Launching Tomcat 255

W

Westie

New member
Hi there,
I'm finally receiving my Tomcat 255 next week. The transport company may not launch the boat. It sounded like it's up to the individual driver...anyway, I wanted to make some back up plans.

I have a Lexus GX 470 with a towing capacity of 6,500 lbs. I know the boat exceeds this.

If the transporter refuses to launch, I will need to hook up and back the boat down the ramp (assuming I cant find other options). The ramp is in very good shape. Does anyone have experience using an undersize truck to launch only?

Im not concerned about overloading the engine but tongue weight and ability to slowly back down the ramp concerns me. I've seen plenty of youtube videos....
 
That Tomcat weighs ~9000# empty on a trailer; I assume it'll be on a trailer.. I don't know exactly what that Lexus is, but is it a 4x4? That'd make it easier if aft gang awry. But the most important thing about a launch is brakes and the ramp surface. I did launch Journey On with a 63 Chevvie PU, so load limits are negotiable. A Lexus is expensive to fix, so borrowing/hiring a pick-up is an alternative.

Are you planning to launch the boat in Bodega Bay? I don't remember where the launch ramp is, but I'd wait for high tide and make sure the ramp isn't covered with seaweed. Lots of mud flats in the south end. I would recommend Sauslito for the first launch, though it's a couple of miles from Bodega Bay. The north end on SF Bay is shallow and the launch ramps aren't steep (both a p;us and minus.)

Obviously, as the boat enters the water, the load gets lighter. This mostly happens as the boat leaves the trailer, not before.

Boris
 
At first I thought you were talking about the 80 series land cruiser based lexus, the big one. I googled it just to make sure, and yours is the smaller SUV.

Alot depends on the stepness of the ramp. Like Boris said, if you can time it right for high tide, you may be able to get the boat partially in the water before the entire length of the trailer and SUV is on the ramp. That would make the weight of the boat and trailer not as much of an issue and you would probably be ok.

Ramps vary so much though that I would have no idea if your going to have the boat drag your lightweight SUV down the ramp on your particular launch. We have ramps around here and the tide comes up almost all the way to the top of the ramp. On those you dont even feel the pull of the trailer weight, but when the tide is low its noticeable.

The other option is to just rent a truck from U-hual or Home depot for the purpose, or find a friend with a bigger truck.
 
Should be fine. Use 4wd and low range if you have it and be smart about the ramp. Other owners have launched tomcats with less.
 
Should be fine. Use 4wd and low range if you have it and be smart about the ramp. Other owners have launched tomcats with less. Pulling it back out could be much harder so bring a tow strap for that occaision.

:wink:
 
Here are a couple of suggestions, if you end up using your Lexus.
First, have your transporter drop your boat on a level area, then you can judge how much you are loading the rear suspension as you lower the trailer onto your hitch. If it looks like you will be in enough of an overload to damage your suspension, that is unlikely since you will not be on the road at speed, you can then find alternative vehicle.
Second, I agree with the suggestion to use 4 wheel drive, but as your start to back down the ramp, stop, shift to neutral, and SLOWLY back down using the brakes to control your speed. Shifting from reverse to neutral prevents the engine from pulling against your braking effort and makes it much easier to control your speed.n
Good luck
Jack
 
For launching a TomCat, a steep ramp is best. The hulls sit on top of the fenders rather than between them as with a mono-hull. The trailer has to go in quite deep before the boat will float off. Your trailer fenders will be under water completely. Retrieving is another story altogether! :disgust
 
Not to be a wet blanket, but I would be cautious. With a 6500 lb tow capacity you probably rated at a 650 lb tongue weight. Tongue weights are typically in the 10-15% range of boat weight. So if the boat and trailer weight 9500 lbs you'll likely have 950-1400 lbs on the tongue (depending on axle position etc).

Does your trailer have electric over hydraulic (or similar) brakes? If so and you have a controller in your car you're in luck. If not you'll have a huge load going down the ramp.

