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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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Drive C250WB Onto the Trailer?

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doublereefed
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167 Posts

Initially Posted - 06/09/2016 : 22:08:46

Does anyone out there drive their C250 WB onto the trailer when retrieving? The boat blows sideways with the swing keel up, and my boat is crap in reverse. (6.5HP engine, not a long shaft.) Any thoughts?

Best,

-Richard

'95 C250 WB #61
Midway, UT

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 06/10/2016 : 08:19:10

Even our wing keel blows sideways, the C-250 has so much freeboard that if the wind pipes up, it's going to get blown around. I experience this when coming back into my marina on a regular basis.

That said, we tried driving the boat up onto the trailer a couple of times with less than stellar success. Now (on the rare occasions we put it onto the trailer), we've learned to tie up to the dock as close as we dare so the keel doesn't bump the ramp and the trailer pads will still be completely submerged (very important for our WK YMMV), back the trailer down around the boat, hook up the bow ring to the trailer winch and use the winch to get the boat up onto the trailer while the other eases the bow & stern lines as it moves up. This is probably easier to do with a WB since there's no keel to worry about, and it'll start losing weight as soon as you start up the ramp (or blow the ballast first like a lot of guys do), but I'm sure the WB guys will chime in soon with their methodology.

David
C-250 Mainsheet Editor

Sirius Lepak
1997 C-250 WK TR #271 --Seattle area Port Captain --

TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2270 Posts

Response Posted - 06/10/2016 : 10:21:11

My marina has a 2-3 kt side current when pulling through the fairway. Somehow I don't even notice the wind.

Rick S., Swarthmore, PA
PO of Take Five, 1998 Catalina 250WK #348 (relocated to Baltimore's Inner Harbor)
New owner of 2001 Catalina 34MkII #1535 Breakin' Away (at Rock Hall Landing Marina)

islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3994 Posts

Response Posted - 06/10/2016 : 17:06:40

When I had a power boat I would nudge the nose into the trailer about half way under power then hook the cable to the boat. The wife would then start the engine and put it in forward while I cranked. Sure made the cranking easy and took the stress off the cable. Never was comfortable when that cable was under a lot of tension and my head just a foot away..

Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound

Dave Brown
Navigator

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USA
174 Posts

Response Posted - 07/02/2016 : 06:36:18

when loading the WK. on my trailer,
1. wet all he bunks with water, and then spread dove
dish soap on them, this will work for you later.
2. back trailer into water, just leaving the FWD pads, half in the water.
this will give the boat a nice cradle to find home !
yes I know the trailer is not in the water far enough to get the boat
on at this time. so now that the boat is "cradled", one can hook up the
winch and move the boat "up" the trailer. {note} the boat is not moving side ways, because its being held by the trailer. As one winches the boat up, one also backs the trailer back into the water. you know, winch a little, then back the trailer a little, (1 ft at a time) then winch a little, then back up a little.

We all know that the only way to get the boat ALL the on the trailer,
is to put the trailer WAY IN THE WATER. no so. with the above plan,
the boat will be with in 1 foot of the bow pads, when the boat is pulled out of the water. THAT'S OK. go a head and pull the boat out.
This is when that soap will work for you. Sitting on level ground, winch the boat tight, get in the car/truck and drive FWD. at 5mph. and then slam on the brakes, get out and take up the slack in the winch. That soap on the bunks will work very well. some times it takes
2 or 3 BUMPS to move the boat up.
Not all will say the is the way to pull a boat out of the water, but this has worked for me, on many boats I have pulled, as well as helped pulled out of the water.
DB.

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 07/03/2016 : 11:30:25

Because of the angle of the ramp we use, the boat never really snugs up to the bow snubber, so we use the bump method as well. Usually takes 2-3 tries to get it all the way forward, then take up the slack and carry on.

