Watercraft ramp improvements

Abstract

The watercraft ramp has a watercraft-supporting assembly with a water end and a shore end. It is formed of a laterally spaced pair of U-shaped rails equipped with hull-supporting roller wheels mounted in the U-shape. A transverse footprint brace is mounted under the rails at the water end with minimum elevation at the water end, and a transverse footprint stabilizer bar of elevated character is mounted under the rails at the shore end. A winch support beam is cantilevered out beyond the shore end of the rails in an angular relationship closer to parallel than perpendicular to the rails. The components in unassembled condition can be shipped and then assembled by a customer-user.

That which is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A watercraft ramp comprising: 
 (i) a watercraft-supporting assembly having a pair of rails of substantial equal length braced in parallel laterally spaced-apart relationship by cross braces so that said rails are separated at least 8 inches apart from each other, said watercraft-supporting assembly having one end called a water end and the other end called a shore end,    (ii) a water end support assembly having a transverse footprint brace mounted to the underside of said rails at a location proximate to said water end,    (iii) a shore end support assembly having a transverse footprint stabilizer bar mounted to the underside of said rails at a location proximate to said shore end in a manner such that said mounting is inward from the outer ends of said stabilizer bar, said transverse stabilizer bar being such that it has a greater transverse length than the lateral spacing distance between said rails, and    (iv) a loading assembly for drawing a watercraft onto said watercraft-supporting assembly.    
     
     
         2 . The ramp of  claim 1  wherein said water end of each said rail is equipped with a roller wheel so mounted that a portion of the circumference of each said water end roller wheel projects outward beyond the water end of said rails as well as upward above the water end of said rails.  
     
     
         3 . The ramp of  claim 1  wherein the distance between the underside of said rails and the underside of said transverse footprint brace at said water end is less than the distance between the underside of said rails and the top of said roller wheels at said water end.  
     
     
         4 . The ramp of  claim 1  wherein the distance between the underside of said rails and the underside of said transverse footprint brace of said water end is less than the distance between the underside of said rails and the underside of said transverse footprint stabilizer bar of said shore end.  
     
     
         5 . The ramp of  claim 1  wherein said water end support assembly additionally includes a keel roller mounted on said footprint brace at a central location between said rails so that at least a portion of the circumference of said keel roller projects above said footprint brace.  
     
     
         6 . The ramp of  claim 1  wherein said loading assembly includes a winch support beam non-pivotally mounted at said shore end so as to cantilever out beyond the shore end of said rails in an angular relationship to the length of said rails.