During the hot summer months, there aren’t many things that can compare to the freedom and relaxation that you feel when you can finally take your boat out on the water. Depending on your boat’s size and where you’re boating, you may be fortunate enough to have it docked at a marina.
In other cases, to get your boat on the water in the first place, chances are that you’ll need to unload it from your trailer at the ramp. Launching a boat is a fine art, and even some veteran boaters haven’t mastered it. That’s why we’ve put together this guide to launching your boat when you finally arrive.
Ever been to a public boat launch, crowded and chaotic? Getting the boat in the water can be such a chore! Proper Boat Launch Etiquette is critical at these moments.
We’re going to explore how you can make every boat launch a smooth one by following a few essential tips. We’ll cover how you can prepare your boat to launch it as swiftly as possible, and we’ll discuss a few things that you shouldn’t do if you want to avoid dirty looks from the other boaters at the ramp.
Before we get into the details, let’s go over a textbook boat launch, so you have an idea of what’s expected of an experienced boater at the ramp.
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Proper Boat Launch Etiquette
When you arrive with your boat, you’re expected to prepare it for launch in the staging area.
This stage of launching involves removing your boat cover, attaching dock lines and fenders to your boat, as well as loading it up with all of your gear. Once you’ve completed all of the necessary preparations (including putting the key in the ignition and unplugging your trailer’s light bulbs), you can take your place in line at the ramp.
We’ll take a more detailed look at the preparations later on.
When it’s your turn, slowly back your trailer up to the ramp, keeping it as straight as possible while you reverse. You’ll want to back your trailer in until your boat’s stern is clearly afloat. At this point, you should put your tow vehicle into park with the parking brake engaged.
At this point, you should take hold of the bowline and push your boat out into the water. Of course, there’s a lot more to launching a boat than this idealized sequence of events, so let’s discuss some of the things you should and should not do.
How to Ensure a Smooth Boat Launch
If you follow these tips, you shouldn’t have any trouble with other boaters while you’re at the ramp. Even as a novice boater, you may take a little longer to get your boat out on the water, but you won’t ruffle any feathers as long as you follow the advice in this section.
Prepping Your Boat for Launch
Getting all of your preparations out of the way before you approach the ramp is crucial. You need to ensure that you don’t hold up other boaters for any longer than you have to.
Keep in mind that smaller launch facilities may not have a designated staging area, but if you see a bunch of people in one place preparing their boats, that’s probably the de facto one.
Before getting out to prepare your boat, look around you to make sure you’re not blocking anyone off from accessing the ramp. If you’re well out of the way, you can begin making the initial preparations to your boat.
Start by removing all of your boat’s tie-downs and then check your boat’s motor and battery before you advance to the next step. By pre-checking your boat’s engine and battery, you’ll be certain that these critical components are working properly before you’re in the hot seat.
Leave the key in the ignition after checking your motor.
The next step is to ensure that your drain plug has been fitted and that it’s firmly locked in.
You can now start loading your gear and life vests, pfds, etc. into the boat. Once you’ve loaded all of your equipment onboard, you can make any necessary preparations to the drive unit, like angling the outboard motor for launch.
If you’re boating at night, make sure that you check your navigation lights or boat spotlight while you’re at the staging area. you may not be able to safely and effectively get them mounted while you’re already underway.
Proper Tow Vehicle Conduct
Along with handling your boat the right way, you’ll want to be careful to drive your tow vehicle around the ramp safely and politely. The first thing to consider is the flow of traffic and how you can easily fit into it.
Larger launch ramps may have a more organized system to determine who launches, but you typically just have to get in line. Be sure to ask the people around you where the line ends if you’re confused, as that can help avoid annoyance.
When you’re in line and waiting, feel free to perform some final checks on your boat. But always be in a position where you can quickly get behind the wheel so that you can maneuver your boat into position.
When it’s your turn, back your boat up to the ramp and cut off your tow vehicle’s headlights. Your lights will make it more difficult for boaters in adjacent lanes to see where they’re going, so this is a simple act of courtesy.
Next, you should prepare your boat and trailer for the launch. Tie down the bow and stern lines to your boat’s cleats. Then head over to your trailer to uncouple the power to the taillights.
Leaving your trailer lights on can damage them when they’re immersed in water.
The final thing to consider when you’re backing your boat and trailer into the water is the speed with which you approach the ramp. Be sure to back up slowly, even if you’re in a rush. Moving slower will allow you to correct your course so that you get the right angle while you’re launching your boat.
Don’t Hesitate to Bring a Friend if it’s Your First Time
First-time boaters may wish to bring a friend along with them if they’ve never launched a boat before. While this guide can paint the process in broad strokes, there’s nothing quite like having an experienced mariner at your side when you have to ask smaller, detail-oriented questions.