David
C-250 Mainsheet Editor

Sirius Lepak
1997 C-250 WK TR #271 --Seattle area Port Captain --

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9017 Posts

Response Posted - 07/03/2016 : 11:53:59

The "winch a little, back a little, repeat" operation is key to minimizing the problems from cross-winds, which can drive you crazy. Also, if you have a dock on the windward side of the ramp, you can cleat a line at the stern and toss it to a helper on the dock, who can help keep the boat in line based on your instructions from the winch. (If there are multiple ramps, pick the one to leeward of the dock.)

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired),
Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge

doublereefed
Navigator

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167 Posts

Response Posted - 08/08/2016 : 13:15:52

Unexpectedly, I had to drive the boat back onto the trailer this past weekend. Reservoir level is low later in the season, and the side dock is located quite a distance from the ramp. I had a really bad cross wind... I have no reverse at all... it was white knuckle. But surprisingly, I just got the nose between the goal posts under reasonable speed and she slid on. I had to jump in chest high to help center it (high cross wind) as friend pulled out, but there was no muscling involved. It worked WAY better than I had imagined, and the boat is pretty captive on the trailer as long as you get the nose and the keel in there.

Not saying I prefer this method, but completely doable.

'95 C250 WB #61
Midway, UT

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 08/09/2016 : 16:00:11

Jumping into the Puget Sound up here even at the end of summer is not for the faint of heart. I bought a pair of chest waders which help immensely. I've never had to do the jump off the bow trick, but I have been up to my armpits a couple of times trying not to ship any water into the waders.

David
C-250 Mainsheet Editor

Sirius Lepak
1997 C-250 WK TR #271 --Seattle area Port Captain --

doublereefed
Navigator

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167 Posts

Response Posted - 08/25/2016 : 10:54:21

Just telling stories here...

The ramp angle at my local lake is much shallower now that lake levels are dropping. Had a hard time launching Tuesday afternoon... and made it harder by having the ballast tank valve open so that as we sat there working to free the boat it was getting heavier. Working harder, not smarter.

Then we had a glorious sail, on into dusk and sunset. (That's me on the right.)

Then it got pretty dark.

Then we went to retrieve.

PO had built an extender, connects to vehicle and adds another good 6' to the tongue. Could have been an easy retrieve.

Except that moving too quickly, and it being dark... I apparently didn't drop the hitch dogs down onto the ball. So the Ford is up to the bumper in water, the trailer is out there on that extension, I motor the boat onto the trailer (with the keel down by the way, nice grinding sound as I thrash around trying to hoist that puppy while keeping everything lined up with a foot/ankle over the tiller with the outboard at 15%... sheesh) and as soon as the bow touches those tall rear bunks it pops the trailer tongue off the extender... and trailer and boat start to roll, unattached, into the brink. Wow.

FORTUNATELY there was no wind and the boat was at a dead stop, the ramp wasn't too steep and it all stopped with about 8' gap between the trailer tongue and the ball out there on the extender.

So, I tied a 100' poly line to the trailer and run it up the ramp... tied it to a post, just in case that was going to be the lead line that the tow truck and divers were going to need to go find my trailer....

But, as luck would have it, two adventurous fishermen were there (this is 10:00PM and dark as dark gets in the mountains) and we all bonded over engineering and executing a solution. I forgot to mention that I couldn't get the boat off the trailer even though it had slipped back that far.

So, we pushed the trailer even deeper, with full reverse (thank you new prop) and the boat came free. I then motored in circles (shallows on both sides of the ramp, I basically circled a buoy that I knew had some depth, while our new friends and my brother-in-law then threw a doubled up dock line on the trailer and dragged it up into the shallows.

They then reattached the trailer to the extender (double checked the hitch latch!) and than backed in. Pretty easy retrieval after that. Yikes. Adventure.

So, now searching the forums for the info on how to use a mattress pump to blow the ballast before retrieving...

'95 C250 WB #61
Midway, UT

Edited by - doublereefed on 08/25/2016 12:18:50

doublereefed
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167 Posts

Response Posted - 08/25/2016 : 10:56:13

By the way... next season I will be on a lake near here with a deep steep ramp and a dock that is alongside the ramp. Hoping to reduce the retrieving adventures!

'95 C250 WB #61
Midway, UT

Edited by - doublereefed on 08/25/2016 12:21:13

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