The County was out at one of our local boat ramps today scooping sand off of the ramp. The sand tends to collect on the South side of the ramp, so we like to use the other side. It is not an issue for the trailer so much as it is for a tow vehicle that gets the rear wheels down onto the sand, we have seen a few people get stuck there as the sand can be so thick that the tires lose grip.
There are a few other things we look for before we launch, we even have a checklist on the iphone, we call it "Ramp Recon." The Ramp Recon Checklist gets used at unfamiliar ramps before we even rig the boat, as we might discover issues or hazards that cause us to adjust our plan or even wave off on the days activities.
Ramp Recon Checklist:
Powerlines
End
Sides
Slime line
Wind and current
We rig a lot of sailboats and have found plenty of parking areas and ramps that have powerlines strung above them, not very friendly. So we look to see where those are and make sure we can stay clear of them. Next we walk down and check out the ramp and try to determine where the wet end of the ramp is, we don't like to get the trailer wheels past that unless we are familiar with the bottom condition. We also locate the side of the ramp, there are places where the approach to the ramp is wider than the actual ramp, and it is not good to put a trailer tire or tow vehicle tire off of the edge of a ramp.
Next on the list is to look for the slime line, we plan to stay clear of that with the drive wheels. Fortunately our tow vehicles are front wheel drive and the trailers are light. Then we look to see where wind and current might help or hurt our launch plan, we prefer for the wind and current to be pushing the boat to the side of the ramp that the dock, trailer and boat handler is on, vs pulling the boat away from them.
We like the docks where Skipper can walk the boat down to the end and around the corner, that frees up the ramp so other folks can launch while I park.
Boat smart!
Clark and Skipper
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