I was the boat ramp idiot

[wmk0002]

Some good stories here, and, as is the style of this site...we are a pretty forgiving bunch.

I've made every mistake listed here, at least ONCE (or more).

A couple of things that have helped me.

The checklist is on my phone... so I always have it with me. I look at it before I get out of the van to launch, and again before I make the final trip to the boat after launching. Can't tell you how many times things like SunGlasses etc. get caught at that last check.

Since I am old and launch alone 99% of the time..I use the "long-rope" technique.

Before I get to the ramp, I prep the boat.
The long rope is coiled; left on the foredeck.. One end is permanently attached to the bow cleat and the other end is loose-looped onto the trailer at the winch.
I leave the bow strap attached until the stern is over the water.
Remove the bow strap.
I back her in, and just touch the brakes.
She slides off quickly (no doubt due to the PVC Gutter Downspouts that cover the bunks). The long rope allows her to slide 20/30 feet away.
I get out of the van;
grab the rope;
clear it from the trailer uprights,
and haul the boat to the dock.
Put the van away;
check the checklist one more time;
and go fishing.

You younger guys might be able to climb aboard and power the boat to the dock. I can't do that anymore. This system has worked well for many years.

richg99

I do it similarly. I have an overhand knot permanently in my rope that is just long enough I can snap my safety chain clip to the loop and the boat will float off only about 5-6 feet behind the end of the trailer. I ease it in so it barely floats off and after it gets to the end of the rope ans stretches begins to come back to me I pull forward at about the same speed and the boat gently slides to the ramp. I then get out and move it to the dock or off of the ramp if there is no dock.

 

[sunshine]

"wife and dog were barking"

Hmmmm. Ha Ha. Rich

Also made me giggle and remember a couple things.

 

[Wallyc]

I think we have all been that person! Don’t beat yourself up to bad. Been there done that ! And sooner or later I’ll go back for seconds . We call it geeking out, and we are all guilty at some point of it. Good luck in the future and tight lines !

 

[LDUBS]

Shouldn't laugh, but it is kind of hard not to. One thing for sure. After reading Eshaw's post I'm going to make doubly sure I don't piss anyone off at the ramp. Haha.

 

[KC_Jones]

OMG I feel so much better reading this thread!!!

This was my first year with the boat, launched it 9 times this season. The first couple times I used a checklist and then I thought "hey you don't need that anymore" and then the mistakes started. Transom straps were the most common.

So the last few trips used the checklist again, up until the last launch. I got distracted by the guy ahead of me with a trailer light out. Went over to let him know, talked for a bit then went back to prep, forgot all about the checklist. So I remembered everything (I thought), launch the boat, friend holds the rope while I park the truck. I'm walking back over and think, damn the rear is riding lower than normal, then panic and running. For a split second I contemplate pulling it out, but I look and realize no way do I have that kind of time. I jump on the boat get the plug out from under my seat (now filled with equipment for the day), lay on the back deck and luckily I can easily reach the hole, put the plug in and all is well. The water was about 1-2" from coming over the transom. The 500 GPH pump ran for 15 minutes straight.

After everything is well my friend says, "So what would you have done if you dropped the plug?" I laughed and said pan B, pull the boat out.....after grounding it on the ramp to save it. I've been around boats my whole life, and that was the first time for that, even I was shocked how fast it will fill up.

I'd like to say I will never do it again after that lesson, but I know better.

 

[richg99]

OK...I was going to hold this one ...but.

I bought a brand new van and used it to haul my boat to the bay. I launched, and like many of us, suddenly realized that I had forgotten to put the plug in.

I was 20 yards or so away, putting the trailer up when I saw the stern drooping. I ran to the boat; grabbed the plug; leaned over the back and......fell over the stern into the water!

It was only a foot or two deep so I put the plug in and turned on the bilge pump.

End of Story .... N O T....

Since I was soaking wet, and it was a cold day, I decided to scrap the trip and head home.

However, when I put my key into my new van, the alarm went off. I had no idea of how to turn it off since the electronic key fob had been ruined by its swim in the salt water.

