trailerboats.com/output.cfm?id=1199251

Robert M. Gary wrote:

Any tricks are appreciated, hopefully it won't be an issue
but I don't want to get stuck.

I tow my boat, ~1500 including trailer, with my wifes FWD
Freestyle. Never've had a problem. Always open the hatch so
I can back down less like a snake and engage parking break
when on the ramp. I would recommend the first time to back
down into the water like you are going to launch and then
trying to get back up the ramp, that way you'll know before
launching if you're screwed or not.


sam

JimH wrote:
"D-unit" wrote in message
...
"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
...
I was thinking of taking the new boat to the lake this afternoon using
my wife's car. She has a FWD Saturn Vue with the factory larger tires.
It has the towing capacity but a friend warned me that FWD vehicles
may be more likely to spin out pulling a boat out of the water. The
car as electronic traction control. If it slips does it help to let
air out of the tires? I do carry a 10,000 lb tow rope. If someone is
around and I can't get it out I guess I could ask for a pull, but
hopefully I won't have to. Any tricks are appreciated, hopefully it
won't be an issue but I don't want to get stuck.

-Robert
I may have a similar issue to deal with this year. I keep a boat (21'
Carolina skiff)
in a neighborhood with a boat ramp. Travel from my place to the ramp
is 3 blocks. I'd like to *attempt* to load and unload the boat with my
Honda Accord. (try not to laugh). It would keep me from driving
a gas guzzler to/from said beach place (approx. 160 miles) *and*
keep me from having to leave a pickup truck down there solely for
that purpose which is what I did last year. I don't think loading the
boat into the water would be a problem. I like to shuttle back/forth
to the beach house in the Honda for obvious reasons.

The ramp is not very steep and there's very little tongue weight by
the trailer.. Ramp wetness would probably be an issue.

Falling tide = wet ramp
Rising tide = dry ramp. (most of the time when I would use it)

db~still trying to decide if this is a good idea.





After purchasing our 20 footer mid season and 1/2 season of trailering it I
soon got tired of the lines at the ramps, folks who could not back a trailer
in, discourteous people and generally the PITA trailering is.

The next season we leased a dock and have done so since then. It is worth
every dollar.



Fortunately, the two ramps I use around here are frequented mainly by
fisherguys, and they launch and retrieve with aplomb. Once in a while,
there's a slow poke who messes the rhythm. Same was true in NE Florida,
but there were a lot more public ramps down there, so the waits were
never annoying.

On Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:03:30 -0500, "Sam Hayes Merritt, III"
wrote:

Robert M. Gary wrote:

Any tricks are appreciated, hopefully it won't be an issue
but I don't want to get stuck.

I tow my boat, ~1500 including trailer, with my wifes FWD
Freestyle. Never've had a problem. Always open the hatch so
I can back down less like a snake and engage parking break
when on the ramp. I would recommend the first time to back
down into the water like you are going to launch and then
trying to get back up the ramp, that way you'll know before
launching if you're screwed or not.

Hey Sam - did you ever solve that name based RBL scoring problem you
had with dnsbl.m4 in Sendmail?

JimH wrote:
"HK" wrote in message
. ..
JimH wrote:
"D-unit" wrote in message
...
"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
...
I was thinking of taking the new boat to the lake this afternoon using
my wife's car. She has a FWD Saturn Vue with the factory larger tires.
It has the towing capacity but a friend warned me that FWD vehicles
may be more likely to spin out pulling a boat out of the water. The
car as electronic traction control. If it slips does it help to let
air out of the tires? I do carry a 10,000 lb tow rope. If someone is
around and I can't get it out I guess I could ask for a pull, but
hopefully I won't have to. Any tricks are appreciated, hopefully it
won't be an issue but I don't want to get stuck.

-Robert
I may have a similar issue to deal with this year. I keep a boat (21'
Carolina skiff)
in a neighborhood with a boat ramp. Travel from my place to the ramp
is 3 blocks. I'd like to *attempt* to load and unload the boat with my
Honda Accord. (try not to laugh). It would keep me from driving
a gas guzzler to/from said beach place (approx. 160 miles) *and*
keep me from having to leave a pickup truck down there solely for
that purpose which is what I did last year. I don't think loading the
boat into the water would be a problem. I like to shuttle back/forth
to the beach house in the Honda for obvious reasons.

