That Horrible Sound....

[whisper]

...Of a rib sliding down the slipway on its hull and one tube as the family in it hold on for dear life and the driver can only watch in the rear view mirror as it all happens in a split second....

Yep, that's what I saw the other day when I was on the water 50 yards from the slip.

I've seen so many risks being taken on slipways now and I've had enough and it has to be said:

1, Always use a safety chain that can take the weight of your rib.

2, Never stand behind a boat on the slipway.

3, Never disconnect the boat from the trailer until it's safely in the water.

Please add more, I'm sure there's loads more to be said.

Go on have a rant...

[CJL]

Safety chains should be legally required on all trailers!!

CJL

[Mextli]

Watch out that your car doesn't slip when it's on wet ground!

Some guy downed his Mercedes at the slip of my yacht club

[lukewhiting]

Originally Posted by whisper

...Of a rib sliding down the slipway on its hull and one tube as the family in it hold on for dear life and the driver can only watch in the rear view mirror as it all happens in a split second....

Yep, that's what I saw the other day when I was on the water 50 yards from the slip.

I've seen so many risks being taken on slipways now and I've had enough and it has to be said:

1, Always use a safety chain that can take the weight of your rib.

2, Never stand behind a boat on the slipway.

3, Never disconnect the boat from the trailer until it's safely in the water.

Please add more, I'm sure there's loads more to be said.

Go on have a rant...

That happened to a jet ski at swanage slip way the other day! They recovered it, connected whinch but not the safety chain. They got about 5 meters and the thing rolled off the back!

[SPR]

Originally Posted by CJL

Safety chains should be legally required on all trailers!!

CJL

I believe it is in UK!

S.

[mick]

I don't have a chain but I use a ratchet strap instead

[spartacus]

Always leave the car in gear on the slipway (engine switched off) while you float the boat off. If the handbrake cable gives way... then there will be absolutely nothing you can do to stop it sliding back.

[Ian M]

Originally Posted by whisper

Go on have a rant...

OK; avoidable accidents are one thing, shear pig ignorance is another. So, so many instances that I have seen. Two of the most recent ones are the types that cannot reverse and so use the whole slip, to the sailor who was so out of control that she rammed the transom of the boat launching next to me.....as well for her that she did not pick on mine

[John Kennett]

Originally Posted by whisper

Please add more, I'm sure there's loads more to be said.

Make sure the trailer is properly attached to the car before backing down the slipway...

[Mextli]

Make sure the slip doesn't just end half a metre further when in murky waters

[bad_moose]

We always keep ours tied onto the trainer and make sure that someone always stays in the car incase things go wrong until the boat is off the trailer and in the water.

My contribution would have to be...

Don't place ridiculous loads on gear that isn't meant to take it. I saw someone with a hideously undersized winch trying to pull a HUGE great thing onto it's trailer a few weeks ago. The tape snapped 4 times, causing the boat to roll off back into the water, blocking the entire slip and causing a nasty hazard for everyone nearby. It's amazing he didn't get whipped in the face.

[Dry Run]

Having the benefit of my office overlooking the slipway at the Camber in Old Portsmouth, I've pretty much seen it all!

Best was guy who reversed down the slip with RIB on trailer. Once the boat was 3/4 in the water tried to start engine and reverse off. Tried several times but couldn't get free? Eventually pulled boat out of the water to discover that the lightboard was stopping his boat from coming free.

Have seen several people with rollercoaster trailers deposit their boat on the concrete!

Also rescued VW polo??? trying to recover 7.5m rib??? at the bottom of a spring tide???

Of course you could avoid all this by keeping you boat at my Dry Stack................

[jyasaki]

Originally Posted by bad_moose

The tape snapped 4 times, causing the boat to roll off back into the water, blocking the entire slip and causing a nasty hazard for everyone nearby. It's amazing he didn't get whipped in the face.

Which is why they usually have polyester or polypropylene webbing rather than nylon. Low stretch means low kinetic energy to be released.

Told this before, but I'll refresh your memory:
A buddy of mine was launching his boat, but it wouldn't come off the trailer. Pulled up the ramp a bit, backed in and hit the brakes. Still wouldn't launch. Repeated the maneuver with a bit more gusto, and the entire contents of the back of the pickup gracefully slid out of the bed and into the water. While picking up the assorted dive cylinders, spare parts kits, coolers, heads of lettuce, bags of bread and whatever else that was floating around the harbor, he found he had neglected to remove one of the two transom straps. Undoing it caused the boat to spring free (nearly knocking him out), and let the trailer drop (nearly crushing his foot.)

Story Moral: Put your tailgate up. Or, undo ALL the straps. Take your pick.

jky

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Dry Run

Best was guy who reversed down the slip with RIB on trailer. Once the boat was 3/4 in the water tried to start engine and reverse off. Tried several times but couldn't get free? Eventually pulled boat out of the water to discover that the lightboard was stopping his boat from coming free.

At least they hadn't screwed deck fittings through the hull and into the bunks though, eh Mollers!

[Silverfox]

Originally Posted by jyasaki

Which is why they usually have polyester or polypropylene webbing rather than nylon. Low stretch means low kinetic energy to be released.

Told this before, but I'll refresh your memory:
A buddy of mine was launching his boat, but it wouldn't come off the trailer. Pulled up the ramp a bit, backed in and hit the brakes. Still wouldn't launch. Repeated the maneuver with a bit more gusto, and the entire contents of the back of the pickup gracefully slid out of the bed and into the water. While picking up the assorted dive cylinders, spare parts kits, coolers, heads of lettuce, bags of bread and whatever else that was floating around the harbor, he found he had neglected to remove one of the two transom straps. Undoing it caused the boat to spring free (nearly knocking him out), and let the trailer drop (nearly crushing his foot.)

Story Moral: Put your tailgate up. Or, undo ALL the straps. Take your pick.

jky

Sounds like he was nearly up for a Darwin Award.

[Gilles]

i m always using handbrake of the trailer and placing a wheel stop at the back from my car and gear box engaged reverse back . cannot move

[Hightower]

Originally Posted by Dry Run

Of course you could avoid all this by keeping you boat at my Dry Stack................

Of course you should stop feeding the algae and weed on the slipway with Grow More

[Nick Hearne]

Originally Posted by Gilles

i m always using handbrake of the trailer and placing a wheel stop at the back from my car and gear box engaged reverse back . cannot move

But the trailers handbrake doesn't work if the trailer is going backwards!

[Hightower]

First RIB I owned ended up on the slipway before I actually bought it and happened during my sea trial.

Due to the damage to the transom and a new winch required I remember getting the agreed price reduced by a couple of hundreds of pounds. Repairing the chips cost a £10er for a tube of plastic padding gelcoat and a winch for 20 notes.....Happy days!

[Gilles]

Nick, that s wrong, I don t know which trailer you have but my RIBA trailer did ! FOR SURE ! same system as a car ...