Recovering the 208 Single-Handedly at the Dock

[hotajax]

Won't have the first mate along, at school this summer. Looks like improv time.

Number one, I can't drive the boat up onto the rollers, leave the engine in forward, and run up to the bow and hook up the safety chain. The vertical drop from the bow to the bow eye is just too long for me.

Guide-ons would safely stabilize the boat laterally on the trailer. If the trailer was in the water far enough could the boat be pulled up with a line far enough to the stop so that I could hook the winch up??

The ramp in question is NOT super steep. I've seen steeper ones, this is a tame one.

I am open to suggestions, would shy away from electric winch just because it's one more thing to break down and make you unable to recover your boat at all. Thank you in advance.

 

[gwwannabe]

Jake, I've owned my 89 Overnighter for less than a year but I often launch and recover it by myself. I have a trailer like yours, no guides and all rollers. I tie the boat up at the dock, back the trailer into the water, and guide the boat to the trailer using a line. Sometimes it can be a pain getting it lined up right. I pull the boat onto the trailer as far as I can, hook up the cable and winch it the rest of the way. Used to do my old 21' Starcraft by myself, too. A little intimidating at first but take your time and think it through. You'll do fine.

Gary 89 Overnighter

 

[fishingFINattic]

leave the engine in forward, and run up to the bow .

Yyyyeeeeaaaaaa...... I wouldnt do that....

Tim

 

[wahoo33417]

Jake, I've owned my 89 Overnighter for less than a year but I often launch and recover it by myself. I have a trailer like yours, no guides and all rollers. I tie the boat up at the dock, back the trailer into the water, and guide the boat to the trailer using a line. Sometimes it can be a pain getting it lined up right. I pull the boat onto the trailer as far as I can, hook up the cable and winch it the rest of the way. Used to do my old 21' Starcraft by myself, too. A little intimidating at first but take your time and think it through. You'll do fine.

Gary 89 Overnighter

Very do-able. I had a 208 for 10 years and did what gary describes. I would walk the boat up the trailer as far as I could with a bow and stern line in hand. Then drop the stern and keep the bow line in hand as you walk to the winch and grab the cable hook. It means getting your feet wet unless you balance on the trailer tongue well. I also backed my trailer down pretty far.

After a few tries, you'll have it down.

Rob

 

[BobP]

A. If the ramp allows you to drive the trailer in far and low, you could drive the boat onto the trailer, however, going solo, you have no place to get off! If you do choose to climb off the bow, have to be carefull and requires walking platforms to get forward, or have the right genes from relatives who excelled at the circus high wire act.

B. Assuming A is not an option, if you use the ramp often and it is a shallow one relatively speaking, you may want to consider a winch, the boat is s very heavy, even heavier as the day grows longer and the fish take is higher.

 

[CaptKennyW]

get a winch, my dads trailer has had one for 20 years the only thing that has ever happened was the cable broke just behind the hook right at the winch after 18 years.

 

[catch22]

Done it plenty of times.
Personaly, I don't like power winch's. If it were me, I'd get a 2 speed Fulton manual winch. Very reliable.

 

[Parthery]

I wonder if you might be putting the trailer in too deep...

I've launched and loaded 15-24' boats by myself for a long time, and the key is only to get the trailer in deep enough to float about halfway up or so. Once the friction from the bunks catches the boat, a little bit of forward thrust will push the boat slightly further onto the bunks and will hold it in place. At that point I shut the motor off, tilt it up, step up on the dock and walk around to the winch. Connect the strap, winch the boat up the last 3 ft or so, and you are on your way.

The only time the circus balancing act of climbing over the bow rail would be necessary would be if the dock is not next to the ramp (as we see down south on some of the USACE lakes.) In that case, you might consider installing a lockable storage box on the front of your trailer...it also makes a great step.

 

[Average Joe]

I L&R mine alone many times each year(roller trailer). I back down until the water is to the top of the fenders, pull the boat up by hand (bow rope ) until its snug against the fwd rollers and tie the rope off to the winch post. This holds the boat in place and I hold onto the rope as I shimmie down the trailer to attach the cable which I have already staged in the parking lot.