I have a Venture 23 that loaded weighs in the 5800 lb range. Like your Lexus, my Tacoma has a 6500/650 capacity and I have to say backing down a ramp is not for the faint of heart (I will shortly add electric over hydraulic brakes to help mitigate this). Certainly your Lexus has better brakes but we're talking about a lot more weight.

It might work, but if it were me I'd try to find an alternative.
 
Had a Chevy Tahoe when I went to launch my TC after driving her cross country with my nephew's one ton diesel pick up truck. Bought it from Sawdust/Dusty/EQ Marine in Oak Harbor WA and towed her back to AL. After returning my nephews truck, I only had to go about 50 miles & made trip TO THE RAMP fine, after putting air bags on the Tahoe to keep the hitch of the ground. I should have kept my nephews truck with the heavy diesel up front.. :mrgreen:
Bottom line as breaks were applied backing down the ramp, front end of Tahoe lifts, loosing steering going backwards down the steep ramp. Just surge brakes on trailer.
The big splash at the bottom was beautiful. Reminded me of the days we use to go to down town Nashville and watch when they would launch a newly built barge.
Note to self at that point: Get a bigger truck....or borrow nephews truck when playing with TC. I now have a 2005 Ford Excursion, with the diesel up front and love it. No more splashes. So, borrow a truck ALSO: when launching/retrieving.. before you back down the ramp if you have a Delta anchor (or similar) hanging off the front bow of the boat .....let it out/down and let it ride up on the fore deck as to not get tangled up with the wench on the trailer during both launch & retrieve.
You should love your TC.
 
A moderately steep ramp is best. With a shallow ramp you may have to back in so deep with the small SUV that the door sills may be under water before the boat floats. On a very steep ramp, the anchor tends to foul on the anchor winch and you can't get off the trailer. This happens every time at Marina Del Rey, so I lay the anchor on the fore deck before I try to launch there.

I would try to borrow a 3/4 ton truck to do the launch. I have owned TomCat's since 2003 and have launched all over the US with a Ford F350 or 450.
 
Westie,
The transport fee never includes launching.
My friend, I fear you have more of a challenge here than you are counting on with a 255 (which is a great boat, if not the greatest boat in the world).
My rig is a GMC Sierra 2500HD diesel with 20,000# parking pawl and an Allison Commercial transmission rated for 12,000# deadweight towing/15K with wt distr hitch. On launching 2 weeks ago, with the truck in Park and the boat engines in neutral, just the rig weight alone skidded us down an extra 2-3 scary feet down the best ramp on the Gulf Coast (a WW2 seaplane ramp that extends to 9 ft underwater at low tide). We use HUGE solid rubber chocks to prevent this, but had not deployed them yet because we never had this happen before even getting the trailer front fenders 2 inches under water.
My best method for launching requires the somewhat scary 'slam on the brakes at just the right moment to jerk her off' technique, which has my rear truck wheels in the water almost up to the brake rotors before this can happen, and I have a Long Bed pickup and a 12" extended tow bar. If you forget to disconnect the transom straps or the safety chain or the bow strap, and/or forget to place your HUGE manly chocks, your tow truck WILL go underwater. Your Lexus is WAY to nice to even risk it.
With my new 4 blade props in Reverse, I have managed to skid down the whole truck/trailer/boat rig down the ramp in Park when the trailer isn't in deep enough.
Have your driver watch for the anchor to start to 'dip down' to indicate when the rear of the boat is starting to float. Even then, there is a lot of friction/wgt on the front of the trailer and you will not reach the 'magic spot' (at least with my rig) without the added inertia of the 'jerk off'. A friendly Sea Tow captain used to big trailer able cats taught us this at our first launch.
The guys and ladies who transport boats for a living are likely to be both knowledgeable and reasonable folks, and I suggest you ask your transporter if they would consider launching with your help if you provide the chocks for a +/- $200 under the table cash tip if your ramp is real close. Keep in mind she has another pickup maybe today. $500 would be well worth keeping your Lexus out of trouble and almost guarantee cheerful help from her or a buddy with a 2500HD truck and some big boat experience.
Other 255 owners launch and load routinely by themselves, but we find it much easier as a 2-partner exercise using Ear-Tec 2-way comm headgear rather than hand signals.
You are right that the problem is not your engine, or long term towing, but that of of a 2 ton SUV (less?) trying to slide a 5.5 ton tow pkg down a slippery ramp into water without the tow pkg being in control of the puny SUV. This boat don't float off the trailer in shallow water, though it floats in only 15 inches of water just fine...do you follow me here?
I hate being an outlier among all these experts, but I say DON'T EVEN TRY IT. PAY WHATEVER IT COSTS AND STAY SAFE AND HAPPY.
PM me for anything I can help with or phone #, I just cringe at the thought of a new owner of a great boat making easily preventable errors without advice...
Cheers! and Best of Luck!
And what is $200-$500 compared to what you have already invested?
John
 
