Boat ramp etiquette

[mnypitboat]

Re: Boat ramp etiquette

I was talking minutes not an hour. I've never owned a trailered boat that takes more than 5 minutes to unload or reload but some of these posters talk like they're trying out for a NASCAR Pit Crew.

Gotcha. It sounded like you were talking about taking your sweet time, doing your prep etc etc on the ramp rather than being ready when you get to it.

 

[180Fisherman]

Re: Boat ramp etiquette

Best one I ever saw was this guy in a 26 footer or so i/o powers onto his trailer, hooks it up, jumps in his truck and drives off. With the boat motor still running.

 

[mnypitboat]

Re: Boat ramp etiquette

Best one I ever saw was this guy in a 26 footer or so i/o powers onto his trailer, hooks it up, jumps in his truck and drives off. With the boat motor still running.

LOL, at least he got out of the way quick. LMAO. Was he drunk?

 

[180Fisherman]

Re: Boat ramp etiquette

LOL Was he drunk?

More than likely.

 

[md-lucky]

Re: Boat ramp etiquette

lol, especially if you powerload.

Oh I'm not talking about powerloading.. I mean, that is a GIVEN. I usually start a good 10' out and hold it wide open until the bow gives a little cracking noise.. Then I know it is good and tight on the trailer.

I'm talking about powerUNLOADING.

I unhook everything (including all safety chains), and run at the water at a redline in reverse. Then, when I'm about 10-15 feet from the end of the ramp I slam on my brakes as hard as I can. This way, the boat gently bounces off the trailer, across the cement dock, and gives a nice "splashdown" to let me know that it is in the water. If I time it just right, I don't have to even get the wheels wet. This is especially good for me, since I don't beleive in basic maintenance items like greasing the wheel bearings. I figure that if they never touch water, I don't ever have to worry about putting grease in them.




Your results may vary.

 

[180Fisherman]

Re: Boat ramp etiquette

Oh I'm not talking about powerloading.. I mean, that is a GIVEN. I usually start a good 10' out and hold it wide open until the bow gives a little cracking noise.. Then I know it is good and tight on the trailer.

I'm talking about powerUNLOADING.

I unhook everything (including all safety chains), and run at the water at a redline in reverse. Then, when I'm about 10-15 feet from the end of the ramp I slam on my brakes as hard as I can. This way, the boat gently bounces off the trailer, across the cement dock, and gives a nice "splashdown" to let me know that it is in the water. If I time it just right, I don't have to even get the wheels wet. This is especially good for me, since I don't beleive in basic maintenance items like greasing the wheel bearings. I figure that if they never touch water, I don't ever have to worry about putting grease in them.




Your results may vary.

I always wondered how you got that boat in your signature to look like that.

 

[md-lucky]

Re: Boat ramp etiquette

I always wondered how you got that boat in your signature to look like that.

You should see the before pictures!

 

[mnypitboat]

Re: Boat ramp etiquette

Oh I'm not talking about powerloading.. I mean, that is a GIVEN. I usually start a good 10' out and hold it wide open until the bow gives a little cracking noise.. Then I know it is good and tight on the trailer.

I'm talking about powerUNLOADING.

I unhook everything (including all safety chains), and run at the water at a redline in reverse. Then, when I'm about 10-15 feet from the end of the ramp I slam on my brakes as hard as I can. This way, the boat gently bounces off the trailer, across the cement dock, and gives a nice "splashdown" to let me know that it is in the water. If I time it just right, I don't have to even get the wheels wet. This is especially good for me, since I don't beleive in basic maintenance items like greasing the wheel bearings. I figure that if they never touch water, I don't ever have to worry about putting grease in them.




Your results may vary.

That is funny. I actually did something similar to this a few years ago. When I had my Chapperral. I bought a product designed to make your bunks slicker. Well they worked. I unhooked the rear straps, unhooked my front tie down, and proceeded to back in the water. I no sooner started down the ramp and my boat slid right off the trailer, snapped the safety chain, unwound the crank and broke off the strap, and slid right down the ramp into the water. Now that was a sight to behold. Never even got the tires wet.

