Boating and Sailing.pdf - Moja ladja

68
Part 1: Getting Started in Boating
You can also try to improve traction by scraping away moss or loose gravel in front of the
drive wheels. Mats laid in front of the drive wheels may help—carpet, plywood, or anything
that will provide traction can work.
Sometimes, you may have to offload the boat, pull the trailer out, and put it in again at
another location on the ramp where traction is better.
In an emergency, you can use your boat engine’s power to give you a push those first few
critical feet. You need a helper for this—one person drives the tow vehicle, the other the
boat. Make sure the boat is completely tied down with both winch strap and safety chain.
Lower the lower unit, make sure the propeller and water pickup are underwater, and start
it up.
As the vehicle driver applies power, you put the boat in gear and give a power assist.
Sometimes it only takes a nudge, sometimes a more authoritative push. In either case, a
quick hand is required to cut back power as soon as the vehicle wheels begin to grab. The
best way to shut it down is pull the kill switch lanyard, which cuts off the ignition.
A word of warning: You must shut off the motor before the water intake clears the water or
you may wind up with a fried engine. Over-revving is also possible if the propeller clears
the water. And of course, if you apply too much power and the hold-downs are not adequate,
you could wind up turning your car into a boat trailer. Clearly, this is no remedy for
the faint of heart, but it’s highly effective and one that the experts use when necessary.
A Tail-Light Cure
Trailer tail lights are chronically ill because they’re so often submerged. One cure is to
put the tail lights atop PVC plastic tubing made into guide poles. These poles help steer
the boat onto the trailer during reloading, but they also keep the lights out of the water.
U-clamp brackets will hold them in place.
Run the wires through the hollow interior of the pipes. The pipes are also a good place to
mount your trailer license—the low mounts on the trailer expose the license to being
scraped off on rough ramps.
Trailering seems daunting the first time you pull up to a ramp, but after a few successful
launches and retrievals, you’ll find it’s the easiest part of boating.
The Least You Need to Know
◆ It’s important to buy the right trailer for your boat.
◆ Hitches are load-rated and must be matched to the towed package.
◆ Practice maneuvering a trailer at home before you try it at the launch ramp.
◆ Trailer maintenance is critical to its long life.