Power Loading
 

What is the deal with fisherman. Do they not know how to load a boat without power loading. Big signs at the dock no power loading.

I am pulling out sunday. While I was there 4 different fishing boats pulling out. All of them are 20'ish aluminum boats. They can't be that heavy. Every single one of them is power loading. Then a sherrif shows up and starts chewing on them all for doing it. Is it just a lazy thing? I have never had to power load a single boat I have owned on a trailer. Even my 30' Baja is a breeze to load all by myself, I don't even get wet when I do it.

Best I can gather it's a show-off thing. I can't see any other reason to do it. My personal boat weighs 10,000 lbs. and I crank it on the trailer every time.

Laziness.

Every offshore and fishing boat I have ever seen load in Kenosha harbor was power loaded.Explain how you load a 30 ' boat without getting your toes wet not power loading , by yourself.? Not arguing , I dont own one , so it would be helpful when I do.

EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE around here power loads . If by chance you are inexperienced then you are called a Rope Boater and and are lit up for being slow at the ramps . Of course there is no tide and the concrete ramps extend deep into the water . I guess you've got to follow proper protocol from where your located .

Same here, however, there is a difference between sliding nicely up the bunks at idle speed and using 3/4 throttle to climb up a half-submerged trailer. I almost always boat alone, and in following proper (maybe local?) ramp etiquette I tie the boat to the courtesy dock as to not hold up the ramp. I fetch my trailer then jump in the boat and slide the boat right up to the bow stop, hook and I'm done. This might be considered "power loading" but it's hands down the quickest easiest way to load the boat. I rarely need any throttle and if i do, it's 1200 RPM MAX for a split second.

Exactly !!! Professional power loading at its finest !!

X2. That's exactly what I do. I'm the kind of guy you want in front of you at a crowded ramp. I timed myself once as I pulled my boat out solo. From the time I backed into the ramp until the time my boat left the water behind the truck, exactly 48 seconds went by. Time the next blow boat or jet ski hand cranking fest and see how long it takes. Oh, and bring a calendar.

Watched a "crank fest" :lolhit: last night actually. In and out with a 17' Bayliner at least 5 times trying to get the boat centered on the bunks. Two poor guys waist deep in the water, and the GF driving the blazer. Kept backing up til the bumper was in the water, and the two guys would try to center the boat as it went out. Loaded the 382 alone in less than a minute. Granted they were super nice people, and actually stopped by as I was tieing down to comment on my loading technique. Hopefully they learned a thing or two. I'm always up for educating those that are new to this. I was a newbie once too.

HAHA you beat me to it Dave, This happend to me to yesterday it was a busy day on St. Clair coming into the docks and about 10 boats waiting to dock when here comes 3 bass boats flying in a no wake zone to unload they pull right up to the docks between boats on both sides and the guy on the bow jumps off to go get the truck. One bounces off a 26 Thompson when the guy jumped off. I have a buddy and my 5 year old with me and we are waiting patiently for a open dock space so I get behind a boat that is pulling out and I proceed to dock as soon as I get to the dock here comes a guy backing in his trailer right in front of my boat so I yell to him STOP and he just keeps backing up so I had no choice to back up so this jack a$$ doesn't hit me. Then he gets out of his truck and says just back out for a secend so I can unload. My reply was NO YOU MOVE A$$ HOLE he tells me he is not going to move it will only take a sec. So after we exchange words for a bit everyone on the docks get on my side and start telling this guy to MOVE he still said no so I told him MOVE NOW or I will pull my boat on your trailer he didn't move so I pulled right up on his trailer and told him I can sit here all day till he moves. The guy jumps in the water and pushes the bow of my boat off his trailer. By now everyone on the dock is yelling at this guy but he obviously thinks he is MR. entitlement so I give up for now because I have my 5 year old with me. I let him pull out then I go in right behind him dock the boat and start going his way fast, he seen me coming and jumped back in his truck a took off. I was running bare foot with no shirt on through the parking lot and caught up to him just before he got out of the gate but he would not roll down his window. (A$$ HOLE) Then when I got back to my boat I asked my 5 year old if daddy scared her from yelling? Her reply was daddy if you would of said please he might of moved for you. HAHA kids are great.

Aren't the majority of trailers "drive ons" ?