We pulled it back out and there was just a couple scratches. Luckily it didnt touch the outdrive. We loaded it back up, checked it out, then put it back in the water and went boating. Ran to West Marine when we got back, repaired the broken stuff on the trailer and went home. No harm done. Luckily. I promptly threw that crap in the garbage. I wouldnt recommend it to anyone. Had I towed the boat to the ramp without the rear straps, I am confident that it would have fallen off on the road.

Oh and all of this and we still only tied up a vacant ramp for about 15 minutes. Nobody was waiting so we took our time. There is 8 ramps there.

 

[Thad]

Re: Boat ramp etiquette

Oh I'm not talking about powerloading.. I mean, that is a GIVEN. I usually start a good 10' out and hold it wide open until the bow gives a little cracking noise.. Then I know it is good and tight on the trailer.

I'm talking about powerUNLOADING.

I unhook everything (including all safety chains), and run at the water at a redline in reverse. Then, when I'm about 10-15 feet from the end of the ramp I slam on my brakes as hard as I can. This way, the boat gently bounces off the trailer, across the cement dock, and gives a nice "splashdown" to let me know that it is in the water. If I time it just right, I don't have to even get the wheels wet. This is especially good for me, since I don't beleive in basic maintenance items like greasing the wheel bearings. I figure that if they never touch water, I don't ever have to worry about putting grease in them.




Your results may vary.

I don't care who you are...that there's funny!!!

Thanks for the great laugh, I needed it today

 

[109jb]

Re: Boat ramp etiquette

That is funny. I actually did something similar to this a few years ago. When I had my Chapperral. I bought a product designed to make your bunks slicker. Well they worked. I unhooked the rear straps, unhooked my front tie down, and proceeded to back in the water. I no sooner started down the ramp and my boat slid right off the trailer, snapped the safety chain, unwound the crank and broke off the strap, and slid right down the ramp into the water. Now that was a sight to behold. Never even got the tires wet.

We pulled it back out and there was just a couple scratches. Luckily it didnt touch the outdrive. We loaded it back up, checked it out, then put it back in the water and went boating. Ran to West Marine when we got back, repaired the broken stuff on the trailer and went home. No harm done. Luckily. I promptly threw that crap in the garbage. I wouldnt recommend it to anyone. Had I towed the boat to the ramp without the rear straps, I am confident that it would have fallen off on the road.

Oh and all of this and we still only tied up a vacant ramp for about 15 minutes. Nobody was waiting so we took our time. There is 8 ramps there.

The problem was not the product. It did EXACTLY what it was supposed to. I use some stuff like that all the time. When you use it on a bunk trailer you have to treat the trailer much like a roller trailer. Never unhook the bow strap/cable, and only loosen the strap/cable a little bit, and then re-latch the winch pawl so the winch can't freewheel. Only when the boat is in the water do you unhook the bow strap fully.

Even when I don't use the slick spray I do it the same way. I have seen far too many boats laying on the ramp on their hulls. On a steep enough ramp a boat can slide off any trailer.

 

[mnypitboat]

Re: Boat ramp etiquette

The problem was not the product. It did EXACTLY what it was supposed to. I use some stuff like that all the time. When you use it on a bunk trailer you have to treat the trailer much like a roller trailer. Never unhook the bow strap/cable, and only loosen the strap/cable a little bit, and then re-latch the winch pawl so the winch can't freewheel. Only when the boat is in the water do you unhook the bow strap fully.

Even when I don't use the slick spray I do it the same way. I have seen far too many boats laying on the ramp on their hulls. On a steep enough ramp a boat can slide off any trailer.

