My neighbor just joined a local sailing club which has two ramps to put your boat down into the lake, also a boom crane with an electric winch. When the water level is low the winch thingie sucks because you drop your boat into mud and have to push it off. Off his list.
His boat is a 20 foot day sailer that is "dry sailed", that is the mast is up, boat is on the trailer and when you want to take it out you put a dolly under the hitch and walk it down the ramp. The hard part is pulling the boat up the ramp after a day of sun, sailing and a few beers.
The launch area is too crowded for cars, people that run their cars there and then leave it while fiddling with their boat usually get the hairy eye ball for being rude, blocking off boats and traffic.
What do you think about building a bit of a roll bar on top of a self-propelled mower and put a hitch ball on the roll bar? Walk the boat into the lake, no problem; when it comes time to yank it out fire up the Briggs, engage the axle and go park your boat.
Or have I had too much caffine?
Dan
I think a $69 winch from HF would be easier
In reply to 914Driver:
A self-propelled lawnmower isn't going to have enough guts or traction. What you need to do is find an old roto-tiller, one of the rear tine models, with powered drive wheels. put a hitch ball on it somehow, and use that. Just make sure the tines aren't engaged!
Sounds like your idea might work.
I have seen similar in other clubs but not built from a lawn mower. For the lawn mower the issue will be if the mower deck can handle the tounge weight. Most I have seen operate via an electric motor/battery.
A quick google on trailer dolly, electric trailer dolly and motorized trailer dolly brings a lot of hits.
Here are some build plans:
http://gomestic.com/do-it-yourself/how-to-make-an-easy-motorized-trailer-dolly/
Here is a lot of inspiration:
http://cgi.ebay.com/TRAILER-MOVER-PLANS-EMAIL-12v-Electric-Power-Dolly-/270560738522?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3efead3cda
jrw1621 wrote:
Here is a lot of inspiration:
http://cgi.ebay.com/TRAILER-MOVER-PLANS-EMAIL-12v-Electric-Power-Dolly-/270560738522?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3efead3cda
I love that!
Back to the original post, I've hauled a lot of boats and I don't think that a riding mower will work. As volvoclearinghouse mentioned, traction will be the main issue and boat ramps are always slick and on an incline. A mower just won't have the weight to get the job done. I move my empty aluminum car trailer with a heavy duty garden tractor with a hydrostatic transmission and I still spin the wheels a bit on slight grades.
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:
I think a $69 winch from HF would be easier
JP magazine often has a $49 HF coupon for that winch.
http://www.parkit360.ca/
Something like that is what you need. I'm sure building one out of a self propelled roto-tiller would be easy as someone else suggested.
I kinda beg to differ on the lawn tractor not working. I do it with my 15ft/65hp outboard frequently. I dont have an pictures, but I tow about a mile (within a community) down a hill and use it to launch/recover the boat. (lately been using the exploder more because the ride to/from the boat ramp takes forever on the tractor).
That said, the lawn tractor in question is a john deer with hydraulic drive and a V-twin.
Other then slow, no problems with it.
I used to have a 15hp GE Lawn-Trac, it was electric. Pretty cool because it was quiet, drove dogs in the neighborhood crazy. I can't believe that thing wouldn't be heavy enough.
Got rid of it when the ten deep cycle RV batteries needed replacing. $$$$$
Dan
I mean if you can pull it out by hand, I'd think a lawn tractor would be adequate. Maybe put a dolley on the tongue of the trailer, run a tow strap from the tractor to the trailer and pull that way, if it's too wet for grip near the water.
Probably the key is getting the weight distributed correctly on the tractor, and tires that don't completely suck.
Course it might be the perfect excuse to buy one of those UTV things.
For around the price & size of a UTV/Golf Cart/Etc you can also pick up an older Jeep CJ5, have even more fun with it, and be street legal. 
Everyone here knows if someone is thinking UTV then the real answer is a Samurai.
If thinking UTV I think the Japanese 4wd mini trucks would be cooler.
Sure, a Suzuki would be more functional being street legal.
We move 30ft sailboats around flat property with a 17hp John Deere with a hydostat trans. Of course, I do not think the John Deere could handle a ramp or hill with that load.
How much weight are we talking in this scenario?
How much ramp are we talking? Steep or gradual slope?
Boat ramps are tough.
I used to work for a yacht maintenance company and we'd spend a few weeks each year putting boats in and out for the season. In most cases (the only exception being very small stuff), the main truck (tractor) would remain at the top of the ramp and the boat and trailer would be lowered by a winch.
The first question to answer is how heavy iis it? Those boats usually have some pretty heavy ballast in the keel, I'll guess the whole thing weighs a couple thousand pounds.
914Driver wrote:
My neighbor just joined a local sailing club which has two ramps to put your boat down into the lake, also a boom crane with an electric winch. When the water level is low the winch thingie sucks because you drop your boat into mud and have to push it off. Off his list.
His boat is a 20 foot day sailer that is "dry sailed", that is the mast is up, boat is on the trailer and when you want to take it out you put a dolly under the hitch and walk it down the ramp.
20 footer? How do you get it that close to the ramp to load it in the first place?
(I'm thinking about the size of the keel on something that long..
)
lawn mower?
you need weight
a B seies allis, a farmall cub or an 8n ford would be better.
a large garden tractor with wheel weights might work...
If you want to use a mower, find something that is gear drive and you can hang lots of weight off of...
914Driver wrote:
friedgreencorrado wrote:
914Driver wrote:
My neighbor just joined a local sailing club which has two ramps to put your boat down into the lake, also a boom crane with an electric winch. When the water level is low the winch thingie sucks because you drop your boat into mud and have to push it off. Off his list.
His boat is a 20 foot day sailer that is "dry sailed", that is the mast is up, boat is on the trailer and when you want to take it out you put a dolly under the hitch and walk it down the ramp.
20 footer? How do you get it that close to the ramp to load it in the first place?
(I'm thinking about the size of the keel on something that long.. )
It's a centerboard boat.
DOH! (forehead slap) Of course. I have lived too far inland for far too long. 
Overkill usually works best!
Seriously, them make battery-powered car pushers. Maybe you could get one used and modify it?
Tug
Used to work at a boat place. They used an older hydrostatic transmission type thingy. The ball was at the front of it, it made parking storage boats really easy in a flat gravel yard. That said, those were usually small aluminium fishing boats, although it could move bigger fibreglass inboards too.
I think your typical hydrostatic drive tractor would have plenty or power for your application. The issue that stick with me is traction... What's the launch surface like? Inclination? Concrete or asphalt can suck if its wet or has small pebbles on it. Gravel is worse and you can forget about a lawn tractor in mud.
