On Tue, 1 Apr 2008 21:15:03 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

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.

You know, Agent has a spell checker. :)

On Tue, 1 Apr 2008 21:25:24 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

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.

I was told years ago by a SAE type that tow limits are exactly that -
limits. Meaning that it will tow up to X amount, no fudge factor. And
that's not a tested figure - it's basically a design calculation and
if you have any sense, you wouldn't go above 80% of it's rated limit.

Another factor people don't consider is length of the trailer as
compared to the car. Tow vehicle size and weight is as important as
the ability to tow X amount of pounds - has to do with trailer weight
and length compared to vehicle weight and length.

I feel a rant coming on.

I will refrain. :)

"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
...
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

That's one of the reasons I sold my 19' weekender sailboat.
Our ramps are so shallow that the boat is still hard on the trailer when the
tow vehicles rear wheels are touching the water. (you don't want to dunk the
wheels in salt water)
To get my sailboat launched I had to drive ahead, gun in reverse and slam on
the brakes three or four times. Not something for the faint hearted.

With my current open aluminum boat I can almost lift & throw it off.

On Apr 2, 12:15*am, Tim wrote:
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.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

The army corps ramps here are good too! But a lot of times I use a
ramp that's close to one of my favorite spots to fish. The ramp is
private but free. It's concrete but the lot itself is gravel so the
gravel can get on the ramp and make it a little iffy. It's two lanes
wide. One day I was launching and I heard someone coming down beside
me. I look and it's a redneck with a fairly old and heavy looking
runabout hooked to a clapped out Camaro. Now redneck is showing off
his high speed backing abilities apparently. Now remember the gravel
on the ramp. So he's backing his boat down at a damned good clip, hits
the brakes and the front wheels locked up! He got it stopped but he
went down the ramp a LONG ways with the fronts locked up! And the look
on his face was priceless!!!

On Tue, 1 Apr 2008 21:15:03 -0700 (PDT), Tim wrote:

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.

You gotta love the Corps, and all those who retired from the Corps!
--
John *H*
(Not the other one!)

On Tue, 1 Apr 2008 22:14:41 -0700 (PDT), "Robert M. Gary"
wrote:

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

Walking in water is normally part of the deal, unless you're a real hot
shot.

Hot shots are lots of fun to watch!
--
John *H*
(Not the other one!)

On Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:17:57 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Tue, 1 Apr 2008 21:15:03 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

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.

You know, Agent has a spell checker. :)


Ssshhh, don't tell him. You'll take away all the fun.
--
John *H*
(Not the other one!)

"JimH" wrote in message ...

"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.


The idiocy that ensues at public
ramps never ceases to amaze me.

Some people think the ramp is a good place to:

-Blow up inflatables
-sit around and jaw
-talk on the cell phone
-run the battery down trying to start engine
that won't crank. (why didn't you do this at home??)
-rev engine at WOT (sitting still) trying
to get the boat up that last 1/2 inch on trailer
-sit around and wait for other people to arrive
(who happen to be slowly making their way on foot)
-toss the cast net a few times.


I used to launch and load my 26' footer alone on a Float-On
trailer in under a minute. I usually go out with the wife who
now drives the boat on/off trailer while I drive the tow vehicle.
It takes us mere seconds on the ramp. I get my engine warmed
up at the house before we leave so all she has to do is bump the
key, put her in "R" and go.

db

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:

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

Refresh me via email and I may have.

sam

On Apr 2, 5:37*am, "Don White" wrote:
"Robert M. Gary" wrote in ...
On Apr 1, 9:36 am, "Robert M. Gary" wrote:

That's one of the reasons I sold my 19' weekender sailboat.
Our ramps are so shallow that the boat is still hard on the trailer when the
tow vehicles rear wheels are touching the water. (you don't want to dunk the
wheels in salt water)
To get my sailboat launched I had to drive ahead, gun in reverse and slam on
the brakes three or four times. *Not something for the faint hearted.

Don't sailboat usually have a trailer line allowing you to roll the
trailer way down into the water???

-Robert