Boat Launch Antics

[Hookset]

Went Walleye fishing one afternoon, where doesn't really matter.

Had a good day and slowly cruised back to the Launch at dusk.

This is a nice Launch, with a cement pad that goes out nice and deep without too much slope and there's a dock to use too.

There was guy backing his trailer in to load his boat ahead of us. We said hello to the two of them, and took in the scenery while we waited.

Dude backs his trailer up and stops before the tires get wet. The bunks of the trailer are a good 3 feet above the water.

He brings the boat up till the bow touches the trailer frame and hooks up the winch rope. My friend and I look at each other ???

Then he starts cranking...rope gets tighter, boat doesn't move...rope gets even tighter...starts pinging like you would tune a guitar string.

They stop, thank God. They had a huddle for a bit and my friend says nicely, "you can back in a little farther, it's a good launch."

Well we shouldn't have said anything I 'spose. They basically got ticked, can't remember exactly what was said, but it ended with...

"This is an EAS-Z Loader trailer" (spelling may be wrong) he pointed at the name and yes indeed it did say EAS-Z Loader.

Times like this it's best just to sit back and watch, you couldn't pay enough for this type of entertainment.

Next move...one guy stands on the back of the trailer pulling up on the bow for all he's worth while guy #2 cranks.

We're getting somewhere now, the bow is actually up on the bunks. The motor is jammed into the concrete but hey, they're on the bunks.

I should say their boat was a 16 foot aluminum (brand new ) with a small outboard, but it had a deck and a floor so there was some weight to it.

Cranker guy has nothing left in him so they switch places. Bigger dude on the cranker now...Tired dude pulling the bow.

I don't know what the winch rope was made out of but it must be good stuff. Luckily the grinding motor muffled our escaped laughter.

They kept glaring at us during the whole deal, and we would have helped out in a second, but they were rude from the get go and definitely didn't want it.

You try and keep a straight face if you were there. Eventually they got enough of the boat on the trailer that it tilted forward and didn't scrape anymore.

They switched places cranking a few more times until, viola!!!, she was loaded.

Off they went, glaring...and muttering...

I never would have thought it was possible but you can load a boat without getting your trailer tires wet.

 

I just wish I had been there when they launched it.

 

 

Hookset.

[silveradosheriff]

That is a funny story!

I would have loved to have witnessed that one!!!

[fishindevil]

Thats too funny,well over the years i have even seen fist-fights at boat launches,back in the late 80"s at the bay of quinte deseronto area,when you had to wait 4hrs to launch it was something else i tell ya,ive even seen guys pushing their 16ft boat off the trailer and acroos the park to the waters edge to get their boat in the water man its crazy out there sometimes,yes and ive seen guys jackknife their trailers and did it so bad they got stuck !!!!!....just hang out at the port perry boat launch in town for an afternoon on a saturday in july !!! its better than any comedy !!!! cheers

[Billy Bob]

Here I have found the complete opposite. Guys BURY their trailers so you basically can't even see it under water and of course the boat is floating all over the place and is NOT center when they pull it out of the water. In it goes again, and again.

 

Believe it our not I have a 16'-4" (7 foot beam and 39" deep) Grumman side console boat with 50 hp outboard. Completely loaded I would say close to 1800 lbs. I NEVER get my bearing wet. I repeat I NEVER get my bearing wet when launching and retrieving.

 

I have a real nice Tee Nee trailer (trailer is over sized for the boat as order) with bunks and just center rollers. The rollers are greased every other year or so and the bunks are also sprayed with silicone. I can launch and retrieve this myself. I have to do some cranking but my keel ALWAYS follows one roller to the next because of the weight of the boat and is ALWAYS on center when I pull out.

 

The best part of this is I don't have bearing buddies that throw grease all over my boat and trailer and I almost NEVER repack them. Well I shouldn't say never. I replaced them the third year I owned it because when I checked them the factory had almost NO grease on the bearings (new owners take warning). I did them again 20 years later (last year) just because they were so old. In the spring like now I jack up each tire and spin it. If it spins without any rough noise I check for excessive end play and if OK jack it down. And don't think I am not towing it far. I have had my boat all over the NE States and to Minnesota and many parts of Ontario and Quebec.

