Lets hear about how you launch your boat. Non Precision boats welcome too

[Brian N.]

I use a "modified" rope launch. I have a winch on the trailer which faces the car hitch. I hook the winch to the hitch, disconnect the trailer and let it roll down the ramp until the bunks are just covered. Then the boat essentially floats off with a push. I estimate about 2 feet of water to just submerge the front of the bunks (the rear of the bunks are 4-6 inches under).

This is in response to an interesting discussion that came up during the Precision sailors Happy Hour zoom meeting. BTW Small Craft Advisor, volume 112, has an illustrated article I submitted a few years ago.

[Captain Kidd]

I've never had to undo my trailer from the hitch. Hunter 18.5 has a 2' draft. I have had to use the tongue extension a couple times. I barely got the boat off the trailer once. I was contemplating the possibility of doing something like you suggest. On the same trip I faced the same issue though it was at a different takeout ramp. I wound up asking a fellow with a higher bumper to pull the boat out. The higher bumper had the effect of lowering the rear of the trailer. It worked.

[Charles Brennan]

Brian, for me, the Name of the Game is: Control

It starts with trailer preparation.
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1 ) Self-centering rollers.  (Not as important for launch, as for retrieval, but every little bit helps.)
2 ) GlydeSliks on the bunks.  Hull slides into water far easier than carpeted bunks.
3 ) Goal posts that act like springs to center boat in adverse winds/currents.

Hard to see in above pic, but I also sling the axle above the leaf springs.
Like so:
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You'll note it uses ½-inch U-bolts, instead of the more usual 3/8" U-bolts.
4 ) Axle is slung above the leaf springs to get the hull 2 inches closer to the water.
5 ) Replace the factory supplied tongue, with a longer tongue, 9 feet instead of 5 feet.
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Between a lowered hull and a longer tongue, it is easier to launch in most all ramp/weather conditions, not just adverse ones.

6 ) A mast stand cleat.
(Notice all the strapping/reinforcing on the mast stand.)
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(BTW, also note that the waterline stripe is 2 feet above the ground.)
That mast cleat is a must, for solo launching. Tie the bow line to that cleat. 
Disconnect the winch hook, then back in, tap the brakes and the hull slides into the water.
But what stops it, since you're still in the tow vehicle?   
That cleat.
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I must confess to some amusement at crowded ramps, when what looks like a runaway boat causes consternation and panic to the boats further down the dock behind me, then the boat suddenly and obediently, comes to an abrupt stop!   
Look more closely at that pic.
7 ) Knowing the required water launch depth for your trailer/boat. 
When the wheel fenders are submerged, but the flat top on the fender is still above water, the boat can be easily push-launched by hand, or snap-launched by vehicle. 
8 ) Proper line preparation, bow and stern.
Again, look at the pic and notice the two black lines tied to either side of the bow pulpit.
Tied with a slip knot and lead back to the stern cleats. When I pull the bow line of the hull next to the dock, the stern line is right at hand and I don't have to go running to the stern, to try and grab a line, or worry about the stern drifting away from the dock, to where I can no longer reach the stern line.  I have all the lines I need to control the boat, right in one place.
Why two stern lines? Because in some of the ramps I use, I may elect to go to one dock or the other, depending on winds, currents, other boats launching/retrieving, etc.  If my mind gets changed for me by circumstances, I can immediately react and still maintain control of the launching.

In the above pic, the bow line was run through the mast stand cleat and then run back to the bow cleat.
This ramp is a difficult ramp to use, because after launch, you have to motor over to the docks.
This necessitates being aboard and going forward to uncleat the end of the bow line, and pull it through the mast cleat and back on deck. After the motor is running and warmed up, of course.

Because, the Name of the Game is: Control.
Hope this helps,
Charles Brennan

[Brian N.]

Thanks Charles! Some very smart ideas. I especially like taking a line secured aft, bring it forward and tying it with a slipknot. I'll definitely use that next spring.