Luckily, I hadn't had my cell phone with me for the splash party. I called the dealer and got transferred to a mechanic. This was about noon on a Saturday and they were almost closed. He walked me through a procedure using a hidden button (that my salesman had forgotten to tell me about) and I was able to get the alarm off.

Amazingly, the key worked to drive home.

That's my story, and I am sticking to it.

richg99

 

[GTS225]

OK...I was going to hold this one ...but. /--------/That's my story, and I am sticking to it.

richg99

*******************************************************************************
Now, that's a chain of events that's Youtube worthy. Too bad there's not a vid of it.

Roger

 

[JL8Jeff]

One of the adventures I had with our boat club's private ramp was early in the spring when I forgot to bring a shovel with me. Our ramp gets very muddy over the winter with the river level going up and down from rain and snow melt off. I had a 2000 Camaro SS and I got to the ramp and saw the mud and realized I forgot the shovel. I didn't feel like driving back home to get it and figured if I could stay in my tire tracks I would be fine pulling back up with the empty trailer. That was a nice theory. The car had 275/45/17 tires which are pretty wide. Even with the posi rear, it started spinning and kicking sideways. Our ramp is narrow and at an angle on a bit of a side slope so I was starting to get to the edge with no luck and finally had to get out and disconnect the trailer to get the car up out of the dirt and back onto the ramp. I had to walk the empty trailer back up to the car (I weigh 150 lbs so the trailer and gravity definitely had the advantage) and somehow made it far enough to hook it back up. Later that day, I went back to the ramp in the boat and took some pictures. Here's the car and the boat (from a different day when I did remember the shovel) and then the tracks in the muddy ramp. You can see near the top left where I was still spinning to get back onto the ramp. I almost remember to bring a shovel every time now, but I have a 4wd pickup so it's not as big of a deal. I had mud inside the car on the dash from the spinning tires and I had the windows open. It took me an hour to clean all the mud from the car when I got home.

 

[richg99]

Great story. Thanks for sharing.

If it is a private ramp, could you just tie, or combo lock, a spare shovel to a tree? Give the combination out to those properly authorized to use the ramp, only.

 

[ppine]

This fall I took an 80 yo friend of mine on a mission to slay some trout at our local lake. We went ashore in the shade to take a break. I could not get the engine to turnover. We discussed the options. The boat ramp was only about a mile and half away but protected by vertical rock cliffs. It was getting windy. I decided to tow the boat down the shore to a spot where I could probablly get the truck and trailer down to the water. I hitched a ride to the truck, came back and started to load the boat. The beach was fine gravel and I did not want to get in too deep. With some help we got the boat loaded. Just past the water's edge, the one ton diesel buried the rear wheels in 4wd. This is hard to admit, but I had a Toyota Tundra with a tow strap help me out. Just another day at the lake. A boat ramp is a great thing to have especially for big heavy boats.

 

[JL8Jeff]

Great story. Thanks for sharing.

If it is a private ramp, could you just tie, or combo lock, a spare shovel to a tree? Give the combination out to those properly authorized to use the ramp, only.

It's a private ramp but it's located in a state park so there is a lot of people in the area and most of them think it's a public ramp. We end up with people who set up chairs in the middle of the ramp and fish or drink. We often find the chain cut and people try to drive over it. If we left a shovel, I'm sure it would be gone within a week.

 

[10sne1]

I am finding more time to fish, but having to do it alone. I know the saying “2 minds are better than 1” came from a man towing, ramping and fishing alone. Last month I had Vacation set, but fishing alone and water was high at my lake of choice. Thus I needed to use a rope to launch the Boat. Well after 15 min. Of getting the rope and Boat all tangled in the trailer while launching, I clear the rope and clear the trailer. I’m on the dock pulling the boat from the launch. Oh my the Boat is coming mighty fast toward the dock, nope I can not stop it. Yep, crash! Breaks off the trolling motor from the shaft. I was a sight to be seen, cussing and yelling at my stupid self. No fishing that day, just heart ache. And lost 3 other planned trips, due to Broken troller. 2 weeks later now, new composite shaft installed.
Fished yesterday and still managed to do multiple stupid things! But nothing broken. I have fished and boated for 35 years, and am getting worse on the logistics every time. May need to make sure I have a friend join me, more often these days! Be safe, keep it fun.

