One of the most difficult things that you will have to learn if you like going with your boat alone is loading and launching all by yourself.
I’ve been launching and loading my boat by myself for more than 10 years, and I can tell you that the first times when you do this it won’t be easy, but as you gain experience it will become very easy.
From my experience the best way to approach this is by thinking about it as a step by step process that you follow precisely.
Before we start with the guide I want to give you the most important tip that you can receive. Always double check everything, every step is just as important, and messing one up will mean that you have to start all over, or worse damage your boat.
So now that I mentioned this is time to start the actual guide.
Table of Contents
How to Launch a Boat by Yourself
Step 1: Put the Drain Plug Back On
The drain plug is a small metal plug that can be found near the keel of the boat. As the name suggests removing this plug will allow the water from the boat to drain, and putting it back on is essential before going back into the water. If you don’t water will start filling your boat.
Step 2: Attach Dock Lines to the Cleats
When the boat will be in the water you will need to tie it to the dock, and you don’t want to have to tie in the dock lines when the boat is in the water.
If you are not familiar with the terms, the cleats are small metal things that lock similar to a drawer handle on the side of the boat, and a dock line is a very thick rope.
Some boats come with their own dock lines attached to the boat, so if that is the case you won’t have to worry about this step.
Step 3: Remove the Trailer Strap
If you don’t do this the boat won’t come off the trailer. This is not such a big problem but you will have to get into the water to remove them, and when you do so there is a chance that the boat will hit you, and the strap might break if you do this repeatedly. So just make sure you remove them.
Step 4: Pump the Fuel Primer
A lot of boats have outboard motors that come with a fuel primer. If you boat has one this is a good moment to prime it
Step 5: Lift the Motor
If you don’t lift the motor, the motor will most likely hit the ground and brak.
Step 6: Attach a Long Rope to the Front of the Boat
This is what makes launching the boat all by yourself possible. So tie a long rope to the front of the boat, and then tie it to your car. Make sure the knot is tight but not too since you will have to untie it after the boat hits the water.
Step 7: Slightly Loosen the Winch Strap
Make sure to loosen it and not remove it completely. If you remove it completely there won’t be anything that will hold your boat on the trailer, and this can lead to many bad outcomes. If you don’t loosen it at all the boat will be very rigid when it comes into contact with water.
Step 8: Back the Boat and Trailer Into the Water
It’s finally the time to put the boat into the water.
Step 9: Remove the Winch Strap
After your boat hits the water you can completely remove the winch strap. Your boat shouldn’t go too far since you also have the rope.
Step 10: Using the Long Rope Move the Boat Near the Dock
Now grab the rope you tied earlier and move your boat closer to the dock.
Step 11: Tie the Dock Lines to the Dock
Now you can use the dock lines to tie your boat to the dock and go park your car, your boat shouldn’t move from this place.
Extra Tip: Load Your Equipment Before You Lunch
One extra tip I want to give you is to load your equipment into the boat before you launch it, even if the boat is securely tied to the dock, it’s not the most pleasant thing to do.
How to Load a Boat by Yourself
This is almost the exact same process, but in reverse. So let’s start.
Step 1: Tie Your Boat to the Far End of the Dock
You will need some space in order to put your boat into position so tying it to the front end won’t leave you enough space.
Step 2: Lift the Motor
When I saw a beginner I’ve seen a lot of guides that said you should use the motor to get your boat into position, but that is simply a bad idea. You can easily move your boat into position using a rope. If you leave your motor down the chances of it hitting the ground greatly increase.
Step 3: Get Your Trailer Into Position
Now you should get out of the boat and put your trailer into position.
Step 4: Using the Long Rope Move Your Boat Onto the Trailer
Untie your boat and use the long rope tied to the front to move the boat. You don’t have to force yourself to move it completely up the trailer. Just move it close enough so that the winch strap can reach it.
Step 5: Use the Winch to Secure the Boat to the Trailer
Now you can use the winch to do the heavy lifting and tightly secure the boat to the trailer.
Step 6: Remove the Boat and the Trailer From the Water
Now you can get in your car and completely remove the boat from the water.
Step 7: Attach the Trailer Straps
Now attach the trailer straps, so your boat will be tied down, so it won’t fall when you are on the road.
Step 8: Remove the Drain Plug
And finally remove the drain plug so that any water in the boat will drain. Make sure you put the plug somewhere safe, you don’t want to lose it.
Final Thoughts
If you follow those guides step by step you should have no problem changing and loading your boat all by yourself.
Just make sure that you don’t skip any step, and everything should be fine. The first couple of times will be a little harder since you’ve never done it before, but after that everything should come to you naturally.
If you are afraid you might screw something up you can try to do those things all by yourself when you have somebody with you. This way you will still be doing things all by yourself, but there will be somebody there who will let you know if something doesn’t seem right.
In the end let’s quickly recap all the steps.
To launch a boat by yourself you have to take the following steps:
- Put the Drain Plug Back On
- Attach Dock Lines to the Cleats
- Remove the Trailer Strap
- Pump the Fuel Primer
- Lift the Motor
- Attach a Long Rope to the Front of the Boat
- Slightly Loosen the Winch Strap
- Back the Boat and Trailer Into the Water
- Remove the Winch Strap
- Using the Long Rope Move the Boat Near the Dock
- Tie the Dock Lines to the Dock
To load a boat by yourself you have to take the following steps:
- Tie Your Boat to the Far End of the Dock.
- Lift the Motor
- Get Your Trailer Into Position
- Using the Long Rope Move Your Boat Onto the Trailer
- Use the Winch to Secure the Boat to the Trailer
- Remove the Boat and the Trailer From the Water
- Attach the Trailer Straps
- Remove the Drain Plug