I've been saved from launching without a plug by someone else standing at a ramp.

I also cracked the hull of my old seacraft the first time I used a powerwinch. I'm still not sure how. The boat went straight up the back of the trailer, then leveraged down and collapsed the hull both sides at the first lifting strake. Paid a $1000 to have it fixed, draged it home, got it snug in the driveway, then backed my wife's minivan ( which I'd moved to position the boat) into a tree (goodbye another $1500). :wall:

Old Saybrook launch again. 26' twin I/O Donzi type boat. Guy with 4bikini clad ladies. Has ladies climb in boat, detaches bow from trailer and gets a good running start. Boat is off trailer 50' from water and slides, stern down, 20' on serrated ramp before it catches. Momemtum of truck forces trailer into bottom of hull forcing bow up at 30degs. No problem, takes both outdrives and drives them both full down mulrtiple times hoping to lift stern and lower bow. To no avail he attaches two dock lines to bow and then to truck and begins to pull the bow down until both dock lines break like a gun shot slamming boat back onto the still lowered outdrives. At that point I left before someone died and before the tow truck arrived.

Holy Crap!!! Using outdrives as hydraulic lifts PRICELESS

BUT ........

:nopics: