dallas massie
Escalante-Class Member
My brother sent me this picture
North Lake Launch Guidance
- Thread starter fishmanlee
- Start date
The ramp is VERY steep. Boat slides right off when you launch. Not sure how we”ll get the boat centered on the trailer when we load. We had water coming over the back of our 23’boat
I took a quick photo, but it doesn’t really show the drop off.
Also about 50’ straight off the dock there is a barely submerged whale and off to the left (when on the ramp looking toward water) there looks like there is another whale lurking
I took a quick photo, but it doesn’t really show the drop off.
Also about 50’ straight off the dock there is a barely submerged whale and off to the left (when on the ramp looking toward water) there looks like there is another whale lurking
Is the primitive ramp only wide enough for one boat at a time ?
It’s 2 steel plates wide, so in theory I guess you can do 2. We were the only ones launching when we arrived so we went down the middle
dallas massie
Escalante-Class Member
I launched this morning i totally agree withi @PowellBride its steep , didnt have problems launching , retrieving i took water over by transom pulled out with about 50 gallons of water , tomorrow i am going to executive ramp
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dallas massie
Escalante-Class Member
Terry, that’s what we’ve discussed, but it will mean tiring up the ramp longer than normal to pull slow and keep it centered, meanwhile even in calm conditions you have water coming over the transom. If we get wind and waves…. It will be fun
Just an update on the Executive ramp. Had no problems retrieving yesterday (Friday) about noon . With a 22ft ski boat and a bigger 23 runabout. Still only 1 lane . It was a bit crowded but went pretty smoothly. Only had one that wasn't ready for prime time.
Most every one had the "We are all in this together so I am pulling for you " attitude.
Don't be afraid to offer another boater a ride up or down as is a long walk up the ramp and even farther for parking.
Thursday afternoon just as a FYI We witnessed a group of (I presume ) DIY's Launch a rather large house boat on Exec. Tandem axle semi tractor ....good long trailer It was amateur hour as the truck driver said "does somebody want to be on the boat?"just as he was putting it in. (YIKES!!)
And along with nearly having water enter the cabin before the thing floated the wheels of the trailer went over the end of the boiler plate. We hung around a bit for the show but 2 hrs later was still caught. From the aftermath we saw the next day evidently Park service brought over some air bags and floated the end of the trailer up enough to clear the drop off. I waded out just for a look see yesterday and it is a good 2-3 ft hole off the end. so if you have a longer rig best to have someone walk you in . No way you getting out if you fall off that empty or loaded. .
Fishing was great goofing off was even better. DMc
Most every one had the "We are all in this together so I am pulling for you " attitude.
Don't be afraid to offer another boater a ride up or down as is a long walk up the ramp and even farther for parking.
Thursday afternoon just as a FYI We witnessed a group of (I presume ) DIY's Launch a rather large house boat on Exec. Tandem axle semi tractor ....good long trailer It was amateur hour as the truck driver said "does somebody want to be on the boat?"just as he was putting it in. (YIKES!!)
And along with nearly having water enter the cabin before the thing floated the wheels of the trailer went over the end of the boiler plate. We hung around a bit for the show but 2 hrs later was still caught. From the aftermath we saw the next day evidently Park service brought over some air bags and floated the end of the trailer up enough to clear the drop off. I waded out just for a look see yesterday and it is a good 2-3 ft hole off the end. so if you have a longer rig best to have someone walk you in . No way you getting out if you fall off that empty or loaded. .
Fishing was great goofing off was even better. DMc
We pulled out a 23’ Skeeter center console bass boat at the primitive ramp this morning. Definitely a bit of a challenge.
The water level is just even with the bottom of the steel plates. Once you’re offf the plates it’s a soft muddy bottom that continues the steep incline of the steel plates. Another note is the water depth around the courtesy dock is only about 5 feet and just to the left of the dock, as you approach from the water, about 15’ out is a very shallow whale just waiting for a prop.
Before we backed the trailer in, we walked the bottom until we were about 3’ deep. Helped us feel more comfortable that we knew what we were dealing with for the trailer.
The biggest challenge was getting the boat centered properly on the trailer with the steep angle. It was a calm morning with no wind or boat traffic, so it was doable.
That said I’m not sure I’d have launched today unless I was confident that the Primitive Ramp 2.0 was going to be ready for retrieval.
Sorry no photos, I got sidetracked helping the boys
The water level is just even with the bottom of the steel plates. Once you’re offf the plates it’s a soft muddy bottom that continues the steep incline of the steel plates. Another note is the water depth around the courtesy dock is only about 5 feet and just to the left of the dock, as you approach from the water, about 15’ out is a very shallow whale just waiting for a prop.
Before we backed the trailer in, we walked the bottom until we were about 3’ deep. Helped us feel more comfortable that we knew what we were dealing with for the trailer.
The biggest challenge was getting the boat centered properly on the trailer with the steep angle. It was a calm morning with no wind or boat traffic, so it was doable.
That said I’m not sure I’d have launched today unless I was confident that the Primitive Ramp 2.0 was going to be ready for retrieval.
Sorry no photos, I got sidetracked helping the boys
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Seekandfillet
Active Member
Thanks for the info, you mention primitive ramp 2.0, does this mean they are building another ramp in the same general area?
Yes, they were welding steel plates this morning and rumor is they are trying to get it open for the holiday weekend.. it on the tip of the peninsula,, facing the same way as the Bullfrog main ramp
Ryan
Keeper of San Juan Secrets
Sherri, you successfully were able to pull out without incident. But you wouldn’t do it again? Can you elaborate?
We have a trip coming up as you know. I don’t want to launch if our best plan is to hope a different ramp is open especially when there has been no formal schedule mentioned.
As an aside, according to Titus, Bullfrog slips should have power by the end of the week.
We have a trip coming up as you know. I don’t want to launch if our best plan is to hope a different ramp is open especially when there has been no formal schedule mentioned.
As an aside, according to Titus, Bullfrog slips should have power by the end of the week.
Ryan,
Let’s start with the good news. If we had to guess it looked like they will have the new ramp ready for use very soon, maybe even today. It really looked close. They had plates down and were welding on them as we went by.
Without incident yes, without stress and blood pressures rising?……..We had 3 people, one in the truck, one in the boat and one in the water at the wheel wells. Even after we’d winched the boat all the way up, the back end kept drifting. We tried to put as much weight in the back of the boat as we could…..all the coolers, propane tanks just hoping to help the back end settle onto the trailer, to no avail.
Our primary concerns is the unknown of the surface bottom. The plates ended at the very edge of the waterline. The surface below the plates is just dirt, no telling how deep the dirt goes before you hit rock (solid bottom). It’s such an unknown. It was firm enough when walking on it, but your feet still sink a bit. With the weight of a loaded trailer it’s anyone’s guess if you’re going to get stuck in the mud. We could clearly see the imprint of the previous trailer in the dirt below the plates, so every launch and retrieve is chewing up the bottom. The slope as we walked out seemed to maintain the slope of the plates, so even when you hit the dirt you’re still dealing with a very steep ramp.
The area around the current ramp is also a risk as there seem to be plenty of unmarked hazards, and hard to see in the brown water surrounding the ramp area. Add in some waves and those lurking whales are sure to catch someone.
Even if we’d been on plates all the way back, with the angle of the ramp getting a boat centered on the trailer is a challenge. I can’t imagine if there had been wind or waves.