Hi,

I'm looking for some expert advice here. How do people go about launching and retrieving their cats from ramps if they are particularly steep? I live in NH and I'm excited to go out on Lake Winnipesaukee. The closest ramp to me (at Alton docks) is faily steep. I know I can launch it just fine, but I'm worried about getting it back on the trailer. My trailer didn't come with a winch.

How do Cat sailors get their cats back on the trailer without a winch (when the pitch of the ramp is very steep)?

So buy a winch, they are fairly inexpensive.

Ok, thanks. I wasn't sure if anyone had a special trick for doing it without the winch (not to mention I'm not sure how to go about putting a hitch point on the cat itself).

Do not pull from the dolphin striker bar!!!!!! I made a section of rope to form a V, tied it to just inside each beam around the front crossbar so there was approx 6 inches of slack in front of the crossbar at the center.

A friend showed me how to move a boat easier while on cat trax which may help if getting her up the ramp as well. Take a thicker line (at least 5/8 or 1/2") and run it through the front bridle attachment points on the hulls. Then use your hands to grip the rope and lift the bows up, holding the rope tight to your lower waist. Now you have the power of your legs to move the boat forward, much better than using your back or arms. My GF and I can drag our boat with the best of them now!

Good advice, all of you. Our first launch and retreival was successful. I'm towing with a 2004 Pontiac Vibe with a U-Haul Class 1 hitch. Seems to work pretty well (though my wife did almost dig a hole in the beach with our spinning tires). Once I got her to put it in L we were good to go. On a fairly shallow launch, the boat was light enough for me to shove up on the track. I did find a winch online for about 30.00 that should suffice. The launch we're using tomorrow on the Winni is a series of cement strips that go down into the water (horizontaly). I hope my car (same as Toyota Matrix..built on Camry body/engine) has enough umph to get back up over the gaps in the cement. Will report back.

Hey chris, not sure if you have a harbor freight around you but I just picked up a trailer winch for 18 bucks.

Hi UCF,

I've never heard of that company. Do they have a web site?

Harbor Freight does have a website.

All I can say is sweet store, got a trailer there on sale for 200 bucks.