 

[richg99]

10sne1....Since I use the "long rope" method of launching, I also pull my boat toward the dock. If the wind is blowing, I also have to STOP the bow from hitting, as yours did.

I bought a two-part, extendible boat hook some years ago. It is at hand when the boat comes to the dock, and I redirect the boat off to the side so she doesn't hit too hard.

The combo of the extendible shaft and special boat hook is expensive. But, a very valuable feature is that I can affix my strap hook onto it and hook my bow latch without getting wet most times. All in all, it has made my launch and recovery experiences much better.

https://smile.amazon.com/Star-Brite-Signature-Telescoping-Accessories/dp/B002IV4S98/ref=pd_rhf_ee_s_cp_0_4?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B002IV4S98&pd_rd_r=1ce0b861-ae38-4bfb-9e7e-995da9531d76&pd_rd_w=9n5c3&pd_rd_wg=uYDZ6&psc=1&refRID=D9GXY64BHW2B74G246S4

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VSXK5SA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[billgrabau]

Here's my screw-up. I had just retired earlier in the year and was really waiting to get on the reservoir during mid-week to miss the weekend crowds. Had everything ready to go and backed down the ramp. This ramp drops off fairly fast and I really can't get the boat too far into the water. As a result I need to get out and push the boat off the trailer, or sink my tail pipe in the water. Anyway. the boat starts to slide off the trailer and I've got the bow line in my hand feeding it out as the boat slips off the trailer. As the boat drifts off into water, about 10 feet beyond the bunks, I pull on the bow line to bring it over to the dock. Just as the backward drift of the stern catches up with my tug on the bow line, the line breaks. There's my boat beginning to drift away from the trailer and me. By now it's about 15 feet beyond the trailer and moving slowly off to the middle of the launch area. What to do? Dressed in jeans and sweat shirt (early April) I begin to walk out into the water to retrieve my boat. By the time I reach the bow I'm up to my neck, barely touching bottom. Felt like a complete idiot and hoping there was no one watching from the boat house. Finally managed to grab hold of the bow eye and slowly back out of the water to the edge of the ramp. It appears that my bow line had dry rotted and the little tug I applied snapped the line right at the bow eye. One of my pre-launch tasks is now checking the line to make sure that doesn't happen again. Needless to say, it was a pretty cold morning in my wet clothes, at least till the sun rose a bit higher and I dried out.

 

[richg99]

Hey, Billgrabau....were you watching me, a couple of years ago, when my polyester line did exactly the same thing? Ha Ha

I was lucky, though. A commercial fisherman was just getting ready to launch his boat ten minutes later. He took me out to my drifting tinny!

Thanks for sharing. richg99

 

[surfman]

If I am at a location where traction is questionable I have pulled the boat out using a rope tied to the trailer, just drag the tongue up the bank. Usually I can launch it is just pulling the boat out that is a problem. It ain't pretty but I ain't getting stuck either. Now I have a 4WD so I don't worry.

 

[LDUBS]

This is like an old Perry Mason show -- everyone (including me) confesses at the end. haha.

 

[KMixson]

This is like an old Perry Mason show -- everyone (including me) confesses at the end. haha.

That is because we are all guilty.

 

[tracker101]

It seems though every time I screw up at the ramp is when there,s a bunch of people watching.

 

[JNG]

The only two screwups I've ever done is forgetting the drain plug and 'losing' my boat. The drain plug was no big deal. Leaned over and put in the plug and turned pump on. Waited a few minutes and went fishing. The other screwup was with my jon boat. I have been in the habit of just throwing the lead rope into the back of the truck. I back boat into water, tap brakes, boat slides off trailer and I grab rope unwinding out over the tailgate. This time I guess I took too long. I see boat drifting away dragging 50' of rope. Had to wait for another fisherman to come along and rescue the boat. Embarrassing to say the least. #-o