[tjspiel]

Good thread. I also like the idea of bringing the stern lines forward !

Most of my launches are at the same ramp and are pretty uneventful and straightforward. I pull the boat out every 3 to 4 weeks during the season to clean the hull off which has given me plenty of practice.

For my P18 I back the trailer in far enough that the front of the top bunks are just barely out of the water. That's deep enough that I get can the boat off with a good shove and that it will winch easily back on to the trailer.

The only other tip I have is that I noticed many people at our ramp will have a really long line that they'll either tie to the bow or stern and then bring other other end to the dock. I do it now too.

Then it's just a matter of pulling the boat to the dock using that line once the boat is off the trailer.

[pgandw]

Most of what Charles said applies to me.

Have a 19ft centerboard Mariner, with a fitted trailer.  Trailer wheel well inner edges are where the turn of the bilge is, which puts the boat low on the trailer.   But I had to install pads on the wheel wells because of the condition of many roads.  Don't need a tongue extension, have never encountered a ramp where I couldn't float partially off or on with the Palisade (tow vehicle) rear wheels out of the water, but close to the water's edge.

This past summer, I added a pair of midships cleats which have proved incredibly useful for docking and trailer launching/retrieval.  Always have the lines in place before launching/retrieving.  Lines for trailer launching usually need to be pretty long - 25ft doesn't cut it.  Fenders to the midship cleat help while I park car and trailer after launching, especially when solo.  Or while waiting in line to retrieve.

Am thinking about adding the goal posts to the trailer, but am not sure how great they will be in centering.  Mariner's beam tapers down quite a bit towards the stern so goal posts would have to be forward of the wheels.  Perhaps 4-6ft side bunks would be a better add for centering.

Last point - look carefully skyward before launching/retrieving.  In my neck of the woods, many ramps have low powerlines or tree branches that obstruct many of the ramp approach paths.  Don't be that guy who didn't look up!

Fred W
Stuart Mariner 19 #4133  Sweet P

[Riggerdood]

Also agree with all of the above. Since I'm pretty much always singlehanded, and very few ramps out here have fingers, it's a drive off/drive on situation, requiring motoring to/from whatever courtesy dock is available. One thing I've found that really helps are steps and a ladder at the front of the trailer, allowing easy on/off the bow of the boat during both processes.

[Charles Brennan]

Fred, Your statement: "Mariner's beam tapers down quite a bit towards the stern so goal posts would have to be forward of the wheels. "
Does not match my own experiences with goal posts and may be based on a misconception.

Urchin's hull tapers past the beam as well, but that tapered part is past the end of the trailer where it no longer matters.
In the pic below:
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You can see that while the stern tapers well inboard of the goal posts, that part of the hull extends past the end of the trailer.
(Notice that the goal posts are attached to the very rear of the trailer frame.)
During retrieval, current or wind will push the hull to one goal post or the other (sometimes both!) and as it continues to push up against a goal post, the springiness of the PVC tubing pushes the hull back to center.  As the hull is winched forward along the trailer up to the winch post, the narrow bow is not influenced by the goal posts very much (unless pushed to one side or the other).  As it gets closer to the winch post and the hull widens, then the goal posts greatly influence centering the hull on the trailer.  Also, by this time, the hull is starting to rest on the front part of the bunks.  The rear parts of the bunk are still underwater enough, not to affect the hull position.

In one of the worst retrievals I ever experienced, very strong winds blew the hull so much that I had to motor the hull in between the goal posts and ended up slewing to a 45º angle, relative to the trailer frame.  I got the winch cable attached to the bow eye and the hull was still at 45º and being pushed strongly leeward. The port goal post bent so far over to the left, I thought it would surely break, but instead it kept trying to return the hull to center as I winched the boat up.  Finally, the combination of winching the boat forward and the springiness of the goal post, got the hull forward enough that the self-centering keel rollers and the bunks could also help center the hull and align it with the trailer.

