Hi:

I'm from the Buffalo Fleet (www.wnycatamaran.com), and yes, we do use a tractor to move our trailers down to the beach, then slide the boats off the trailers and into the water. If the surf is not bad, we put them on a mooring pin while we put the trailer on the beach. Usually a single person can launch or put his boat back on a trailer without problems. Most of us have winches on the trailer so we back the trailer partially in the water, then put the bows on, then winch it up the rest of the way.

But, you may want to contact someone from CRAM. About six years ago we participated in an "Around the Bay" Regatta around Toledo OH, where they had to drop boats into the water from a very steep incline. They built a ten by ten platform with a rug on it that they slid the boats onto. The platform ran on top of two rails (looked like highway fencing or crash guards). At the top of the platform was a smaller briggs and stratton engine with a large winch drum.

The platform had a bridle connecting a line that they could put 2-3 wraps on the winch, and by tightening the pressure on the line, the platform could be "powered up". They used the same winch to gently ease the platform down.

This was sort of a permanent set-up; seemed to work well.

Wyatt