mikel1291979
Petty Officer 2nd Class
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2010
- Messages
- 106
So I got my first boat about 3 months ago. 1986 Bayliner Capri. Little 16 footer with a force 85 on the back. Not the greatest boat in the world, but hey its paid for and with the exception of a stator the thing has never let me down. I bought the boat on a Wednesday and put it in the water on Saturday. Friday night I stayed up late reading the stupid human tricks thread, watching youtube videos about stupid boat launches and had worked my self into a nervous frenzy. I knew so many things could go wrong and I was determined I was going to get it right.
First time out my dad went with me as he has boating experience and I did not. I knew all the steps and he just basically reinforced them. As we were getting ready to back it into the water he went to remove the winch strap and I started yelling dont take that out till Im in the water!! He said he always did, and I referred him to Google to look at the hundreds of boats that fell off the trailer going down the boat ramp. He rolled his eyes and said fine. Launch and recovery went flawlessly.
Cut to 2 months later and now I have some confidence, and I have yet to make a mistake, so Im border line cocky. In the boat staging area I take off my transom straps, check my plug and Im ready to go. Back the boat in, take the bow strap off and push her into the water. Park the truck and get in the boat with the nagging feeling something is wrong. Lower the motor start her up and take off. 30 seconds later i realize I didnt take the mother******* transom saver off! Go back to the dock and its not on the trailer, swim up to the boat and its not attached to the motor either.
Having no idea how important this piece of equipment is or if its safe to tow without it. 6 hours later, the wife has called a friend to take her home, the daughter has called a friend to take her to the mall and Im still diving underwater looking for this thing......
Yes I finally found it. It did stay on the trailer as it turns out. Some nice guy saw me park and pulled it out of the trailer and put it in the back of my truck so it wouldnt get stolen. He explained this through tears after I told him how I spent my day.
First time out my dad went with me as he has boating experience and I did not. I knew all the steps and he just basically reinforced them. As we were getting ready to back it into the water he went to remove the winch strap and I started yelling dont take that out till Im in the water!! He said he always did, and I referred him to Google to look at the hundreds of boats that fell off the trailer going down the boat ramp. He rolled his eyes and said fine. Launch and recovery went flawlessly.
Cut to 2 months later and now I have some confidence, and I have yet to make a mistake, so Im border line cocky. In the boat staging area I take off my transom straps, check my plug and Im ready to go. Back the boat in, take the bow strap off and push her into the water. Park the truck and get in the boat with the nagging feeling something is wrong. Lower the motor start her up and take off. 30 seconds later i realize I didnt take the mother******* transom saver off! Go back to the dock and its not on the trailer, swim up to the boat and its not attached to the motor either.
Having no idea how important this piece of equipment is or if its safe to tow without it. 6 hours later, the wife has called a friend to take her home, the daughter has called a friend to take her to the mall and Im still diving underwater looking for this thing......
Yes I finally found it. It did stay on the trailer as it turns out. Some nice guy saw me park and pulled it out of the trailer and put it in the back of my truck so it wouldnt get stolen. He explained this through tears after I told him how I spent my day.