Boat Care and Fishing Savvy in Puget Sound

[h20hunter]

A launch process i follow to the t but seldom see others do. I prep the boat and put my bumpers on what appears to be the wrong side. Back it down, off it goes, swing the bow in and around ending up with the bow facing out and bumpers on the dock side.  Walk it down far as i can, tie off, go park the truck. Get back, fire it up, electronics on, im ready to go. Push off and heading forward is far easier than backing up, turning, and exiting the launch.

[OltHunter]

A launch process i follow to the t but seldom see others do. I prep the boat and put my bumpers on what appears to be the wrong side. Back it down, off it goes, swing the bow in and around ending up with the bow facing out and bumpers on the dock side.  Walk it down far as i can, tie off, go park the truck. Get back, fire it up, electronics on, im ready to go. Push off and heading forward is far easier than backing up, turning, and exiting the launch.

I like this, makes a lot of sense, and thanks for the heads up on Muk.

[OltHunter]

Olthunter, it sounds like you’re  a responsible person and safety is high on your list especially with the kidos! Mixed in with your general water knowledge, sounds like you’ll do just fine!

Thanks for the vote of confidence...I'm hoping so!

[Stein]

Most trailers I have owned work best when the fenders are just below the surface of the water when retrieving.  Deeper results in the boat crooked on the trailer and shallower is impossible to winch it on.  Try a few different depths and you will find one that works all the time.

When launching, I back until I can barely get to the winch on dry land, then unhook and back the rest with a gentle brake tap to send it.  If launching solo, I tie the bow line to the dock or trailer.

You’ll do fine, just be safe and aware of what the general flow is.

Practice at a lake midweek if you are nervous.


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[gaddy]

Sounds like you got all the launch stuff down, One thing I would like to stress is Maintenance and cleaning on the boat and motor. You do not want to go out on the sound and have a problem.  It's not like you are on a fresh water lake. My gramp's and dad were nuts about this stuff. Everything was flushed, washed and all connections looked at for corrosion. Even the trailer got attention, bearings, Winch rope etc...My gramp's big cruiser was moored. I watched and helped him throw on goggles so he could inspect the bottom of his boat, check for fouling of the props & shafts before we went out for an extended trip.
Point is, make sure everything is in order prior to going out. The Sound can throw some weird stuff at you.
Enjoy your boat. Wish I had something to fish the salt with.

[hiway_99]

I have my own routine when I get to the launch.  First o dont like anyone to help me with the boat.  What I mean is I put the plug in first, then I undo the straps , and third I put the motors up.  This way I'm not relying anyone else.  You dont want to be the guy that launches without your plug in.  Or the one trying to push the boat off, only to find out your partner didnt undo his try down.

[blackpowderhunter]

follow the same process everytime.
drain plug, straps, motors, etc.
the launch can get hectic on nice days/weekends.
also mind the tides depending on where you launch, some launches you aren't launching, or retrieving at negative tides.
get out there and have fun, you'll learn something new everytime, and it takes practice. 
you'll run into some a holes at the launches who thinks their s dont stink, and cant seem to remember that they were learning once, but just keep a cool head and move on about your day, it's never worth it.
take someone who has some experience out there, not only will they have tips and tricks, but maybe they'll take you to their honey hole 

also, check out this site, some great stuff on here!
http://www.leeroysramblings.com/Boating%20Related%20Articles/Boating%20related%20articles.html

[Whitpirate]

Skip the mukilteo launch.  Terrible. Very exposed and easily worth bypassing and launching in Everett. I would not use Muk if you paid me.

Absolutely!  It is worth watching it on a windy day.  I’ll bet a divorce lawyer could sign 10 clients a day there.  Everett is my launch.

[Crunchy]

I would explore only using non ethanol gas if you can find it.  That is all I run in my boat, and I usually have 15-20 gals in cans at home.  That way I am never tempted to use anything else.

[Odell]

What great responses and helpful info!  Thanks all and keep it coming if anyone else thinks of anything, this is awesome!

I should have mentioned I have a lot of experience with trailers and backing up so I'm not worried about that but all the other info about boat launches is very useful.  My in-laws live on a lake and I'm the dedicated launcher and trailer-er, but I've never had to deal with long launch lines or being in a rush.

And yes I have my boaters license, and have ran a ski boat quite a bit on lakes around the state.  But again, never has it been my boat.

The boat has a VHF radio and I've got all the safety gear in hand, I'm paranoid about all that stuff, especially with kids so will have it all dialed in.

Ordered some Salt-Away today and sounds like I'm going to order some inline water/fuel separators too!  I have one of those motor/hose attachments to run motors out of the water and will be able to flush it too.

Flushing this way with a salt away attachment is super easy and the way to go


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[WAcoueshunter]

A launch process i follow to the t but seldom see others do. I prep the boat and put my bumpers on what appears to be the wrong side. Back it down, off it goes, swing the bow in and around ending up with the bow facing out and bumpers on the dock side.  Walk it down far as i can, tie off, go park the truck. Get back, fire it up, electronics on, im ready to go. Push off and heading forward is far easier than backing up, turning, and exiting the launch.

I do that too.  I also think it's just faster to swing the bow in versus trying to push the boat backwards down the dock.  Now I've got my kid trained to do the swing and tie off, so I can go park while he's tying up.  Suppose it doesn't work well with bigger boats, but pretty easy with a smaller one. 

[WAcoueshunter]

Where do you live and where do you plan to fish?

I'm on the Eastside (Seattle) and plan to primarily hit 10, 9, and 8-2 out of Edmonds, Mukilteo, and Everett.

Edmonds is crazy expensive (launch plus day parking is around $45 for my 15' boat on a bunk trailer), and the Muk launch can be brutal with any wind.  Everett is about the nicest launch anywhere.  Shilshole is also very good if you're fishing MA10.

[CP]

I launched at Muk this morning with a 12 knot wind out of the South.  It was, ...  interesting