# Thoughts on primitive launching



## jhreels (Apr 20, 2017)

So this thought keeps bouncing around in my head. My skiff (Ankona Cayenne) is just a little too big to be one of those dry launch anywhere off any beach kinda boats, but I feel like I can change that (in an expensive and ridiculous way).

I have done a few launches of this nature using the trailer winch to haul the boat up, but I'm wondering now if more extreme 'trailer damn near not even wet' launches are possible on crappy shores by using a rear mounted offroad winch on my truck.

Maybe a few modifications to the trailer to basically allow the boat to get drug up to and onto the trailer essentially from the ground.

Getting the boat _into _the water is the real question I guess.

Disclaimer: This entire thread serves to help me validate a ridiculous upgrade to my truck that I don't really need but seems really cool.


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## BM_Barrelcooker (May 4, 2011)

dang...I like that. what does a setup like that cost? I've got the 150 already.


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## yobata (Jul 14, 2015)

where does the license plate go?


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## jhreels (Apr 20, 2017)

BM_Barrelcooker said:


> dang...I like that. what does a setup like that cost? I've got the 150 already.


The setup would be $1,299 plus whatever winch you would want.



yobata said:


> where does the license plate go?


Im assuming I could fabricate some kinda of flip up license plate door or something, not really sure


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## Mc_Fly (Dec 23, 2017)

I have a second set of bunks with pvc as rollers. I put them behind the trailer bunks and the main trailer had a tilt function. Used them a couple times and worked well. It’ll give about 8’ of extension. Skiff only weighed 300~


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## Padre (Jul 29, 2016)

During Harvey I was able to dry launch off some sketchy places (Interstate and railroad trestles) with no problems. Now I don't have a Cayenne. I have a SUV 17 so it is a bit lighter. I can walk out onto my trailer and pull the Native half way up by hand.


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

Look up videos on beach launching dories along the Pacific. They are NOT launching micros! They use tilting trailers. They don't dry launch though! Everything gets wet.

Nate


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## CurtisWright (May 9, 2012)

In the name of science, I support all revolutionary skiff ideas. Please post photos.


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## CurtisWright (May 9, 2012)

If you could come up with some type of removable trailer bunk extenders you could launch anywhere. Off a bulkhead, over jetty rocks,...maybe a low bridge.


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## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

All you need is a low riding trailer. Lubed up bunks and a roller at back of trailer to roll bow off and back up.


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## CurtisWright (May 9, 2012)

At 10-20$ per launch it will pay for its self pretty quick.


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## jhreels (Apr 20, 2017)

CurtisWright said:


> If you could come up with some type of removable trailer bunk extenders you could launch anywhere. Off a bulkhead, over jetty rocks,...maybe a low bridge.





Capnredfish said:


> All you need is a low riding trailer. Lubed up bunks and a roller at back of trailer to roll bow off and back up.


With these two approaches, I would think simpler is always better (Capnredfish) but I can foresee a situation while launching the boat where the boat has tipped off the trailer into the mud where a boat without a console and a 60 horse could be dragged easy, but mine may be a bit of an ass. Which is where something like the bunks (CurtisWright) may prove helpful.


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## mtoddsolomon (Mar 25, 2015)

That bumper is badass. I think you should get it anyway. Also, now i'm looking up new bumpers for my truck.


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## jmrodandgun (Sep 20, 2013)

Seems like overkill. Just put a damn electric winch on the trailer, or do some extra reps in the gym. I launch mine off the side of the road in a few different places. If you really wanted to you could push it off into your front yard, no incline needed. Winching it back up by hand is really no big deal with the right winch.


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

Just forget about dry launching and have an extendable tongue made for a few hundred bucks. Get to the launch, pull the pins and extend the tongue, and back her down. Retrieve in the opposite order.
I have a tilt trailer, and while I've found it useful, it's not suited to a lot of unimproved launches. Mud or shallow beach launching will have your transom stuck on the bottom with your bow up in the air. However if you can get the trailer another 6-8ft further back you can launch easily in the deeper waters. Dry launch, no, but personally I think that dry launching is overrated.


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

I can dry launch my big fat flats boat. But loading it I have to dunk the trailer since it weighs so much. If I got an electric wench that might work
By the way Harbour Freight has wenches a lot cheaper than $1,200
I do work out


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## Ken T (Dec 10, 2015)

Half of the year I guide trout on rivers which have about the worst ramp access imaginable. We regularly drop boats on the ground and push them down hills. We also hook them up and drag them to dry ground before trailering. 

All drift boat trailers have a full length roller across the back of the trailer and over sized winches.