 

[jehines3]

As a former parking lot trailer only boater, I can say guides are the best under $100 any short handed trailer boater can spend. I prefer guide on rollers not the cheesy poles, but any guide that keeps you from fighting the back and running forward to winch is huge, especially when waves beat on the ramp.

I really like the new remote controlled power winches. If you must power load solo this is the hot set-up. My personal opinion is power loading ruins ramps and creates allot of other problems, but I need to power load my Marlin no question. I even needed to power unload it this weekend since the boat ramp was lower than usual and could not get the boat scooted forward to release the safety on winch alone without tearing the bow eye off.

As for the too deep trailer comment above. It is so true. If you get the trailer too deep it won't center the boat at all. The point of a roller trailer is to make retreiveal easy. Properly placed centering keel rolers are your friend.

I see what you are saying about power winches and I'd go for guides long before the power winch on that set-up, followed up with, but not required a centering keel roller. The two speed is probably overkill on a 21', the guides are the best $100 you can spend at this point IMO. jh

 

[CJBROWN]

I wonder if you might be putting the trailer in too deep...

I've launched and loaded 15-24' boats by myself for a long time, and the key is only to get the trailer in deep enough to float about halfway up or so. Once the friction from the bunks catches the boat, a little bit of forward thrust will push the boat slightly further onto the bunks and will hold it in place. At that point I shut the motor off, tilt it up, step up on the dock and walk around to the winch. Connect the strap, winch the boat up the last 3 ft or so, and you are on your way.

The only time the circus balancing act of climbing over the bow rail would be necessary would be if the dock is not next to the ramp (as we see down south on some of the USACE lakes.) In that case, you might consider installing a lockable storage box on the front of your trailer...it also makes a great step.

X2 here.

I think I could load mine with my eyes closed. Mostly always use a dock, we just guide the boat on, walk up the dock and step onto the truck bumper, walk down the trailer and winch 'er on, drive out. It is important not to be too deep, once the strap is hooked on you can always back down another foot if it's not deep enough.

I have one of these trailers and it is an absolute piece of cake loading and unloading. The guides are highly suggested, and they don't have to be fancy or 'roller', just something to keep the boat centered up over the trailer.

I don't know how one would retrieve single-handedly with no dock without stepping off the bow onto the trailer once you drive on. The winch post on mine is high enough that's it's a pretty easy step off the bow, so I have retrieved mine single handedly several times this way.

 

[gregsnow]

Get guides and a long rope tied to the bow and pull it on yourself. Its easy after a couple of tries but you do have to get you feet wet.
It helps to park parrellel and as close to the dock as you can.

GS

 

[88ctseafarer]

Jake I trailer a 228 Seafarer that I launch and retrieve solo almost exclusively. It is not difficult. I have 2 speed manual winch that I unspool the right amount to reach bow eye. Back trailer into water turn off truck and chock front tire take the cable and attach to dock walk boat up along dockside to point of tailer Hook cable to eye and winch it up Very simple and I never get wet but I do have step bumper on my truck. When winching I usually use high speed until almost all the way on then switch to low speed at the end where load is higher

Hope this helps
Mike

 

[hotajax]

Posted: May Mon 05, 2008 7:01 pm Post subject:

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Jake I trailer a 228 Seafarer that I launch and retrieve solo almost exclusively. It is not difficult. I have 2 speed manual winch that I unspool the right amount to reach bow eye. Back trailer into water turn off truck and chock front tire take the cable and attach to dock walk boat up along dockside to point of tailer Hook cable to eye and winch it up Very simple and I never get wet but I do have step bumper on my truck. When winching I usually use high speed until almost all the way on then switch to low speed at the end where load is higher

Hope this helps
Mike
Mike:
Not sure I understand what your first step is after you bring the boat dockside. You said you "take the cable and attach to dock". When do you actually snap the hook into the eye? How far up is the boat into the trailer before you start winching? I do have the two-speed manual winch. Will I need a hand line to bring the boat into the trailer, or does it get winched on to the trailer? Thanks.
Jake