 

Hoping for Spring,

Bob

Edited March 29, 2008 by Billy Bob

[keram]

As much as I can find your experience on the boat lunch "funny" it is not unusual, regardless if the owner of the boat is a "newbe" or very "experienced". I do not have much experience myself ( I have a boat only two seasons ), but I've already saw few "entertaining"events myself.

 

I will start with me. First boat, first launch. Not make a fool of myself I've checked 5 times everything before .. I've launched the boat, park the car and I'm ready to go. Water was pretty shallow so I'had to tilt the motor up (with my Merc in can be done only on gear). So I did it, pushed the boat , jumped in,, primed , motor started on the first pull. The problem is, it was still in farward gear, so I was back on shore in no time.. I've learned my lesson well. It was my "newbe experience"

 

Now, "experience" side:

 

 

I was at Cesarea (lake Scugog). launched my boat. Just behind was nice Lund with 3 guys.. When I was launching thay've already opened first box of beer. because I was alone I had to park my my car and go back to the boat to make a space ( about 2 min ). When I was passing them I've heard some comments about my launching procedure ( generally too slow). I've pullled my boat by the rope to the and of the pier ( not to take a space ). When I was already sitting in the boat warming up my motor they've launched their boat. It get my attention when the guy in the boat has started yelling to pull-out. It was not enough that they backed up too fast ( "few galloms over the transom", they also forgot about the plug.

I mean time few more boats has arrived to launch. I was in "good" mode , so I've asked them to move , because they were blockin everybody. No stupid comments from them at this time...

 

Next time, same launch.. Nice boat, the trailer in perfest position, but the guy running the boat thinks he can do better. In my opinion the set-up was perfect, but he decided to go 6" more. Well. "again few gallons" of water over the transom blocked the launch for another 15 min.

 

And last. , still on Lake Scugog", but this time on the end of the Island launch.. I've launched my boat and he is comming. F 150 with Nitro on the back (sparkling clean ).. Everybody moves aside.. I even took a closer look to see if this is some kind of celebrity. (not ). He backed to the water, put the rope, boat is floating like a dream. AS soon as he pulled the truck to the parking spot, the boat was few yards behind ( rope was caught in the rear axe of the trailer). it was too late to stop ( after hearing all the commotion fom everybody else. ).. the 30K + boat was already on the dry ground.. He needed a crane to move it

 

Botoom line is ( my opinion): Regrdless of your experience - think what you are doing.

[Greencoachdog]

Ah yes!... the boat launch Bozo's, I know them well. The hilarities and aggravation will never end!

[OhioFisherman]

City of Lorain here has one of the best launches on Lake Erie, like 4 or 6 ramps and police to direct traffic and break up the fights. Some of the things you see at the ramps? Morons!

[LundGuy]

The funniest one I witnessed was when I took my 23' Four Winns Fisherman up to Lake Kipawa with my bother-in-law, who brought up his new 16' fiberglass boat.We got to the government docks and had both sides to ourselves. The ramps were about 50-75 feet apart from each other. I got my boat ready and launched her in about 5 mins. ,I then proceeded to unload the truck of gear etc. and load up the boat. While doing this I glanced over to my brother-in-law to see how he was doing.He was relatively new to launching on his own, but he did help me many times before,so he did have some experience. I did not want to interfere because I knew he wanted to prove himself. As I loaded I noticed him backing the boat into the water. (Note the cement ramp ended just so far out and had a sharp drop off at the end) He had the trailer well into the water and I noticed the boat had not released into the water properly. He then backed up a little more and again a little more trying to jolt the boat off the trailer. Know where I am going with this? I now stood at the other dock, stopped loading and watched as he backed up a little more backing the trailer wheels off the end of the ramp. I quickly ran over to help. When I got there I noticed the boat was now floating. The problem, so was the trailer. At this point my brother-in law had removed himself from his car, put my sister in the car to keep her foot on the brake. To make things worse the car kept going backwards down the ramp. I did all I could do , I grabbed the back corner of the car and pushed, planting my feet. I yelled to my sister to put the emergency brake on. While we held the car in place my brother-in-law jumped into the cold water and swam to the back of the trailer and disconnected the tie downs,thus releasing the boat from the trailer. I then joined him in the water and helped lift the trailer back on the ramp, which had dropped once the tie downs were taken off, then my sister drove the trailer back to the safety of shore!

