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Random Quote: Give a man a fish, feed him once.... teach a man to fish, feed him for life!
They claim one person can launch w/o a need to 'wade into the water'. How, exactly, do I back my trailer down the ramp and then get in the boat when the water line is at my rear wheels?
what problem are you trying to solve? lets start there....
I'm not trying to solve any problems, just trying to make launching easier/faster.
Quote:
They claim one person can launch w/o a need to 'wade into the water'. How, exactly, do I back my trailer down the ramp and then get in the boat when the water line is at my rear wheels?
In your case you can't, looks like you have to back in a fair way and there is no dock where you launch?
In my case I back the boat down next to a dock so the process would be:
Back boat down- board boat from dock - start the engine - press button of launch device - drive off trailer.
My ramp is pretty shallow, and there is a double floating dock with the ramp in the middle, but it's ~20ft out, with ramps going down to it on either side. The ramp area is wider than the opening between the docks, if that makes sense, so the side ramps are a few feet out to the either side. But, to get out of the truck, depending on the tide, I usually can't even walk around the back of the truck and climb in over the bow without being in water shin-deep. What I've done a couple of times is tie a longer (25') dock line from the front cleat of the boat to the side walk ramp, then push the boat off the trailer. I then go put the truck and trailer in a spot and come back and, using the lines and a boat hook, pull the boat back out to the floating dock from the ramp. It's not so bad if I have someone with me, or if someone is at the ramp to hold the lines for me for a minute, but I'd like to be self-sufficient if it came down to it.
Even though I couldn't be in the boat, I was thinking with the Rope-A-Boat above, I could back down the ramp, get out and stand on the side ramp and 'remote launch' the boat off the trailer (instead of having to push it) while handling the lines myself. Then, when I have it tied up at the dock, I can go put the truck away. How I would load the boat back on the trailer w/o hopping off the bow and wading around the back of the truck I haven't figured out yet...
The RopeABoat? The 'packaged' systems work with boats to 20'. Larger systems are custom designed. There's a winch available for boats up to 8k lbs, so, ~28ft?
me and my dad were just talking about something for him to use. he is thinking about taking his boat out of dry stack and using the ramp in his neighborhood. and would like something to make it easier to load and unload. good thread.
__________________ 1979 manatee cuddy
1983 24 aqua patio
What is the need for the product if somebody is alredy in the boat?
If two are launching/retrieving I think this type of device is really worth while, more so than if a single person is launching.
I use a similar one("catch-on")on my current boat and the main benefit is the speed of the retrieve.
The process is:
-Dock boat and drop off person to get the car.
-They back trailer in.
-I drive the boat on the trailer
-Catch device does its job
-Car drives up the ramp
There is no one getting out of the car and no one getting off the boat climbing over the bow to do the winch/safety chain.
The whole operation is done in under 30-60 seconds.
Easy Launch/retrieve latches/catches? 
