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I have worked many yrs with tourney orgs. Have watched many a weekender at ramps. Am not past telling of my own mess ups at a ramp or the lake. Lets see if we can get something going. Life is real we all do it. SHARE Make it a dumb AAAA fourm. GIVE IT A TRY IT MIGHT BE FUN.
Heck i'm not ashamed to.Backed in but forgot to take the motor tote off.Pulled up and backed up jerking the crap out of it,the boat wouldn't come off.Finally pulled out of the water and saw what the problem was.Took it off and went ahead with my business.
Took a real timid guy from church fishing one day. When I say timid I mean the nervously blinded with fear type.
Private lake, launch from friends property, lake low, concrete ends with a 8" drop to a mud/rock bottom.
I get in the boat, tell guy to back in until I say stop. He does, I get the boat off the trailer with lots of reverse throttle. Then I motion for him to pull out and park... he stayed in reverse and rear wheels drop off the ledge. Rear bumper is under water, I tell him to try to slowly pull out, he stomps the throttle, wheels spinning, I'm scream for him to stop, he's not hearing me, keeps reving the engine digging deeper. By the time he stops there is water flowing through the rear floor. I open the back door and my tupperware container for my lunch floats out.
I walked a mile down the country road to get a farmer with a 4x4 to come pull me out. I got the truck on dry ground, opened the doors for it to dry, boat was already launched and tied to dock, and I start getting ready to fish. Guy wants to go home. No way! We've been through all this, we fish. He sat motionless in the back of the boat most of the time, but eventually got into it.
To show him there is no hard feelings I take him again, different lake. He pulls out after I launch, turns to sharp, hits a concrete park bench with the wheel well of the trailer. Yep, I go fish anyway. Last trip with that guy.
The Crestblunder has a roller trailer. One morning the most dependable outboard engine I've ever owned, a 60efi 4 stroke merc, won't start. Me, being the calm and sedate type, finally gives up after every mother within ear shot is sent scurrying to cover their child's ears. Crawl in the truck and not so gently touch the accelerator to pull out of the water. Having forgot that I already unhooked the bow eye and safety chain, it was then I discovered why my trailer uses "roller" as a description. I can say one good thing about a roller trailer, it's easier to winch the boat back on after you partially dump it on the concrete. Thumbs Up
Have trailer ratchet tie downs on another trailer, the type that stays with the trailer after the boat is unloaded. In a hurry of course, unhook the ratchet hooks from the boat and let them recoil to their stored position on the trailer (i think). This is the time I found that a ratchet hook caught in your stainless steel boarding ladder is a pretty good match for your 225 HP outboard in reverse. It is also the time that you start to question your fishing partner for the day who is yukking it up on the bank.
Heard tell of boats that freeze to the trailer in cold weather but don't have any "personal" experience. Rofl
This one is not my fault, it was Kaz's, had went fishing a few days earlier in cold weather, take Kaz and brother n law backs us in, boat won't slide off trailer, hum have brother in law back us in a little further, boat won't come off , Kaz said we need to get deeper, I said no I don't think so, look us and the trailer are floating.......... yep trailer frozen to the boat and that sob would not thaw out, after 15-20 min. said the hell with it and went home....... waited until a week of warmer weather , all good next trip, would have never believed it.........
Same story as others I am sure. About the 3rd or 4th time I have been out on my own boat. Take a friend and my granddaughter. Beautiful weather not rushed, Check the list twice, an experienced boater backing off the trailer for me. I unhook the winch strap give the boat a gentle shove, motor running, he has the boat in reverse, and we are not leaving the trailer area. I am like What the hell are u doing. Looking at my trailer, looks like it is twisted, I am like did I back this thing off the side of the ramp. next guy backs his boat down the ramp and says you still have a transom strap attached. OK F----. It is not like I dont know there are 2 of those on the boat, we were talking and I guess I decided to only take 1 off before unloading. The embarassing part however was trying to get a hold of the bow and stabilize so he could get the other transom strap off. My tenny shoes hit the moss on the ramp and I am under water also. Damn glad it was July and not December.
