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Launching a boat solo can be challenging, but with a little practice and some know-how, you can refine a smooth, repeatable process.
With a small, light jon boat that can bounce (gently) against the pier without any problems, shoving the boat off the trailer with a single bow line attached might do the trick. Photo, Lenny Rudow
You hear the fishing is red-hot, take the day off work (cough, cough, sorry boss), and as you pull up to the boat ramp your buddy calls to say he won’t make it after all. That means launching your boat could be a challenge, but it doesn’t have to be problematic if you’ve planned for the maneuver. Of course, we’re not talking about launching a 35-foot triple-engine rig that weighs 12,000 pounds. Launching a large boat solo is difficult to say the least, and in most cases, you’ll want to limit this endeavor to boats in the mid- to low-20s or smaller. Even then, don’t try it unless you have plenty of launching experience. With significantly smaller or light aluminum boats, you should be able to make it happen with just a moderate amount of experience. Even so, remember that every boat/trailer rig is different, every boat ramp is different, and the conditions you’re launching in can vary. Splashing at a ramp with a low grade and a nice finger pier in a current-free lake is one thing, but trying it on a sharp ramp with blustery winds and a roaring current is entirely different. Which leads us to …
1. Each and every time you arrive at the ramp, survey the situation before attempting to launch the boat. Park your rig where it won’t block traffic or delay other boaters, walk down to the ramp, and get an idea of the various conditions that might make launching easier or tougher. If gusty winds or a wildly bobbing floating dock make you think twice, err on the side of caution. Also use this opportunity to determine which side of the boat will be against the pier, so you know which side to prep your lines on.
Leave the strap and safety chain attached as you back down the ramp to prevent any boat-on-concrete disasters. Once the back of the boat begins to float, you can release the strap and, when you’re sure it won’t float away, the safety chain. Photo, Lenny Rudow
In calm conditions this boater shouldn’t have any problems, but if wind or current was an issue, it would have been important to use the pier on the other side of the ramp and prep the lines accordingly so they could be secured to pilings. Using a single line would have made this easier. Photo, Lenny Rudow
In some cases, it is easiest to board the boat and back it off the trailer under power. Photo, Lenny Rudow
With a single line attached fore and aft, this boater can easily control the boat and secure it alongside the pier singlehanded. Photo, Lenny Rudow
2. Initially prepare the boat for launching as you normally would by loading up gear, putting in the drain plug, removing the straps, and so on. But since you’re alone, instead of rigging fore and aft mooring lines, attach a single, longer line running from the bow cleat to the stern cleat. After the boat is in the water, this setup allows you to pull in or release either the stern or the bow from the pier without having to move back and forth. Leave plenty of slack as you rig the line so once the boat is ready to be secured you can loop the line over a piling near the bow and over another near the stern to hold it parallel to the pier. If the pier has cleats but no pilings you can control the boat the same way, but be sure to get a wrap on the cleats and secure them before walking away. TIP: If you don’t have a mooring line long enough for this task, use your anchor line. BONUS TIP: In calm conditions with very small, light boats that won’t be damaged by bumping the pier, a single bowline may prove sufficient. EXTRA BONUS TIP: Wear well-fitting tennis shoes or similar, that you don’t mind getting wet. Lace them tightly. Cuts from barnacles, oysters, rocks and worse can make for a bloody day.
3. Now, back down the ramp until the stern of the boat begins to float. Put your tow vehicle into park, apply the parking brake, and chock the wheel. Then walk to the boat, reverse the winch, and pull out a foot or two of slack. With slack in the line, you now know you can remove the safety chain without the boat uncontrollably sliding away and launching itself without you.
At this stage, in most cases, you should be able to remove the winch strap, step up onto the pier, grab the line aft of the bow, and pull the boat free. However, in some scenarios, like a ramp with a very gentle grade, the boat may not want to move just yet. In this case you have a few options. You could back the trailer farther down the ramp and see if this gets the boat floating. (Be sure the winch strap is still attached in this case, or you could watch your boat float away.) You can also rig a second line to the tow eye, tie it off on the trailer bow stop post, and give the boat a good, hard shove. Or, if you’ve backed as far as you dare and can’t push the boat free, you may be able to climb aboard over the bow, start the engine, and back the boat off the trailer under power, making sure that the outboard skeg and prop won’t ground on the ramp or bottom.
If the boat remains stuck, sometimes pulling forward a few feet, allowing the tow vehicle to roll back, and then tapping the brakes will slide the boat back a foot or two. Attempt this maneuver with caution, however, and make sure a line is secured to the bow eye at one end and the trailer post at the other so you don’t lose your boat if it goes slip-sliding away. Note: Some single-handing sharpies default directly to this method for every launch, hitting the brakes hard enough to apply a jolt that slides the boat off the trailer, so they never have to push or pull. Using this method it’s possible to launch the boat, grab the line off the trailer post, and tie it off to the dock in a matter of moments. However, the added potential to cause damage to the boat, trailer, or both is significant. We wouldn’t recommend trying it except as a last resort by a very experienced operator.
4. With the boat floating freely, pull it as far out of the way as possible so other boaters can use the launch. Then secure it in place and park your tow vehicle.
5. Go enjoy a day of boating!