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Anchors Aweigh my boys !
3 Attachment(s)
Hurrah! she's got wet !:yes_grin:
Today was launch day... weather cold... 1c or 32f for over the pond.... sunny spells, slight to calm. Geting her out of the garage is not easy, weighing an impressive 1700Kg (3740lb) means when she is pushed down the slight slope out of the garage and down the drive to the roadway it it very tricky.. I have about 1 inch spare as she comes out of the garage.:eek_animated: Hooked up and ready to go, I was a bit nervous as I have never had a boat never mind launched one off a beach. My wife (Mandy) and I are new to this so we employed one of our instructors for the day to help us through. The first mistake was when I tried to turn up the road to the school, and got stuck by a bollard that refused to get out the way... after much reversing and embarassment, the instructor turned up and well... sorted out the problem :blushing: We then went to the petrol station... filling up was painfully slow due to not being able to put the nozzle deep inside the tank due to a bar inside the filler.. what a pain. Still at least we were ready. When it came to the launch, the instructor said we would do a rapid launch... i.e. reverse quickly to the waters edge, hit the brakes, and she would glide into the water.... NOT:eek: The instructor was used to ribs! What actually happened was that as the boat is much heavier especially at the stern and also on a higher trailer, the boat came off the back enough to drop the stern to the sand and bow to the sky:shakehead: Luckily there was enough flotation one it settled to allow me to reverse in further and try again and then she came off .... phew! Lesson 1. The trailer needs to be deep! I drove the car back up, and came back down... we were ready, when I arrived, back they anounced to me she wouldn't start. I could not believe this as she started easily the previous night. I had a go.... again she did not want to start. Then I remembered that the previous night, with the key in the on position there was a loud beep all the time until the engine was running..... it was missing. The we figured out the the kill cord which was connected is very sensitive to knocking the run switch down and off.... a slight adjustment and low and behold she burst into life. Lesson 2. No beeeep... no start! When she first started she seemed to need about 5 mins tick over before she would not stall on reving, tick over was a bit low... but then she was very new. Off we went Yahoo! :) At first we kept the revs around 2000rpm.... at this speed / power she was quite skitish and took some getting used to after the rib... no chance of plaining infact the bow just went higher and higher.. This was a constant problem with the low revs. After we had been out about 1 hour, we took her up to about 3200 rpm. With 3 adults in the boat she did not want to plain until the 2 other adults got into the bow, the straight away she was on the plane and up to speed at around 22mph. It was if she was bow light. After a while it became clear, it was that she needed to have a very strong fast burst of power to get her up on the plane, then a drop back in power would keep her on the plane. We spent the next 4 hours out... and coverd about 35 miles Great! :wink_thumbup: Eventually after 3 hours we took her up to 4000rpm for brief bursts, this took us up to a quick 32mph... Once we had the option of 4000rpm for short bursts getting on the plane was easy. The spedometer was useless below 20mph not reading anything. Also, above 3000rpm power trim was disabled! :( The depth guage transducer was too loose giving confusing readings and constant beeping! Apart from these minor issues sh was faultless! We consumed just over half the tank... most of it when we started to use 4000rpm Lesson 3 4000rpm means a thirsty boat We then did some high speed turns, U turns... Handling was good. Finally back to shore. Recovery... was interesting. When winching, it took some effort... even in low gear, winding the handle became even harder when the draw bar became quite elevated! But she eventually sat back down. after attaching a tow rope to the trailer, it took quite a good pull to get her moving as she really dug herself in the sand, but she came out fine. After a wash and brush up she looked good and time for home. A great day out. Now most of the above may be obvious to you experienced boaters, but for me it was all a first. Dave |
Congrats Dave! She looks good. There is always a first time for everyone and we've all had some embarrassing moments when launching boats so take it as a lesson learned. Ask some of our members if they've ever launched a boat and forgot to put the drain plug back in first or tried to launch a boat without removing the rear trailer safety straps... :rolling_laugh:
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That sounds just like my first time. (Great looking boat ) What kind of trailer do you have? Also dont you have any boat ramps?
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As for the trailer... it is an impressive beast weighing in at 500kg (1100lbs). see the following specs... Indespension Roller Coaster 10 The framework on this trailer is amazing.. Dave |
Sounds like a great time, glad everything went well! Your trailer is pretty unique, I've never seen anything like that before. At least you've got your new toy wet, and it'll provide you and your wife with many years of enjoyment. :wink_thumbup:
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Roller coaster trailers are the norm in the UK. The Big soft rubber Rollers provide very easy launching and recovery.... or so I am told ;) I am now having to investigate an electric boat mover so if you thought the trailer was weird.... Take a look at this Dave |
We have roller trailers as an option here, I was offered one when I had my trailer built, but the price was quite a bit more than the standard bunk design. It's interesting to hear about the differences in standards in foreign countries! Here in the US the trend seems to be bunk trailers that sit very low, for stability in towing. This is great for easy launching and retrieval, but offer little protection for things like the outdrive. If trailering up and down steep inclines, it's possible to damage your skeg, and I've seen it done. Your trailer seems to offer some serious protection for the outdrive!
That remote launcher is crazy, i haven't seen anything like that in the US, ever. That's major hi-tech. I've seen some track style systems that are pretty cool though, if you live close enough to the water... Wickcraft Track Systems On a side note, the boat ramp in the pics on that website look incredibly gradual, what's the average degree for launch ramps in the UK? |
Aha! by Boat ramp you mean...slipway!
From my relatively short experience... slipways in the UK are often dangerous places to launch due to:
So people often launch off beaches about + or - 1 hour from high tide max, so this means usually gradual slopes. Sometimes, there is a launch and recovery service which will do both for about $20 per time. The advantage is they use huge tractors, take the trailer really deep so you just float off, and back on. They also take your trailer back and forth. You can also be in the boat so you do not get wet! I do not live close enough to the water for the tracking... unless it can stretch about 0.5 mile :yes_grin: The mover is a serious contender. These devices are very popular in the UK for caravans ( I have one on my caravan) as it moves them very easily, accurately. this company is just using the same principle but with waterproofing. I am not so bothered about the launching, more about getting through, narrow gates and garage door into the garage. Dave |
I would love to see the looks I would get pulling my boat up the ramp with a “boat mover”!:yes_grin: It looks like you could not drive your boat onto the trailer like most of us do in the US. It would be great not to wait in line to launch your boat, just back down the beach and put- in! Well, that’s a great looking boat. Your hooked now, once a boater always a boater! :wink_thumbup:
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With only a 12V motor, I seriously doubt the boat mover would budge any one of our boats on level ground...
I don't power load, but then my usual launch spot is pretty steep. bakdraft. You pic's remind me of my usual first of the season outings. The water temp is usally only a few degrees C, so the breeze at speed is a bit "cool". However it usually me perched up over ther windscreen grinning from ear to ear, my passengers dressed in winter atire, cowering under blankets in the back...:rolling_laugh: |
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