Boat Hauling Tips and Tricks

Running your own boat can be a worthwhile activity that lets you have fun on the water with your friends and family. If you live in a cold weather climate where you need to remove the boat for winter, or if you do not have your own slip, then you need to know how to tow your boat and safely launch it. This ensures you remain safe on the road and protects your boat from damage to keep it in operating condition.

How to Haul a Boat

Hauling your boat from storage to the water is a crucial skill as a boat owner. Follow these steps to safely tow your boat to the water for launching:

1. Check your truck’s limits: Before loading a boat up for towing, it’s important to ensure that the truck you use can handle the load you attach to it. Choosing a reliable and powerful option like a GMC Sierra or Canyon ensures you have the required towing capacity to safely tow your boat to and from the water.
2. Assess your tongue weight: Another important check before towing your boat is the tongue weight capability. This ensures that when you connect your boat, it remains safely attached throughout the towing process to avoid disconnection.
3. Connect your boat: After confirming that your truck can handle the weight of your boat and trailer, secure it and double check all connections to ensure that the boat and trailer are secured prior to pulling out.
4. Adjust your mirrors: When connecting your trailer and boat to the back of your GMC truck, you need to account for your new field of vision. Adjust your mirrors in order to provide a view of your trailer and neighboring lanes so you can operate safely on the roads.
5. Stay at safe speeds and distances: When you attach a trailer and boat to the back of your GMC Sierra you are also changing the weight that you are in control of behind the wheel. This means it takes longer to slow down when you apply the brakes, so travel at slower speeds and maintain longer follow distances on the road to provide yourself with ample space to slow down and stop when needed.

How to Load Your Boat in the Water

Once you’ve made it to the water, it’s time to get your boat off of dry land. Launching a boat requires careful driving in order to get your boat into the water and keep your truck dry. Here is what you need to do when it’s time to launch your boat:

1. Schedule an appointment if needed: When using a crowded or popular boat launch, it may require you to schedule an appointment to put your boat into the water. This ensures there is a spot in the schedule for you when you arrive.
2. Get a guide: Having a partner to help you guide the boat as you back into the water makes it easier to control and aim your boat. A guide can show if your direction is correct or needs adjustment, and let you know when you have backed the trailer up far enough to begin launching the boat off of the trailer.
3. Approach in a straight line: When launching your boat, the more straight of an approach you take when traveling down the boat launch, the better. A straight delivery allows you to get your boat into deep enough water while keeping your truck as far up the launch as possible so that it stays safe and dry.
4. Attach a bow line: In order to maintain control of the boat, it’s important to attach a bowline from your winch to the boat. This prevents the boat from drifting when it reaches buoyancy and separates from the trailer. Ensure that the line is secure on both ends before you lower your boat into the water in order to avoid potential damage to your boat.
5. Lower until you reach buoyancy: In order to float the boat and remove it from the trailer, you need to submerge enough of the trailer that the boat reaches its buoyancy level. although the exact distance will vary by your boat, a good estimate is when roughly 2/3 of the trailer has reached the water. You should not back up your truck so far that it is beginning to go underwater.
6. Drive the boat out:Once your boat has gained buoyancy you can unhook the line. Slowly and carefully back your boat out of the trailer and the boat launch and begin operating it in the body of water.

How to Remove Your Boat from the Water

Correctly removing your boat from the water is just as important as getting it in. Here’s how to load your boat back onto the trailer when it’s time to go home:

1. Submerge the back of the trailer: In order to reload your boat onto your trailer successfully, you must first back it into position. As with launching the boat, attempt to back your trailer down as straight as possible and drive until the back of the trailer is underwater so that you can float your boat up, but the front wheels and truck remain on dry land.
2. Approach slowly: When pulling your boat into the boat launch and up to the trailer, approach slowly. New drivers are encouraged to turn off their engine and drift the final approach in order to avoid accidentally propelling your boat too far and causing damage.
3. Attach a bow line: Once your boat is close enough to attach the bowline, connect it to the boat and engage your winch in order to draw the boat forward and into position on the trailer, securing it in place snugly.

Sell Your Old Car to Buy a Truck with Koons Woodbridge Buick GMC

If you have a car or truck you want to sell or trade, we have you covered. The professionals at Woodbridge Buick GMC can help you find a new or used truck to replace it that’s ready to haul your boat as well as any other tasks you lay ahead of it. If you’re in the market for a new or used truck, get in touch with us or come out to see us today to learn how we can help.

Image via Flickr by Stephen Momot

Tags: Boat, GMC Sierra 1500
Posted in News | No Comments »