I have to say this could have got to a much more serious point, but it didn't. He was lucky and right after I got out of the water I fell to the ground and laughed my head off for 10 minutes, my poor brother-in-law looked as he had aged 50 years.To this day we both laugh about it.

[bassboy]

Thats too funny,well over the years i have even seen fist-fights at boat launches,back in the late 80"s at the bay of quinte deseronto area,when you had to wait 4hrs to launch it was something else i tell ya,ive even seen guys pushing their 16ft boat off the trailer and acroos the park to the waters edge to get their boat in the water man its crazy out there sometimes,yes and ive seen guys jackknife their trailers and did it so bad they got stuck !!!!!....just hang out at the port perry boat launch in town for an afternoon on a saturday in july !!! its better than any comedy !!!! cheers

 

I can vouch for the Port Perry launch......best one I saw last year was a guy back the trailer in to launch (un-named bass boat with a 150 on the back).He was in the boat and his buddy was driving the truck. Boat and trailer in water, guy in boat starts motor, lets it run briefly, then puts it in reverse. Boat stays on trailer. Guy gives boat more throttle in reverse......boat stays on trailer. Guy scratches head, full throttle in reverse now...boat is still on trailer ans lots of water everywhere. Guy shuts motor off, and looks over the transom, and after a long raft of rather loud expletives (Family board here...cant repeat them LOL) tells other guy to drive forward. Guy gets out of truck, comes back to boat, un-does the tie downs and removes them, then backs the trailer back into the water. Same procedure again....only this time instead of driving the truck forward, guy gets out of the truck, comes back to the boat, both utter another loud and long tirade of expletives, unhooks the winch, and guy in boat backs the boat off the trailer. Other guy smokes the tires on the truck to get the truck parked, runs down to the dock.....again uttering expletives, and the two merrily make their way up the bog

 

People at the dock were laughing until after I took my boat out and left..... Sometimes its worth the headache to let people go in ahead of you......

Definitely better than any comedy!!!

 

 

Bill

[Garry2Rs]

Over the years I expect that I have seen or done every foolish thing that can happen with a boat and trailer.

I can remember being a newbie unsure of backing the trailer in to retrieve a boat I had borrowed.

After having the trailer turn sideways on me for the fourth time, someone came up and asked if I needed help.

Those were the sweetest words I had ever heard...

In the years since I have backed plenty of boats or trailers in for strangers who were having a hard time.

It's like parallel parking...No one is born knowing how.

We can all afford to lend a hand when someone else is struggling.

Besides, it's often the fastest way to clear the ramp...HAHAHA.

[tinbanger]

My newbie experience happened 3 years ago .

Just picked up the new Lund and decided to give her test spin on the way home.

Launching was no problem ,had a short slow tour for an hour or so then came the loading part.

Backed the trailer down the ramp with our 4 week old Honda van ...nice and straight first shot.

applied parking brake ,put down drivers window , left van running and proceeded to power load the boat on just like the pros. Again perfect!

walked to the front of the boat to attach the strap ...thats when I noticed the van ( which is running) is in ..

 

 

wait for it...

 

 

 

reverse

 

 

I calmly asked my oldest to carefully put the van in park.

 

 

lots more experinces to come ...I'm sure

[blue pickeral]

As one who has learned most launching techniques by trial and error - mostly error, was sold inappropriate used trailer by boat dealer for brand new boat - I am always watching various launches to learn. Smoothest launch I ever saw was at Longlac....family backed up and slightly down ramp, all gear was in place, all but one got in boat, backed down ramp further and boat was off and running in under 20 seconds! Picked up the driver and off they went. A trolling line went out about a minute later.

