Launching from beach

[willk]

Rory Staunton - beach launching like a Boss!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWBQKdFHKeE

[stray]

Originally Posted by beerbelly

"BEWARE THE SINKING SANDS; Warning after Second Vehicle ... www.questia.com/…r/1G1-300697586/beware-the-sinking
Newspaper article Evening Gazette (Middlesbrough ... of a red Land Rover engulfed by the ... to take a boat to the beach before it became stuck.


happened at Seaton beach too a couple years ago ended up with three land rovers I think linked together with ropes the first one to get stuck hydrauliced and had to have a engine rebuild

It happens regularly at Saltburn, usually Jetskiers, oh how we laugh.
Local practice, if you don't own a Tractor, is to use a long rope and keep your vehicle on firm sand.
It can happen at Redcar too if you don't know the beach. Even my trolley can bog down if I'm not careful, especially on the flood.

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by willk

Rory Staunton - beach launching like a Boss!

..... why even bother taking the Boat!?
Nice Rusty "Nail"in the making for someone too

[Fender]

Originally Posted by stray

It happens regularly at Saltburn, usually Jetskiers, oh how we laugh.
Local practice, if you don't own a Tractor, is to use a long rope and keep your vehicle on firm sand.
It can happen at Redcar too if you don't know the beach. Even my trolley can bog down if I'm not careful, especially on the flood.

Not sure about laughing at someone in trouble, my natural instinct is to go and help – whatever the circumstances

[Uncle Nobby]

Thanks for the views.

Half of me wants to do it, half of me says 'use a slipway somewhere and take an extra can of fuel..."

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Uncle Nobby

Thanks for the views.

Half of me wants to do it, half of me says 'use a slipway somewhere and take an extra can of fuel..."

You might get away with it all your life, but IMHO there is a marked increase in risk of something going wrong when you add a beach into the mix. Not least of which is you don't know what the conditions are going to be when you recover. It might be all nice & calm with a gentle offshore breeze in the morning & blowing a hooley on a rising tide in the PM. My previous advice still stands, don't do it. I've come a cropper 3 times when launching/recovering boats, & it's always been on a beach, never again, it ain't worth it.
Just my 2 penneth, but you did ask😄

[Uncle Nobby]

Thanks!

[willk]

Originally Posted by Maximus

..... why even bother taking the Boat!?
Nice Rusty "Nail"in the making for someone too

Nah - it's his offroad launch wagon - been using it for that job for years - not going back on the road system again.

I've been involved in a couple of beach launches/recoveries of a 6m RIB. It was horrible with even a tiny wave. A one foot wave made the job bloody dangerous...

[willk]

Originally Posted by Fender

Not sure about laughing at someone in trouble, my natural instinct is to go and help – whatever the circumstances

Make sure you use a long rope and stay on the firm sand...

[blueboy758]

Originally Posted by beerbelly

mind saying that lots of people launch from Redcar beach with vehicles with no problems at all

I've launched from Redcar and saltburn beach for years with out any issues. Just have to use a bit of common dog, and don't stop where it is wet, saying that I've used a Land Rover 200 then a 300 and now a discovery. 😊

[jeffstevens763@g]

Originally Posted by blueboy758

I've launched from Redcar and saltburn beach for years with out any issues. Just have to use a bit of common dog, and don't stop where it is wet, saying that I've used a Land Rover 200 then a 300 and now a discovery. 😊

common dog now there's a rare attribute these days

[treerat]

We've launched from local beaches quite a bit and use different methods depending on the boat / tow car.

With the works transit one of the guys is happy to drive down the beach, we wait, unhook at the edge of teh hard sand and he runs back up quick, no sitting around vibrating.

On collection we push the trailer down, load up and and he drives around throw the rope over the hitch, again no stopping. The jockey is a large wide inflatable one which is fine on the sand. We had one of the 3rd wheel things and took it off as too heavy.

On my car it's a manual push / rope everytime as taking it off teh stone is a complete no no. Timings is key so there is water close.

One of the guys in the club uses the tide, he'll do his best to time the day so he can recover by pushing the trailer down under the boat, tie her down and wait for the tide to go out. By the time he's finished the post dive beer the trailer is high and dry and simple enough to collect.

Launching he'll gentle roll the boat off onto the sand / shallow water and wait for the tide to come up and float teh boat, again keeping the vehicle well away from the water.

