Solo Beach Launching

[diver]

Anyone out there having success at beach launching their boats. If so can you tell me what sought of boat you are using, eg inflatable or 4.7m Quintrex etc and how you go about the retrieval, I mean do you beach it and winch it dry onto the trailer or do you have a power winch ?
Do you launch it by pushing it in by hand with the third wheel set up or do you use a extended drawbar ?
I work shift work and would like to get to some spots away from the crowds but I am a little unsure as to how do able this is alone

[onerabbit]

Gee,

that's a tough one Diver ( or could be ), what sort of boat are you launching??

I don't know much about beach launching, but I'd hate to leave my boat floundering while I parked the car, could be awful on the wrong bit of beach.

Muzz

[revs57]

G'day Diver.

I've done and continue to do a bit of beach launching. Both in a 4.5mt tinnie and now in the 6mt plus platey. To do it alone would really depend on where you are and what the prevailing conditions were like eg tide, wind, surge, shore break etc.

For me, I wouldn't do it alone except if the conditions were dead right as you can get into a lot of trouble if it goes pear shaped.

I've seen blokes launch and retrieve alone at Minnie Water in the bay there when it has been dead calm at 1/2 tide no problem, but having just returned from Fraser Island I'm not sure I'd want to throw the platey in to Waddy alone, park the car, then bolt down the beach to try and get the big girl off as there was always some wave/shore break action in the gutter even in the lowest part of the tide.

At Minnie I simply approach it like a normal ramp launch the conditions there are so good from around 1/2 tide, although it can be tricky if the is a SEasterly surge happening. It was certainly easier with the smaller boat, and if I had to return on a higher part of the tide, I'd simply beach it, drag it up the beach on a snatch strap off the back of the trailer and winch it on the trailer off the beach. To do that with the bigger boat would be a challenge so on the occasions when I've come in with the tide higher and conditions surging, I've simple anchored up in the bay and waited for conditions to be right. I have an extended draw bar with the new outfit.

And I've seen some blokes get into trouble too...it can be a tricky maneuver particularly if you have the car and trailer on the beach for a while launching and retrieving and the wave action erodes the sand from around the trailer and car tyres. The first movement must always be to reverse back around 1/2 meter before driving off to lift the wheels out of any eroded situation.

Certainly much easier if you are able to point the bow into the swell/surge. I've wondered about using the anchor to secure the boat while parking and getting the car and trailer on retrieve, but reckon it could get very complicated if conditions were not right. I'm not sure if I'd really want to do it alone even on a good day.

I don't know if that's much help...as I said and you realise, it can be tricky.

cheers

rhys

[saurian]

Diver , I've launched about 30 plus different boats off the beach , but it all depends on the beach and the sea conditions.
Revs has explained it pretty well.
My main concerns for solo beach launching is that it might be calm when you launch and all is well , what happens when you try to retreive in a nasty little 1m shore break which popped up from over the horizon while you where blowing bubbles or fishing ??
But in sheltered areas no worries .
I've used extended drawbars , 3rd wheel setups( swing down spare on stub axle) and the old drag em up method.
I think if you have the money a 2.5 hp honda and a manually activated belt drive
winch to skull drag your platey off the beach as you roll the trailer back is the ultimate setup.
Ta

[Chimo]

Used to beach launch and retrive a 5.6 tinny with a 90HP and a 9.9 auxillary.

Trailer with a 3rd wheel on a stub axle up the fronr and used to unhitch on the beach and roll the trailer and boat in and when off, anchor the boat and then haul the trailer out with a long rope by driving along the beach.

When the trailer was more or less straight behind the car then back up, hitch up, and park well up the beach with the trailer ready to unhitch and spear into the water to retrieve.

Retrieve was done by anchoring boat, walk in shore, spear trailer into the water dragging the long rope attached to the pull.

Full size waders are handy for this too unless you wear togs.

Usually the trailer didn't go right under so used to push the empty trailer around to give best loading ie facing waves and just walk boat to trailer rear, clip winch hook to eye and use manual trailer winch to pull boat onto trailer.

The trick is to not wind the boat all the way on so there is less weight on front so you can lift the hitch onto car on the beach after you drag the trailer out and along the beach .

Then lift trailer on to car and wind boat on the rest of the way onto the trailer and re-secure it. Yes, you did secure the boat on the traler pre to the haul out!.

Worked ok for me but best with a bit of clear beach to drive along as the trailer tends to do a big arc as you drive along the beach till it eventually ends up in line with the car and you hitch up. Never bog as always dive along not up the beach with the load.

Have fun!

Cheers
Chimo

[Wayne_Red]

Hi Diver
What size and type of boat are you launching, what is the beach like and where are you launching from?

Wayne