Solved the problem of newbies on the boat ramp!

[gitnby]

New Boat Launching Idea

[dan hufferd]

Red Green is my hero !

[Dan Sweeney]

Ahhh Red Green, the source of so much wisdom.  

[dtrs5kprs]

Nice.

Used to see a guy at one of the small lakes I fished, who had a hitch on the front and back of a truck with a camper. He would pull in, unhitch at the rear, hitch up at the front, and push it down the ramp. He was there every week. Takes all kinds. 

[Sam]

I got to K Dock once just in time to watch a guy launch by himself in front of me.  He unhooked everything, tied a rope from the front of his boat to the back of his trailer, backed down the ramp real fast, stepped on the brakes, then watched his boat shoot backwards out across the lake as one of his knots came untied.

Not a bad method at all, but it's kinda important to make sure those knots will hold.  I gave him a ride out to his boat.  

[MOPanfisher]

Sam, I see lots of folks do that around the lake when fishing alone.  I have considered doing it, but like you have given rides out to boats when the cheap lightweight polypropylene they seem to invariably use breaks. Have also seem them pull up "gently" so they can grab the rope and accidentally hit gas or something and drag the boat partway onto the ramp.   I believe last year a similar situation cost a man his life.  No one is entirely sure what happened, but his vehicle/trailer was still backed into the water, a pile of shoes, watch, wallet, cell phone etc. piled neatly beside and his boat floating loose in the lake.  His body was recovered a short time later.  I fish alone a lot and haven't really come up with an easy way to launch, I try to wear some sort of footwear I can get into at least a few inches of water with.  Summer is easy, sandals or wading shoes.  Cooler weather I keep a pair of rubber boots so I can wade out far enough to get on front on my trailer and push it off, if I back far enough to float the boat on most ramps it requires me to get my feet wet to get on the trailer or boat.   What I really need I guess are more fishing buddies!

[Champ188]

I bought one of these recently. Works like a charm.

 

 

[dtrs5kprs]

Is that the bungee type cord? Wondered about those.

My current answer is gore tex boots. Tall Rocky boots, with my gore tex pulled over and tightly strapped when cold. Gore tex hikers when warmer. 

[Guest]

This reminds me of the time I had to swim after the boat. I was at Bella Vista early one morning in April, water was upper 50's. I launched the boat no problem. Tied it off to the courtesy dock & went to park the truck. Came back & my boat was drifting out to the mainlake slowly. Nobody was on the lake that day (it was the middle of the week) I didn't have a change of clothes, so I stripped down to my boxers & donned my life jacket. I swam out to the boat & crawled up the transom (no boat ladder) Well, 55 degree water doesn't seem that cold until you swim 50 yards. At least I was able to get back to the truck & put on dry clothes. Now, I carry extra change of clothes & knee boots in case the ramp is so flat that you gotta back the truck down to the tailpipe. 

[Sam]

I've used the rope method, but instead I generally just unhook the rear tie-downs, back in and get the boat floating, leave the driver's door open and climb up over my truck toolbox and bed to unhook the front of the boat and get in, then start the motor and run the boat to the bank or a courtesy dock.  Then I climb up over the front of my truck, drop down into the driver's seat, and go park.  This goes almost as quick as launching with a partner - I don't block a ramp for long.  My grandkids are impressed that grandpa can still do this, but I've launched this way so many hundreds of times it's no big deal.

You can tell if I've gone fishing by myself since the last rain by the dried muddy footprints on top of the left front fender of my truck.