[Rhodes22-list] Extension bar use

[Brad Haslett]

Mike,

>From the infinite wisdom of Hollywood via the movie "Jaws", "we need a
bigger boat".

Get a bigger wench!

Brad

On Wed, Oct 1, 2008 at 11:05 AM, Michael D. Weisner <mweisner at ebsmed.com> wrote:
> Brad,
>
> We have winched the trailer to the tow vehicle several times when the tide
> was too low to sail on to the trailer while still attached to the vehicle
> and we had to recover the boat that day (leak or other problem.)  The only
> problem that you need to be mindful of is that it is fairly easy to exceed
> the capacity of the winch cable if the trailer is in sand, beyond the end of
> the ramp.  Collapsing the tongue extension while on the hard using the winch
> will probably be fine, although I would still be very careful about the load
> since cables (or even web straps) give little real warning before dangerous
> failure.  If the cable fails, the trailer may be free to roll away from the
> tow vehicle.
>
> Mike
> s/v Shanghai'd Summer ('81)
> Nissequogue River, NY
>
> From: "Brad Haslett" <flybrad at gmail.com>Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2008
> 11:50 AM
>> Andrew,
>>
>> Buy a cheap hand winch.  Attach one end to the trailer and the other
>> to the frame of the tow vehicle. Let the extension bar out beyond the
>> pin hole and wench the two together.  Ideally, you want the cable
>> lengths situated so that the wench is very near the pin hole location
>> so you can watch the progress single-handed, a very easy modification.
>>
>> Brad
>>
>> On Wed, Oct 1, 2008 at 10:35 AM, Andrew Collins
>> <sailingvesselcarmen at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Wally
>>>
>>> The extension bar is a real help in launching and retrieving, the only
>>> catch
>>> is sliding it in and out and lining up the fast-pin holes while you are
>>> driving. This is especially aggravating if you are alone. The easy
>>> solution
>>> we came up with is to pull the extension bar out by hand, re-hitch it to
>>> the
>>> tow vehicle and proceed to launch, or vice versa.
>>>
>>> A little game has evolved out of this as well if there is a driver and a
>>> fast-pin inserter: slowly drive forward pulling the extension bar out
>>> (with
>>> the trailer chocked!), fast-pin guy yelling 'slow', SLOWER", GOT IT! as
>>> the
>>> holes appear. As with all things, practice makes perfect. Pretty soon
>>> you'll
>>> know exactly where that hole is inside the front support sleeve.
>>>
>>> Too many of us launch and retrieve alone, and one gets pretty good at a
>>> lot
>>> of things. It goes much faster with an extra pair of hands, and then
>>> there
>>> is a good reason to crack a cold one.
>>>
>>> Andrew
>>> s/v Carmen
>>>
>>> On Wed, Oct 1, 2008 at 10:49 AM, Joe Babb <joe.babb at comcast.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi Wally,
>>>> Sharon and I trailer sail our Rhodes 22.  We find that extending the
>>>> trailer tongue to launch and retrieve is the most
>>>> aggravating thing about it.  Otherwise things go quite smoothly with the
>>>> mast hoist system.  It just takes time and patience.
>>>> It takes us about 1.5 to 2 hours to rig and launch.  That's from parking
>>>> at the launch ramp to parking the truck and
>>>> trailer.  The best tip is to minimize the amount of time you spend
>>>> getting on and off the boat through planning your
>>>> work.  We tow with a Chevy 2500 Silverado.  We usually get 16 -18 mpg on
>>>> the highway without towing.  On the way
>>>> back across the Smoky Mountains from Edenton we got about 12 mpg average
>>>> towing the Rhodes.
>>>> Going up steep hills usually slows us down to 40 or 45.  We found the
>>>> boat tows well at 55 mph.
>>>> So far, I've always just jumped in the water and led Harmony onto the
>>>> trailer.  The trailer extension is a pain, but also
>>>> very nice as it gets you far  enough into the water to avoid having to
>>>> use muscle power to launch.
>>>> Hope this helps.
>>>> Joe
>>>>
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