You sure about that everyone??? Well ya probably just weren't there 3 weeks ago when I was :whistle: because I sure don't power load and if that's what it takes to be a "professional" call me newbie forever. If the weather is good this Saturday and I get a transient slip at Southport marina have the stop watches ready cause I'll be the one in the water cranking it on!!! lol

I typically power load the last 2-3 feet. It's nice having a little resistance to get it on just right. Plus I am at the ramp by myself 99% of the time

Yes I am sure , everyone. LOL. You burned yourself because you said "In the water" . I asked how you load a 30 by yourself without getting your toes wet.:lolhit: Seriously though, everyone I see power loads. Not saying I sit there all weekend just my observation when I am there.

lol burned myself?? Uhhh you have me confused with the other poster..

But it has me wondering if I could do it with out getting wet....hmmm if I bring a small raft to take the winch strap out to hook on to the boat, man now you have me thinking!!!

Sure you can Just take some acrobatics you go from ramp to bumper of truck to tongue of trailer and whala. That what I do early in the season when the water is cold.

I generally coast up at idle to the trailer and "bump" onto the trailer, just enough to hold the boat centred and still on the trailer. Then I climb off the bow onto the toungue of the trailer, hook up the winch cable and walk to dry land and winch the boat on the rest of the way.

I found if I didn't do this, the back of the boat would constantly move around making it hard to keep centered, if I have an extra set of hands I put a rope from a rear cleat to help keep the boat still, but, it's MUCH easier to just nudge the boat on the trailer. I usually line up with the centre of the bunks, blip the throttle and then shut it off, boat just kinda drifts up onto the bunks and gently stops.

I find the mistake a lot of people make is backing WAY too
Far down the ramp, you shouldn't need to be up to your waist in water just to hook up the bow eye.

No, I know you didnt post the feet wet comment. Just a blanket cover , my bad.

If you ever need help loading for a day, Im in. Ill pay the days gas and drinks. Thats if Im not up North on my toon. We have our toon on Castle Rock in Necedah and we are up there almost every weekend. I am looking for a boat to keep in the marina here for the weekends we dont go up, or just a nice ride after work. I live 10 minutes from the harbor. Was thnking a nice 30 go fast like an Activator.

Thanks for the offer I'll for sure keep it in mind! The Kenosha Southport Marina and area around are one of the nicest we have found great place.

No problem, if your ever here for a weekend you can drop the boat in my driveway for a night if your heading home and back. Save the trailering.

Ok loading the boat without getting wet. Boat is sitting at the dock back trailer into water. One local ramp I can just step up on the bumper of the truck step on the trailer, grab the bow stop pull the boat to the hook crank it up. Pull it out of the water in 30 seconds. Most other ramps I just step from the dock to the bumper of the truck. Don't even get my toes wet.

Must be a Michigan thing...:whistle:

I don't know about a cat, but my boat is a V. All I do is pull out of the water slow the boat just centers on the trailer. Could just be the way my bunks are setup, but all three of my boats have been the same way.

Post a vid, I want to see that .:lolhit:

My favorite is when I grow tired of waiting for all the BS and my wife backs me in the ramp and i slide off and go about my business :bunnydance: then put the nose at end of dock and pick up my hottie!! and there still scratching there heads :thankyouthankyou::thankyouthankyou:

A lot depends on the trailer. If you have a bow roller that actually catches your bow eye and stops the boat from going any more forward, it is possible to powerload all the way on. The boat stops when it bow eye is stopped by the roller. However, on a Myco, Manning, or LoadMaster type of winch stand setup where there is no positive stop, you definitely cannot powerload by yourself.

If you have a second person on the winch, idling the boat or bumping it forward while they winch is easy to do.

If you can't get your toes wet for whatever reason, just jump on the tailgate or bumper of the truck and walk down the trailer tongue. It's not that big of a deal.

If you launch/retrieve out of the same ramp with same attributes 25x a season, it's easy to get a method down pact. However, when you travel to different locations, and factor in water levels, current, breeze, and tidal changes; as well as different ramp lengths, water depth, and ramp angles; every time out (and in) is a new experience.

Rope Boater...
New one on me.

I don't even carry any ropes on my boat.

I'm assuming what you mean by "power loading" is not just idle or even the 1200 rpm, but the 3500 with the rooster tail?

