How to load/unload by yourself

[cartfan]

What techniques and or tricks do people use for loading and unloading with a roller trailer that is a drive on?

[MLaker2]

First of all you have to experiment a few times but finding just the right depth to submerge the trailer is important. Too deep and the rollers can't guide the boat properly, too shallow and the bow will ride up high as it passes over the first rollers than falls down as the center of gravity goes past the first set. Once you get that down you trim the motor just enough to stay in the water for propulsion but not enough to dig into bottom as the bow rides up. Then gradually power your way up to the front of the trailer, when you get to the front bumper or close enough to hook, leave the motor run and hook up and quickly return to cut the motor. No Problem. In shallow lakes or when water is low it is sometimes very difficult not to churn on the bottom some, although at popular docks there is usualy a hole worn there by previous boaters. Helps if you have a stainless prop as well. Some trailers are set up for power loading better than others, sometimes its hard to get the boat to load level with certain trailers(port to starboard), some load level almost every time.

[Valv]

You can practice find your way, but 1 thing you DON'T WANT TO DO is to unhook winch strap and safety chain before boat and trailer are in water.

Remember NEVER UNHOOK UNTIL YOU ARE IN WATER....

[LocalGuide]

With the boat I have (my aviator) I load the same way as MLaker2 stated. Just find how far in the water you need to be and drive it on.

Unloading by yourself can be interesting sometimes. I do it one of the 2 ways. The way I normally do it now is to just back the boat into the water far enough so the back of the hull barely gets wet. Then I have this rope that I use for unloading its like 20' long. Well I tie that onto one of the cleats on the boat and the other on the dock.

Now I unhook the boat, get back in the truck and back into the lake. I just go far enough until the boat floats up and moves back of the trailer from the momentum.

Now I hurry up get to my parking spot that I eyed up and get back to the dock. By that time if it isn't to long the boat should just be coming back to the dock.

The other way I do it is I just back in far enough so the back of the boat barely floats up and then get out, unhook it and get in the boat and drive it off. That takes more time and sometimes is a pain in the butt. But that way you know you aren't going to lose your boat if your rope breaks or gets loosened.

[LocalGuide]

I forgot to add that. Valv is totally right. Never ever unhook before you get anything in the water.

Last year I got to see something that really hurt my eyes.

It was this group of 4 people. They had this brand new 1650 fishhawk, never touched the water.

They all get ready to unload the boat and before they back down they unhook the boat from the trailer! Bad mistake. They start backing in all of a sudden the boat starts to slid down! The driver hits the brakes then BAM! The new boat crashes onto the pavement. Lucky they had the motor raised so they didnt wreck that.

But before I put my boat in the water I automatically raise the motor just to be on the safe side of things and also have both the strap and saftey chain still connected.

[leechlake]

The above tips are right on, the main thing is keep your cool and hope your fellow boat launchers/fisherman are understanding of you being alone. A lot of normally cool headed people turn into "road ragers" at the ramp just be prepared. I always try to make an effort to "hustle" when I'm alone so others see I'm making an effort to be quick. Also, remember to tie the boat up good when you leave it unattended, I had my two dogs in the boat about 5am on Leech once and the boat drifted off while I was in the truck, it took a while that early in the morning to flag someone down so I could get a ride to the boat!

[walleyehawk]

I just learned the past few years with a new boat.

The one thing I was taught to do is when loading the boat back on the trailer, line it up with the winchpost. Ease it in, when you hear the front of the boat hitting the rollers, cut back on the power and let it settle into the rollers. This is a slight pause in moving forward. Then double check to be sure you line up with the winch post, foot on the tilt and start to raise the motor and give it power to move the boat all the way up the trailer. Then, having a clear way to the front of the boat and having left about 4-5 feet of loose winch rope on top of the winch post, clamp the boat to the trailer, winch it up, put the safety chain on, and go back and cut the power to the motor and raise it up so it will not scape on the ramp.

After a few times, it is not too bad. Just avoid peak times for your first few times and heavy wind days. Better yet, take a buddy just to have a backup in case you have trouble. Land it yourself and have him step in if you get in trouble.

The other thing that helps is a set of guide ons.

[CatManLee]

ALL THE BOATS I HAVE HAD, HAVE ALWAYS LOADED/UNLOADED VERY EASILY. AND PERFECTLY EVERY TIME! There are things you can do to the trailer to ease the loading process. Unloading is fairly cut & dry. Do it fast & safe!

I have always made adjustments to my trailer to make it work the way I wanted. The trailer I have now is a Skeeter bunk trailer custom made for the boat. Needless to say, I did not need to make any changes to it, but the trailer I had before it was an all roller under an aluminum boat. Without any guides it was near impossible to load by yourself. (Easily anyways)

I had custom guides welded on to the trailer that were apprx 3ft long. They were placed up to half the height of the boat side (for steep ramps) so it would catch the boat at any water level (shallow or Deep).

Towards the front of the trailer I had custom Hull Bunks welded to the trailer that formed to the bow of the boat. These guided the bow into place easily, without having to worry about the bow lining up perfectly with that small roller to go on straight.

These modifications to the trailer made it a breeze to load the boat by yourself. Drive it on, leave it in gear once it hit's the bow stop, hook it up, shut down your motor and your done.

