How much ramp is needed to launch a 38' powerboat? I guess it depends on the angle of the launch, are all launches supposed to be built on a certain angle?

I know when i had my bass boat, there were a couple of ramps that were very steep, and were hard to launch off of. The concrete launches were usually good, but some don't have markers showing the end in the water.

Are there any of you that can't launch at certain spots?

Thanks,
1stackmack

well a 38 foot boat pluss a trailer your looking at close to 42 foot . at high tide it is easy to put in the water and take out but at low tide you could have a problem just depends on the ramp i would say most ramp's are not for such a larg boat at least that is the way it is down here in south florida
good luck
mike

Are you building a ramp? Mine is at 10 degrees. I have 40 feet of concrete and rip rap at the end of the concrete. We can unload and load a 43 Black Thunder at low tide

It all depends on the boat and the trailer. A step bottom boat needs to have enough water depth and the correct angle to float the rear of the boat up far enough to float over the higher rear bunks. If the ramp is too steep, the boat will not float, and will "sink" and stay on the trailer. If the ramp is not steep enough, you will run out of ramp before you have enough water to float the rear of the boat.

The above is even MORE important when retrieving a step bottom boat.

A straight bottom boat can slip off of just about anything as long as all the bunks are wet.

Not building a ramp, just wanting to know where i should launch or not launch. I am looking to buy a 35-42' boat, i guess i will have to get one of my passengers to walk down to the end of the launch to make sure i don't fall off of the end. I have seen it happen before, trailer tries fel off of the end of the ramp, and another truck helped pull on the truck, and pulled the axles off of the boat trailer.

Keep a gaff or some other cheap/easy/extending bar with you. If there's a dock, you can walk the dock as you poke down with the pole; hopefully, if there's an end to concrete, you'll feel it. Sometimes the concrete ends where the dock ends, so that can be a good indicator.
If you lose a trailer off the end, try and hook it with the boat anchor; lift it up as someone drives the truck forward.

The perfect combo of pitch, and ramp length is critical to every boat. I like a nice long curtesy dock too....so I can launch and retrieve all alone. My fountain has that friggin beak so I need a ramp that isnt too steep, otherwise I cannot pull it up on the trailer very easy. Ramp has to be steep enough that I dont have the trucks rear tires in the water to pull the boat off. The ramp I like to frequent allows me to back in, walk the boat off the trailer by hand and down the curtesy dock, and tie off....putting the boat back on the trailer is just as easy. Find one like that and it becomes a very quick hassel free ordeal that you can do all alone so rookies dont have to be involved.

If running off the end of a ramp is your nightmare, or jumping curbs and running into ditches, I've seen trailers with wedge shaped skid plates welded to the frame in front of the tires, to help the axles not get ripped off when driving over something they shouldn't.

Where are you planning on doing your boating? I'm assuming either Lake Maurepas/Ponchartrain or around Lake Charles. If its in my area I can make some suggestions, if in Lake Charles theres some other board members you could PM or I could call some friends over there and find out where they put in.

Forgot to add, ramp length at most places around here isn't an issue. Plenty of guys putting in 40'+ boats with no problem.