Unhooked my friend's 14ft john and jumped in the back of the boat. Found out at the bottom of the ramp, the trailer had tilting bunk boards. Knocked my 6.6 horse off the transom. Flailing like a fish I was fighting to get the motor back up into the boat.
Also have left the motor toter attached on the ranger once.
Seen a whole lotta stuff at the ramps.
Still haven't seen anyone whoop up on any one of those imbeciles that park in the launch lane on the ramp and start unloading their gear out of their vehicle into the boat while you wait patiently for them to get launched. Still waiting to see that sometime.
We need the Ramp Rage club with video for that.
I live in a cove with a boat ramp in view of my kitchen table I have seen many a problem on the ramp, but the one that sticks out is a husband and wife with a big fountain powerboat tring to load it. Well story short guy puts his wife at the helm to give it some gas to move it up the bunks to clip the bow hook and I guess she didnt know what 700 horse power was capable of and boat ended up in the bed of their dulley and winch tower in the cuddy!
OK so I get to the ramp, stage out of the way, get boat ready, life jacket on, safety rope unfurled, rods at the ready, back in lake,unload boat, tie off to dock, go park truck, in the shade, go fishing, catch limit, have a nice lunch, drink home made lemonade,to wash it all down, head to dock, load just fine, get home clean fish, eat supper,sleep all night. ummmm nice.
Last December get to the ramp no one there as it is cold and windy. Boat has been in garage since weekend before. Unhook the boat a few feet from water and climb in so buddy can back me in. I'm standing up getting my GPS out of storage and feel the boat moving back fast. I start yelling and the next thing I know I'm on my back in the between the seats. Yep, like an idiot I should have waited till I was in the water to unhook. Bunks had been frozen since weekend before and she slid off slick as a hounds tooth. Everthing was ok and I pushed and he wenched and back on track. Made me feel like a real smart guy. When I fish consecutive days in winter I never unhook until I'm in the water, but it had been a week and I just wasn't thinking. Glad no one was around to see it.
Afew on my self. Backed in with out PLUG 3 times, Left toter and tys behind started talking to some one else. Parked stick shift trk at pb2. Got back in late truck was 1/3 down the ramp some one put a rock under the tires. Boy was I glad. It is like some one is watching I cant get a boat on the trailer 1st try. Oh well practise makes perfect. IF WE CAN'T LAUGH AT OUR SELVES WHO WE GOING TO LAUGH AT.
WELL!!!!!! I started fishin BASS in 1976 just so u all know I've been fishin awhile. Quit fishin in 1991, except for pond crappie. Got remaired on 2002 and bought a old ranger to fish crappie. Went on our honeymoon at Mark Twain the first of May. She had never backed a boat, and the night before I went through what we would be doin. Told her 3 or 4 times to ALWAYS remember the plug. Well, get to the scout ramp, (if you don't know, it's very steep and very long). Got the boat launched and she pulled out. Guess what, I forgot the plug. I hollerd, and she started backing, and I started doing do-nuts. It took her 10 min to back that trailer down the 200' ramp. Really felt dumb.
:rolleyes:I've never forgotten to put the plug in:rolleyes:
Does someone smell some sarcasm?
2-20ish guys and 1 20ish girl back big fiberglass down ramp. 1 guy and girl get in boat. Starts motor and trys to back off trailer. Back of boat in water barely. Can't move. Starts cussing. F this and F that. Why can't I get this Fing off of trailer. Tries to rock it off. Big fiberglas don't rock. I am standing there holding rope from our boat waiting for husband to get chance to back trailer down to load. Guy keeps gunning motor on boat and cussing. Why won't this F---ing thing come off the boat. After several minutes they decide maybe they need to back further in the water. DOH. After several more minutes they get boat off trailer. Glad we were getting off of the water.
