Boat loading question

May be a silly question, but I’m interested to hear your techniques for loading your boat on a trailer when fishing alone.
I’m new to owning a jon boat and noticed when I took my boat out (1436 Alumcraft) for a test run the ramp I was using required my truck to have the rear tires almost in the water. Thankfully I had someone with me, there was no way I could have loaded the boat by myself without getting wet. This would not be an issue in the summer, but with the water temps in the mid to high 40’s I really do not want to go wading.
So what are some tips I should know?

Firstly, congrats on the new jon. Here what I have to do.... Once the trailer is backed in the water, hop in the bed of the truck via the rear tires. I'll then lay the tailgate down and use the trailer as a catwalk. No wet cold feet.

i tie the boat to a tiedown in the truck box,then reel it in once its floating free of the trailer to unload,and power load to put it back on,otherwise the wife does the unloading/loading while i drive the truck.

I usually back my trailer into the water till the wheels are about 2/3 submerged. I then just drive my boat up onto the trailer. Once its lined up right i give it some gas and drive it the rest of the way up till the bow eye is up against the stop. I then hop out and crank it down. If the water is up then i stand on the trailer, but most of the time i am able to stand in the dry. I think if your that deep in the water, your either backing in to far or you may need to extend your trailer tongue a little bit.

I connect a line with a d-link to my bow eye and tie the other end to my trailer post with a taught line hitch. Coil the line on my front deck. The line is long enough so that i can let the boat off the trailer and pull the trailer out of the water. I watch the line feed off the deck in my rearview mirror.

You can see my self-launch technique at the beginning of this video. Hope this helps.

https://vimeo.com/126077050

Nice!

Sent from the dust in front of you!

I fish solo the majority of the time as well, and I use a long rope attached to the bow eye and trailer tongue to launch the boat, just back it down and then "pop" the boat off the trailer when it starts to float. I then pull up some, get out and get the rope off the trailer tongue, and tie the boat up, park the truck and go fishing.

For loading solo, I put the trailer in where the top third of the trailer fender is in the water (each trailer is different), drop the tailgate (most of the time, I do forget sometimes ), and then drive the boat up on the trailer and hook up the winch strap, then climb down onto the trailer tongue and/or tailgate and winch the boat tight.

I have a deep v with a bow platform but the TM is there, and have not fallen in 40* water yet. I used this method on my previous boat as well w/o issue.

Add a plank down the center of the trailer that you can walk down.

Like SurfMan said - - -






.

I launch like Jonah does with one exception. I have a large eye on the end of my rope that is just long enough to go from the bow eye to the raised tail light post on my trailer. The large eye is big enough to barely slip over the tail light. The rope just lays inside the gunnel and feeds out as the boat floats back and off the trailer. I load like many of the others and walk on the trailer tongue to get back in the truck bed. I'm 63 and my balance isn't the greatest any more so I need to add one of those walkways to the top of my trailer tongue or I'm gonna be taking a bath one of these days. :lol: I'd really like to replace the tongue of my trailer this year with a longer one so my truck doesn't have to go as far into the water. If I can get that project done I'll probably add that walking surface then.



Just went back and reread the OP's question and realized you are asking about "loading" and most of us are talking about unloading. I'm a power loader and don't mess with any ropes during the loading process. I just back my trailer into the water until the back end of my side bunk barely touches the water. Get back in my boat, disconnect the fuel line and start the motor, and at little more than trolling speed, I drive up onto my trailer. When it slides to a stop on the bunks, I kick it in neutral, get up and walk to the front of the both and hook the winch to the boat and snug up the winch strap. Then I get out and step on the trailer tongue. From there I can turn around and grab the top of my tailgate if I lean forward just a bit. I get into the bed of my truck and slide over the the side of the bed near the cab (feet never touch the water). The motor usually runs out of fuel about this time and dies. I get in the truck pull up far enough that the winch is over dry land and go back and pull the boat the rest of the way onto the trailer. Then I drive up into the parking lot and make the rest of my preparations for the drive home.

Agreed! The longer the rope (actually called a painter, if you want to be fussy), the easier the launch. richg99

I do much the same, I coil up the painter and lay it over the gunwale at the bow so as I back the trailer down the launch it will pay out while it's clipped to the bow stop. Then I pull the trailer back out of the water and unclip the painter and pull the boat back to shore, then go park the truck and trailer. When I retrieve I do it all by hand. I back the trailer down the ramp, then give the boat a big heave-ho while holding the painter and climb back into the bed of the truck. Once the boat gets out past the load guide rollers I haul it back in. I have one of those walking planks bolted to the tongue of my trailer, it really helps.

