Jay Gadsby

Hey guys,

So, the end of my tour is finally here. One more week and I will be home with my family and my Heat. Now, my wife started a new job and wont be able to spend all the time she wants with me while I am on leave for about 30 days. I do not plan on sitting home and looking at my boat for sure. I usually drive the boat up and the person that backed the trailer down hooks up the nose and cinches her down. Now if I am one person, that will obviously not work. Do you guys cinch the nose down all the way to the V-Pad? Do you leave it shy of the pad and trailer it home like that? Seems to me it bounces too much for my taste when it is not tucked in nice and neat. What is the norm with all of you that trailer? Oh, stock Nordic trailer. And for those solo boaters, any tips? Thanks guys! I am beyond excited to get home and get out on the lake.

nedpoole

iTrader: (1)

i have the same issue w/ my trailer... my solution is to pull the boat forward till about 4" of bunk is sticking past the transom. the way i can tell how far it is while cranking is if you look through the square hole that the crank strap goes through, i crank it till the strap just barely hits the top of the back side of the square hole. (or you can just crank it till the eye hits the bunks but that's a bit overkill. )

if that doesn't make sense, LMK and i'll take a pic for you

as far as launching by yourself. i have fridays off so i find myself doing it from time to time since my wife works fridays.

i put the lines & fenders on the boat first like usual. while the front strap is still connected, dip the boat in the water close enough to the dock so i can reach the lines and a few feet further back than usual so it's fully floating. then, loosely tie the lines to the dock. go up and unhook the boat from the trailer and push it off. after that, you can pull the trailer out and go cinch up your lines on the dock.

Jay Gadsby

I getcha, I will probably try it next week. Launching is not too much of an issue, but what stinks it the dock is about 50 foot away from the ramp, so I normally have to get the boat in the water, climb over, back it off the trailer, and then drive to the dock. Luckily, I always try to come in on my side (unless wind does not permit) so that way I am used to docking alone lol. I perfected it with the Pachanga, but the 6 foot difference and length, and the overall differences make certain things a bit more tricky with the Heat.

Griswald

When loading, I run the boat all the way to the bow stop and try to never leave a gap but that can sometimes be difficult with a steep ramp.

Launching solo only sucks for the guy in line after me when I have to dock the boat and make my way back to the truck. On occasion, I've asked folks at the ramp to pull my truck up as not to clog the lanes too bad. I try to launch early and beat the crowds.

Jay Gadsby

On Belton lake (my normal stomping grounds) the ramp I use is a little too steep to do that with, unless I absolutely bury the trailer. She slides right back down the trailer. I may just need to get the trailer lower, I will play with the setup when I get home. Or maybe I will just live on the lake... sounds like an idea.

blownhammer2000

iTrader: (1)

on my rage i always dunk the trailer really deep then pull out till the tops of the fenders show, wife drives it right up within a few inches of bow stops, hook the strap and crank as she hits the throttle, always have the bow tight to the stops, i had alittle damage from it bouncing on the trip from havasu to pa from not being up tight, my sweet spot is about an inch below the area where the hull and freeboard meet in the bow area

p.s. i wrapped my bow stop bunks with microfiber towels (color coded) since the carpet is abit abrasive

nedpoole

iTrader: (1)

this is what i meant Jay...

rhager

Hey guys, this is what i have found that helps loading the boat. When you have the boat all the way on the trailer where you like it, take the winch strap loose and wrap elec. tape around the strap itself to where the tape is centered over the main pin that goes through the winch. Then you can hook strap back to the boat. This will ensure that you always know the boat is on far enough or you if you have a new person winching you up you can easily explain how much too crank it.

In2Deep

Great idea. Sometimes the easiest solution...is the best.