With my tiltup trailer, I can retrieve without submerging the hubs. I
connect the winch strap to the boat, snub the bow against the aft roller,
then start cranking. As soon as the weight of the boat starts to transfer
to the trailer, the trailer tilts. Then the winch (and my arm) pulls the
boat up the incline. When the CG of the trailer progresses far enough
forward the trailer returns to the level position, and I crank the bow up
against the trailer's forward stop.
I usually don't have to get my feet wet. It's an appreciable stress on the
winch and strap, so I probably wear out straps a little faster than the
float-on people do, but it is not a problem. When I decided to replace my
rusty old winch recently, I changed to one with a higher mechanical
advantage, which makes the cranking easier. It would be easier still with a
later model P15 which is 100 lb or more lighter than my first generation
P14, not counting the 90 lb of batteries I've added.
If you don't have a tiltup trailer, none of the above applies, and maybe
submerging the hubs isn't that bad anyway.
Harry
>PS ...I am able to launch w/o submersing my wheel hubs (trailer). But it
>seems like they must be submerged when retrieving....true? I'd appreciate
>your thoughts. I've been backing into the water until the rollers (the
>rear and center one) are submerged a little...thanks
>Ken