# Winch your boat off



## fakebait (Jun 18, 2006)

My old fiberglass 16 footer weighs probally over six hundred plus pounds. With most of the lakes I fish that are electric only have shallow ramps and by mid summer it is hard to find a ramp that you can float a boat off the trailer. I got to thinking why can't I winch the boat off the trailer, just as I winch it on. So I mounted a pulley on the rear of the trailer frame. Then I ran some plastic coated steel cable with a hook on each end under the center rollers to the front bow eye. So the cable runs from bow to rear of trailer back up towards the bow half way back. So when I want to get the boat off the trailer I pull the winch strap back to the center under the of the boat to the cable hook and attach it to the cable.
While the other end of cable is hooked onto the bow eye. Once I back the trailer into the water the back in is free to float but the boat is still to heavy to slide off. All I do now is to start winding the winch as if I'm loading the boat and the cable pulls the boat back enough to let it float off. I then unhook the cable from the bow eye then tie off or beach it. Being of an older version of my once younger self, I find trying to lift and scoot the boat back off the trailer more difficult each year. So this will keep me independent to still go fishing by myself for a few more years.


----------



## Dan44149 (Apr 12, 2011)

Very intuitive! Improvise, adapt, and overcome! I like it.


----------



## FISNFOOL (May 12, 2009)

Great idea. Sure beats the old, back up quick and hit the brakes method.


----------



## rcjohnson (Dec 11, 2008)

Great Idea! A friend and I are going to do this today. Thanks for the tip.


----------



## aisler (Aug 26, 2011)

tried it today and it worked great


----------