*One thing to note* If you want the Guide bunks to work properly, make sure they are touching (or darn close to touching) the sides of the boat. This way your boat CAN'T get off to one side. The bunks are placed half way up the boat sides or higher, because it cradles the boat and won't allow it to tip to one side when loading.

My point here is: Find out what you can do to the trailer if needed to ease the loading process and it will be simple to load your boat yourself.

Hope this helps some....

[Xplorer]

Lee,

Did you just have a welding shop make the custom guideon bunks? What did they use for guides (2x4's?) and what did they use to cover the bunks?

I have a ProSport on a roller shorelander and it is a bear to load at times. The boat, when loaded, sits between the fenders, but there is only 1.5" of space on each side when loaded perfectly down the middle (very little room for error in wind/current, and i fish solo most of the time). Since i fish the St Louis up here alot, i am dealing with some pretty good current at one of the ramps (the busiest also) and get pretty frustrated at times. The boat should have come with a wider trailer (my father in law bought the exact same boat last year and i advised him to get the wider trailer that is available, and his loads perfectly each time) and am considering swapping it out for the one available. If these type of bunks would work i may not need to do that.

Lastly, did the bunks rub/mar the paint where they contacted the boat? Seems every time i hit a rubrail on a dock i get a mark on the boat and worried that sidebunks would leave a big wear area.

Thanks for any info.

[Valv]

Another thing I forgot to mention is to open tailgate when you backup trailer empty.

Check if it has clearance with winch post on trailer during turns, then open it so you can see trailer when backing up.

I experienced dozens of episodes where driver takes forever to back up empty trailer because they can't see where it's going, then they look embarassed, and more and more.

[delmuts]

ex. you can have custom bunks made or you can buy them too.( the kit come with bunks,bolts and brackets) i did this on my lund back when i had it. the bunks should be covered with carpet.they shure help when dealing with wind or current.

[Bob O]

Nothing has been said yet about using the staging areas. Before you line up on the ramp to back down, stay out of the way while you get ready. Remove transom straps, tilt motor up, install drain plug, put key in ignition, load all gear from car to boat, get dock ropes ready, drop tail gate, etc. When you come off the water, do the same in reverse. Leave everything in the boat when you climb out to get the car, and when you climb out again to pull up the ramp. Get your vehicle off to the staging area to remove gear, install straps, drain livewells, etc. Others will be much more tolerant of you being alone if they see you are well organized.

When launching, I tend to back into the water further than others suggested. I go until the back of the boat just begins to float. I've found that if I stop sooner than that, there may be too much weight on the winch strap to disconnect it. If I release the winch lock, the boat rolls out of reach and I have to wade in to disconnect the strap.

At the staging area I coil the dock rope on the bow of the boat and tie to the dock either before I release the winch, or hold the rope while releasing and then tie to the dock. I will hold the rope if there are boats at the end of the dock and I don't want to float back into them.

Sometimes when you launch you have to be careful that the stern doesn't swing into other boats on the side of you. Plan to use the wind to your advantage when you can (i.e. blow toward the dock), or take an extra minute to place a rope from the stern onto the dock and pull it over as soon as it is disconnected from the trailer.

One other thing - before launching or coming in, I get prepared to jump into the water quickly if I need to. Replace shoes with sandels, remove wallet, etc. Stuff happens... especially with strong wind and/or heavy boat traffic.

Regarding guide rails, look for ones that are attached to the trailer at each end, rather than those using one support brace that looks like a "T". The T design is too weak and will bend if you bump it trying to power onto the trailer. I know that first hand.

[CatManLee]

My guides were built/welded my my dad, but I'm sure a welding shop would do it if you knew what you wanted and told them how. The Bunks were made from 2x6's. A big plus for the wider boards is that they hold the boat or cradle if you like. In other words, the boat can only load straight. It can't tip from side to side, or slide off either side. The key is to match the side angle on your boat and make shure they are long enough and high enough to do the job. We used carpet to cover the bunks. If you use good carpet (marine) it won't scuff or mark your boat.

If there is any way to have custom bunks built to bolt on the trailer, that's probably better. I loved mine, but when it came time to wash the boat, it was kinda hard (impossible) to wash the boat behind the bunks.

[danfall]

This doesn't work with all boats, but if I'm working alone, I generally get the boat to the edge of the water and unhook the main cable/strap. Then I take another rope that I always keep tied to the boat and I hook it to the endgate. Then I back up and as the boat leaves the trailer I watch to make sure my line isn't getting messed up in the rollers, it works pretty well actually. Then I pop the trailer up on the landing, throw the truck in park and scramble to take the rope (50'). You gotta make sure you don't pull on that rope or you'll be doing some trailer repair. Pull the boat aside or dock it and tie off and park the truck.

Loading is harder, but for me, I always try to load with the winch. If you can get the trailer to the edge of the lake, you can usually hook the strap on and push the boat out a bit, and back up a second time and draw up the strap. It sometimes requires backing the truck 3x, but you know I've watched the old full trailer plop and man those guys are inconsistent. It is amazing what a little torque on the bow eye will provide. Then you go a little slow as the boat corrects left or right and it is almost always right on.