Sling Launching

RobMcClain

RobMcClain

Member
Hi Folks,

Mary and I are preparing for our first trip north with our boat. We tentatively plan to start cruising in the southern area around Tacoma and slowly work north, probably ending our voyage after the Bellingham gathering. We'll probably pause our cruising midstream and fly home for several weeks and then return to continue it.

I've been reading posts in C-Brats and reviews in Active Captain regarding launch ramps/sites and marinas in general. It appears some trailer boaters use sling launches, like the one at Cap Sante Marina, as opposed to the traditional launch ramp. I have a silly question about a sling launch. I am assuming the trailer must be equipped with rollers as opposed to bunks - or the bunks must have spaces cut into them fore and aft in order for the sling to be placed under the hull. Is this correct?? Our trailer is a dual axle aluminum Magic Tilt with 4 long bunks. No rollers under the hull and the bunks are solid running under the entire length of hull. I would think this makes a sling launch unworkable for our boat. Correct, or if not why not??

Rob
 
I agree, that you have to have cutouts in the bunks--one exception may be if the aft bunks do not extend all of the way aft, and there is a good 6" free of bunks. And that the area in front of the bunks is clear. Some of my trailers have had at least one roller on the keel well forward (current boat has two rollers up there, so a strap might be able to get in this area.

You could winch the boat aft, to get that room in back of the bunks. But if you are doing this, I would lash the slings to the cleats, so the sling cannot slip off aft! Same forward.

A photo of your trailer might let us know if that can be done.
 
I've used the sling launch at Cap Sante in Anacortes and they do have a way of launching boats without sling slots although I did install sling slots on our trailer. I believe they use a floor jack for the stern of the boat to clear the sling from the bunks. During the Anacortes Salmon Derby, they launched many boats in short order using this system. I would call to be sure but I'm almost certain that they would be able to accommodate your boat with bunks.

Anacortes is a great town. You'll love it up here!
 
Bob,

The bunks on our trailer end right at the back of the transom so there is no space whatsoever under the stern. And towards the bow they run far forward in that direction as well, bending and curving upward with the hull and leaving no space until about the last few feet. I like all that support, especially when boaterhoming, but all that friction can make retrieving the boat from a ramp and getting it nice and tight to the winch post a bit of a pain. Not complaining though, it gives me piece of mind when trailering.

Rob
 
I launched my CD-22 off a bunk trailer where the bunks extend all the way to the end, two summers ago, at Cap Sante. Great way to keep the trailer out of the salt. lol. They did use a floor jack and block of wood to lift the stern up enough to slide the sling under the hull. (Same thing when putting the boat back on the trailer.) They also had a nice large parking lot near by where I left our rig for the week. Colby
 
We have been slinged in and out of the water without having sling cutouts on the trailer. They used a forklift to lift up the boat while they slid the canvas type slings under the boat and then had the loops on the top of the slings slid on to the forks of the forklift. They do the same thing when putting the boat back on the trailer. If they just have a travel lift maybe they have a harder time with out the sling cut outs on the bunks.
D.D.
 
Cap Sante or Skyline can sling launch from bunk trailers with no cutouts. It is of course easier with rollers or cut-out bunks but they do it daily and are quite good at it. They can angle grab the hull and slide the boat back a bit on the trailer, lift the aft hull end to insert padded blocking, and proceed as normal. Best, Mike.
 
Oak Harbor Marina has a sling launch. It was being serviced when I put the boat in, but The Harbor Master apologized for not being able to use it for my boat. I do not have rollers. He saw my trailer and didn't mention anything about cutouts, etc.
 
Rain":1or0vto9 said:
Oak Harbor Marina has a sling launch. It was being serviced when I put the boat in, but The Harbor Master apologized for not being able to use it for my boat. I do not have rollers. He saw my trailer and didn't mention anything about cutouts, etc.
Click to expand...

Rain, the Port of Edmonds provides a good illustration of different types of modifications for sling bunks. I created my sling slots by adding a separate board on top the existing board, very simple.

Sling slot modification

After clicking on the link, go to the FAQ tab, scroll down to the bottom of the page and open up the two tabs that say, "How Do I Modify My Bunk Trailer" and "View Modification Types".

Hope this helps. Peter
 
Cap Sante has a limit to the size boat they will sling launch if your trailer has bunks with no cut-outs: 26' is what we were told. They had no issue with Wild Blue (CD-25). You will spend more on an in/out compared to launching from a ramp, but it was a lot more convenient for us to use the sling in Anacortes.

If you decide to go further north to launch, Bellingham (Squalicum Harbor) has great ramps, lots of parking, including free extended time parking (more than 3 days), but you have to check in with the Harbor Office. As a bonus, there is a place with a hose where you can flush/rinse your trailer after dunking.
 
We love the lift launch at Annacortes; keep the bearing out of the salt water!

As someone said - the lift operators are very accustomed to vessels w/o sling cutouts. ...no problem.

We made a slight change to "Dessert 1st." We installed a heavy duty "bow eye" on the port & starboard transom. We wanted to have a bomb proof hard point for attaching a tow line bridle (yes, we had a large backing plate inside the each lazarette...). The stern towing eyes also served as a strong point for attaching lift cables when we need them.

Best,
C&M
 
Back
Top