Ours for the Wed nights is pretty slick. You MUST wear a good pair of water slipper type shoes are you will bust your (*&(&(&. They don't do anything to maintain it. Good luck.

Doug

Wire brushes,scrub brushes, seem to work the best. Pressure wash when water level is low, then continued maintenance. Any thing you leave in the water will get the growth.

Caleb Tarleton, Sail Sand Point, Seattle's Community Sailing Center

This sucks. We did this where we launch and all it did was get bent up and end up hooking on to trailers, either the axle or the wheels, or the more likely source being the dangling trailer safety chain. That was ugly on several occasions.

Forget the ramp and treat your feet - find an old pair of metal-spiked golf shoes on ebay. You'll look ridiculous but you'll be upright. Just remember to take them off before you hop on the boat.

Matt

Creative idea, and it might work if we were tying up to docks or something after launch. But we just hop on the boat as it slides off the wheels, and we are on our way. I would probably damage the tramp with the spikes before I could get them off and stowed on the boat.

Same thing in reverse when we return -- sail right up to the ramp, shove the wheels under the boat and pull it out.

Our fleet has two sets of Cat Trax and both have been fitted with the long dolly handle that Cat Trax offers. This has made it much easier to get the wheels under the boats without having to get down on the slippery part of the ramp as much.

The handle also comes in handy for towing the boats back to our drysail area. We use a golf cart, and somebody sits on the back of the cart and holds onto the handle.

OK, here's another option: Felt-soled wading shoes used for fly fishing. They're made specifically for walking on slippery moss covered rocks. Not as solid a grip as metal spikes, but I bet they'd work. You can get a pair at the Sportsman's Guide website for about $15 I think.

Matt

I am fleet captain at a yacht club with a great 20 ft wide ramp and a jr. sailing program. I pressure wash our ramp three times a summer to keep the kids from slipping while launching boats. It is quick, easy, enviromentally effective, and works really well. I can do a 20 x 50 ramp in less than an hour.

Rusty,

These work great! Saves you more time and can be rented from NationsRent at Lowe's or HomeDepot for around $20 / day.

[img]http://www.amazingmachinery.com/Pressure-Washer-Accessories-SurfaceCleaners.html[/img] web page

I get one of these to clean my driveway, walks and deck. All my neighbors use it too. Super fast.

But how is that going to help Mary's problem when the slippery conditions are on the submerged portion of the ramp? It's not tidal and so the pressure washer wouldn't work would it? Have you tried using it below the waterline?
Greg

They do work under water, if you have one with enough pressure. Suggest you only use gas powered, not electric near the water. Also, wear heavy boots or shoes to protect your feet.