CP-16 Trailer ops.

[carry-on]

Looking for advice concerning loading the boat on the trailer when I am alone( about 90% of the time). I keep the boat on a Magic Tilt trailer at a marina. The slope of the ramp is 2in. in 12. Tires are 20.5x8.0x10. The axle is well to the rear, maybe 4 inches remaining.
I seem to need 3ft. 4In of water at the trailer tire to launch. I can manage this, but when I finish sailing I have a tough time getting on the trailer. If there is a cross wind at the ramp...wow.
The ramp surface beyond the waterline is super slippery, so getting out of the boat to guide the boat on is dangerous.
I could go to a slip, but prefer the trailer.
Would appreciate your input.  Thanks.

[nicktulloh]

Do you have guide posts mounted to the trailer?

[nicktulloh]

Do you have guide posts mounted to the trailer? That's an automatic modification when I buy a trailer that doesn't have them. The have the added benefit of making it easier to back up because you have the two reference points.

[Salty19]

Couple of things that may help.

Once the trailer is ready, use bow and stern dock line to walk the boat forward by hand, pushing it as needed with your feet. Get the bow into V block. Throw stern line in boat, walk bow line forward, hanging onto it until you can get in the water.  Slippery ramps are tough, I use the walking on eggshell technique.  Meaning move your weight slowly and step on/off the slick gracefully.  Like you're sneaking up on it Hanging on to the bow dock line seems to make it easier and more assuring you won't fall backwards against your car.

[wes]

Everybody has a favorite technique. The 19 is a heavy boat, with much more inertia than most powerboats or day sailers that are coming and going at the ramp. I like to use a boat hook (adjustable length pole). I can stand at the trailer winch, use the hook on the end of the pole to snag the bow eye, and then pull the boat onto the trailer while steering the bow from side to side as needed to line it up with the rollers. The stiffness of the pole allows a level of control  that would be difficult with a rope, and also allows me to push the boat back off the trailer if waves or a powerboat wake start to make things a little scary and I need to abort. Plus my feet don't get as wet. Since I'm still sailing here in NC (a beautiful 70 degree day today), I have to work harder every week to keep my feet dry .

- Wes

[DaveE]

Sooo  many variables.  Worst scenario: cross wind, shallow water, no side ramp/dock, no help, no trailer guide posts, no walkway on tongue and a car pulling the trailer, add slippery and cold water, you have the full deck against you.

Your problem's solution  might include water over the wheels, a side dock/ramp on the downwind side and/or guide posts plus a walkway on the tongue and a pickup truck or a van to access the walkway.  That does it for me but as I said sooo many variables.

[JTMeissner]

carry-on, perhaps a little more description of the ramp area?  Is the ramp straight into the water with no side dock to tie off to?  Or do you dock, get the trailer into position, and then have to get back in the boat and maneuver onto the trailer?  What's the motor situation?

My marina has a double ramp with a dock running down the middle, each side with it's own peculiarities.  One side is deeper/steeper, but then has limited maneuver space, the other side is wide open, but usually shallower (all depends on lake levels at the time).  I prefer the deep side, but with low lake levels, I don't have much room as I have to go much further down the ramp (now almost to the end) and this puts me at risk of hitting the first slip behind the ramp.  However, a trolling motor with its ability to rotate full circle and quickly switch from forward to reverse means I can really control the last bit while docking. 

The area I launch from has another ramp without a side dock, which I have not tried, but it is steeper and might be necessary pending any more drop in lake level.  Of course, this pretty much means I get wet in any situation.  I also have a MagicTilt, but 8" wheels and an axle definitely farther forward than what you have.

To help with the winds, anything possible to minimize your exposed area will help.  Barring a furler, completely removing the jib alleviates that part of the problem.  Even a main tied up over the boom allows more wind surface than if it were removed (understandably a difficult task solo, but maybe you can do this while docked?). 

Cold water, perhaps some waders may be in order?  Up in the icy north I had a few sets of rubber strap-on metal sawtooth cleats designed for ice fishing, which might take some of the slip out of the ramp. 

I don't have guide posts either...  But a thought off the top of the head is if you had guideposts you could run a rope from one post to the winch post and back to the other guide post.  This would help "capture" the bow as it moved over the trailer and help keep it aligned before any keel guides were engaged?

Lastly, I find that in the recent shallow water, I need to walk down the trailer and basically manhandle the boat in line (to get the trailer deep enough I have to let the boat float away from the dock, then retrieve with a bow line).  It does take some balance to stand on the trailer frame, but there are platforms that can be added as well as non-slip applications to make that part a little easier (I wear kayak shoes which are designed to grip on slick rocks).  Once I have the bow pulpit in hand, even with a stiff wind I find I can pretty much maneuver the boat as necessary with slow, deliberate pressure.

-Justin

[carry-on]

First, thanks to all for the input which will be very helpful in finding a solution to this challenge.
A little more description of the ramp and dock: the ramp is an old seaplane ramp at NAS Pensacola. About 50 ft. wide. Two boats can launch at once if needed. The slope is 2 in 12 above the waterline and I believe the concrete continues for 60ft+/- at the same slope. So there is plenty of water, but the trailer is out some before the boat floats off.
The dock on each side of the ramp are a problem. They paralell the ramp for maybe 25 ft. but 90% of the paralell section is above the water line. The docks then turn about 30 degrees away from paralell for another 20 ft. These are the only non-floating docks at the marina, not a big problem, but at low tide the CP would like to get under the dock. If there is some crossing wind, I can just take the boat to the windward dock and the wind holds the boat off the pier.
In my current set up, the center line of the trailer tires is 18 ft. from the center line of the truck tires. So, when the truck reaches the water's edge the depth at the trailer tires should be 3 ft. I can float or push the boat off, with a line made up to the stern cleat and the finger pier. The boat is well beyond the end of the pier, but it is manageable to get it to the dock since the stern is made up and I have the bow line in hand. 
Now I motor out the channel and sail...but eventually I come home and the real fun begins.
I like the trailer a little deeper for recovery, so I can walk the boat on in the way Salty described. At my last marina (different boat), I would sink the trailer, bend the bow and stern lines together and walk the boat along the paralell dock using the line like flying a two string kite. Now, however,if I dock at the same place I left and put the trailer in the water, deep, my boat is way inside the trailer and I am hoping for a west wind, infrequent in Pensacola, or need to push on a rope ,not cold enough, to coax the boat to the trailer.

If you are still with me, here is the current plan.
1) Making up a 6ft tongue extension so I can get to good water depth without putting the real axle of the Siverado in the brine.
2) Returning to port, dock at a different part of the marina. Bag the jib and cover the main.
3) Add bow guides to the trailer as suggested. I now have web straps from the bunk ends to the keel guides. these are good if you are guiding on by hand because you can feel the hit and know you are off. Now that I will be motoring on ( don't like to), at least part way, I will find the guides useful.
4) Add walk boards at the winch and also at least on the port side from the wheel fender to the bow.
5)Before dunking the trailer for recovery run a line from the winch to the top of each guide with some slack and a taughtline hitch. As soon as I am started into the keel guide , I will drop the lines onto the respective stern cleat, snug the lines and go over the side to walk the board and crank the boat on or push/pull with the boat hook as suggested.

Again thanks for your input and if more thoughts arise, let me know.