Boat Ramp

Sebgo

Currently working on a private lake and need to some advice on boat ramp. I can slope to most any grade. I'm looking for the min Length and Width needed for private use. Needing to get by with as little cost as possible. Regular 20' ski boat. no wake boat etc. Thanks for any advice.

skiinxs

My opinion is I hate steep ramps. They beat the hell out of boats and bunks. Nice gradual slope that lets the boat float on and off the trailer is my preference. I don't mind getting my rear pickup tires in the water.

buoyboy1

Best thing to do is to determine how much water you think the lake may go down during the summer months unless you are able to pump and maintain constant water level. If unable to pump and say the lake may drop 2 feet then determine how deep you will need to put the trailer in and still be able to get the boat off. Then add a bit more length to be safe. I would also pour a turn down edge on the bottom and sides of the ramp to help with reducing erosion that may occur as you don't want to undermine your ramp. Also, keep the concrete finish rough (heavy broom or rake) as it will help with adding traction when pulling the boat out. It will also help when just walking up the ramp after a swim. (Algae is a real PIA). I cannot tell you how many times I have slipped on mine since it was finished way too smooth. My ramp is 4" thick also 12' wide and I matched the grade of the lake which is a 10:1 slope for the first 20 feet then goes to 4:1 after that. To save money form and pour it yourself (along with some friends) since it does not need to be a good finish anyway. Use entrained air in your concrete mix if you live in an area that freezes.

Kelvin

To combat the slippery algae, put large grooves in the finished concrete about every 4 inches or so. There are a couple of ramps around central Texas without grooves and it almost requires a 4WD vehicle to launch a boat if the rear tires get too wet.

keithh2oskier

@kelvin how wet is too wet?

BraceMaker

Be careful going too narrow - far too often erosion will occur under the edges which can crack off on the sides.

BrianKennedy91

Keep in mind, the flatter the slope the further you have to sink the truck to float it off the trailer. Sinking the truck means you’re stepping out in water if loading or unloading by yourself.

skierjp

My ramp is 12 feet wide and almost 200 feet long. Don’t go less then 12. First we poured a pad at the waters edge 12X25 and used a machine to push the pad into the lake. We left about 1 foot of the slab and

rebar sticking out the front edge to connect to the rest of the ramp that we poured the next day. This was all done with timing the lake at its lowest point for construction of the ramp. I have around 15k in it.

NameUnavailable

A couple learnings....We have a ramp that is long enough, wide enough, but was built a little short. So, at the end there was a hole created from driving boats on the trailer. And all that dirt gets piled up to form a ridge/shallow spot about 50' out in the lake. We filled in the hole with rock smoothed best we could and poured concrete over it...yes concrete pours just fine under water. Still have the shallow spot...

BrianKennedy91

Poured mine 14’x130’ x 4” thick, rebar, wire mesh and fiber in the mix. Poured before we finished the lake. Used the boat trailer hooked to my truck to check that my slope correct before I graded to make sure the slope was as flat as possible and still float the boat and allow me to be able to step out of the truck on dry land. One mistake. Now that I have the boathouse built I would not have built a pier beside the boat ramp. Even at 14’ wide I’m going to have to fold up one of the side curtains on the jump to get it in past the pier. $3,500 material and labor to form and pour in October 2018.