The ramp is not very steep and there's very little tongue weight by
the trailer.. Ramp wetness would probably be an issue.

Falling tide = wet ramp
Rising tide = dry ramp. (most of the time when I would use it)

db~still trying to decide if this is a good idea.




After purchasing our 20 footer mid season and 1/2 season of trailering it
I soon got tired of the lines at the ramps, folks who could not back a
trailer in, discourteous people and generally the PITA trailering is.

The next season we leased a dock and have done so since then. It is
worth every dollar.
Fortunately, the two ramps I use around here are frequented mainly by
fisherguys, and they launch and retrieve with aplomb. Once in a while,
there's a slow poke who messes the rhythm. Same was true in NE Florida,
but there were a lot more public ramps down there, so the waits were never
annoying.

We were not used to trailering based on having seasonal docks for all but
one (our first boat) of our previous boats.

We find having a seasonal dock a bit more expensive and results in more
maintenance, but fits our boating style.

Trailing is not it. ;-)




If I were a fresh water boater, I might dock my Parker...but salt water,
sunshine and air pollution are really tough on boat finishes.

"Ernest Scribbler" wrote
I never had ramp trouble with my Taurus wagon.

This is the boat I used to tow with the wagon:
http://blizzard.zmm.com/thunderbird/rearview.jpg
The manufacturer lists the approximate weight as 2750 pounds. I never
weighed it, but I figure with trailer, fuel, and the usual stuff, I was well
into the 3K range. I'm on the Kanawha River in WV and most of the ramps are
fairly steep, but generally clean and dry like this one:
http://home.comcast.net/~blizzard3/b...s/pocaramp.jpg

(Now I have a big pickup and a 1500 pound boat. Go figure.)

On Tue, 1 Apr 2008 17:36:43 -0400, "JimH" wrote:


"D-unit" wrote in message
...

"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
...
I was thinking of taking the new boat to the lake this afternoon using
my wife's car. She has a FWD Saturn Vue with the factory larger tires.
It has the towing capacity but a friend warned me that FWD vehicles
may be more likely to spin out pulling a boat out of the water. The
car as electronic traction control. If it slips does it help to let
air out of the tires? I do carry a 10,000 lb tow rope. If someone is
around and I can't get it out I guess I could ask for a pull, but
hopefully I won't have to. Any tricks are appreciated, hopefully it
won't be an issue but I don't want to get stuck.

-Robert

I may have a similar issue to deal with this year. I keep a boat (21'
Carolina skiff)
in a neighborhood with a boat ramp. Travel from my place to the ramp
is 3 blocks. I'd like to *attempt* to load and unload the boat with my
Honda Accord. (try not to laugh). It would keep me from driving
a gas guzzler to/from said beach place (approx. 160 miles) *and*
keep me from having to leave a pickup truck down there solely for
that purpose which is what I did last year. I don't think loading the
boat into the water would be a problem. I like to shuttle back/forth
to the beach house in the Honda for obvious reasons.

The ramp is not very steep and there's very little tongue weight by
the trailer.. Ramp wetness would probably be an issue.

Falling tide = wet ramp
Rising tide = dry ramp. (most of the time when I would use it)

db~still trying to decide if this is a good idea.





After purchasing our 20 footer mid season and 1/2 season of trailering it I
soon got tired of the lines at the ramps, folks who could not back a trailer
in, discourteous people and generally the PITA trailering is.

The next season we leased a dock and have done so since then. It is worth
every dollar.


But you're limited to one body of water. Trailering allows me to easily use
the Chesapeake Bay, Potomac River, Rappahannock River, and Lake Anna, all
within an hour's drive. If I want to drive for three hours, I can be in the
Atlantic.

That's a big reason for trailering.
--
John *H*
(Not the other one!)

On Apr 1, 12:47*pm, wrote:
On Apr 1, 2:37*pm, "D-unit" wrote:





"Robert M. Gary" wrote in ...

