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I've always walked the onto the trailer. It's not hard if you get the trailer deep enough - - - and I NEVER EVER had to recenter the boat.

Rick Less

I converted to a two line system after fighting trying to us a bow and a stern line.
One line attached at bow and stern makes moving the boat easier by a single person.
But I also have a 15 foot bowline I keep coiled on the bow pulpit.
I dock with the sideline.
Then all foils go up, and motor up, switch off, ready to slide onto trailer.
I go forward before jumping off the boat and toss my 15 foot bowline onto the dock.
Then I go get and position the trailer, go up on the dock and grasp the 15 foot bowline, untie the sideline and use the bowline to pull the boat onto the v block.
Much harder to explain than do, and I have done it single handed.
Not pleasant in a stiff crosswind mind you... this boat is a shoebox with foils up so itś harder to get between the goalposts.

argonaut wrote:.........Not pleasant in a stiff crosswind mind you... this boat is a shoebox with foils up so itś harder to get between the goalposts.

Bringing side bunks all the way forward really helps in a crosswind situation. If you don't have the time to do this I've heard of boaters tying a rope from the goat post forward to the "V' at the bow on both sides to guide the boat. I was going to do that, but then since I needed new goal posts on our trailer just built what is in the picture. We have had a number of problems sailing and on anchor, but so far loading and un-loading off the trailer has been easy and uneventful mostly,

Sum

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I didn't mention it, but I always try to dump the ballast before pulling into the dock for loading. I don't like spending the time on the ramp while the tank drains and with the boat floating higher and lighter it is easier to load.

On the few times we've loaded with ballast full we have needed to be back at least a foot or two further down the ramp for the boat to float cleanly over the trailer to the bow block. Even empty the boat only floats to the vee block down on the trailer frame, it must be winched the rest of the way on the trailer to the winch vee block. Usually the lower vee block is just above the surface of the water.

I added a roller ahead of the vee block which helps lift the bow as it is winched on. Once the bow is on the vee block, it no longer contacts the roller.



We often have cross winds at the ramps we use so it definitely takes two lines and two people to load easily. A single long line just wouldn't give the control of the stern needed in wind.

I think most people are impressed with how quick and easy it is to launch a Mac. It's actually easier then some power boats. Of course they don't see the 45 minutes on each end spent in the parking lot rigging and un-rigging. That's why I have no shame about pulling the mast off at home and going of some trips mastless. You can pull up directly in line and launch just like all the power boats. Clip on the fenders and lines, and you are ready to back in. This is quite nice on occasions.

Don't make the mistake we made one time however. We pulled up, hung the fenders and lines, pulled the rudder pins and backed in. Something was strange however. I was back the normal distance with the truck yet the trailer tire fenders in the mirror were not going under the surface. Then strangely the fender in the drivers side mirror vanished from view behind the truck, to the side. What the heck? I climbed out to take a look at what was going on. In my 'quick to launch' mode I'd neglected to take off the tie down strap. The boat was now floating with the trailer suspended off the ramp under it. The reason I lost sight of the fender was the wind blew the boat toward the dock as the whole rig floated behind the truck. Thankfully it was a slow day and no one noticed as I pulled back up the ramp and took off the strap for a second try.

I familar with that situation,Thats one of the quirks of putting a second axle on the newer aluiminum trailers.They float once you back them into the water they will start drifting sideways with the wind and must be pushed back to align with the boats trajectory.

That's interesting, so the aluminum trailer is so light that the buoyancy of 4 tires will cause it to float.

That wasn't my problem, my steel trailer certainly will not float on it's own. My problem was I never took the towing tie down strap across the cockpit off so it was holding the trailer off the bottom still attached to the boat which was providing the flotation.