[Rhodes22-list] Fandango's Wet

[Michael D. Weisner]

Slim,

I hope that you were able to sail a bit after the "incident", at least 
enough to lower your blood pressure back to normal.

I have always used at least a line (rope) tied to the trailer during launch 
and recovery procedures just in case the trailer separated from the tongue. 
I found a pair of web style emergency tow straps (15') with hooks in Home 
Depot rated for 2200 lbs to work very well.  I simply hook one end into the 
safety chain "eye" and loop the other around the forward vertical support 
and hook it back on the strap.  I don't cross them because of the grease on 
the tongue extension.  I feel much better when positioning the trailer on 
the ramp, knowing that even if the pins popped (I lost one while driving, 
once), I would not lose the trailer (and boat), especially when recovering, 
when the boat and trailer combo seems the heaviest.

Please, leave the ramp shows to the power boaters.

Mike
s/v Shanghai'd Summer ('81)
Nissequogue River, NY

From: "Slim" stevenalm at comcast.net Tuesday, May 01, 2007 3:36 PM

> Yay!  We splashed the boat yesterday.  Almost everything went fine.  The
> motor started on the second pull!  Before I raised the mast, I pulled out
> the sail/furling tube out the bottom of the mast to replace the furling
> line.  That was a first for me and I had to learn as I went along but it
> turned out to be pretty straight forward.  The whole operation took only
> about a half hour.  Sorry, no pix.
>
> We had one near catastrophe.  I'm in the habit of pulling out the tongue
> extender without unhooking.  I chock the wheels, pull the pins and slowly
> drive forward while an assistant holds the pins in place until they pop 
> into
> the holes.  I do this with the tongue wheel jack down just in case I go 
> too
> far.  The problem came when I was backing the extender back into place 
> which
> I can do without an assistant.  However this time I didn't have my regular
> wheel chocks so I was using a block of timber.  When I was backing,  the
> trailer rolled up and over the timber and started rolling down the ramp
> because the pins were out (the tongue is still attached to the van) and we
> had a runaway trailer heading right for the ramp where the boat was 
> docked.
> Just then the assistant put her life on the line and caught the rolling
> trailer and stopped it with her super human strength.
>
> I'll never use anything but real chocks again.
>
> Slim
>
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