I was thinking of taking the new boat to the lake this afternoon using
my wife's car. She has a FWD Saturn Vue with the factory larger tires.
It has the towing capacity but a friend warned me that FWD vehicles
may be more likely to spin out pulling a boat out of the water. The
car as electronic traction control. If it slips does it help to let
air out of the tires? I do carry a 10,000 lb tow rope. If someone is
around and I can't get it out I guess I could ask for a pull, but
hopefully I won't have to. Any tricks are appreciated, hopefully it
won't be an issue but I don't want to get stuck.

-Robert

I may have a similar issue to deal with this year. *I keep a boat (21' Carolina skiff)
in a neighborhood with a boat ramp. *Travel from my place to the ramp
is 3 blocks. I'd like to *attempt* to load and unload the boat with my
Honda Accord. (try not to laugh). *It would keep me from driving
a gas guzzler to/from said beach place (approx. 160 miles) *and*
keep me from having to leave a pickup truck down there solely for
that purpose which is what I did last year. *I don't think loading the
boat into the water would be a problem. *I like to shuttle back/forth
to the beach house in the Honda for obvious reasons.

The ramp is not very steep and there's very little tongue weight by
the trailer.. Ramp wetness would probably be an issue.

Falling tide = wet ramp
Rising tide = dry ramp. (most of the time when I would use it)

db~still trying to decide if this is a good idea.

Check the ramp when it's wet and see if it's slippery. Some ramps are
pretty good even when wet, some slippery as hell!- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Tahts one thing about Lake Carlyle, they Army corps of Engineers keeps
the ramps in great shape. they're rough concrete with lines stricked
across them for good tire grip. wet as all get-out, I've never had a
tire slip yet. and that's pulling out a 23' Marquis with a '90 Mercury
wagon.

On Apr 1, 2:45*pm, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:
On Tue, 1 Apr 2008 09:36:23 -0700 (PDT), "Robert M. Gary"

wrote:
I was thinking of taking the new boat to the lake this afternoon using
my wife's car. She has a FWD Saturn Vue with the factory larger tires.
It has the towing capacity but a friend warned me that FWD vehicles
may be more likely to spin out pulling a boat out of the water. The
car as electronic traction control. If it slips does it help to let
air out of the tires? I do carry a 10,000 lb tow rope. If someone is
around and I can't get it out I guess I could ask for a pull, but
hopefully I won't have to. Any tricks are appreciated, hopefully it
won't be an issue but I don't want to get stuck.

Well, think about it. *You have 3,000 lbs hanging off the back with
4/500 lbs of tongue weight on a incline that might be slippery with
vegetation, water, etc. *The weight of a small engine over the wheels
isn't going to make much of a difference. *Add in how much time you
have on the tires, the tread pattern, etc. *I don't know about the
Vue, but it probably has "traction" control - you might want to check
if you can turn it off because if you can't, you will lose engine
power if the tires start to slip and you wont' be going anywhere.

The chances of having problems is very high given the right
circumstances.

I could go off on a towing rant here, but I will refrain.

I'm adopting a new philosophy - to each their own. :)

I'm always amazed at how people will try to pull a boat or trailer wih
a car half the size of the boat. I was always leary of vehicle makers
*maximum* tow ratings. too many decieving circumstances involved.

3500 lb tow rate? "OK, lets tow 3500 lb.s hey no problem, can't do
over 45 but thats ok, OH man, theres a school bus stopping in front of
me! I thought this thing had brakes!" or... 3500 lb. on a flat paved
surface in the dry. now lets tow uphill from a wet loading ramp with a
now amplified 3500 lb from a dead stop. now it's more like 4500 lb.

Well, pay your dues, take your chances.

On Apr 1, 9:36*am, "Robert M. Gary" wrote:

Well I pulled it out without a problem. The ramp was amazingly shallow
though. Its a 4 lane ramp but no one was there so I took the two
middle lanes (extra space ) . Unfortunately it doesn't appear there
is any way to launch or recover the boat without walking in water
because the ramp is so shallow there.

-Robert