Recovering Rib onto lone trailer...

[mikew4]

Whats the craic with driving RIB onto a trailer that is not attached to a towing vehicle?

Will trailer tip up as you motor onto the trailer?

Or will it stay planted on the ground?

(would like to lower trailer down slip with a rope and use car on level ground to haul trailer up).

Ta

[spartacus]

Assuming you're trying to recover a 6m rib, then yes the trailer will probably tip up, plus any forward momentum will likely push the trailer forward.

Even my 4.8m boat, my brother and I need to stand on the drawbar to keep the nose down, especially on a shallow recovery from the beach. I've never driven the boat on under power. I normally coast to the trailer, then hook a strap to the bow eye and winch it on.

Nothing wrong with using ropes to recover the trailer, but there's always a degree of risk. I find it's fine to haul the trailer off soft ground, but as soon as I get hard-standing, then back onto the tow-bar with the security if the break-away cable or chain attached.

[breezeblock]

it depends on the depth of water the trailers sitting in if you can get past the tipping point it would be ok failing that get the winch on it and drag it up

[Festinghouse]

if the trailer has rollers then just let it tip up, no need to stand on drawbar as the boat will winch onto the trailer more easily when tipped up as the boat and trailer are aligned with each other. dont try driving the boat onto a lone trailer, you are asking for trouble, just use the winch for the boat, and then the rope for the trailer

[mikew4]

Thinking of getting a pair of guide poles for rear of trailer as my local recovery spot at HISC has strong tidal rip...get bow in place...use guide poles...hook on....winch up....onto lone trailer....then haul out with a rope. Dunno if that is feasible !

[whiskylee]

We do just that on a shallow beach recovery, we have a 100m length of ratchet webbing wound onto a hose pipe real. Rope was a PITA for us. Drag the trailer out of the water and onto hard sand then attach to our 4x4

[mikew4]

Originally Posted by whiskylee

We do just that on a shallow beach recovery, we have a 100m length of ratchet webbing wound onto a hose pipe real. Rope was a PITA for us. Drag the trailer out of the water and onto hard sand then attach to our 4x4

Does the nose of the trailer kick up when you are driving the boat back on? Does it matter? Guess you just need the right attitude and throttle control.

[whiskylee]

We hook on and winch, we don't drive on ! There wouldn't be enough depth to drive on. When we winch on, the trailer goes up until the hull nears the trailer snubber

[whiskylee]

Have a look at this video when they recover. Watch how the trailer goes up when they winch up the boat

https://youtu.be/0fskmAjHmVA

[jeffstevens763@g]

i like to look at all rollers when loading make sure of no damage hook the winch up keep it tight into the rollers and pull up on the winch two mins by hand put a safety rope on and tow out job done.
let the floating roller carrier do all the lining up or docking arms if you haven't got the carrier.

[camelgas]

OP: If you get the trailer deep enough so as the rib floats most of the way on you should not have a problem.


We have to launch our club safety rib this way due to the slip, this must be done several hundred times a year, both launch and recovery.

[mikew4]

Those that hook on and winch up....

...are you doing this in strong tide from the side?

Or gentle conditions?

[whiskylee]

We launch & recover from the beach, when we recover the conditions are usually calm with no side currents or strong tides. Many years ago we use to launch/recover from Conway estuary and that is brutal tidal and we basically did the same but the trailer was attached to our tow vehicle, if you go in too deep with the trailer the boat will float off with the current

[mikew4]

I have vicious side tide to worry about making motoring onto trailer the preferred option.

Docking poles on order.

Plus am a newbie which doesn't help (we all need to start somewhere, right?), but that will soon change with practice. :-)

[whiskylee]

Try and watch what others do for launching & recovery where you are going to launch/recover you will soon see what is the most convenient way to get your boat back on the trailer

[Bombardc2]