Boating Secrets

If you don’t know what you’re doing when it comes to towing and launching your boat, you could turn an easy activity into a nightmare. When you don’t know what you’re doing regarding trailering and launching a boat, you could be in for some serious problems.

As we’ve already told you earlier, All trailers must be licensed and have brake, tail and clearance lights. Laws vary from state to state, so it's wise to check with the nearest motor vehicle department for your local requirements.

The trailer must be big enough for the boat, with the rollers and bunkers adjusted properly! Hulls are designed to be evenly supported by the water underneath them. When taken out of water, an adequate alternative must be supplied. Hulls that are not supported properly on the trailer will be damaged as you tow your rig over bumps and potholes.

The towing vehicle must be big and powerful enough to handle the total, combined weight of the boat, trailer and all the gear. Most of the front wheel drive cars available today are only capable of towing very small boats. Your owner's manual will clearly state the towing capacity of your vehicle, so refer to it.

Tie-downs are an absolute necessity! At the minimum, you need both the winch cable and a safety stop chain at the bow, a gunwale tie-down amidships and two transom tie-downs.

Never everstand with your face directly over the winch or winch handle. When deploying the winch cable to retrieve the boat, the winch handle spins around at a fierce rate smashing anything in its path - like faces, teeth, hands - you get the picture.

Make sure you have safety chains that run from the trailer tongue and are attached to your towing vehicle with stout S-hooks or threaded links. These chains must be (a) crossed and (b) short enough to keep the trailer tongue from hitting the pavement if the hitch fails.

Tongue weight - the amount of weight the trailer's tongue is carrying - should be approximately 10% of the total weight of both boat and trailer. If the tongue weight is too high, the strain on the hitch, trailer tongue and towing vehicle’s suspension system will be excessive. Steering quickly gets tricky as now the towing vehicle is out of balance.

Conversely, if the tongue weight is significantly less than 10%, the trailer will start to weave back and forth. In other words, the tail starts wagging the dog; we've all seen this scenario going down the highway.
In most cases, tongue weight can be adjusted by moving the gear in your boat either forward or aft as is necessary. After you have your gear in the right position, make sure it's going to stay there, by properly securing it in the boat.
When towing, stop and check both the boat and trailer at regular intervals. Check the tie-downs to make sure they are still tight. Check the tire pressure, remembering most trailer tires are smaller than car tires and, as a result, have to work harder. Check the wheel bearings, which should be warm, not hot. Check the hitch and safety chains. Check the lights! A trailer with no lights is an accident waiting to happen.

When you prepare your boat, do the following -- remove the tarp and any securing straps (like transom tie-downs). Load in any gear you haven't already put in the boat so you don't have to carry equipment. Check your boat plug to make sure it's in securely and also make sure the keys to the boat are in the console as well.

Double-check the amount of gas you have (you should have already done this before you moved your trailer). Remove the safety strap (or chain) and winch strap connected to the bow eye and connect the bowline. You should also disconnect the wiring connector to the trailer, as brake light bulbs can burn out if the box leaks when underwater.

Look closely at the launch ramp to be sure that your towing rig can handle it. Steep gravel ramps might be too much for a vehicle with low horsepower and limited torque or bad weather conditions might make the ramp too dangerous to use.

Backing a trailer down a boat ramp can be tricky, but it doesn’t have to be. Put your hand on the bottom of your steering wheel. In that position, the direction your hand moves will be the same direction the back of your boat and trailer moves. It’s a good idea not to back the wheels of your car into the water.

Take it slow and easy when backing into the water. avoid sudden braking, especially if you've removed all securing straps connecting the trailer and boat.

Once the boat enters the water, continue to back-up the trailer, at a steady pace. Launches with sufficient depth will cause the trailer to drop out from underneath the boat, and the boat to float away by the momentum of the backing-up process. If the launch is shallow, you may need to get out of your vehicle and push your boat off into the water.

It’s a good idea to have a launching partner with you to help with launching the boat. However, if you don’t have someone with you, you will have to get out of your vehicle to get the boat into the water. Be sure you have your vehicle’s emergency brake on and you have your dock line at the ready to tie up the boat once it’s on the water.

When accelerating off the ramp do so at a steady pace, but be sure to keep your eyes on your side mirrors. The reason is simple: mistakes happen. If you've followed the above suggestions it's likely you'll have an error-free launch, but if you've forgotten to unhook a strap or accidentally snagged the bowline with your trailer, you'll see it in the mirrors. Keeping your windows down and stereo off will also allow your partner to holler if anything is wrong. Once you know everything is ok, vacate the ramp so the next boater can use it.

After launching your boat, quickly park your vehicle and trailer. This should be a pretty simple operation, but keep a few things in mind. First, off launches can be busy places filled with families and moving rigs, so always drive with caution and be alert for youngsters.

Second, try and minimize the footprint your vehicle and trailer leave when parked. I'm often amazed at how much space some people use when parking rigs on an angle, not backing up fully into a spot, or several other creative space-hogging maneuvers that leave other boaters shaking their heads.

Third, keep in mind that as often as launches are busy, they can also be void of activity - making them prime spots for theft. Don't leave valuables in your vehicle and keep things out of site. Lastly, when parking your rig, make sure you use the parking brake, especially if on an incline.

Once you've parked the vehicle, pay any fees for using the facility (if needed) and get in your boat. When driving your boat from the launch, keep your eyes peeled for signs regulating no-wake zones. Of course, as a general rule, it's best to not blast-off from the launch to ensure you don't make waves for launch users.

Also, most launches are close to shallow water; so don't let your enthusiasm get the best of you. Take your time and slowly drive to deeper water before getting on plane. Otherwise you might find yourself returning to the launch sooner than you think with a damaged motor and/or hull.

Once you get out on the water, there are some rules that you need to know about in order to boat safely.