baz":1v66xq2e said:
There's one issue I'm trying to get straight in my head. This is the fact that the EZ-Loader trailer has hydraulic surge disc braking. In the EZ-Loader manual there's some wording about disengaging this feature when launching the boat on a ramp.
What is the bottom line advice about this ?
Hello Barry,
If you have a 5-pin connector to your tow vehicle, the 5th pin powers a solenoid which deactivates the surge brakes whlst backing up. Now backing DOWN a ramp - you have NO BRAKES with normal surge brakes anyway - solenoid or not. This is trivial with a lightweight rig like the 21EC, but can become an issue with the heavier tugs. Electric over hydraulic (i.e., "surge") brakes eliminate this as they WILL work wilst backing down an incline.
When launching, sometimes getting your feet wet is unavoidable. I generally try to avoid this. When its summer time and the water temp is comfortable it's not a big deal. When its COLD - it's a big deal. As the others mention above, FALLING is a serious hazard when you walk in the slime area of the ramp. Keeping your feet out of the water begins by not backing too far into the water. I try to keep my tow vehicle's rear wheels out of the water. I know the trailer manual/dvd shows the safest way to launch your boat is by backing it fully into the water before releasing the winch strap and safety chain....BUT, once you gain some experience, and understand the risks, you will find it is normally fine to back the boat into the water (say, about HALF WAY) but so there is plenty of dry ramp to allow you to walk behind your car and unhook the winch strap without getting your feet wet. Then, back in until you see the aft end of the boat start to float. You are backing in SLOWLY but come to a quick stop when the aft floats. Next you will see your tug slowly slide off the trailer...and you have not dunked the rear of your tow vehicle into the water, nor walked on the slimy portion of the ramp thus subjecting your self to a fall type of injury.
When I'm solo, I tie a 20' line to the bow cleat and secure the bitter end to my truck. After she slide off the trailer, I calmly walk to the finger dock with the line from my truck in my hand, and secure the boat, then park the truck. In those cases when you must back in too far (rear wheels in the water), then use your boat hook to grab the line whilst standing on the finger dock, secure the boat, and release the line to the tow vehicle from the bow cleat. For me, the finger dock is a BIG HELP. I've never understood why some boaters will back into the CENTER of the double slot between two finger docks, thus taking up two spots, while loading (invariably with POWER) back onto their trailer. This practice seems inconsiderate when they could do the same thing next to the finger dock and still leave a full boat-width slot next to them for the next guy.
As you said, some boat ramps will require different practices, but, in general, my advise is to strive to keep your feet dry. That won't always be possible, but if you have developed a technique, then you can use it or modify it as needed. The more times you walk into the slimy portion of the ramp, the odds of falling will eventually catch up.
And the trailer tongue...yes it gets slippery. I've installed lengths of 2 x 10 painted with a non-skid additive so I can safely "walk the plank" without risk (or, LESS risk, really). I find this VERY helpful when loading the boat by myself, I can simply take the bow line back to the trailer, then pull the boat onto the trailer as far as she'll come whilst floating, then easily secure the winch strap to the bow eye all while standing on the 2 x 10s. Easy peasy.
You will learn more each time you launch, and probably get better. Sometime simply dilly-dallying at the ramp after you've moved your boat away from the action will let you SEE what to do next time (or NOT to do) just from watching others.
😱
dave