Not a big deal to put them on. Helps to have someone lift the back once you get about 40% up.
Don't know if I would do it often with my skiff.

ken


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

I run an old style all roller trailer - and all you need is to reach the water and you're in business... Of course it helps to have a powerwinch. Years ago there were lots of places in the Keys with very poor ramps - roller trailers were much better than anything else available back then. These days you rarely ever see one...


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## anytide (Jul 30, 2009)

ive used a extra section of winch strap to get the boat to the trailer then rehooked to the main strap loaded in the winch. but that bumber winch thing is cool and when you dont need it anymore ill take it!


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## jhreels (Apr 20, 2017)

I have seen the extend a tounge thing in videos from Australia, seems cool. That may be a good solution as well.

I like the idea of having a full width roller across the back of the trailer. 

From what you guys are saying and what research I've done, it seems the all roller trailers are best for this, but for now I'm going to stick with my bunks if I can. Do any of you have experience with those plastic sliders mounted on the bunks? Do they tear up the boat? Not sure why I'm even asking that, I tear my boats bottom up perfectly well myself....

And jmrodandgun, I know it can be done just fine with normal equipment, but I have a tax return, and this is Murica'


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## anytide (Jul 30, 2009)

rollers, extra winch strap and ext tonque will get it done.


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## mtoddsolomon (Mar 25, 2015)

Don’t listen to these guys, get the bumper, get one for the front too, I mean they need to look the same


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## anytide (Jul 30, 2009)

this ^^^


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## richg99 (Nov 28, 2009)

Nearly every kayak guy has seen or used a PVC trolley roller cart. My heaviest rig was probably 120 lbs. No reason why something similar couldn't be built using schedule 80 PVC to carry more weight. The trick was to run a line from the front of the trolley to the bow of the kayak. That stopped the trolley from jumping off when it hit a bump. As far as the bunks, I've topped off my last three boat's trailer bunks with 3x4 PVC gutter downspouts cut lengthwise. Where there is a will, there is a way.


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## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

Just looked at your boat on website. Just does not look like that is too much boat to handle. 17ft and a 450lb hull. I think you really want the the winch bumper and want us to push you there!


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## jhreels (Apr 20, 2017)

Capnredfish said:


> Just looked at your boat on website. Just does not look like that is too much boat to handle. 17ft and a 450lb hull. I think you really want the the winch bumper and want us to push you there!


Your not supposed to find these things out. Your supposed to ignore the facts and get on the emotional purchase bandwagon. 

Truth be told, I am starting to come to my senses and just might buy an extra winch strap like anytide mentioned. Cause Lord knows if I buy a winch bumper of course I'll need some aggressive mud tires to go with it, and mtoddsolomon is right, I'll need a front bumper too, and before I know it I'll be on a truck forum discussing putting 4.10 gears in my axles.....

Yeah I just need to buy some boards to use as ramps, get an extra strap, and dodge a bullet.


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

Don't forget a rear locker and a 4:1 transfer case conversion.


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## Mike C (Feb 27, 2017)

CurtisWright said:


> At 10-20$ per launch it will pay for its self pretty quick.


Damn, 
I thought paying 5 bucks was uncalled for. 
I still try to use the free ramps because it's less of a circus.


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## Mike C (Feb 27, 2017)

Next time you launch your boat. Spray your bunks with silicone spray. When you get ready to put it back on the trailer, spray the crap out of it again and then load up. 
Dry launching a Tailfisher is possible after the spray. 
Ask me how I know...

PSA, If you do spray your bunks, don't back down a steep ramp without having your safety chain attached.


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## CurtisWright (May 9, 2012)

Mike C said:


> Damn,
> I thought paying 5 bucks was uncalled for.
> I still try to use the free ramps because it's less of a circus.


Its $10 everywhere in LA with no public ramps that I know of. From what I remember Venice is $20.


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

CurtisWright said:


> Its $10 everywhere in LA with no public ramps that I know of. From what I remember Venice is $20.


City of Cedar Key wants $16 a day to use their crappy ramp


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## Vertigo (Jun 3, 2012)

An airboat style trailer with a torsion axle, low bed and long tongue will get you in and out of most primitive launches. I think I'd rather have a front mounted winch to pull my truck/trailer/boat out of the sand rather than a rear mounted winch.


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## Zika (Aug 6, 2015)

Check with the county parks department. I buy several annual passes, including one for Wakulla County which covers all public ramps. They even offer a veteran's discount and if you launch at a particular spot more than a few times a year, it pays for itself. For federal lands like the National Wildlife Refuges, an annual duck stamp will cover a fiscal year. BTW, $10 daily is the going rate along this stretch of the coast.