 

Since then, each spring, I take a black magic marker and write "plug, tie downs, lights" just under the winch. After a long drive it helps to focus on task at hand. When aquiring better trailer, got the side guides even though sales person said they were a waste of money. Never regretted that decision. A couple of 1/2 inch PVC pipes fastened with cable ties and topped with reflective tape helps seeing where trailer is behind high truck.

[bbog]

What I don't understand is these people will gladly wait at the Timmys drive thru 15 minutes for a coffee but are busting for a fight if they have to wait 30 seconds to launch the boat. Isn't fishing suppose to be a relating pastime?

[pikehunter]

My dumb mistakes list:

 

Forgot the plug, walked back to the launch after parking to find my son in shock and rear corner of the boat pulled up onto a sinking floating dock.

 

Forgot the stern was still tied down to the trailer and couldn't figure out why the boat wasn't floating off the trailer.

 

Forgot to plug the emergency shut off cord in....many, many times this has happened.

 

Forgot to take the motor out of gear before trying to start. To add salt to my wound I was told by a guy with a $60,000 glittery bass boat waiting to launch!

 

Started the motor in gear! Just out from my parents Lake Erie cottage years ago taking dad's 9.9 out for the first time ever by myself. (It started in gear, guess there was no safety device back then) Scared the crap out of me heading for the rocks at full throttle!

 

Backing into my parents driveway, the trailer and boat were OK, but my van's tail light took the brunt of a steel fence post.

 

Forgot to hook up the gas line.

 

Just some of my own small incidents that made me feel really dumb.

 

But the best place to watch a show has to be the downtown Orillia boat ramp. There is a great board walk to stand and watch the activities from and if you are lucky there is a park bench on the grass. Sit back, relax and laugh at the comedy in comfort.

[Greencoachdog]

I think we've all done just about all those things Harry, the best thing you can do is learn from your mistakes. If someone is having problems I have no qualms about walking up to them and asking if they need help in a friendly manner... I remember when it was me in their position. Hollering instructions from afar will embarrass and agitate folks, it's best to be civil and well mannered.

 

The ones that irritate me are the ones that fiddle fart around with no consideration for others... waiting to take tie downs off at the ramp and loading gear in the boat at the ramp.

 

My best folly was at a launch in the winter with noone around (Thank You Lord!) I was pushing the boat off the trailer and had hopped up on the bow... but in mid hop my jacket hung up on the trolling motor skag, so there I was... hangin' half on half off the bow of the boat and couldn't move with nobody around, the water was about 45*F so dropping off for a swim was out of the question. So I started the painstakingly slow procedure of wriggling out of my jacket... kinda like a demented snake tryin to shed it's not so ready skin, and all the while the boat is drifting further from the launch and the truck is sitting running on the ramp. I finally freed myself from my imprisoning garmet and got the boat back to the dock. I'm just glad nobody saw me!!!

 

Now I always check for loose clothing before pushing the boat off the trailer.

[pikehunter]

The ones that irritate me are the ones that fiddle fart around with no consideration for others... waiting to take tie downs off at the ramp and loading gear in the boat at the ramp.

 

That is irritating, you somehow run into these people all the time, and just about anywhere these days.

 

I'm just glad nobody saw me!!

 

Sometimes you get lucky! Really lucky! Got to watch loose clothing some have even lost their life because of it.

[Rattletrap2]

GCD,

Am I ever glad I made it to the washroom before reading your post! LOL

The visual of your follies was more than I could take!

 

We have all done most of these things (repeating your antics would definitely be a first for me!), but I still say that my most enjoyable time in the summer is to go into Orillia for a feast at King's, then grab a coffee and go sit down by the ramp on "Couch" for some evening entertainment! we used to let the kids play on the park equipment there while I got a few laughs watching the clowns at the ramp.

[shane]

Man, I wish there was a boat ramp around here somewhere. We'd be down there all the time to watch the show! Someone should set up a webcam.

 

You can't beat real life for true comedy.