Lessons learned. In the past I had no choice but to unlatch it because it would not come off the trailer unless I put the rear bumper of my truck in the water. So I had to essentially jerk the trailer til it broke free. Or fill the back of the truck up with salt water. So I was only doing it the way I had always done it, but now I had slick bunks.

 

[gixxerjim]

Re: Boat ramp etiquette

Yeah I was about 20 years old and had done a lot of fishing with my dad out of 14' aluminum boats. My older sister and her husband somehow thought this qualified me as an expert who should show them the ropes of putting their new 3000lb Rinker I/O in the water and going boating. Naturally I was too foolish to admit I had no business teaching them boating. First thing at the landing I pull all the links from boat to trailer off. "Alright back her down," I said, "good good". This was a nice steep landing, and short. The entire rig made it aout halfway down the landing before the boat ran right off the back of the trailer at about what seemed like 65mph. BIG splashdown and my sister looked at me and said "was that supposed to happen?"

Not a scratch. Lessons learned all around.

 

[capt sam]

Re: Boat ramp etiquette

you should have responded "HECK YEAH!!!"

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Boat ramp etiquette

I've had situations where I had to tie the boat to the dock and pull the trailer out from underneath it. it's a low tide technique when you can't back down any farther, the boat's not floating and you have a soft mud bottom (this ramp accumulates a foot of mud; we blast it off with a fire hose occasionally.) Certainly not a technique for the uninitiated, but keep it in mind for the right circumstance.

 

[seabob4]

Re: Boat ramp etiquette

I was talking minutes not an hour. I've never owned a trailered boat that takes more than 5 minutes to unload or reload but some of these posters talk like they're trying out for a NASCAR Pit Crew.

Buddy's on board, at the helm. Back the trailer in to where the LU's are submerged. He fires up the motors, I hop out and undo the winch strap. Hop back in, back down, then hit the brakes hard, off he goes, off I go. Probably takes more like 3 minutes.

I work for Proline. We do this all the time. From 17s to 35s, out of Pete's Pier in CR. 2 ramps. You get good at it after a while...

 

[capt sam]

Re: Boat ramp etiquette

I'm usually by myself, so I have to count the two minutes of walking from the dock to the truck, I'm gonna run next time and time myself....lol.

 

[smarks]

Re: Boat ramp etiquette

Now I am pretty good at putting in my boat. My issue is that I do not have a person with me most of the time that can either park the trailer or drive the boat. So I really dont have a choice but to tie up and go park the trailer. I do, however, haul ***. I park as quickly as possibly and jog back. I wish there was another way, but that is just the way it has to be if I want to put the boat in the water.

I like what I read earlier in a post from "JTEXAS"

"I always say, "take all the time you need, just don't take more time than you need."


Your situation is differant in that your by yourself and your moving as fast as you can!

I don't have any problem waiting on people such as yourself
Steve

 

[seabob4]

Re: Boat ramp etiquette

I like what I read earlier in a post from "JTEXAS"

"I always say, "take all the time you need, just don't take more time than you need."


Your situation is differant in that your by yourself and your moving as fast as you can!

I don't have any problem waiting on people such as yourself
Steve

When you're by yourself, we all realize it.

A lot of ramps have small finger piers that extend a ways from the ramp. Launch, back down the end of the pier, tie off, then go park the truck. Others can launch now...

 

[seabob4]

Re: Boat ramp etiquette

Cap'n Sam,
A little aside. Many times we have been held up from either launching or retrieving due to the aforementioned "ramp" afflictions that people suffer/go through. You know what? We don't mind. We're down on the water, away from the plant, and getting paid...

 

[asm_]

Re: Boat ramp etiquette

I guess I am not as harsh those I have encountered at the ramp. Perhaps on "the other end of the spectrum" as someone have pointed out.

More then once, I seen newbie getting yelled at at the ramp for having difficulty loading their boat onto their trailer. They were slow, but not because they prepping their boat at the launch, but simply trying to get the boat onto the trailer safely. Rarely someone actually offer to help...