Or even just an extra pair of hands should you need them!
Along with guiding you through the launch process, your buddy will also be able to cut down on the amount of work that you have to handle on your own. Two sets of hands are better than one, and they’ll make it easier to do things like tying lines and muscling the boat into position while it launches.
If you can’t get a friend to come along with you, don’t hesitate to interact with people while you’re in the staging area preparing your boat. If you let enough people know that you’re a beginner, you may be lucky enough to find someone that’s eager to help you out with the launching process.
And who knows? One of those strangers may even end up being your next boating buddy.
We boaters tend to have a lot in common, and many of us are happy to share the tricks of the trade with new blood.
Common Errors When Launching a Boat
You’ll often learn more about launching a boat by looking at what you shouldn’t do. That’s why we’ve included this section, which will go over some of the most inexcusable faux-pas that boaters tend to make when they’re at the launch ramp. Remember, when in doubt, use common sense.
Don’t Make Any Preparations to Your Boat While You’re Lined Up
The most crucial tip we can give you is to ensure that your boat is fully prepped before you pull up to the ramp. If there’s a minor thing that you overlooked and you’re already positioned to launch, you can fix it. But try not to make this a habit.
If you have to make major preparations and you’ve already backed up to the ramp, give up your place to the next person in line and head back to the staging area.
Everyone makes mistakes, but it helps to have a checklist to ensure that you’ve adequately prepped your boat every time before heading out on the water.
Don’t Take Up More Space Than You Have To
Some boat ramps feature clearly designated lanes where boaters can back up and launch their vessels. But many smaller ramps don’t have such clearly delineated lanes. If that’s the case, be considerate about how much space you’re using while you launch your boat.
No one wants to be the guy who hogs a boat ramp all to himself when there’s clearly enough room for two boats to launch side by side. Of course, if you’re not used to backing down a boat ramp, don’t stress too much about how much space you’re using. You’ll get the hang of it sooner or later.
Don’t Abuse the Privilege of the Courtesy Dock
As with every other part of launching a boat, using the courtesy dock properly is a matter of haste. A courtesy dock is a small dock that’s typically in a boat’s launch path, and it allows passengers to be quickly onboarded before setting off.
While you can theoretically launch a boat with passengers on it, it may be a bit of a challenge for them to get on in the first place.
A frequent mistake is using the courtesy dock to load your cooler, fishing gear, boat grill, fishfinder, etc. onto a boat. That’s not what it’s there for. You typically want to avoid tying up at the courtesy dock for long if you can avoid it.
Every minute you spend there is another minute in the path of a boater trying to get in the water.
Avoid Spending Time Chatting at the Ramp
If you see a good friend pull up next to you to launch their boat, you may be tempted to strike up a conversation. This shouldn’t be a problem if there’s no one else at the ramp, but odds are there’s someone behind you waiting to launch their own boat.
Try to be considerate.
That being said, you can certainly say hello to a fellow boater when they line up their boat next to yours. Just make sure that you don’t get reeled into a long-winded debate about each other’s boats, how the kids are doing, or just about anything else until you’ve actually cleared the slipway.
Always Ask Permission Before Tying Up to Someone’s Boat
If it’s a crowded day at the launch ramp and all of the available berthing spots have been taken, you can still tie up your boat to another boat.
Unfortunately, a lot of boaters seem to assume that this is their god-given right instead of a privilege that is granted at the behest of the other mariner.
Be polite and ask people before you tie up your boat to theirs! It only takes a second of your time to ask the question, and it can save a lot of trouble for both you and the person that you’re tying up to.
Once you’ve tied up, try not to take too long while loading on passengers and your final bit of gear. It’s likely that that other person wants to head out on the waves soon too.
Don’t Power Load Your Boat
Power loading is when you apply heavy throttle while you’re approaching the ramp so that you can get your boat on the trailer more easily. While this may seem like a harmless thing to do, you can actually damage the sediment at the foot of the boat ramp with your prop wash.
Wearing away at that sediment can make it so that trailers get stuck during the launch process, as there will essentially be a hole in the ground underwater. If you want to avoid causing this damage, pull up to the ramp at a slower speed, and use your trailer’s winch to get your boat onto it.
If you have a pontoon boat, a good set of pontoon trailer guides will make it much easier to load and unload.
Conclusion
Boat launch etiquette is typically nothing complicated, and after a few tries at launching your boat, you’ll be perfectly comfortable doing it.
We hope that this guide has outlined things well enough so that you can get everything right, whether it’s your first time or your tenth time at the ramp.
Good luck. Now get out there on the water!