In the pic above, if you zoom in enough you can see a small gap between the left goal post and the hull. I keep both the posts about an inch away from the hull, so it doesn't slap in traffic, etc.
For a partially submerged trailer, the winch cable alone does not do much centering until almost at the end, at which time it's too late, if the hull got off to one side or the other, during the retrieve. The goal posts add a kind of a "force multiplier" to the winch cable influence.

I count myself as a Big Fan of goal posts.

One guy's experiences,
Charles Brennan

[pgandw]

Charles - Interesting.  The rear of my trailer is within a foot of the transom.  Max beam of the boat in trailering position is just forward of the wheel fenders. 

The goal posts at the rear of the trailer would have to be about 8" wide of the hull for the max beam to pass through.  But thinking about it more, that would be OK, because the retrieval point at which I want the most centering force is early on when the stern is still floating. The max beam (or close to it) would be passing through the goal posts at that time.  Goal posts are lot cheaper and easier to experiment with than side bunks are.

Thank you for helping to think more about the situation.

Fred W
Stuart Mariner #4133  Sweet P

[tjspiel]

Related but slightly different question. Do you tow your boats with the outboard mounted or not? Asked the same question on the Precision Facebook group.

Hoping for consensus was maybe unrealistic but I'm curious about people's thoughts or any experiences that would influence my decision.

[Charles Brennan]

Fred, I'm not trying to be the Goal Post Evangelist, wandering in the desert proclaiming the Good News of Goal Posts here, but you almost have to see them or try them to understand their advantages.
Take another hard look at the pic I posted in the previous thread:
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Take a close look and you'll see the maximum width at the beam is also ahead of the wheel fenders on my boat, same as yours.

You stated:
"The goal posts at the rear of the trailer would have to be about 8" wide of the hull for the max beam to pass through."
Nope.
Referring back to the pic, you can plainly see the beam ahead of the goal posts, is wider than the space between the goal posts.
When I launch (or retrieve) the posts simply move away as the wider part of the hull slides past; the only point of contact being the rub rails sliding against smooth PVC tubing. 
The whole point of them, is to have (some) springing action to force the hull to center, when it is floating.
As far as experimenting with them, it  is trivial to adjust the goal posts in or out, from the sides of the trailer frame; but in practice, just a little bit away from the aft end of the hull when it's on the trailer, to avoid banging in traffic or rough roads, is all you really need.

Here's a link to a thread describing how to build a set, if you're interested:
https://trailersailor.com/forum/index.php?topic=752.msg4632#msg4632
There are two different posts in the thread so you may have to do a little scrolling.
(Build post at top, wiring post, further down.)

Hope this clarifies,
Charles Brennan

[Charles Brennan]

tjspiel, You asked:
"Do you tow your boats with the outboard mounted or not?"

Yup. Since I first put a motor on the boat, back in 1977.
First motor on it was a 35 lb, 5hp Sears Gamefisher, which I hated! 
Next, I got a 30 pound British Seagull 40+ which I liked a lot.
My wife objected to getting hit in the teeth with the back-swing from the starter cord (no recoil starter), so I upgraded to a 40lb British Seagull Silver Century Plus.

That's when I began to worry about strain/warping on the transom, since I always trailered everywhere with the motor already mounted on the outboard bracket.
Didn't actually DO anything about it, but I DID worry about it! 
The Japanese ran the Brits out of the outboard market and I could no longer get parts, so I got a 1995 Johnson 15hp 2-stroke, weighing 115 lb.
Ok, it wasn't THAT Dumb of an idea at the time, since the intent was to swap the motor between  an RIB I had recently purchased and the sailboat.

Turned out to be a terrible idea.

