DaySailer.org Forum

My town has a launch ramp that I am planning on using (I recently moved and I used to always launch the boat before by lifting it off the trailer with a hoist). I've helped people launch boats off trailers before but there was always an adjacent dock to tie up to. My town does not have such a thing. What does one do if there is an onshore wind in such a case? I don't think running up on the beach is going to work very well as this is the rather rocky CT shore of Long Island Sound.

Thanks in advance for any advice/suggestions.

paul otterstedt (pjo25-at-columbia.edu)

I've been in this situation and it ain't perdy. I suggest you have a good strong paddle and an anchor. Not sure what logistics you are facing, but here's what I do:

1) With sails down but at the ready, back the boat into the water.
2) When it's free of the trailer, point it away from the launch and hold onto the bow and stern lines while you wait for your crew (you have to get wet).
3) Climb into the cockpit and paddle into deeper water.
4) Lower the centerboard, grab the tiller and "rock-drive" the boat into open water (lunging your weight port to starboard with the tiller straight ahead).
5) If it's blowing, and you need to make further preparations, use the anchor to stay put until you're ready.

An idea: how about your crew parking the rig and meeting you on the water with an inflatable raft. When you're ready to fly, clip the anchor line onto the raft, point into the wind, raise the sails and you're off. This way you have something stationary to come back to, a kind of shuttle-dock.

It's also very helpful to have the verticle guide rollers that run along the side of the hull. This helps the boat stay centered when loading the trailer.

Short of this, you could lobby the powers for a ramp-side dock!

Whatever you do, let us know how it turns out.

You mention 'small town'. If that equals greater tolerance, which often it does, you may be able to put out a permanant bouy on a cement anchor in about 3 feet of water, depending on how fast it gets deep. As you roll off the trailer, attach the boat to the bouy. Do your thing with your rig, then return to the moored bouy, get in you boat an sail away. If this is a small community, there may be others that use (or help you build) your mooring as well, since it seems to be a problem that would affect all boaters.