If I didn't have a pickup I would keep rubber boots in the car at all times.

With a small 1436 jon, much like my 1442 Alumacraft, hand loading is a cinch. I back down so the bunks are half way in the water. Then while standing on the ramp at the edge of the water, I use a long rope tied to the boat after I push the boat out to be floating behind the trailer, and pull hard to heave the boat onto the trailer. It just takes a pull of the rope to get the boat high enough onto the trailer where I can reach out with the winch cable and hook up to it to winch it the rest of the way up.

-CN- said:

With a small 1436 jon, much like my 1442 Alumacraft, hand loading is a cinch. I back down so the bunks are half way in the water. Then while standing on the ramp at the edge of the water, I use a long rope tied to the boat after I push the boat out to be floating behind the trailer, and pull hard to heave the boat onto the trailer. It just takes a pull of the rope to get the boat high enough onto the trailer where I can reach out with the winch cable and hook up to it to winch it the rest of the way up.

Click to expand...

Me too.

Errrr...but there's been a few times when my skill-set fails me, and the wind has picked up to 20mph or so, and the dock wasn't put out yet, or had already been taken in, and as the bow rode up on the back roller and I pulled, the wind took the hull of the boat and settled it into a nice 90 degree angle from the trailer.

So, I tried it again, certain I would have learned from my first experience. :roll:

uhhh....'Bout the fifth time, I took my wallet and cash out of my pockets and waded into just-over thigh-high cold water and started pushing the hull back so that it was straight on the trailer, then straining to shove it up on the first roller and to the bunks to get the sucker so it lodged more-or-less in line so I could pull up a bit more and drive the trailer over to secure footing.

Had I a video of this episode, I could have licensed and franchised it as one of "life's lessons."

:?

(Mothers tell your children, not to do as I have done...."

First improvement in made to my new trailer were a set of good 5' long guide ons. They take the wind or current out of the equation when loading. Basically like the ones in JMichaels picture above.

Kismet said:

-CN- said:

With a small 1436 jon, much like my 1442 Alumacraft, hand loading is a cinch. I back down so the bunks are half way in the water. Then while standing on the ramp at the edge of the water, I use a long rope tied to the boat after I push the boat out to be floating behind the trailer, and pull hard to heave the boat onto the trailer. It just takes a pull of the rope to get the boat high enough onto the trailer where I can reach out with the winch cable and hook up to it to winch it the rest of the way up.

Click to expand...

Me too.

Errrr...but there's been a few times when my skill-set fails me, and the wind has picked up to 20mph or so, and the dock wasn't put out yet, or had already been taken in, and as the bow rode up on the back roller and I pulled, the wind took the hull of the boat and settled it into a nice 90 degree angle from the trailer.

So, I tried it again, certain I would have learned from my first experience. :roll:

uhhh....'Bout the fifth time, I took my wallet and cash out of my pockets and waded into just-over thigh-high cold water and started pushing the hull back so that it was straight on the trailer, then straining to shove it up on the first roller and to the bunks to get the sucker so it lodged more-or-less in line so I could pull up a bit more and drive the trailer over to secure footing.

Had I a video of this episode, I could have licensed and franchised it as one of "life's lessons."

:?

(Mothers tell your children, not to do as I have done...."

Click to expand...

LOL Been there!! I usually keep a pair of waders the the truck when the water gets too cold.

so,we all do it the same way, we all just just worded it differently. :LOL2:

Telescoping boat hook...wouldn't leave home without it....



https://www.iboats.com/Telescoping-Boat-Hook/dm/cart_id.454187185--session_id.083586685--view_id.56138

Seriously, I haven't been without one for 30 or 40 years. Saves your back; could save your life; worth its weight in gold some days.

richg99

-CN- said:

With a small 1436 jon, much like my 1442 Alumacraft, hand loading is a cinch. I back down so the bunks are half way in the water. Then while standing on the ramp at the edge of the water, I use a long rope tied to the boat after I push the boat out to be floating behind the trailer, and pull hard to heave the boat onto the trailer. It just takes a pull of the rope to get the boat high enough onto the trailer where I can reach out with the winch cable and hook up to it to winch it the rest of the way up.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the replies, I'll have to give this one a try.
Launching is not an issue, I was just thinking with my old knees climbing from the boat onto the trailer might not work out so well trying to load it at the end of the day.

"Old Knees"... Ha Ha

At age 76...I concur fully.

I now fish in my wading boots. I know that, sooner or later, I am going to get wet somehow.
richg99