If you have a trailer that you can back down a ramp, I'd definitely go that route. I have a roof rack and a bed extender and neither one works well for launching from a boat ramp. Even if you use the cart that Hobie offers as an option. you still have to get the cart on and off which is a pain in the u-know-what. I mean...Who wants to unload their PA, then turn it on its side on a rough concrete boat ramp to install the scupper hole cart so you can pull the PA up an often slick, wet ramp to the parking lot...OR...If you want to install the cart while the PA is at the water's edge, you'll have to get wet reaching under the PA while trying to find the scupper holes to insert the cart through.
If you go the route where you are using a bed extender, you'll have to back down the ramp to the water and then pull the PA up about 3 feet to get it over the edge of the extender while standing on the steep angled, wet, often slippery ramp. And then remember that the PA is 12 or 14' long so you have to wade out into the deeper water to get to the back handle of the PA to try to push it up far enough over the end of the extender so you can secure it before leavng the ramp area...Its not enough to just get the PA started over the edge of the extender because the PA will try to roll and slide back off the extender...So you have to hold it up while walking down along side it to get around to the back handle...Its a pain in the backside...Just yesterday I had a perfect fishing day...Weather was perfect (not too hot, no wind, no boat traffic, lots of fish caught). The tide was high when I came back in to the boat launch at the end of the day around sunset. I backed my truck down the boat ramp, put my bed extender on and unloaded everything from my PA...No trouble until I tried to pull the PA up onto the edge of the extender. I got it up over the edge, but when I tried to pull it up further from the side of the PA, it was too heavy so I walked down into deeper water to get to the rear handle. As I pushed the PA up into the truck bed, I slipped on the ramp and busted my shin and knee cap pretty good. Blood went everywhere...I slipped down under the water, completely. I was soked to the bone and as luck would have it, I hadn't brought a towel this time out...There were other people out standing around that witnessed my misfortune and they were nice enough to ask if I was alright. I said I was OK...Of course I wasn't because I was bleeding all over the place...But I was more embarrassed than in pain from the incident...Launching the PA was much easier though...I have cleats on both sides, front and back and some rope that I use to walk the PA down the dock after attaching the motor and getting everything onboard...The H-Bar is a big help when having to step down a few feet into the Pa from the dock. Make sure that you have the PA tied off front and back first before trying to step in because you may lose balance or the PA might try to push away from you as you are trying to step in. Then just untie the lines from the dock and push off from the dock, and you're on your way
Launching from the shore or a beach is much easier (just walk the PA out far enough to get in, paddle it through the breakers, then quickly install the Mirage drive, and you're good to go. Remember though that you have to face the surf head on. Don't let yourself get pushed sideways or you will likely get turtled). If you have a motorized PA with no way to lift the motor up in shalow water while launching, you'll need deeper water to launch from, which makes it harder to get in the PA without getting wet...So...No motor...Launch from shore...With a motor installed that has no way to lift or lower it, use a boat ramp. Putting in the water from a ramp is easy...Its getting the PA out of the water which can be more challenging
...And yes...You can put your PA in the water from the trailer, or use the cart. Either way will work. I hope that I've helped...Sorry for the long story