A transportable boat is great! You can launch it wherever you want, and visit new playgrounds. Each time, you'll have to choose an accessible and good quality slipway, but also take all the precautions to ensure that the maneuver goes smoothly. Here are 15 tips for a worry-free launch.
Find out about the conditions for launching
- If you're considering using a slipway you're not familiar with, check out the Google maps satellite view to see what it looks like. It's amazing what you can learn! You can also see our guide to boat slips online to find technical details, and create or enhance your favorite hold .
- Check the tide times. It is better to take advantage of the rising tide to have a dry and less slippery surface.
- At the site, take a walk around. Find out if the base of the slipway is clear, and identify a place where you can moor the boat while you park the hitch.
Prepare yourself before going on the slipway
- Put your boat down in the parking lot so that you can prepare it without cluttering up the slipway. This is a basic courtesy towards other users.
- Smaller sailboats are easier to mast and rig on land. However, make sure that no overhead wire will complicate your life, or even take it away in a spray of sparks...
- Unstrap the boat and remove the light plate, even if the lights are waterproof. With an articulated tiller, these could hit the concrete of the hold.
- Depending on the configuration of the place, it is often more convenient to load the equipment in the boat as long as it is on land and close to the car.
- Prepare fenders, a paddle, mooring lines, and don't forget to replace the anchor cap!
- Connect the fuel line, open the fuel valve and prime the fuel system. Put the key and kill switch in place, so the crew member in charge of the boat doesn't have to look for it.
- Pull up your pants and put on proper shoes. This is much safer than climbing the trailer structure.
Precautions during the launching maneuver
- Back up onto the chock, avoiding submerging more than the bottom of the tire. Apply the handbrake and leave the car in gear.
- Start unwinding the winch cable. The crew member on board will lower the motor as soon as the stern floats in sufficiently deep water.
- It starts the engine while the front of the boat is still engaged on the trailer.
- When the nose of the boat is about to leave the last roller, it clutches slightly backwards, so that the wind or the current does not make the boat carry on the trailer.
- The winch operator releases the hook and the boat can be taken to the nearest dock. The winch cable can then be secured and the car and trailer can be pulled up to a parking spot.