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## zthomas (Jan 14, 2014)

I've seen several variations on this idea (http://www.bajaenterprises.net/BoatWheels.html) used in Baja with varying success. With a light trailer, you can hand-roll the trailer into the water, load the boat, then winch the trailer and boat up to where you could hook it back up to your tow vehicle.

Incidentally, I wrote a guidebook a few years back to launching offshore-capable boats in Baja — generally at remote, primitive spots. Did all the research firsthand with an old Kencraft 206. The cartels hung a bunch of human heads from an overpass in Tijuana the month after I published the book, which kind of hurt sales, and the security situation never really returned to what it had been before. So I barely broke even, but it was a hell of a way to pay for a couple years worth of adventures and fishing with my dad.

I quit selling them to Amazon last year, but if anybody really wants a copy I've got a closet full. https://www.amazon.com/Anglers-Guid...1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518556486&sr=1-1-fkmr0


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## zthomas (Jan 14, 2014)

Here's a video showing another take on the "third wheel" setup:


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## EvanHammer (Aug 14, 2015)

zthomas said:


> I've seen several variations on this idea (http://www.bajaenterprises.net/BoatWheels.html) used in Baja with varying success. With a light trailer, you can hand-roll the trailer into the water, load the boat, then winch the trailer and boat up to where you could hook it back up to your tow vehicle.
> 
> Incidentally, I wrote a guidebook a few years back to launching offshore-capable boats in Baja — generally at remote, primitive spots. Did all the research firsthand with an old Kencraft 206. The cartels hung a bunch of human heads from an overpass in Tijuana the month after I published the book, which kind of hurt sales, and the security situation never really returned to what it had been before. So I barely broke even, but it was a hell of a way to pay for a couple years worth of adventures and fishing with my dad.
> 
> I quit selling them to Amazon last year, but if anybody really wants a copy I've got a closet full. https://www.amazon.com/Anglers-Guid...1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518556486&sr=1-1-fkmr0


Is it still unsafe to drive down the peninsula from California? I've always wanted to do that but fear I missed my chance.


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## zthomas (Jan 14, 2014)

I haven't driven down for 6 or 7 years now, so I can't say firsthand. But my 70-something parents drive round-trip twice a year to a house they have between Mulege and Loreto on the Cortez side about 12 hours down from the border. The conventional wisdom is to not stop until you get to Ensenada, about 70 miles down. From there to Cabo, it's always been pretty safe — very rural, very sparsely populated, generally friendly.


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## jmrodandgun (Sep 20, 2013)

CurtisWright said:


> Its $10 everywhere in LA with no public ramps that I know of. From what I remember Venice is $20.


After using the Leeville public launch, I'd be willing to pay $50 if it kept the trash out.


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## KurtActual (Sep 25, 2017)

Vertigo said:


> An airboat style trailer with a torsion axle, low bed and long tongue will get you in and out of most primitive launches. I think I'd rather have a front mounted winch to pull my truck/trailer/boat out of the sand rather than a rear mounted winch.


That's what they make these for:


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## jhreels (Apr 20, 2017)

KurtActual said:


> That's what they make these for:


found out a front receiver hitch for my truck is only 150 bucks, this may be what I go with.


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## Net 30 (Mar 24, 2012)

I did this with my EVOx that I just had built. Keep it simple - get a Power Winch Model 915. It has power out and in and comes with a heavy duty 10' remote control and 40' of cable. 

Mount it to your trailers winch post and use a portable power pack jump starter for $50 from Harbor Freight. No need to hard wire into your trucks system.

http://www.powerwinch.com/controller?action=product&c=1&p=4#
https://www.harborfreight.com/autom...table-power-pack-with-jump-starter-62306.html


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## Pudldux (Mar 3, 2016)

Winching from a dry launches adds stress to wench arm. A good idea to have a brace added to prevent broken welds at the bottom of winch arm.


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## jimsmicro (Oct 29, 2013)

Technically you could use a front mounted winch on your truck with a snatch block to pull the boat up onto the trailer. You'd have to have a winch point in front of you though.


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## TimPappy (Jan 25, 2018)

Net 30 said:


> I did this with my EVOx that I just had built. Keep it simple - get a Power Winch Model 915. It has power out and in and comes with a heavy duty 10' remote control and 40' of cable.
> 
> Mount it to your trailers winch post and use a portable power pack jump starter for $50 from Harbor Freight. No need to hard wire into your trucks system.
> 
> ...


Hey Net, is that power pack working out ok for you with the power winch? Do you use a bow strap when trailering or just keep winch engaged? I noticed Fulton now has an XLT power winch as well.


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