Launch slipways - really necessary?

[nojslokin]

Apologies if a daft question, but I'm totally new to this. I see a lot of posts asking about available launch slipways but is it really necessary to use a slipway? Is it feasible to launch from a river or canal bank, I.e. Lower the boat in to the water? And as for coastal, are beach launches okay? BTW, I've just bought my first boat and have not yet got it on the water.....setting up in the garden tomorrow for a dry run, then on the canal next week. Boat is a Honwave T32IE and Honda BF6.

[Mikefule]

Last week I launched (and later recovered) from a vertical stone bank about a metre or so high. The boat is a 3.1 metre SIB with a 9.9hp 4 stroke outboard. I have launched other boats here so I was familiar with the technique required. It was hard work and took some thinking about but I did it..

You can launch anywhere that it is not forbidden, where you are not inconveniencing others (e.g. fishermen) and where it is safe to get your particular boat into the water. A slipway is often preferable if you have a trailer, launching trolley or transom wheels. The smaller the boat, the more options you have for launching it.

Beach launching is perfectly possible. Whether launching from a slipway or the beach, you need to be confident that you can cope wth any waves that are coming in. If the boat gets caught sideways, it is a lot of force for you to control.

A big advantage of SIBs, particularly small ones, is that you can assemble and launch them in a wide range of places where you could not launch a conventional boat - or even a RIB. We pay for this versatility in other ways (hull performance compared to a RIB, time and effort compared to a dory) so make the most of it - it is the SIB's USP.

[jeffstevens763@g]

Your set up is light weight you should be able to launch most places but be careful of punctures on riverbanks but you will soon find out where and what suits

[nojslokin]

Thanks for your replies. Any advice you can offer on the best way/technique to launch and recover from a bank? Also, at the risk of asking the obvious, if launching with transom wheels on a slipway, would you reverse the boat on to the water and raise the wheels up when afloat?