Boat launcher for truck bed

In combination with a pickup truck of the type including a load bed having a front wall spaced slightly rearwardly of the rear wall of the cab of the pickup truck, a pair of opposite side longitudinal walls extending rearwardly from the front wall, a floor extending between and interconnecting the lower marginal edges of the front and opposite side walls, a tailgate hingedly supported at the rear end of the load bed for angular displacement between an upstanding position closing the rear end of the load bed and a horizontal rearwardly projecting open position defining a rearward extension of the rear end of the load bed, the rear ends of the side walls including inwardly offset structural posts and the forward ends of the upper marginal portions of said side walls including means defining upwardly opening stake receiving sockets, a support upon and from which a small boat may be longitudinally loaded and unloaded, said support including an elongated frame having front and rear ends and opposite longitudinal sides, central keel roller means journalled from the rear of said frame centrally intermediate its opposite sides, opposite side roller means journalled from opposite side portions of said frame generally centrally intermediate its opposite ends, elevated horizontal transverse abutment means supported from the forward end of said frame for vertical adjustment relative thereto and beneath which the upper bow portion of a small boat supported from said roller means may be snugly received, said support including opposite side longitudinal portions extending therealong and dependingly supported support wheels carried by the rear end of said support, a support rack for extending the effective load bed length of said pickup truck, said rack including a frame provided with front and rear transverse members interconnected by means of front to rear extending opposite side longitudinal members, said frame overlying said tailgate with the latter in its horizontal open position and extending from a point slightly rearwardly of the rear marginal edge of said tailgate forwardly over the rear marginal edge of the floor of the load bed to a position with the front transverse member of the rack frame spaced immediately forward of the lower ends of said posts, the opposite ends of said front transverse member of said rack frame projecting outwardly beyond the remote sides of the forward ends of said opposite side longitudinal members of said rack frame for rearwardly abutting the front sides of the lower ends of said posts, a pair of uprights carried by the opposite ends of said front transverse member of said rack frame extending upwardly along and rearwardly abutting the front sides of said posts, inclined tension members extending between and anchored relative to the upper end portions of said uprights and opposite side portions of the rear marginal portion of said rack frame, a pair of opposite side roller assemblies carried by the rear marginal edge of said rack frame and along which the opposite side longitudinal members of the boat support may be longitudinally rollingly supported, a loading device for said pickup truck, said loading device including a pair of upstanding stakes downwardly snugly telescoped into said sockets with the upper ends of said stakes projecting upwardly outwardly of said sockets, a horizontal brace member extending and connected between the forward sides of said stakes and downwardly abutted against the upper marginal edge of the front wall of said load bed, and winch means carried by said brace member centrally intermediate its opposite ends, said winch means including a journalled drum upon which an elongated tension member has one end thereof wound, the other end of said elongated tension member being adapted for releasable connection with the bow portion of a boat to be loaded onto said support and thereafter to be drawn upwardly onto said load bed while stationarily supported on said support.