I was thinking about the river today and the summer to come and how many good times I have had after my boats back on the trailer for the day and I head to the ramp with a cooler full of adult soda pops and a lawn chair and watch the morons. It's so fun to go down and watch some of these folks. Husbands yelling at their wives on the ramp-the wife trying to back up a Sea Doo trailer with a Superduty on 44's and Jacknifing it. The situations and scenarios are endless. Last summer it was trailer bunk follies as two different people backed their trailers down the ramp and one of the bunks floated up off the rear mount. I told one guy to duct tape it but he chose to hold the bunk down with his hand while his buddy pulled the boat out and almost lost a hand. Another guy saw his bunk float up from the rear mount so he pulled the trailer back out and walked back with the trailer still on the ramp before going in the water and pressed the bunk back onto the mount with the lag screws gone-like it was going to stay the minute the trailer entered the water. Some people have no clue. Anyways feel free to share your stories about ramp bloopers. I have seen it all in the 25+years I have been boating. When you see people sink their motorhome after forgetting to set the e-brake it tends to stick in your mind!
I've heard of and seen many peeps forgetting to remove the transom straps from the boat while launching!
I've seen a freeboard challanged boat put about 50 gallons of water over the transom from forgetting that....
Some very experienced boaters I know have done that!
Eventhough veteran boaters make mistakes now and then!
I've also seen the common forget to put the outdrive up scenario on the ramp a few times......The driver is always wondering why everyone is screaming at them!
I saw a guy driving down the 95 through Laughlin once with the drive down on his boat! Oh the beauty of owning a jet or v-drive!
I saw a guy last year bouncing his outboard on the gravel road to the launch ramp at Martinez Lake
I have seen a couple "forgot the plug" situations and the people freaking out instead of driving forward to let the water drain and then jumping in to plug it.
DMB
Maveric Marine has an outdrive lower and prop on their "hall of shame" wall. Never seen such a flatted steg and flattenend prop that matched so perfectly!
Apparently the dude's ice chest hit the trim button and it kicked the drive all the way down while he was driving.
Couldn't have been cheap!!!!!!
When I was about 6 or 7 there was this jet boat pulling out next to us on the ramp. Trailer backs in, jet boat drives on, driver yells to OK, then gives the boat gas, Trailer starts to pull out, just as it happens, engine of jet boat dies.
Oh did I mention that the float bar was not attached to the bow eye.
First off, I had to float in the water for an hour plus while some brainless asswipe tried to get his pontoon on the trailer. Of course, I was having beers the whoile time laughing at him. BUT karma can be swift and very mean!
I had half a beer buzz, so I let a buddy of mine try and back my trailer down the ramp at Takeoff Point. He was a greenpea trailer backer-upper, the parking lot was crowded, and he put the tailgate down on my truck to see what the hell he was doing, promptly jackknifed the truck and mangled my tailgate.
I jumped over the side and swam to shore, backed the trailer in myself. Then I knocked a bunk clean off my trailer.
Power steering actuator pump failed on the boat, I had a buzzo and gave it some gas (wayyy too much) and couldn't turn the wheel and BANG! There went my bunk.
Then I yelled at the guy driving my truck (towing my now ****ed up trailer) to meet me at Havasu Springs: it's a big place, we couldn't find each other.
After much pleading, I rented a slip at HS (they usually only rent to people staying there) and of course, I had left my shoes and shirt in my truck when I swam to shore earlier! Luckinly I had some cash and bought a shirt and some $10 flip flops and took off looking for my pal with my truck.
2 of us ended up walking a couple of miles down the Highway towards Parker before our partner found us, he thought we wer going to be pissed off out of our minds, but it was such an unbelievable afternoon, all I could do was laugh.
The next day, the boat shop at HS fixed my trailer, and we were back in business. All's well that ends well, I reckon.
CA Stu
PS, Of course there were a couple of ladies at the launch ramp, hanging out drinking sodas in deck chairs enjoying the drama. Nothing like an audience to bring out the best in me.
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