|
Myles,
To answer your questions,
I need about five feet of water at forty feet from
the waters edge to launch "Persistence." Many lake launches flatten out at
three of four feet then later on go down but it's to far out by then. I
just can't launch there. Most larger trailerable boats don't need that
much water to launch so many launches aren't real deep.
I have had to use the extension rod every
launch. You have to line the trailer up well before putting the fifth
wheel (tire on the road) down and hooking on the extension rod. My
wife found out the hard way that the trailer becomes a cart and isn't a trailer
anymore when the fifth wheel is down and hooked to the truck with the extension
rod. She watched the sub trailer come up along side of the truck through
the passenger side window when she made a left turn while going to park the
empty trailer after launching. No ham done we couldn't bend back on the
spot.
My trailer is only about nine inches from the road
to the deck top. There were times that I had it hang up on boat launches where
they were washed out from propwash of power boats powering up on their
trailers. There were also times my nine inch deck height was to high to
let me float the sub off. If the launch ramp is hard surfaced my truck
pulls it up and out with no problem. But the time I hung it up it took two
four wheel drive trucks to drag it out. I found that in most cases there
is always someone there willing to help just for the rights
to say they assisted in pulling a submarine out of it's predicament on
the boat launch, in the bar afterwards. I pull it out most times without
even putting my truck in four wheel drive. Don't forget, when starting out
of the water, your truck isn't pulling the total weight up the boat ramp. Your
sub is just barely on the deck. As you pull out it gets heavier, but your
already rolling.
"lookie loos" aren't much of a problem. If
you want to avoid them you have to launch on off days, or at off times.
But for the most part the biggest bother with spectators are the hundreds of
questions you get as your politely trying to answer them and also get the sub
launched of retrieved at the same time. By now, most of my tag along crew
know the correct answers to the same questions that get asked every time
and answer them for me. There have been several times I
recruited one or two spectators for assistance. Most are eager
to help.
Hope that helps, Dan H.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With Persistence, have you ever run into difficulty
launching or retrieving it at your typical lake boat launch ? (Other than
the "lookie loos" getting in the way). I'm curious as to how much water
depth you need to get Persistence off the trailer. The extended pole idea
for the trailer is fantastic. One of my concerns is being able to lug a
6000 lb brute OUT (I'm not worried about getting it into the water)
of the launch without getting stuck or losing traction. I've got a
4x4, which should help. Any comments on that particular aspect of running
a sub ?
Myles.
|