I have found it is easier to load everything and everyone in the boat before launch that way when the guy that drove the truck and trailer gets to the dock you can come in for a quick stop and go and not have to load everything and plug up the dock.

I have had one pucker moment when it was the first time taking a new to us boat out. Backed it off the trailer and headed for the dock, tried to slow and no matter what I did the boat went forwards. The reverse cable had broke. I managed to miss the dock but the brand new bass boat still on the trailer was not so lucky :poopoo:.

Just take your time and go through your process and it will be a good day on the water.

Heres how me and the wife and my 7 year old kid work it all out with the boat, she packs all the stuff at home while I run the boat on the hose in the driveway to warm it up and make sure everything is right ( no leaks, check everything, Etc). By the time I do all that she has everything packed up and then hands all the stuff up to me since I’m already up in the boat. Once all the coolers, food, towels, Etc is all in there then theres no effin around at the launch trying to load all the stuff in the boat. Why so many people wait to load ALL there stuff into the boat while on the ramp is beyond me????

Anyways then I put the plug in the boat and toss 2 dock lines in the cab of the truck, then we hop in the truck and head off to the ramp. Before we go down the ramp I pull off the rear straps, and put on the dock lines. The wife grabs the lines while the boat is being backed in, before the tongue of the trailer gets over the water line I get out and remove the winch hook (my ramp is small angle so the boat wont “slide” off!) then I back her in the rest of the way till it floats then the wife gives a nod once she knows its floating free of the trailer then I pull the trailer up and park it. My kid jumps in the boat and turns on the blower while I’m parking the truck. Its maybe 3 minutes tops from the time we pull into the marina till the truck is already parked. I jump in the boat and lift the hatch to make sure theres no fumes then I hit the key. once the wife sees water coming out of the pipes she jumps in and were off since the motor is already warmed up!

When pulling out of the water for the end of the day everything is just reversed. Again, why so many people see the need to unload everything from the boat while its ON the ramp is beyond me???

You must have a military background! Thats pure efficiency!!

My kids are a challenge. I think it's that they're just not used to being on a boat. One is 15 and the other is 7. Lots of rough housing (which is in my opinion dangerous). Screwing around with the radio, opening the hatch (fortunately only at idling).

The other thing is when they get out and come back - they don't know to wash off all the sand, mud, or grass from their feet yet.

I need to give these kids an education on proper boating safety and etiquette (I guess), but then and again, with a little warmer water, I think the tubing will take a little of the horse play out of them too.

Nope! I'm just a lowly Engineer! My dad was in the Marines though, maybe that has something to do with it!:santa:

Its pretty funny, one of my buddys has a 25 outlaw and we usually head to the same places and his routine is just as efficient as mine, people see us roll in and think its gonna be a long wait and we are in and out of the ramp in minutes! heck we see people with a single jet ski take 5 times longer to launch then we do!:lolhit:

exactly where I put in!

I totally agree! It makes me furious when I see a truck back down the ramp (after sitting for 15 minutes waiting!) THEN, everyone gets out, mills around for a few minutes THEN they start loading everything from towels, to coolers, and whatever! The WHOLE damn crew sits in the truck LOOKING at the boats in line. By the time the GF and I are backing down the ramp, it's a quick down, boat floats, I start up and back away. I don't have to say a thing. She can SEE when I'm backing out and she pulls up the ramp and parks. The retrieve is just as fast. She backs down till the top bunk is wet, stops, I come forward and hit the bunks, get within 4-5 ft of the winch, climb over the front, hook the winch, pull it up snug and go back and shut off the motors, she sees me thumbs up and it's up the ramp to a spot AWAY from others trying to retrieve their boats and we unload what we need to. 1-2 minutes tops!

One of the best investments for new boaters... get yourself 2 extendable floating "Boat Hooks". These can be used if you are just a little too far away from the dock to hook the cleats and pull yourself in as well as push yourself away. These will save your wife from having to jump onto the dock and tie ropes or from having to lean between the boat and dock to push away. Trust me, they will be used all of the time until you are both familiar with how everything moves and goes.

"boat hooks" you mean stupid sticks right???

:party-smiley-004::party-smiley-004::party-smiley-004::party-smiley-004::party-smiley-004::party-smiley-004::party-smiley-004::party-smiley-004::party-smiley-004::party-smiley-004::lolhit::lolhit:

J/K:thankyouthankyou:

and on a serious note please remember to train everyone that the boat always wins VS bones, my wife a wily veteran tried keeping two boats apart and broker her ankle two years ago, not cool, and she knew better

How'bout this weekend? With a busy lake or any water for that matter, is "earlier better" for launching on a holiday?

Im sure its going to be nuts.

I like the gaff hook idea. It would have saved me the agony of falling off the bow of the boat one time while trying to lassau the dock cleat. Somehow my running watch got stripped off when it happened (wasnt cheap). Luckily no one was around for that one!

Ahh, that's one of my personal pet peeves. We always make sure all of our stuff, along with kids and the boat captain are on board and in position BEFORE the boat is even on the ramp. Same thing goes for putting it back on the trailer. Winch it up and get out of the way!