I would say that's the consensus here. No reason for rev limiters at the ramp :D

Here's a good video of me loading my boat :party-smiley-004:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkvst...e_gdata_player

Yeah, thought so just think some of the replies on here they were considering idle power loading. When I'm by myself I just shut it off then just pull it up with the bow line. If someone else retrieves the trailer I have em set it about 80% where it needs to be to center it on the bunks, leave it in gear at idle then just have em back a little deeper until it walks on up to the bow stop. Works like a charm.

Hey you guys that powerload, please check the rules if you go to a different ramp. I am only a rope-boater I guess because the powerloaders dig holes at our ramps and make the bottom uneven for my trailer. 2 out of 3 of the closest ramps are on a ditch or creek with current. We don't like holes at the end of the concrete.

My brother got a $100 fine last year in NH for power loading his bass boat.

gota love the guy who power loads and doesn't look around. last summer a family in a bow rider was making perfect docking just ready to grab the pier, and idiot with twins in a Baja powered up and blew them away,bounced of the dock ,kid in front almost fell out, and he was wondering why we were all yelling at him. my opinion theres a reason they make winches on trailers . I know how far to back the truck in and wife unties the 35' and floats boat up to front of trailer 6-7 turns of winch and pull the boat out. easy takes a minute and I have to get my feet wet! isnt that why we go to the water? I like seeing the power loaders miss there mark the damage usually doesn't look cheap

We came into Mazuriks launch just before sunset on Saturday and fisherman were a few deep and power loading on their trailers. It doesn't bother me when done right, it's the lazy people that start stabbing the throttle because their trailer isn't at the right depth. Rooster tails and mud flying. I don't know what the power loading law is in Ohio but the Coast Guard gave us a "safety inspection" on the retrieval ramp that night. People were power loading and Coast Guard didn't say anything. Our Eagle trailer has 2 bow eye rollers and the depth of the trailer has to be just right to thread the needle and hook the strap between the 2 rollers. Float on and then slowly drag the boat out, it centers every time. And yes I have to get wet every time, no issue for me it's part of boating.

I boat by myself and Im one of those rope guys. After I back the trailer in the water (to the exact spot where approx 2" of the top bunks are showing) I "walk the dog" to the trailer. takes 60 seconds. Centers itself as it climbs the exposed bunks... I get in the water and attach the hook and turn 5 or 6 rotations, and the boat is secure.
I too get my feet wet every time, part of boating.

I dont see alot of power loading in my area. But I see a TON of trailers in the water too deep. Guys standing in water up to their waist winching in a fully floating boat, then the bow eye ends up above the bow stop! Then the yelling at the wife begins... Hold it steady! You need to pay attention!
Its hilarious because the dufus dude is the one who backed the trailer in too deep. The Wife/Kid/GF/Whatever is nice enough to just stand there and hold the lines...

I drive my 272 to the bow stop everytime. She "sticks" on the bunks about 4 inches short, 1500 RPM bump and she's home.

LOVE those kids. "daddy, why did you say those mean things to that man" LMFAO

This just sounds like a classic idiot loading his boat. There is never a reason to use that much throttle.

The ramp I use every single weekend is power loaded and unloaded 100% of the time by 100% of the boats. I didn't even know it was illegal in a few states until i read about it in Boat US magazine i think last month. Like I said the ramp I use every weekend you do not have the option to rope on or off unless you want to be shoulder high in water. If you place your trailer properly you shouldn't even have to use throttles. I wedge my nose idling on and wench the rest. 30 seconds tops from my nose hitting my trailer to my boat being out of the water if I have my buddy helping me. If I'm by myself, two minutes. Granted I only have a 27 ft boat but it's not all that different if you work with your trailer placement.

Sorry about that Mark. But my Fountain absolutely would NOT go on the trailer right without giving it some gas. I got screamed at at Portage and told I was never welcome back there again. I told the guy that's fine, I'll have new boat next year and you won't even know me. So he took the plate down off my truck. Well, I got a chuckle, cuz I changed that too! Regardless...not a fan of that ramp, too steep and too short for my taste.

I still have to "power load" the AT....but its a matter of idling up and getting centered on the bunks, then a slight bump to get the bow into the V. If I drop it super deep, the V-block hits my paint and causes damage. Guess how I know....:(

+1 This is EXACTLY why powerloading isn't allowed at many ramps. We don't want "potholes" at the end of the ramps for our trailer wheels to fall into.