When I bought my boat (Grampian 30) it was at a marina with no crane or travel
lift. The owner had built a dolly with a long tongue out of an old rear axle from a pickup truck. The process was:
- back the boat up to the ramp and chock the wheels
- disconnect and go get the dolly
- connect and take the load, remove the chocks
- continue backing in until she floats
It went pretty well actually. The wheels of my truck were just in the water by the time she floated.
Retrieval was a bit more tricky but not unreasonable. Flag posts attached to the sides of the trailer that you could raise, and a central post at the front, basically you just used those as a guide to keep you straight. The post up front had a
winch so you could pull the boat in tight to its proper position, much like a
power boat trailer.
I used this system for the remainder of the season (just twice) and then had her hauled to my
current club where a travel
lift now does the
work.
So it's possible, and with a smaller boat it will probably be even easier.