Tom, I also have a newish Pacific trailer and experience with shallow angle ramps, like the one in Grand Lake, CO. Two things that made a difference (in addition to extending the tongue) were:
a) block wheels, unhitch trailer, jack the nose up, tie nose to hitch ball with rope, move car forward to tighten rope, unlock wheels and and keep reversing with the trailer tied with the rope to the hitch ball (don't be concerned about ability to take the boat out of the water later, as the winch can pull the boat into the trailer) with someone pushing the boat back an dcontrolling which way it goes as ; or alternatively b) a hitch with a huge (and I mean huge) drop used to lift the ball and hence drop the back of the trailer. Good luck Carlos M-17 "Shrimpy" ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "Tom Jenkins" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Date: Sun, 19 Aug 2007 16:57:14 -0700 Subject: M_Boats: launching M17 Hello all, To my dismay, I can't sail my M17 where I live because subpar snowfall last winter has lowered water level close to the bottom of all decent launching ramps. The concave bunks on newer Pacific trailers evidently prevent the boat from floating off unless the water is 5' deep or more at the stern, even with a trailer extension. No problem on a good 14% or 15% standard ramp, but it would be nice to drop into some less developed spots where the boat will float but the trailer will not comply. It is nicer still to be able to pull one's boat out in the fall if the water drops during the summer (particularly if the lake freezes and there is 10' of snow). My question: has anyone experimented with launching and retrieving in substandard locations, either by fiddling with the trailer (reversing a drop hitch, blocking the wheels and jacking the tongue, etc.) or even modifying the trailer? Probably a trailer like my NS27 EZloader unit with four sets of tilting rollers could be devised, but it would be pricey. (We all like to spend money on our boats, right?) Thanks, Tom Jenkins M17 Scintilla _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
