CoachHolland
Petty Officer 2nd Class
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2004
- Messages
- 165
Well, I took both my parents out on my boat for the first time last weekend. I got by first boat at the young age of 30 a few months back and when I first got it, the good ol' fatherly advice started flowing about how to operate a boat and dock and undock and trim and how to manuever the trailer how to control her and...<br /><br />It goes on for hours. I had never really been on a boat before, but always wanted one. Finally, I was making enough money to go out and get a decent one, so I did it and here I am with my stories.<br /><br />( We'll leave my first time out trying to unload and leaving the transon tie downs on for another day 
)<br /><br />Okay, to back peddal a little... I took my dad out without my mom the weekend before. Let's just say that he had a bit of a difficult time keeping the trailer straight, nearly jackknifing it on a couple of occassions while backing up. I took over and shot her down straight as an arrow.<br /><br />Rookie luck I guess. <br /><br />Anywhoo back to last weekend... So after a great day at the lake doing a bit of tubing and having a ball out on her, it is time to come in. I had let my dad drive the boat most of the day (it was his second time out on it), so I volunteered to go get the Durango while he brought her in. Since he was the one who taught me (in words at least) on how to practice out on the open water, I figured I'd let him do the honors. Especially when he had such a problem last time backing the trailer down.<br /><br />So, here I came down the ramp, straight as an arrow per usual (after lots of practice at a large parking lot, per dad's advice). I lower the trailer into the water and here he comes.<br /><br />Nope.. misses the trailer by a good ten feet, so he backs up and tries again, but loses his concept of steering while in reverse and ends up having to turn all the way around and come back in from the edge of the no wake zone.<br /><br />Try number two... it's obvious he's nowhere close again and about this time a pontoon starts unloading. The guy in the truck beside me looks a bit amused and I'm just hanging my head down. He looks at his guy on the pontoon and says not to unload yet... they (us) will be awhile.<br /><br />Third try, he's coming up good this time, but for some reason cuts it at the last second and the transom skews.. I try to tell him I'll just get in the water and right the boat from the back, but no go... he backs off in reverse again (starting to do the same 360) and I take off in the water after him, swim a bit out to the boat and take over the controls.<br /><br />He mumbles a bit about the current and I let him off at the dock to let him go to my Durango.<br /><br />I pull in to the trailer, came in perfect, hitched the bow strap and hopped in the truck and off we went to get her ready for the road.<br /><br />Moral of the story. Father knows best, but father may not always know how to *do it* the best.
)<br /><br />Okay, to back peddal a little... I took my dad out without my mom the weekend before. Let's just say that he had a bit of a difficult time keeping the trailer straight, nearly jackknifing it on a couple of occassions while backing up. I took over and shot her down straight as an arrow.<br /><br />Rookie luck I guess. <br /><br />Anywhoo back to last weekend... So after a great day at the lake doing a bit of tubing and having a ball out on her, it is time to come in. I had let my dad drive the boat most of the day (it was his second time out on it), so I volunteered to go get the Durango while he brought her in. Since he was the one who taught me (in words at least) on how to practice out on the open water, I figured I'd let him do the honors. Especially when he had such a problem last time backing the trailer down.<br /><br />So, here I came down the ramp, straight as an arrow per usual (after lots of practice at a large parking lot, per dad's advice). I lower the trailer into the water and here he comes.<br /><br />Nope.. misses the trailer by a good ten feet, so he backs up and tries again, but loses his concept of steering while in reverse and ends up having to turn all the way around and come back in from the edge of the no wake zone.<br /><br />Try number two... it's obvious he's nowhere close again and about this time a pontoon starts unloading. The guy in the truck beside me looks a bit amused and I'm just hanging my head down. He looks at his guy on the pontoon and says not to unload yet... they (us) will be awhile.<br /><br />Third try, he's coming up good this time, but for some reason cuts it at the last second and the transom skews.. I try to tell him I'll just get in the water and right the boat from the back, but no go... he backs off in reverse again (starting to do the same 360) and I take off in the water after him, swim a bit out to the boat and take over the controls.<br /><br />He mumbles a bit about the current and I let him off at the dock to let him go to my Durango.<br /><br />I pull in to the trailer, came in perfect, hitched the bow strap and hopped in the truck and off we went to get her ready for the road.<br /><br />Moral of the story. Father knows best, but father may not always know how to *do it* the best. 
