www.iFourWinns.com

Don't yell at your wife.

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Current Boat:
2004 Sea Ray 320 Sundancer "Nauti Luvin'"

Previous Boats:
1999 298 Vista "Seas The Day"
2008 H200SS "Nauti Luv"
2006 Tahoe Q4

I have already promised myself to remain extremely calm and let her fail and then succeed..........this is what I learned when trying to teach her how to golf...which I handled INCORRECTLY and now we don't play golf together anymore. (Can't say that is entirely a bad thing)

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2012 H210--First Boat! Woo Hoo!
2013 Ford F150 Eco-Boost V6

Few things in life you hire professionals to do. Teach your wife to golf and ride a motorcycle are two for sure. ANY time you have to use the term, "transfer your weight" you are in for a no win fight.

As for the ramp - take it slow and methodical. Have a plan laid out with who will be responsible for what. Prep your boat 100% prior to getting to the ramp itself. Have all of your gear, coolers, tubes, and everything from the truck into your boat. First person in the boat when loading the gear, turns on the blower and opens the hatch to smell for fumes. Have the lines on the cleats ready to be launched with fenders out. know who is going to sit where when you first are backing out. Take your time, have a plan. You'll do fine.

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2001 Horizon 260 - 7.4 Volvo GSI DP

All good advice. Especially "Don't yell at your wife."

Make sure you communicate, she can't read your mind. (At least at the ramp)

Greg

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2008 210SS 6.2L DTS Bravo 1 Now featuring MercMonitor w/SmartTow

Retain your composure, no different than anything else. the village idiot is always there with his turrets waiting for someone to MMA his AZZ. Take your time, check and double check your plug is in, straps and covers are off items are inside you need to bring, AND REMEMBER IDIOTS CREATE IDIOTS...I usually take a deep breath and do like the stones "smile and wave" because if I don't I either end up doing something stupid or MMAing someones AZZ...and the Admiral is hard to get along with after I do that!.

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2000 H190 5.0GL

In addition to yelling, it's also amazing to me how many people refuse to teach their wives anything or let them help... If I had a dollar for every couple I've seen where the man does absolutely everything I'd be rich... It takes these couples 10 minutes to do what could be done in 30 seconds, and its also dangerous, because what happens if God forbid there's a medical emergency or something happens to the man that knows how to do everything? wife is helpless and your boat can't be docked nor put back on the trailer...

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2007 FW Horizon 200 5.0GXi/SX-A

Number one rule - be fully prepped before you get to the ramp. Sounds kinda obvious, but you have probably all experienced people parked on the ramp then deciding to load all of the stuff from their car into the boat, untie it, etc. It's really frustrating for everyone else waiting to launch or retrieve. Do all of this stuff well away from the ramp where there is no pressure and you can double check you haven't forgotten anything.

Have clearly defined roles - I handle the boat and my wife handles the car, trailer and reversing down the ramp. She is just the best at this! We can get our boat launched and retreived in a matter of a minutes this way and the ramp watchers are amazed - she often gets comments like "that's the best launch we have seen today" and "she reverses better than the guys". How do you teach your wife to do this? Some videos, some practice in a car park, and some very careful, positive guidance - no yelling!

One thing we have found really useful is a couple of hand held radios - I can talk and guide her from the boat this way and vice-versa. All gets back to communication - I can let her know what's happening and so can she.

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Alec

2006 Horizon 190
VP 4.3GL/SX, Sunsport

I also have to comment that I've been trailering at public ramps for over a decade now and have never seen a boat come off of a trailer at a ramp... I don't believe that this is possible during launch, and maybe only marginally possible when pulling out of the water if the winch were not attached right and the boat was 1/2 way on the trailer... I'm not sure if I could do it if I tried to make it happen intentionally... The weight of a boat on a trailer even with no winch or straps attached is too much for it to slide off even if you slicked it with oil... feel free to unhook your winch before backing down...

Now what I have seen commonly is people slipping off the side of the ramp during a launch getting stuck... or pull their boats out with the trim down, or stuck with a trim that will not go back up due to electrical/mechanical failure...

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2007 FW Horizon 200 5.0GXi/SX-A

I don't agree. How long does it take to get the trailer in the water THEN unhooking the winch strap? Maybe an additional 30 seconds, the risk far outweighs the few seconds it takes IMO.

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Jeff

'14 Cruisers 380 Express "Simon Sez"
Merc 8.2 Mag MPI 380
DTS B3X, (x2) Axius Premier


(SOLD)
'08 V318
Merc 350 Mag MPI 300
DTS Seacore, B3 (x2)

I feel so much better after reading all these posts. Our first stop with the new boat is going to a vacant parking lot for me to brush up on my own reverse skills, and then get my wife comfortable with it as well backing into spots with no fear of damage. She is all about just having confidence in anything she does...especially if there is any type of audience.

Then it is off to a lake and jus driving around.....dropping noodles in the water, and practicing. Thankfully, I have always been a cautious and responsible fellow, so I imagine we will do fine. As long as I keep m wife out of any stressful scenarios, especially in the beginning, we are going to do great. A lot of the things mentioned were already in my plans!!

Rules I amo taking from this thread....

Go slow
Remain calm
Check, double check, and triple check the plug.
Have a set routine.....if we remain with a solid routine the chances of error decrease significantly.
Go slow

Piece of cake!!!!

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2012 H210--First Boat! Woo Hoo!
2013 Ford F150 Eco-Boost V6

I like your attitude Pedropup. You'll be fine.
One more tip to add, years ago a buddy gave me his advice; your best gear for docking is nuetral with short engagements of forward or reverse to get the job done.

John

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07 Azure AZ200,
Previous boat,
95 278 Vista,
And a lot of others.

Ontario, Canada

DON'T FEAR THE BOAT RAMP . You and your wife will be fine. Take it slow, make your moves short, watch your mirrors and DON'T FORGET THE PLUG . Before you know it you'll be a pro. You should see the looks the admiral gets when she backs in the trailer makes you kind of proud.

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'96 200 Horizon 5.8l VP/SX

I taught my wife how to golf...no biggie if she is willing to listen. Of course it helps I played professionally for a few years so she knows I know what I am doing.

The ramp will be fine...we all had to learn at some point also. Good luck!

+1 If it's my turn to launch you can wait a couple of seconds for me to unhook my winch I don't feel comfortable with that thing unhooked.

>+1 If it's my turn to launch you can wait a couple of seconds for me to unhook my winch I don't feel comfortable with that thing unhooked.

I definitely don't mind waiting if this is the only thing left to do.... not everyone is comfortable with a 2 person quick launch... I will admit that the first few times I launched I would have never unhooked the winch. But, the coefficient of friction of a carpeted boat ramp combined with the ramp angle and weight of the boat... it just defies the laws of science that it could come off... every boat & trailer is different I suppose...

oh... here's the thing everyone here can relate to... ever get caught out in a storm and come back to a crowded boat ramp, water whitecapping, with everyone panicking to get out? this is the test of a real boater vs. a wannabe...

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2007 FW Horizon 200 5.0GXi/SX-A