Boating and Sailing.pdf - Moja ladja

Power Loading
Chapter 4: It Follows You Anywhere—Trailering Your Boat
Power loading is using the boat motor to push the boat onto the trailer. It’s fast and easy:
Get the boat lined up squarely with the trailer, ease forward until the keel makes contact
with the center roller, and then advance the throttle a little so that the boat climbs right
up onto the trailer bunks. It should stop a few inches from the winch hook.
Hook up the winch and use the ratchet to snug up the boat against the bow roller. Shift
the winch lock to the “on” position, add a safety chain from bow to trailer, and you’re
ready to pull out.
Break-Frame Loading
If you don’t have a drive-on trailer, you probably have a “break-frame” that tilts up when
you pull a pin on the tongue. These are suitable for light, small- to medium-sized boats,
up to about 17 feet. Your partner slides the boat
bow onto the back roller of the trailer (What,
you don’t have a partner? Then get a drive-on
trailer!), then you walk the plank, teetering your
way along the frame as you pull out the winch
cable to hook onto the bow eye. Then you teeter
back.
You may have to use a stern line to keep the back
end of the boat aligned with the trailer in the
early going, particularly if there are winds or a
current from the side. Once the boat is in place,
chain it down as described previously.
Pulling Out
Remove wheel chocks, put the car in low gear, take off the emergency brake only then, and
pull out steadily. If you take off the emergency brake first, the car will rock back against
the transmission park pin, making it difficult to shift into drive. Or, even worse, it may
rock back and break the pin and proceed rapidly down the ramp into the water.
Trouble at the Ramp
Look Out!
Although you don’t
want to take off the emergency
brake before putting the car in
gear, you must take it off before
trying to pull forward. Sounds
too obvious for you to possibly
ever forget, doesn’t it? I do it
about once a year and usually
can’t figure out why my truck suddenly
has lost power.
There are times when you can’t pull out. Slippery, steep, or potholed ramps or dirt or
gravel can make it difficult. So can a boat that’s too big for your tow vehicle. The best
thing to do in a situation like this is get a tow from a nearby vehicle, if possible.
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