[Wrekindave]

Been launching off the beach for the last 4 years now along with the other 15 or so boats in the yard. As teerat says you need to be quick. The sand on our beach is hard and the gradient is pretty shallow.
I use a Ford Ranger drive onto beach, reverse up to waters edge, unhook boat from winch reverse fast into the sea and as soon as waters at top of trailer wheels hit the brakes and drive back onto the beach.
Recovery is normally when people get into trouble. You can't hang around at waters edge or your trailer sinks fast! We beach the boat, push the trailer down to waters edge and use electric winch attached to trailer to pull it on. Attach 20mt rope to trailer and car and pull the trailer up the beach.
Admittedly I lease my Ranger and my previous Navarra as it doesn't do them much good! wouldnt want to be 2nd owner

[Maximus]

O

Originally Posted by Wrekindave

Been launching off the beach for the last 4 years now along with the other 15 or so boats in the yard. As teerat says you need to be quick. The sand on our beach is hard and the gradient is pretty shallow.
I use a Ford Ranger drive onto beach, reverse up to waters edge, unhook boat from winch reverse fast into the sea and as soon as waters at top of trailer wheels hit the brakes and drive back onto the beach.
Recovery is normally when people get into trouble. You can't hang around at waters edge or your trailer sinks fast! We beach the boat, push the trailer down to waters edge and use electric winch attached to trailer to pull it on. Attach 20mt rope to trailer and car and pull the trailer up the beach.
Admittedly I lease my Ranger and my previous Navarra as it doesn't do them much good! wouldnt want to be 2nd owner

This is in Danger of becoming one of those never ending chase your tail threads!
Where there is no definitive answer...so beloved of Ribnet/!!
It all boils down to WHICH BEACH..(conditions surface time/tides distance gradient ect!)
WHEN!..prevailing wind/weather conditions at the time AND PROJECTED FOR RECOVERY
VEHICLE ....and probably most importantly the COMPETENCE.. AND EXPERIENCE of DRIVER AND CREW!
Pluss some GOOD OL common sense!
One thing for sure you certainly multiply the difficulty and chances of things going Rats considerably not useing a well constructed and designed slipway...not to mention any possible "Insurance implications" I wonder how Pikeys Mate got on with HIS claim!!
(IT ALSO PAYS TO HAVE A BACK UP PLAN IMO!)
Good luck

[jeffstevens763@g]

well there's risk in everything we do green slimy slipways arn't good either, but in this risk assessing world we live in its surprising we get out of bed and do owt!
common dog,confidence in your abilities and the kit you have,if not don't do it simple.

cheers

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by jeffstevens763@g

well there's risk in everything we do green slimy slipways arn't good either, but in this risk assessing world we live in its surprising we get out of bed and do owt!
common dog,confidence in your abilities and the kit you have,if not don't do it simple.

cheers

Agreed...
Although a 3m boat does make things somewhat less fraught I remember

[polly]

yep! I have just fitted one to my 5.8m RIB and trailer, it make use of the spare wheel, I had one made at a local fabricators out of s/s, and it works a treat.

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by polly

yep! I have just fitted one to my 5.8m RIB and trailer, it make use of the spare wheel, I had one made at a local fabricators out of s/s, and it works a treat.

[paulalmond]

From my experience beach launching it is one of those things where every bit of knowledge can only help prevent a potential disaster. Here's my two peneth to add to the advice already given.

Unless you have to don't launch on an incoming tide - the water comes in under the sand and the vibration of a standing vehicle (any vehicle) will bury it's way deep down in very little time. If you do launch on an incoming tide be quick and keep moving.

Be prepared to have to unhitch the boat - I use a tractor to launch a 7.5m rib on a twin axle trailer, on a shallow beach. If you need to unhitch because your are stuck or sinking you will find the jockey wheel sinks quickly in the soft sand making it impossible to get the hitch off. I've made a simple wooden float to give me a decent footprint on the sand and something which will support the jockey wheel as the weight of the boat comes on. It works.

If you get your trailer stuck, unhitch and come back in at 90 degrees so your vehicle is at right angles to the trailer. It's a lot easier to break the suction on the trailer wheels as you are effectively only trying to pull one out at a time. If you get stuck and the wheels start digging in don't think more power will fix it. Stop, unhitch and go again but don't hang about

Have a backup plan. I have an extension made from a scaffold pole with a hitch and ball and a beach launching wheel on the trailer. You can't use the sand wheel to launch or recover without the aid of a vehicle but the pole will let you push the empty trailer a little deeper if you want to get out of some of the beach waves, again be quick on recover and make sure you find some decent sand before you stop to remove the pole.

Hope these little pearls will help someone at sometime but there is no substitute for common sense.

Enjoy. - oh and ask the locals if they are around and you are new to the beach, If there are no locals launching ask your self why not !!

[markmullen]

I once had to try and rescue a chap's Navarra from Scarborough's North Bay, he'd been recovering a jetski and was up the back axle on an incoming tide.

I took my (company!) L200 on to help, another lad in another Navarra and with both trucks towing and the owners 10 year old lad driving the stuck car we were getting nowhere fast.

The fire brigade turned up but couldn't bring the appliance onto the beach as that would sink, they tried with portable airbags to lift it but that didn't help. CG turned up so we had 3 pickups towing but achieving nothing. By now the waves were right up the bed of the truck and it was sinking at the rear more meaning the front wheels weren't on the ground any more.

Next some local lads commandeered a tractor and that had it out in no time, still when we opened the rear doors gallons of seawater flooded out.