Pulling boats at Seba

Many EYC members have trailerable sailboats, yet they cannot be pulled out at Seba Beach because the lake water is so shallow there. One doesn't want to back a truck a hundred feet out into the lake to position the trailer (and it probably is a bad move, ecologically).

EYC's Bob Iveson has put together some kit to overcome this problem. We took photos from two separate operations (from two different years) and put them on this page to show how it's done.

Need a photo here of the hitch extender, on dry land, with no straps attached. Also need photo of straps and shackles.

Before putting the extender in the water, connect one of the straps to the its receiver. Note the rope holding the strap securely to the receiver:

Here's the other end of the strap:

In this case, the crew chose to push the trailer into the water before attaching the trailer to the extender's hitch:

You have to guess, "Where is the deepest water, so we don't have to push the trailer out half way to Coal Point?" Sometimes we guess it's immediately north of the south dock:

Sometimes it seems like the work of pushing the empty trailer out far enough to float the boat onto the trailer is never going to end. Sometimes you can "cheat", putting the bow in contact with the trailer and using the trailer's winch to haul the boat fully onto the trailer. Tip: early in the process, put a solution of dish soap and water onto the trailer bunks.

This boat and trailer is on its way to the shore:

Generally, at some point you'll run out of "runway" and have to remove a strap or two, back the truck closer to the shore and pull some more:

So satisfying!