Besides being a drag to swap motors, it was too big for the sailboat and too small for the RIB.
I got a 25hp Evinrude for the RIB and a 5" lower unit extension for the Johnson and here it sits, to this very day.
But weighing a whopping 115 pounds, I no longer had the luxury of just worrying: I had to DO something.
My transom has 3/16" fiberglass and 1/4" plywood core and the transom flexed FAR easier than I liked, when I grabbed onto the motor and twisted.  I got a piece of 3/4" marine plywood, put some 3M-5200 around all the edges and the bolt holes, and bolted it on inside the transom.  Beefed up the 1/4-20 motor mount bolts to 3/8-16 bolts and hefty fender washers and it's been that way ever since 1995. 
Except for a few times when I'm working on the motor in the garage and for a few months several years ago, when I re-painted the whole boat, the motor has never NOT been on the outboard bracket, hanging off the transom.

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Taken in 1995, after I extended the lower unit 5 inches.
(Notice the safety cable attached to the transom backstay U-bolt, to keep an errant motor from going through somebody's windshield.)
I also had to move the axle undercarriage back a few inches, to offset the added stern weight and keep my tongue weight where I wanted it, for optimum towing.

Critics: "You CAN'T hang a motor on the transom all the time!! 
It'll WARP!!! 
You'll RIP OUT your transom!!" 

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Taken in 2018 and if I had a more recent pic of the motor, I'd post that, too.
Coming up on 40 years with the heavy motor and over 47 years with all kinds of motors hanging on the transom.
Whenever critics tsk! tsk! me, I simply ask: "After 47 years of doing that, how many seconds do I have LEFT?!?!?"   
If I had it do again, I would have epoxied the plywood against the inside of the transom (and beefed up the bolts) instead of relying on just the 3M-5200.  OTOH, it's still working fine.
Since it IS on the transom ALL the time, you have to have some means of making sure it's likely to still be there in the morning, when you leave your motel room.
I used all the usual outboard locks, but being made of steel they only lasted a few years, then rusted apart.
These kind:
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Liked the concept, but not the material; got a piece of stainless steel tube off a scrapped SportsFisher, cut a slot in the stainless and drilled a hole in one end to put a padlock on it. Now the outboard locking "ears" can't be loosened with the lock in place.  Since it splashes a lot, the padlock gets oiled (NOT WD-40) roughly every other time I go out.
You can just about see one end of the tube in this pic, just in front of the top of the motor bracket:
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(I was doing some things to the motor that day, which is why that carabiner shackle is hanging down, instead of being attached to the backstay U-bolt.)
Installation Tip:
Place a small length of foam from a pool noodle, inside the tube before sliding it over the motor mount locking tabs; it'll make an ungodly racket when the motor is running, otherwise.

The only real "gotcha" is to remember to lift the motor up on the bracket before pulling it out of a ramp. 
Otherwise, no problems.

One guy's opinion,
Charles Brennan

[tjspiel]

Thanks Charles, that's reassuring. I think I may also follow one guy's suggestion and use a couple of cinch straps wrapped around the stern rail and the handle on the outboard to take some of the load off the bracket.

[Riggerdood]

Rum Line's Nissan 6hp 4-stroke stays on the bracket. Her transom is 1/2" thick solid FG. Been on there for 8 years and many, many miles of towing, including across the country. It's not going anywhere. The key is to firmly lash/bungee/whatever the whole assembly in the full upright position, so there is no bouncing/movement/play whatsoever. I also keep a tether tied between motor and transom, just in case. The clamp toggles have holes in the ends, where the two can be padlocked together for security.

[tjspiel]

Rum Line's Nissan 6hp 4-stroke stays on the bracket. Her transom is 1/2" thick solid FG. Been on there for 8 years and many, many miles of towing, including across the country. It's not going anywhere. The key is to firmly lash/bungee/whatever the whole assembly in the full upright position, so there is no bouncing/movement/play whatsoever. I also keep a tether tied between motor and transom, just in case. The clamp toggles have holes in the ends, where the two can be padlocked together for security.

Mine have holes in the ends too and I tried out a padlock we had lying around and it fits. The storage buildings should be locked but better safe than sorry.