at that size it should be a piece of cake

How far do you put the trailer in the water ect, cause it always starts to sway away from the trailer and can be a pain in the ass.

Sure do mate, 2.5T 23 foot glass half cab quite often. 1 long rope, connected in a loop stern & bow then the rest as a leader from bow  up to bow post on trailer, that way can hang on to boat as you release it from the trailer, then keep tension on rope as you get up on jetty. Walk boat back & drop bow to stern rope over posts on jetty. Then boat will take care of it's self while you go park. Works same way to put it back on, walk boat up to trailer with bow to stern loop, then hold tension on lead rope till get to bow post & wrap it ariund, then take winch cable down to boat & Bob's your uncle just launched & retrieved boat by your self piece of piss.

I launch and retrieve my 6m quinnie by my self without any dramas, use a long tether (15m) fastend at the bow and the stern cleat. push boat of trailer (trailer in deep enough to just about float stern) hang onto slack tether rope. When the boat is floating off the trailer i walk out on the finger jetty playing out the tether rope as required untill i'm on the jetty then use the rope to bring the boat along side the jetty and tie it off. Takes a bit of practice but once you have done it a few times it isn't a problem recovery is pretty much a reverse of the launching process.

I'll try and get some one to take a vid of the process and post it up if i can

A video would be good, also just have to get down and just give it a go. Might just wait till the holidays are over can be busy and people's paitance is also somewhat non existent.

 You should be able to launch/retrieve any size boat. A few things that I do to make it easier are.

when I choose the jetty to come in on I will pick the one that the wind will blow me up against the  jetty. Then when reversing the trailing down I will park it close to the jetty, so that the wind will blow the back of the boat on the jetty. While you line the front of it up with the rollers and it should keep the boat pretty straight with the trailer.

also I think a lot of people put there trailers too deep in the water. If the trailer is too deep the boat will tend to float across the roller making it harder to get in line. Most trailers are set up so when you are retrieving the back roller is just touching the water level.

hope this helps you out a little. And remember the more you go the easier it will get.

Do all the time.

6.2 mtr glass boat with inboard.

Well set up trailer fitted with propper walk deck and a decent boat winch makes it very doable when all the "deckies" are at work.

What Jewish has stated regarding trailer in water.

 Good question ol yella, I've been wondering the same myself... Have had a few days where I thought it might be possible (I've got a voyager 188), but the days I'm without help I've just passed. Might just have to give it a go, methinks. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, huh?

thanks for the info guys.

Hi Ol yella,

I have a 1700 Eagleray centre console 18foot(ish) self launch and retrieve at woodman point

tho I must say the following..

I'm vertically challenged and horizontally augmented, i have a dodgy knee, which in itself can be sometimes challenging.

On the whole most guys at the launch / retrieve ramps offer to help if they see someone struggling.

I tend to get at the ramps early before the rush so I dont hold others up and i'll wait back from retrieveing

again until it's not so frantic. I do tie up at the end of the ramp and if it looks like someone is in a hurry I'll let them in first

as it's a long slow walk for me back to the car / trailer.

How deep to put your trailer into the water? mine has skids not rollers so I back my trailer until the tops of the tyres

are under water, then it's just a quick push and it's floating.

I find that being well prepared before getting to the launch lanes is a good idea, make sure trailer lights are removed,

bungs replaced, motor shock absorber removed, esky loaded with bait drinks etc.

you'd be surprised how many times i've watched people put in, only to see them make 2 or 3 running trips back to the car for things they've forgotten.

Cheers and good fishing

Norty

 It all depends on the weather conditions and trailer design imo. In calm conditions, most boats should be fine to launch/retrive by yourself using the techniques mentioned above.

If its windy it will be a different story however. I've launched some largish (~6m fiberglass) boats that are an absolute bitch in any form of wind due to their trailer design. Its very hard to hold them straight by yourself in the wind, and they just blow of the rollers.

On a well designed trailer however, you can just get the nose on, keep the boat relativley straight and wind it on, which makes launching a hell of a lot easier.

I personally havent used drive on trailers, but have seen a number of people launch and retrive boats up to about 10m or so, by themselves, in under 5min, using well designed drive on trailers. 

If you normally don't have any issues retriveing, I rekon you'll be fine by yourself in a <5m boat, so long as its not overley windy.

 I think I have been putting the trailer too far in the water, as it tends to floa t over the trailer even with help. I might try tommorow and not go back so far, getting the boat off is very easy. Just getting it back on, but if you don't try u will never know. I have passed up so many good days when my son is at work on the weekend ect...

I do it all the time. Ive got a 4.8m ally centre console and use the loop rope system bow to stern.

Launching is easy.

Retrieving : I also have a set of retriever mate spring loaded rollers  set up on the back of the trailer. And a non slip walk platform front to rear.

I run the winch cable out so that it is just long enough that when i clip it into the eye it holds some tension on the boat against the rollers.

Walk back up the trailer and start winching it up

Once the bow is in the v of the retriever mate the spring tension holds the boat straight.

I also usually go mid week to avoid the weekend ramp rage.

Just run a long rope about 2x the length of your boat. one end attached to a bollard at the stern and the other to the anchor bollard.

that way you can control both ends of the boat.

I do it very often in a 6 meter glass boat.

Just get the boat hitch and drive off/on.    Too easy

(as suggested- wind blowing boat on to jetty to launch,  wind blowing boat away from jetty to retrieve if poss.)

 Anyone have any videos or pictures of the loop system they use when retrieving their boat?