To the OP, even if your wife is not comfortable backing in the trailer, she should still know how to do it. Eventually, you will be confronted with a situation like strong current, high winds, approaching storm, etc., where it will make more sense for her to back the trailer in and for you to put the boat on the trailer. A helpful hint for backing down the ramp - keep your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel. Then if you want the trailer to go to the left, you just move your hand in that direction, and vice versa. Works like a charm. Oh yeah, and use your side mirror to guide yourself down. I try to find something like a joint in the concrete that goes straight down to the water to guide the wheels on the trailer - some ramps are nice enough to have a painted line.

I learned the routine from my friends I boat with. And although I follow the same prep routine, I launch with bumpers and lines, and my wife just holds it while I park the truck and let the blower run I'm still learning this boat, and not about to put the stress of trying the below on her.

We park in an empty area of the parking lot by the ramp, do a full inspection get boat all loaded(small stuff we didn't want to load at house) like cell phones, ipod, etc., take off all straps, then the wife jumps in the boat turns on the blower. Then they get in line, and when launching, back down to where the boat is just about to float, wife starts it up, lets it warm up for a few moments, then Husband backs the boat in just a little further wife pulls away from the dock, circles around in the area few hundred yards or so away, then after the husband has parked the truck she just swings by the dock, he jumps on and away they go. Launching like this takes about a minute max , and will obviously only work with several things: 1)a bunk trailer(no rollers) 2) a very shallow angle ramp 3) a mild engine that is not cold blooded 4)no heavy crosswind 5) a smart wife.
But it is amazingly fast! Peoples jaws drop especially when the idiot before was there for a good twenty minutes.

They put in just the reverse. Wife pulls up to end of dock, husband jumps off, goes and gets truck while wife circles around, then when the truck is in position, she drive the boat onto the trailer forcing it foward, then husband just clips on the winch strap, jumps back into the truck and pulls away.
Now again I don't do it this way, once we get into the no wake area; I climb foward and put a line on the bow cleat, and drape it back over the windshield, then put on a stern line and two bumpers, I then pull up to very back of the dock. The Wifey jumps out i toss her both lines and she wraps themp around aluminum posts at our main ramp or cleats at other locals, so she can hold it no matter what. I go get the truck, back the trailer in all the way, she takes hold of the bow line, walks the boat foward towards me; I hook on winch line, and pull it on all the way, we toss the lines in the boat, she jumps in the truck, and we pull away. ( all this time she was holding the boat steady from the stern line). Yes this does require me to get a little wet, but thats why I wear sandles. I just can't stand the idea of driving the boat onto the trailer forcing it onto dry bunks, I would rather have complete control, know its centered, and float it on the trailer.
We all end by parking in another empty part of the lot, pull plugs, coolers, wet gear, electronics etc., strap everything down, check the trailer and boat over one more time, then head home.

Well thats all great advise guys! Much obliged! I will be incorporating a lot if not all of these pointers.

Hope all of you have a safe and fantastic Memorial Day weekend, and remember our Veterans!

Break your checklist into sections:

1) Things to do/have before leaving home
2) Things to do once you arrive at the lake BEFORE putting in
3) Things to do before leaving the trailer/dock
4) Things to do before pulling boat out of the water
5) Things to do before leaving the lake
6) Things to do/remove when you get back home

Sounds complicated, but it really isn't.

+1 on practice. If you are nervous, take a vaction day mid-week and go early in the morning when things aren't crowded. Nothing can build your skills more than practice.

Relax and enjoy!

Reduce the Red Bull and coffee intake 2-3 hours prior to launching the boat. :D

This is exactly what I do. After 5 years on the water Ive developed the "mental" checklist in my head. Its taken a while but I think Ive perfected it. Besides my little incident with the stump. Every time I'd get home Id forget something in the boat, uncover it and this was getting irritating. Now I have learned to do the same thing over and over and it works.

Great thread.

Although had been boating for years with friends, my first real boat that I had to be solely responsible for (including screw ups) was the one I have now. I can relate to being nervous the first few times I took on the task of a 29 Fountain with twins and a boat ramp with the girlfriend.

Even now, you can bet that I am paying attention a LOT and not wanting to make the stupid rookie mistakes. I am still a little nervous first couple of times each season. Its probably healthy. The thought of forgetting the drain plug or something equally silly is mortifying enough that it keeps me on my toes.

The checklist is the key, as is maintaining an even temperament even if something doesn't go exactly as planned. At least I've found that works for us. Over time, things fall into a rhythym when you keep doing exactly the same procedure each and every time.

Pretty awesome that this forum doesn't flame a guy who is trying to figure this stuff out. Also pretty awesome seeing the humility from seasoned boaters admitting that they still screw up sometimes. There are some good folks hanging out on this website.

I have made every mistake that is possible, some of them multiple times. Ask me how well my bilge pump works! I figure I'll stop making em when I quit boating!

I would never rush a guy or gal on the ramp if it looks like he is trying to do the right thing. I'll even offer to help if it looks like he or she is in trouble. The ones that just don't give a rats a$$ about anyone else are the ones that get my ire up.

Don't be dissin my boat hook, I was able one time to use to snag the kill switch for a guy who left his jet boat running while he got out, forgetting that if it is running it will move. Now I have never needed the hook for anything I have done.
:bsflag:

Pretty funny!

I must be stupid, I don't use it much but I've always carried a boat hook on my boats.