Thanks for the advice. I'll work the phones to find an alternative.

I did call Uhaul and Home Depot…they didn't provide any options for me.
 
Wondering how often do you plan to launch, retrieve and trailer this boat. If the answer is frequently, then you might be well served to get a pickup truck. Even a beater or older large suburban type of vehicle might do.
 
If you get the trailer in deep enough that the stern floats, it's no problem to power the boat off the trailer. It's much harder to load than to launch. We never have a problem launching, except with the anchor. Only occasionally have a problem loading on a flat ramp because you have to back so far in to get the boat to float over the wheels. I sometimes have to power load, but floating on is preferable.
 
What kind of trailer is coming with the boat? The Float-On we have doesn't require that we come close to getting out truck in the water. That said, on a shallow ramp we may off to power off. However as was stated above, the biggest problem with using the Lexus will be the large tongue weight. I had to add air springs to my Tundra to handle the boat and the Tundra has a much beefier suspension than a Lexus.
 
This is a one time launch. The boat will stay in a slip until annual service and I'll use a service (local towing company) to pull out. I may end up using the service as a plan B. It's just an expensive option for backing down the ramp.

I really am hoping the transporter will do this.

I don't think I'll have the option for a sling but I can make some calls.
 
You are getting the boat with a trailer. That makes me think you are planning on trailering somewhere in the future. The trailer part is great. Wake up one morning, decide that you want to go see the waters 500 miles away, or in your case, about 900 miles north to the Puget Sound waters. I would get electric over hydraulic brake system on the trailer, as to allow the brake trailers to work for & with you. Launching with my 2 wheel drive Excursion I look for good solid concrete ramps. Even then, sand and funk is often there. Just having these breaks and you can "tweek" them on the go when trailering turning them up high on the ramps. Real handy when traveling in, thru, over the mountains and cities. Have trailered my TC and my current boat, a RF-246 which is about 9280 pounds of boat, motors, trailer & stuff many miles. Cross east and west coast I think 4 times now, plus a lot of up and down the east coast once over there. Get electric over hydraulic breaks on the trailer, and, have the 6' extension put on the trailer too, as to keep the back end of your tow vehicle out of the water. Too many electric gizmos on our bumpers now days. Folks will "rush to the ramp" to see that neat boat before you get away. Result? That roller of a wave smacks your boat as you try to settle it properly on the trailer, and the wave continues to rinse out the back of your tow vehicle. A good weight distribution hitch on the trailer also makes a wonderful addition. Makes it much better on total ride for all, and helps keep that front end on the ground backing down the ramps. Be very cautious in real tight turns with the distribution hitch on.

Or, like stated above, find a sling ride for her for your first launch, enjoy your boat, and figure this stuff out later!! Plus, some neat pics can result from the sling ride. Get great insurance and let her rip!
FreeByrd_in_Route.jpg
 
i would just rehire the delivery guy to launch it. whats another 30min-1 hour of his time for a 100$ tip. easy and done. don't know of many tow guys that would say no to that.
 
I hope your are right Jake.

I'm just losing sleep thinking that I finally get my boat and it's stuck in the parking lot. If the driver wont do it, there is a good chance someone else will be around that wouldn't mind a relatively simple back up. I'm probably over thinking it....I just want to get on the water!
 
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