Boat Slip without a Lift

[tenn162000]

The most stressful part of the lake for me is getting the boat on and off the water.  I am nervous trusting most of my friends and family when it comes to getting the boat on/off the trailer OR parking the trailer in the busy parking lot.  My current storage locker is 85 a month but I have found a Marina with a low roof (unable to leave the tower up if I had a lift) that wants 140 a month.   I am seriously considering renting the slip and keeping the boat in the water all summer long - only pulling it to pressure wash the boat every few weeks or at least once a month.  And removing it in the fall and putting it back a storage locker.  The problem is they don't any lifts for rent and the new ones are rather expensive and if I did have a lift I would have to put the tower down but I have a tramp top which would be a pain. 

I have a snap on cover and I have thought about leaving the bilge on auto and hooking up a solar power panel to the batter to keep it charged, or is there a way to plug it in to shore power?   How would you tie it up?  What suggestions/recommendations do you guys have?   Any fear that the boat would sink?  Gel Coat? 

[HCollado]

You are a much braver man than me. I would not do it. You are going to be switching your concerns from loading / unloading with friends to thinking all week long "is the boat OK?"

That is expensive for a slip with a lift, specially if you have to take the tower down.

Good luck with your decision.

[tenn162000]

Yea after a few days of thinking about it - I doubt I'll do it.   For me - taking charge around a boat came natural, getting it on and off the water or parking/backing the trailer.   How did you guys teach your significant others the ways of the trailering world?   I am hesitate to just drive around town with the boat and use it as a learning experience, haha.   I spent a small fortune on a boatmate trailer a few years ago, in hind sight I should of kept the old trailer for training friends and family. 

 Is anyone brave enough to launch one of these boats on their own?   

[ktdust]

I launch my boat solo the majority of the time. My kids aren't much help launching or loading, but maybe they'll get better at it once they learn to walk and talk.

Unhook the boat on the launch. Loop a mooring line to the top of the guide post and back it in - relatively slowly. Boat floats off the trailer, grab the boat or mooring line, tie it up and park the trailer.

Haven't had any problems to date.

[wakejunky]

when I'm in a bind with inexperienced friends i do the same as ktdust.

you joke about driving around town with the boat. that's exactly what you should do. experience experience experience first thing i do is find a big empty parking lot and just let them go at it. they can see how tight of a u turn they can make, how much they need to swing out to make a tight corner and they can back it tell their blue in the face. be veryyyyyyy patient when their done call it a day. if its stressful their not gonna be down for it they just get pissed and you fight. another thing alot of people including myself like to "run" the boat when their on it. driving, docking, organizing, get them involved even if it kills you to just sit there. in the end they will gain the experience or may surprise you and be better than you at it and you can sit back on the boat and relax. took me awhile but my wife is a champ i can get in and ride and have no worries or stress. she can even pull the boat on the trailer better than me. i tend to hit the guide posts and she nails it.

[Nick11965]

Glad I'm not the only one who stresses over these things. I'm 46 now and don't Whig out as bad as when I was 26 ,but
I feel your pain!

[HCollado]

My wife was no help until I told her "you have got to learn how to do this". We would practice over and over when ever the ramp was not busy. After I wile, a piece of cake. Hell, it got to a point were she could floated on to the trailer much better than I could.

Fortunately, we now how a lake place with a lift on the dock and we only have to load the boat once a year.