Pull Sailboat Off Ground Onto Trailer

Article By Shorty


Deomstrating his great strength by holding up the trailer with a single finger, is my friend Tim who helped me get the boat up on the trailer.

1350 lb boat, and still had a lot of water in her. There are a number of ways to get a boat up onto a trailer, the method I used was to run a 3/8" nylon line around the entire boat, criss cross it loosely thru the bow eye, and then crank her on with the winch. The important part to note is how the line goes around the stern of the boat. If just pull on the bow eye, that would rip it right out of the bow.

I started cranking, and cranking, and got to the point that I had to use every ounce of energy to make the winch turn. I would put both hands on handle, push will all my might, and it would turn the bottom 1/4 of the way. Then get under, push upward with both hands, and make it go another 1/4 turn. Wow that was a lot of work, and to get an idea of how much tension was on the line, look at the distance between the bow eye and the winch line hook, and then compare it to the previous picture. The rope stretched about 4' while trying to get the first few inches onto the trailer.

Something has to be wrong, so Tim started poking around with the 2x4 and with a little lever action, the boat jumped forward about 6". We then discovered that the keel had made it's own form fitting hole in dirt, and just needed a little lift to get it started on the bunks.

After that the cranking was a lot easier, and a combination of cranking & nudging around with the 2x4, we were able to get the hull up on the trailer.

Just after this picture, I was able to pull the tongue down on the trailer and walk it over to the car. Next I pulled forward and slammed on the brakes, with Tim watching and coaching me to how far it needed to go. Couple more slams of the brake, and we were snugged up and heading home.

Took a little foliage with us, a lot of bugs, 2 geckos, 1 angry wasp nest, small colony of big black carpenter ants, and 4 new pets.....

For smaller boats, here are some other bolt together trailers you can assemble yourself:
PWC boat trailer
40" x 48" utility trailer
4ft. x 8ft. Steel Folding Utility Trailer
Galvanized Boat Trailer