Get to boat ramp. Have to wait for a boat to load. Get boat loaded. Pull halfway up ramp and stop. Thought they must want to tie down something or check something. NO. They proceed to unload boat and put everything in the truck while parked halfway up the ramp with people waiting. Guess they didn't feel like parking in the lot and doing that. Blocking ramp seemed more prudent.
Boat ramp signs seem to be a magnate for people to park by.
Last month at W I put in and forgot the plug. I parked the truck and was talking to a friend when my son yells up that we have a problem. I said just wait a minute and he did...when I got down to the boat the water was in the floor and my boy says that he was glas I did not make hi wait much longer or the boat would have sank......Good thing I have an old jon boat I guess...
I've seen the same thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by perchplucker
Sometimes I wish I could go through life oblivious and/or inconsiderate to others. Must be a worry free lifestyle indeed.
I wonder if these are the same people that go down the middle of the grocery aisle and stop where you can't pass on either side.
Lets see, how many dumb azz moves have I been involved in at the boat ramp? Me and a buddy back home were taking his little ski boat to the river and we had it all waxed and shiny. Well this was a tedious process that took lots of cold beverages to get it done. This was 1978 and his old Ford pickup was kinda jacked up in the rear. He kept backing it down and getting crooked. About the third attempt I yelled for him to stop. He unhooked the winch earlier and when he stoped, that boat slid off and down that ramp atleast 20 feet. It took us 45 minutes to crank and back up and finally get that boat back on the trailor. Then went out and had a good time. We had to finish drinking all that beer. We went duck hunting one day on the river with 3 boats. All were frozen to the trailer. After about an hour or so I got my boat off but the throttle cable was frozen. Had to pee on it to get it to operate. Went out and had a good day killing ducks and drinking beer. Have backed a boat in the water with the plug out atleast once on just about every lake and body of water I've been to. It aint that bad as long as your drinking beer!!!
Can't pass? I don't mind moving a groc. cart at all. I'll bump it with my cart or grab it and give it a push to the side and never look back. If they aren't polite and considerate why should I be.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kit Papermouth
When this happens to me, the other person almost always says,"Oh, I'm sorry". Most of the time I just smile and say "No you're not" and push the cart out of the way. As you say, if they won't be considerate, they have no right to expect it from me.Quote:
Originally Posted by kcbrown
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kit Papermouth
Ditto, I wish I could too.
Put boat in at first of jan. Yep was very cold . Did my little walk around getting ready. Launch all good youngest son says dad we are sinking i said what looked O s@#$ we are . took off coat ,shirt stuck head in water took plug out looked at it grabbed other plug and put it right back in WRONG hole dam near sunk be for we got back on trailer.
Wrong hole. lmao
I was getting ready to take my new son-in-law and his buddy out to slay some springtime spawning crappie in my new (old) boat....I had been boating for probably 30 years at that time. So, I grabbed my dad that morning and took him out to locate some good spots to fish. Put the boat in the water and it would not plane out worth a darn.....that happens when it is sucking water in big time because you forgot to put the plug in.
Fast forward to that evening and I was telling the story on myself to my son-in-law and his buddy....what a bonehead move I had pulled that morning.
We get the boat in at the W Ramp at Smithville, no wake it out to the bouys, and then it wouldn't plane out for some unknown reason.....then I reached up and showed off my plug that was still in the cup holder!!!
The good news was that the storage area back by the batteries sure got rinsed out well.....TWICE IN ONE DAY!!!!RoflHands ClappingHands Clapping
Went fishing last october air temp about 45`,hooked boat up to trailer with carabiner hooks on rope launched boat.The knot attached to the carabiner on boat comes untied.Boat floats off into fog ,nice day for a swim of about 50 yards.I now check the knots on rope as well as checking if the plug is in!
I got a story about Chatt Martin the first time I met him, but he'll have to tell that story.
