Does your better half help with launch/retrieve?

[dingleberry]

My wife handles the trailer, I deal with the boat.

She hasn't had any close calls, but I have managed to scare myself a couple times in the wind. So I guess that means her score is higher

[Jeffe]

I back the boat down & the wife drives it off & on the trailer. She does a damn good job too. There is a Gnarly up river eddie where our launch ramp is and she has that **** on lock down!!!

[skyski_tige]

I deal with the boat and the trailer sits quietly at Texas Tige'

We have a dock with boat lift so no need for trailer!

[Domsz06]

my significant other will/would not back the boat down. that being said if it was just us she would back the boat off the trailer, but normally there was a person or two that knew about backing a trailer so they would back me down. I'd drive away. when loading if there was someone that could back i'd pull the boat on, otherwise I'd let her come close and I'd just winch her on.

Cleaning she and the girls cleaned the inside, and I and the guys did the outside

[ajholt7]

My wife handles the kids so I have to always have someone else to back the truck down. It is hard when you have a 2 year old and a 5 month old in the boat.

[jschnip]

My wife handles the boat - I handle the trailer. We've got a pretty good routine down and usually launch/retrieve like clockwork. Even in some bad cross wind, she gets it right up the middle (although I do usually park accordingly to assist, angled a bit in those situations, at the proper depth). My wife cleans the inside - usually alone (by her choice), and everyone on the ground helps me wipe the spots/grime off and apply a fresh coat of spray wax.

Only two real issues/stories - on an older boat we had, she found out it was possible to catch the prop on the corner of the prop guard when backing prematurely, with a slight wind and before I stopped backing up (usually with a nice jolt to slide her off). That prop was torn up - just from hitting the top corner of the prop guard (only damaged the paint on the trailer). Now she always makes sure to let me get the trailer out from under her with a jolt off the bunks (she got a new prop for her birthday that year).

The other instance was with the new boat last weekend! It had just started raining when we were loading back onto the trailer - we hustled off the lake to beat the rain, thus the ballast was still draining, with some passenger chaos on the boat. She loaded, I pulled up about 10 feet, went back to pull the plug, and immediately yelled, MICHELLE - THE BOAT IS STILL RUNNING! She blamed it on how quiet it is - luckily it was less than 30 seconds - I backed back in, and had her restart, check temp - everything looked good. She knew her excuse didn't hold water, so I only made her feel a little guilty about it. I did buy a spare impeller this week, just to be on the safe side.

I'd say for being a team for 5 years and only having two "whoops" moments, we're not doing too bad.

[scoot18]

Some of you guys have quite an organized routine. Ours is getting better, trying to give her exposure to more duties and thus helping me.

Up until last weekend, I backed the boat up to the ramp almost to the water, swap the truck with her, and I'd rope and spin around the boat as it floats off the trailer. Where we launch is shallow and muddy, and the dock goes away from the ramp at an angle, so drive off is out of the question unless the water is really high. Last weekend she said she could handle taking the rope and boat off trailer duty, she said it was no big deal; "to my surprise." It hadn't happened that way before because she had previously told me she was afraid that the boat may be too heavy and pull her off the dock while she pulled the rope to swing it around and bring it to the dock once it was off the trailer. She conveniently forgets now that she ever told me that. So from now on she has boat off trailer duty and I back and park truck & trailer.

Our marina set up is rather tight, one way in, one way out, only one dock on the starboard side when returning, which is good for the backing to the right characteristic. I most always bring the boat to the dock, she has occasionally. I go get the truck & trailer, back it in the water, go back to the boat & drive on trailer, she hooks up the winch strap that I have already prepared for her and she winches it tight while I keep it throttled against the bow roller. She then drives it out of the water to a wash down area across the lot where we flush & rinse off, you have to back into it, so she gets instruction from me while still in the boat as how to back the truck to get the boat where it needs to be. It's been rather comical and entertaining, but I'm glad to say she is getting better with practice. You go Stacy.................

[da.bell]

My wife used to drive the boat onto the trailer and one time the wind was blowing about 30mph and she got the picklefork stuck on the guide post and turned the boat sideways and from then on she was done. After that day it was out to a parking lot to learn how to back the trailer up. Since then she is 100% truck driver now. She does pretty good, a little slow and a little low on the confidence level but she does a great job, makes me happy every time she backs the truck up.

x2 with a very similar situation with the wind and WAY too many people/boats around. Wife freeked out and now she launches the boat and I'm the boat captain.

[andrzej77ff]

My wife takes care of the truck and trailer. When we bought the boat the first thing we did was driving lessons with a trailer, she caught on quick and now shes a pro. She shows up most guys at the boat dock actually. I'm real proud of her. Now she's wanting to learn how to put the boat back on the trailer so she can take it out without me.

[hycosurf]

This is one of the reasons i now keep the boat on a lift at the marina. We now only have to deal with this a few times during the year now. Less stress in the marriage...

When we do it, I back the boat down to the waters edge then she backs it in the rest of the way and I drive the boat of and she parks the boat and trailer. When it's time to load the boat, we dock the boat, I go get the truck and back the trailer in then I drive the boat on...unless the ramp is 100% empty...then she might back the truck/trailer in. She's truly a big help but she does NOT want to dock or load the boat.

My wife is exactly the same. Her parents lets us keep in the boat slip at their house and i will always pull into the slip. ANd same goes for boat ramps. unloading team work and all my effort to load the boat. I don't mind because she loves to take out the boat and drives for boarding. definitely lack of confidence even as long as she has been driving.

[Booms]

I was lucky my wife came trained by her father. She has had boats her whole life so she drives the truck and backs in both to launch the boat and take it out of the water. She can thread a needle with the trailer and prefers to back up using mirrors!! When she was 15 her father had her back a jet ski trailer in-between cones for practice. We are fast!

[mtnsmith]

Girlfriend does the boatwork on launch and retrieve, she won't drive anything larger than her matrix

[Bad05]

I handle the boat and she handles the truck/trailer. Same routine most days, except the time I forgot to unhook the front strap and couldn't back up....HA! I also have to yell as the jerks that try to jump the line or cram our space just because they see her driving....which I have no problem doing!

[Jason B]

Sheeeiiiitttt, I'm lucky if I can get my wife to hold the line while launching or retrieving.

j/k, she does hold the rope and pull the boat forward (with the bow line) so I can winch it on.

She does fine driving the boat when we're out on the water, but anything beyond that is no bueno.

[Guma]

(she got a new prop for her birthday that year).

Now that is funny!