I have a friend who recently purchased his first boat. He has limited experience launching/loading and also has concerns about the ability of his current vehicle to pull the boat out of some ramps. (currently shopping to upgrade his towing capacity) Does the ALDeer collective brain trust have any suggestions on where and how he should proceed? My suggestion was a marina where dry storage is an option, that way if he gets in a bind with loading/hauling out they likely have equipment that could assist. I'm not a boat owner so do not have specific marinas/ramps in mind and was hopeful some of you might give some suggestions. Obviously keeping in mind he is a beginner and likely to need a bit of patience and the wider the ramp the better. Thanks!

What’s the boat and what’s the truck?

19 ft Carolina Skiff and a Honda Odyssey van.
The van will pull, but does strain transmission over 65 mph.
He is currently truck searching/shopping but wanted to become more familiar with the boat this weekend (launching/trailering)

I'm fishing at Logan Martin tomorrow morning and can help him load/unload late morning when we finish.

Let me know if interested and we can coordinate time/place.

Dan
205-919-2070

Probably not a good weekend to practice being a holiday weekend.

Probably not a good idea all around, but try to ease as much grief as I can.

Do it Sunday I'll be off work and I'd like to be there

I'd imagine the van could launch it fine but pulling a skiff out of the water on a wet ramp with a front wheel drive is gonna be hard.

I would recommend Beeswax on a weekday.

Paradise point is empty during the week but the ramp is not lit can't see nothing after dark or before daylight.

He would probably be ok with a 14ft, but not a 19ft. Due to safety I would not advice pulling a 19ft boat with a small van up most ramps due to incline. He would probably lose the boat and the van! Pulling on a level road is nothing like going up steep hills or steep boat ramps with slick tires. Get a V8 for that size boat. Some V-6's could work. Check out load rating on vehicle first and make sure he has good tires. If need be call a local dealership and ask to speak to someone to explain in detail why you should not exceed trailering capacity or haul oversize loads.

Be sure to video.

No way I'd hook that boat up to that van, and I do some questionable stuff pretty often

as an update. It all worked "fine" The van was able to pull the boat out of the water (main concern) and returned safely to the owner's driveway where it will reside until he can find a truck.
I was at a spot in Ragland and since help would be available should it be needed my friend towed the boat out that way and launched it there. Surprisingly the van did not struggle at all pulling the boat out of the water. It ran around 3k rpms while towing and dropped from around 27 mpg to 12, however.
Thanks for all the advise and resources.