This place I use to fish back home a lot had a ramp that was very steep and long as well as narrow. Only one truck at a time could go down it to launch and or load. I waited in line one day and this one truck was down there what seemed like forever, at least 20 minutes. I was the only one in line as everyone else had already gone. I waited and waited, and started to say things under my breath about what was taking so long. So I finally had enough and went down to see what was taking the guy so long. Well I got down there and I was hot not just from the temps but from waiting for so long, and found this old timer fighting to get his boat loaded up. He had gotten it sideways on the trailer and out of the water enough where he couldnt reverse the boat or go forward with the boat, and the trailer and truck couldnt go back any further as it was a little Ford Ranger 2 wheel drive that sat low to the ground and almost had water in the doors of the cab.
After I saw what was going on I felt like kicking myself for waiting as long as I did to head down. And for saying the things I said under my breath to myself. Well I got the old timer's boat back in the water and lined it back up and on the trailer and pulled up for him. He then thanked me for helping him out as he didnt know what he was going to do if I had not come along. I sat and talked with him for about 2 hours after that, became pretty good fishing buddies until he died 4 years later. He was 92. So now I dont even think about the waiting any longer and am always willing to help someone out if they need it. Something I will always remember.
Took a friend fishing in June that is a big strong construction worker with a temper and used to live to bar fight. We have a great morning fishing and had a younger couple stop half way up the ramp and just start messing around putting stuff up. He waited a good while to try to get to me then finally he lost his cool. He pulls down by this guy and says could you please move your truck you are blocking the ramp. The kid says I will move it when I'm ready don't tell me what to do. He says trust me kid you don't want me to force the issue (trust me the kid didn't want that, Ha). Anyway his girlfriend walks over and gets in the truck and moves it up the ramp and we went on our way. I thought I was going to have to tie the boat up and go save this kids life. HA.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kit Papermouth
I went fishing one evening at a Conservation lake near my house. I launched my boat and parked the truck. Trolled around to the the first cove past the ramp. Went past a green carp fisherman, and I started fishing. Suddenly I heard a loud crash come from the ramp area. The green carp fisherman shouted "Oh Crap" or something like that and took off for the ramp. Curiosity got the best of me so I went to see what had happened. There was a big fish/ski combo with a 200 hp Merc sitting on the ramp at the end of a 10 foot long fiberglass skid mark. Seems that fish/ski dude was in a hurry to pull out and didn't winch his boat on the trailer. He just pulled it on and took off up the ramp like a bat out of hell. Well after an hour of lifting and backing and winching, green carp guy and I helped him get the boat far enough on the trailer that it balanced with the two of us sitting on the front. Fish/ski dude backed it down into the water and we winched it on and secured the safety chain. I have a feeling the boat needed some major glass work on bottom though.
I've told this story before but there are a lot of newbies so I'll tell it again.
I had been fishing for a few hours one day and made my way to the ramp to take my boat out. It was a single lane ramp and there were four of us waiting to load up. A green carp fisherman was next in line and his wife was backing the trailer down the ramp. I thought she was doing a good job but he was cussing her all the way down the ramp. She had the trailer in the water and he was still cussing her. I yelled at him to give her a break but he kept on cussing. Just about then I saw the driver's door open, the lady stepped out, slammed the door, and reached in and put the truck in REVERSE. She walked slowly up the ramp. Need I say more? Truck and trailer both wound up under water. All of us waiting to load up just stood and yelled and clapped for her.
Instant Classic! I hope she got the boat in the divorce and he got the truck.Quote:
Originally Posted by bwillaub
My fishing partner and myself spent a week fishing a large lake in northern Canada (Alberta) with only one loading ramp on the lake, which was the large rippled concrete type (for wheel traction in the water) that extended well into the lake to help prevent prop wash at the bottom of the ramp.
I noticed a couple of guys that gave us a bad impression from the previous night in the campground ( loud, drunk and full of attitude) attempt to back there large fiberglass bayliner down the ramp three or four times without much success. I told my fishing partner to watch them as they eventually got the boat close to the water. That morning the wind as blowing straight down the lake fairly good and it was pushing 3 to 4 foot whitecaps straight into the boat ramp.
