Advice for solo launching?

JimmyG wrote:
I"m really close to upgrading to a 17 ft G3 aluminum boat with a 60 HP
Yamaha from my 14 ft johnboat with 8 HP evinrude. I have not been
able to identify any devoted fishing buddies (yet), so I usually fish
alone. When launching and landing the boat, I seek out very small
ramps that are less crowded. Most of these don't have docks, so I
just drag my boat on the bank. I'm thinking that I'll have to start
using the deeper water ramps now and they are sure to be crowded. Any
advice for the solo launcher?

Thanks,

J

I launch solo a lot and the most important thing I was taught is to use
the wind to your advantage whenever possible. When launching, use the
wind to blow the boat towards the dock. When coming back to the dock,
do the same. I never drive the boat on or off the trailer. I have
upright roller boat guides on the back of the trailer that serve two
purposes. First they let me know if I've driven the trailer deep enough
into the water (top of guides about 2 or 3 inches out of the water) to
allow the boat to be easily winched onto the trailer. Also they help
guide the boat straight onto the trailer. Once the bow of the boat has
passed the rollers I can usually pull the boat onto the trailer
straight fairly easily.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...roductId=33759

Make sure you have plenty of grippy stuff on the tongue of the trailer
too. Your dry shoes will thanks you. Go a few times on weekdays to
practice and before long you won't bat an eye at launching solo on a
jam packed 3 day weekend.

-phish