DiverDog357
Well-known member
I have been floating the Yough River since I was a little kid in a canoe, and I'm new to the world of the Jon Boat. I bought a Tracker 1436 last year, and got a trailer with it too. My dad and I never had a boat with a trailer so I'm in the dark about the launching process. One of my questions is what is the proper way to launch your boat from the trailer. I am usually by myself, so what I do is back down the ramp to the water, then take my anchor which is tied to the front handle and set it on the ground. I then back the boat out into the water and hope that it floats off b4 I run over the rope or run out of rope. A few problems I've found doing this so far is 1. There was a heavy wind one day and the darn thing floated about 15' from the ramp and up against the shore right in front of an old fellas poles. He was very nice, and just laughed at me but I apologized and felt like a real idiot. 2. I run over the rope with my truck tire or get it stuck under the trailer then I cant pull it to shore until I pull the truck out. Or it gets tangle up on the trailer somewhere. Sorry such a dumb question, but I gotta learn somewhere. With the canoes I never paid any attention cause I just carried the thing down and threw it in. Now that I'm trying to learn it seems everytime I see someone launching they have a buddy with them that gets in the boat. Also what is the best way to load it too. So far for me I just pull the boat up on the ramp, back the trailer beside it and just lift the front up over the fender and winch it the rest of the way. This has worked good for now, however I'm putting in some plywood and I just had back surgery so I cant be lifting a whole lot right now. Thanks for the help guys, I do appreciate it.