[Rhodes22-list] Retrieval of Boat

[Claude Cox]

Thanks, Chris.
Claude
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Geankoplis" <napoli68 at charter.net>
To: "'The Rhodes 22 mail list'" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Monday, October 08, 2007 9:29 PM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Retrieval of Boat


> 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
>
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