[Rhodes22-list] Retrieval of Boat

[Geankoplis]

Nicely Done Claude! And that will be a nice thread in the archives.
Chris G.

-----Original Message-----
From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
[mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Claude Cox
Sent: Monday, October 08, 2007 5:40 PM
To: Rhodes22 list
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Retrieval of Boat

Hello Everyone;

I'm mostly a lurker on this list, but occassionally I have something to
say---like now.

I pulled my celtic Lass today, for the first time; it started out well, and
went up from there.  Following the Commodore's instruction manual made the
experience an awesome one!  I drove the boat onto the trailer, and it
centered just like the instruction's say it will.  Because of the shallow
water at the ramp, I used the 10' tongue extension, and backed into the
water until there was about 2 1/2 feet of bunk above water. 

The trailer is a 1988 Trailmaster, single axle, which I purchased from Peter
Thorn this past spring.  I replaced the bunks, recovered the bow stop bunks,
and, at PT's suggestion, installed what WM calls "Trailer Sliks (P. 757 in
the catalog).  They worked beautifully, as they provide a slick surface, for
an extended time, on which the boat can move.  I installed a 5,000 # winch
strap, which worked like a charm; as I pulled the boat out of the water, it
held the bow eye close, even as the angle of the strap changed when the
stern settled onto the trailer.  The bow eye came up "eye-to-eye" with the
winch, but the boat didn't move as I pulled up the ramp, which was a
challenging ramp because of its somewhat severe grade (at least for this
boat retrieval virgin, it seemed to be severe). The tow vehicle is a 2000
Ford Explorer, 2WD, 4.0L V6 engine.  My son-in-law helped with this
adventure, and with the two of us in the vehicle, along with "stuff" one
accumulates on a boat, we wer
 e at the limit of this vehicle, however.  

The bow stop is on an adjustable arm.  It was extended all the way toward
the stern of the trailer as I retrieved.  Leaving it there, once we hit the
road the trailer began fish-tailing at about 45 MPH.  Moving the winch
toward the tongue, I winched my 3000 # Rhodes forward (a real tribute to the
trailer sliks) until the edge of the rear port was over the axle of the
trailer (another PT-suggestion).  That gave me another 10 mph, which was
plenty for the roads over which I was towing.

Several of you on the list are in the decision-making process about how to
equip your Rhodes.  If you get nothing else, GET THE MAST HOIST SYSTEM!!!
At least for me, it is worth its weight in gold.  Lest I seem too fulsome
about this experience, there was a slightly down side--preparing for the
road.  We were going just 40 miles, so how we prepared didn't seem as
critical as preparing for 400 miles.  Still, getting all the shrouds and
loose lines secured presented a challenge.  I'm sure finding a satisfactory
way to prepare for the road will come in time, however.  What we wound up
with was a pretty messy bundle, but when we got to the end of the trip, it
was still all just where we had put it.

When I returned home at the end of the day, I celebrated my success with one
of those drinks Rummy talks about all the time--what's it called Rumster?  I
had one....then another....then another.  And as I have come to the end of
my post, I'm going to have another.

Peace ya'll. 
Claude     
  
__________________________________________________
Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list