Quote Originally Posted by SteveM4A1 View Post
I throw a rooster tail regularly when power loading. Trimming up does a couple things: one, it pushes the bow up further to clear the bow roller easier, which allows for less power needed to get the bow eye to the bow roller. Secondly, it keeps my prop from hitting anything, such as the idiots who throw rocks onto the ramp. Furthermore, you should be happy and smiling when you see us rooster-tail powerloaders, since there is no prop wash blowing out those crappy ramps. Maybe they should fix the ramps so this doesn't happen.

There are lots of correct ways to launch and trailer a boat depending upon the ramp and the circumstances.
Would it not be much easier to just position the boat trailer at the right depth so that the front of the boat glides into the stop on the trailer properly.

Trimming up makes good sense in that it protects the prop from those rocks.

Guys that go out in their boats a lot are much better and getting their boat onto the boat trailer than others. The more you practice and figure out the easy way to get the boat back on the trailer the better off everyone else will be.

Another reason for the hole is not just the low water. But there are many more people using these facilities.

And yes you are right. The facilities could use some repair and could be made better. But unfortunately these little Pits are not getting the money from the State to do such projects. I read where a bunch of money was being spent up North on a new Gun Range. Willow Slough I think IIRC.

I saw how they made the launch ramp we are talking about. The concrete ramp as the South end of Bluegrass. They had the concrete slabs on dry land and then pushed them into the water with a bull dozer. That was way back around 2003 or 2004.

Recently they also redid the culvert that runs under the road there at Boonville New Harmony Rd and Bluegrass Pit's Parking lot. Before they reworked the ditch going to that culvert the water was pretty high in Bluegrass Pit and we didn't have to worry about the hole at the end of the concrete.

I personally wish that the IDNR and the GOVERNOR/legislature would fund the construction of better concrete launch ramps in our area. IE Bluegrass F&W and Sugar Ridge. But we all know that he money is not coming down here like it should.

If anyone has spent a few hours at the launch ramp knows there are a lot of boats that don't make it up on the trailer the first time they try. They have to put the motor in reverse and back up and try it again. And if they don't position the trailer properly in the water the boat will slide back down before they can get the safety chain and wench rope on the front hook of the boat.

Did you see the video that was posted in here just last week. That video was pretty good and well done and got me to thinking about the launch ramp and how people recover their boats.

I'm pretty lucky in that my boat is very easy to recover and goes up on the trailer and stops in the right spot almost every time. Now there have been a few times where I got the boat a little crooked and had to back off the trailer using reverse but those times are far and few between. And my boat stops right where it's suppose to where I can turn off the motor and walk up to the front of the boat and reach the wench rope and attach it to the front of my boat.

I wonder how much it would cost to rebuild the launch ramp again? Or to add more concrete to the end so that the hole would be further out in the water and in deeper water. That would help solve the problem maybe

But until the IDNR can fix the root cause of the problem they will just have to continue to try to fill in the hole with gravel and rocks to stabilize the hole and keep it from being washed out again.

Now I understand why IDNR in the past didn't allow big motors on these small lakes. I was happy when IDNR lifted the restrictions and allowed us to use gasoline motors on the lakes at bluegrass F &W area. I had a hard time getting the boat back up on the trailer just using the trolling motor and ropes. It's so much easier now to just run the boat up on the trailer with the gas motor.

I remember when there was a 10 HP motor size restriction on most all the smaller lakes in IN. I wanted to go fishing at Hovey's back in it's hay days when the drain was still wide open and people talked about huge crappies being caught there. But the motor size restriction kept me off that lake. My motor was too big to allow me to use that facility.