When these gentlemen finally got the boat floating off the trailer the truck driver unhooked the winch and safety chain walked back to the truck and drove off to park..........the other guy in the boat was not having any luck getting the boat started and since the trailer was already pulled up the ramp we got our entertainment watching the bottom of there fiberglass boat getting grated like cheese as it was first slowly pushed straight up the rippled concrete loading ramp further and further with each wave until the waves couldn't push it any higher up the ramp then it procceded to turn it sideways and grind it some more just to make sure the boat wouldn't be going out anytime soon. ( it was almost painful hearing the sound of the firebglass grinding on the concrete with every wave that came in!!!!!!!!)
When it was over the boat was so far out of the water there was no getting it back onto the trailer without a tow truck or forklift, neither of which was within 60 miles of the campground. With a lot of help they did manage to get the boat pushed of the side of the ramp onto the sand shoreline which is where the boat remained through the night. Now to add injury to insult the following morning when were loading our boat into the lake a tow truck arrived to attempt to load the boat onto the trailer we looked over at the boat and during the night the waves had gotten much larger and had swamped over the back end of their boat on the shore and completely filled it with water..................! We tried to feel bad but couldn't stop ourselves from having a good laugh as we headed out for the day.
Thank you for starting this thread....it's been fun.
[QUOTE=Dans pain;1641702]Went fishing last october air temp about 45`,hooked boat up to trailer with carabiner hooks on rope launched boat.The knot attached to the carabiner on boat comes untied.Boat floats off into fog ,nice day for a swim of about 50 yards.I now check the knots on rope as well as checking if the pl
I launch my boat by myself this way and I always think...what are you going to do if that not fails? haha
Me and a couple buddies fresh out of high school got heavy into bass fishing. We had all bought what ever old boats we could afford and were after it all the time. We had been doing well in a couple small tournaments and decided to fish a bigger tournament on a march morning. Well we get to the ramp and 30 other boats had already put in and water covered the ramp..or it was water before it froze.My buddy lines the boat up on the ramp, jumps out in front of 60 guys and falls hard oh his back and slides all the way under the boat.
We also did alot of night fishing. I was out 1 night with a friend and we ran into another one of our buddies fishing by himself. Well after talking for a minute we asked where he put in. He tells us and later that night ..or early early that next morning we where fishing by that ramp and seen his truck. He had a narrow older fiberglass boat and we unhooked his trailer,turned it around and flipped it up on the bunks and slid it in the bed of his truck. He said he liked to never got it out and turned over . But he did get even.
My office is right across from a boat ramp on the Mississippi River. One day A man walked up to my door soaking wet. He said he had a little trouble launching his boat and asked if I could give him a hand. Sure I said. We drove down to the ramp and I asked him where was his truck/boat/trailer? Right there he pointed at the ends of the ramp to a placid looking water. I looked up and down the river and did not see anything. I said to him, "I do not see your unit". Well he say's "it is still where he left it". in 20 feet of water. It seems his brakes went out he forgot to put the plug in his flat boat which had no flotation foam in it and everything went to the deep 20 foot drop off at the end of the ramp. The water was up to his chest in the cab before he abandoned ship and walked to my office. he did get his keys out however. The fire and rescue team came down and dove down to hook up to tow out. By this time a large crowd including law enforcement officials had gathered. The tow truck winched vehicle, boat and trailer out of the deep. The drivers door was open still and as the vehicle came up the ramp water and a nice green carp came pouring out of the vehicle. I asked the owner if he had a current fishing license because the warden was there and he may have a problem with you using a truck to catch green carp as pole and line are the only legal methods in Wisconsin for that specie. I wound up giving him a ride home (120 miles). He was kinda quiet on the ride home. I asked him if he would be OK. "Swell, just swell he says." "My wife could not stop laughing when i told her what happened" I guess he would have a hard time living that one down.