fusioneng wrote:
Yea I just went to Harbor Freight and picked up a small winch (less than $25 bucks), then just found a roller that I could rig on the back end of the trailer (something to lift the bow onto (you will need two), the winch prevents the boat from sliding back, or turning while sitting on just the rollers). I know pretty much how far the winch needs to be out, and have that ready when I lift the bow, I then just snap the winch onto a handy location on the bow, then I don't have to worry about the boat falling back off (especially when it's windy or choppy), I then take my time and just winch it the rest of the way up, usually fully rigged (why do all the muscle work when you don't need to (most ramps are very steep), I'm usually pretty spent and pooped out when I come in anyway). I think the winches with the flat nylon strap material work best (mine originally came with a metal cable (kind of a pain), I converted mine myself. I've also seen guys out there with electric cordless drills winding their boats up with the winch (good idea).
What I do once I get the boat off the trailer is walk it to the end of the dock (most of the launches around here have nice long docks that powerboats use to load and unload all their gear and passengers before pulling onto the ramp, tie it up pointed to the wind if you can, I've see quite a few guys take off sailing right from end of the launch dock, some of these cat guys are unbelievable at it (like the F18 guys), I'm not in that league, I use the brail method ( LOL).
Hope this helps
The Wave will not point into the wind as well as those other boats you mentioned. That makes sailing out of tight spots more difficult.