Ramp Remedies

Everyone wants to get onto the water and there is nothing more intimidating than weekend gridlock at the boat ramp. Rick Huckstepp takes you through the do's and don'ts of launching and retrieving quickly and safely

With another weekend of 'ramp rage' behind us I thought it appropriate to address some of the issues that create a lot of the drama that gets played out on those sloping concrete stages we launch and retrieve from.

One's capabilities in the steering department when launching and retrieving a boat trailer at the ramp often improve with time. Practice makes perfect they say and it doesn't have to be at the ramp in front of all and sundry either. A factory car park on a weekend is a great place to crane the neck and get used to the way your trailer behaves behind your car.

Every trailer is different in the way it behaves when reversed. The balance of the weight across its one or more axles has an affect on the way it performs but another factor is the distance between the first axle and the drawbar. The longer that distance the more time it takes to react when the steering wheel on the vehicle is manipulated. This in effect makes it easier to counter any oversteer which sometimes requires you to stop, drive forward and straighten the rig, then make another attempt. Before you take to your trailer with a spanner to shift the axles farther back, it must be taken into account that doing so increases the weight on the tow ball and bar, and there is a recommended limit that should not be exceeded on most modern vehicles. You will find that in your tow vehicle user's manual.

LAUNCHING
With the steering capabilities addressed there are a number of other issues that can be remedied to decrease your time on the ramp and they mostly relate to your trailer and how you operate it.

Ramps have various gradients and your boat will come off the trailer more easily on a steep ramp. The angle of the trailer in relation to the ramp is decreased if the towing vehicle is sagging in the back end. Often this is the case if you are on a trip away, as more than the normal payload is stacked in the back of the vehicle. I have addressed this by fitting ARB air bags inside the rear coil springs of my Pajero. I can adjust the attitude of the vehicle by raising them with a bicycle pump or deflating them. This makes the trailer more responsive and the overall rig more easily controlled, allowing me to keep my headlights focussed in the right area and the boat is slightly easier to launch.

If your boat is sitting on rollers they tend to flatten at the point of contact and your boat will require more effort to launch.

When launching, it is best to submerge the boat as deep as practicable without drowning the back of your vehicle. I tend to keep my rear wheels at the water line, but bear in mind some careless boaties approaching the ramp by water will push up a wash that can lap under the vehicle. At this point on the average ramp the back of the boat is starting to float. The steeper the ramp the less flotation you will have at the stern of the boat. The other issue here is the fact that the rear most roller takes the brunt of the keel line of the boat when approaching the trailer. This roller and its axle are subject to excessive wear and bending, and should be checked regularly and replaced if necessary. It is the first one to chew out and once the axle is bent it will not roll when the boat attempts to run on top of it. If this is your situation you will launch when well submerged but retrieving may well be difficult.

RETRIEVING
Again, every trailer is different and there are a number of ways to get your boat onto it.

DRIVE ON
Driving onto the trailer is by far the quickest and easiest way to clear the ramp but your boat has to be set up for that type of retrieval. It should have a roller or skid system that allows the boat keel forefoot to be channelled to the back roller if there is one and, once centred, power is applied to drive the boat up to and against the winch post. It is important to remember that at a busy ramp there may be people in the water near the stern of your boat so a check should be made before the engine is put into gear.

The depth the trailer is submerged to is dependant on the angle of the ramp and trailer, and the way the rollers are set up. Once you have ascertained the correct depth for your trailer, mark the front of the mud guard with a heavy duty permanent marker to indicate the best water level but remember this may change at a different ramp. Don't forget to tilt the engine up before moving off the ramp.

WIND ON
So many people get into time consuming difficulties at the ramp when trying to wind a boat onto the trailer. Often it is because the boat slides off the roller and into the gap in the frame, usually damaging the hull when it contacts the roller axle and split pin on the side of the frame.

It is best to reverse the trailer so that the rear most roller is just submerged. Before winching tilt the engine up.

Bring the boat to the trailer and place the keel forefoot against the rear roller and attach the winch cable or strap. Winch in the strap to hold the boat in position and have someone keep the boat in line with the trailer while another winds. The boat will yaw once it has its bow high in the air and before the keel settles on the rollers. Some of this is caused by turbulence in the water, wind and natural tidal current. If these other phenomena are causing problems and you have the room at the ramp without inconveniencing fellow boaties, kick the trailer around so that its rear is facing into the wind or current. Note that the boat will look awkward moving onto the trailer as it is leaning at the angle of the ramp but retrieval should be quicker.

If your trailer has damaged rollers get the boat onto the first few and, while not swinging in the wind or tide, have someone reverse the trailer deeper into the water for the final part of the winching.

TYING DOWN
Don't rely on your winch cable or strap to secure your boat for the ride to the car park. They break and so do winches, D-shackles and hooks. Use a security chain and leave the winch strap attached as well.

Once clear of the ramp the tie downs should be installed.

If you have a secure separate tiedown for the bow, back off the tension on the winch once it is installed. This will give the winch a longer life.

The rear of the boat should be secured with a strap over the top or separate straps to each aft corner. If the webbing on the straps is contacting the boat, a carpet strip should be used underneath.

Once at your destination the tension on all straps should be loosened to alleviate excessive flattening of the rollers.

HINTS:

Regularly lubricate where the roller axles are mounted in the trailer frame.
From new, you should regularly remove the pins from the axles and grease them before reinsertion and replace the split pins with new ones. This helps the roller turn on the axle should it bind in the frame.
The coloured polyethylene rollers are harder than the black rubber types and a boat will slide over the former more easily. You should only have all polyethylene or all black rubber rollers for maximum weight distribution. A mix of the two will cause excessive pressure placed on various parts of the hull.
Backing off the pressure on the winch cable or strap for towing will greatly enhance the life of the winch. Make sure a separate tiedown is used in its place.
Always lubricate the winch axles and gears.
With the boat off the trailer physically spin each roller to see if the axles are bent and replace if necessary. If in a remote area replace bent axles closest to the winch post where they will rotate the least.
You can never have too many tiedown components but you can have them in the incorrect position. Tie down only at the very front and the aft corners or as close to the transom as possible. Tying down amidships will brace the boat against the trailer and something will break eventually. With the three tiedowns in the correct positions the trailer is able to flex under the boat which alleviates stress on various parts of both.
Place the trailer deep in the water for launching.
If winching the boat onto the trailer, place it more shallow with the rear most roller just under the surface.
If driving onto the trailer take into account the depth of water below the engine leg when the bow rises and trim up if necessary.
Usually a full-length skeg on the outboard motor is enough to prevent the propeller from churning into the concrete at the ramp. It will not, however, prevent the propeller from hitting submerged debris such as house bricks which people use to prevent their vehicle rolling back in the absence of a good hand brake.
Using the engine to drive the boat onto the trailer at unsealed ramps is fraught with the possibility of propeller damage due to debris such as rocks getting sucked through the blades. In this situation it might be safer to hand winch a boat.
Many trailer winch straps or cable hooks are too large for the hole into which they are supposed to be inserted. If this is the case get a larger or long series D-shackle or perhaps a bow shackle to make life easy at the ramp.
If regularly driving on and off your trailer, seriously consider one of the contraptions available on the market that allows the boat to be secured or released quickly.
If you have the option, launch and retrieve from the upwind or uptide side of a ramp finger so that the boat is caught if it moves off track. If you are close enough, a helper can also keep the stern of the boat in line while high and dry themselves standing on the ramp finger.

Ramp Remedies

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