Safety officers

[LilRedNeckGirl]

on the Memorial day weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting both the marinne police and the game wardens at our home port boat ramp.
it was the end of the day, and boasting of their daily catch of drunks, over the limit fishermen, and safety violations, thay were buisy pulling their boats from the river.
the first boat, while attempting to load, was having a few issues with lineing up to trailer, so the cop jumps in it, fires the engine, and attempts to drive onto the trailer. Apparently he didnt see the sign warning of drive on loading, and as he passed the stop curb at the submerged end of the ramp, he promptly removed half the blades on this drive unit as it struck bottom concrete at half throttle.
Then the next boat lines up, but the trailer isnt back far enough, so the game waren jumps in the tow vehicle, throws it in reverse, and pushes the cop thats standing between the truck and trailer assisting with the loading, into waist deep water.
Ahh, the fine example these guys set as to proper observation of posted safety signs, commen sence, and basic marine skills.
Both crews were noticably absent from the river the following day.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Safety officers

on the Memorial day weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting both the marinne police and the game wardens at our home port boat ramp.
it was the end of the day, and boasting of their daily catch of drunks, over the limit fishermen, and safety violations, thay were buisy pulling their boats from the river.
the first boat, while attempting to load, was having a few issues with lineing up to trailer, so the cop jumps in it, fires the engine, and attempts to drive onto the trailer. Apparently he didnt see the sign warning of drive on loading, and as he passed the stop curb at the submerged end of the ramp, he promptly removed half the blades on this drive unit as it struck bottom concrete at half throttle.
Then the next boat lines up, but the trailer isnt back far enough, so the game waren jumps in the tow vehicle, throws it in reverse, and pushes the cop thats standing between the truck and trailer assisting with the loading, into waist deep water.
Ahh, the fine example these guys set as to proper observation of posted safety signs, commen sence, and basic marine skills.
Both crews were noticably absent from the river the following day.

That would be excellent video for the loca TV station.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Safety officers

In the end, they were just people like us after a long day in the sun, wanting to go home, and not paying attention to what they doing. Just goes to show that we're all human.

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: Safety officers

After a full day of dealing with drunken fools, they probably were drunk from the fumes alone. Seriously, after a long hot day WORKING in the sun, I would tend to cut them some slack. I have never been unreasonably harassed by a water cop. They have always been fair (or even overly so) and friendly.

TerryMSU

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: Safety officers

A Law Enforcement Officer should not be doing things that would result in tickets for a private citizen, especially in a public venue. End of a long, hot day working in the son or not - That's what WE PAY them for. No slack, they have to obey the same laws/regulations they are PAID to enforce. Not a higher standard - the same standard.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Safety officers

around here, where we have several different law enforcement agencies on the water as well as military ops and Coast Guard Auxilary, we have those who are skilled boaters who follow the rules including courtesy as to wakes; those who know absolutely nothing and make bone-headed errors, those who think rules and courtesy don't apply to them, and they wake small boats, cut lines, damage your boat while boarding "just because they can" (like the old one about the dog). The CG Aux can get power-hungry. A lot of the non-military LEO's are just like other friendly boaters, and many game wardens are great sources of fishing and hunting info.

I think in the OP's case the LEO's were in the wrong. It is their duty, as well as their job, to follow the rules both to set a good example, and to instill respect for their position and the law. These guys blew it.

 

[12vMan]

Re: Safety officers

In the end, they were just people like us after a long day in the sun, wanting to go home, and not paying attention to what they doing. Just goes to show that we're all human.

Wait a minute...they're not human...are they?

All kidding aside, I'm with HC..they blew it, but they're the law and they will hardly give themselves a ticket. If it's us after a long day..on a boat..in the sun.. they certainly would

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Safety officers

I never meant to imply that they should be given a break, unless we would get a break for the same thing. The poster that said that they should be held to the same standard is correct. Everyone should. I just mentioned that no one is infallible. Perhaps I would have offered assistance, depending on the tone of the situation. I wasn't there...

I have never been boarded, but pulled over 4 times. Twice for what they considered to be higher than idle (just fast enough to maintain steerage going downstream) and twice for spot checks. All times I was treated graciously and politely, which I returned as well. Never any citation.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Safety officers

At least in my area, you could potentially have local police, 2 different counties, or state game wardens all patrolling the same area. As our summers are about 2 weeks long!, nobody has a dedicated force for water patrols. They all do water operations as a side job. With that said, most are not boat experts, and may have very little experience on the water before they started the job. And a lot of things in boating can't be picked up by reading a manual or watching a video, its hands on training with someone more experienced.

I've helped out water patrols on more than one occasion, including pulling them off a sandbar, and backing a state vehicle down the ramp.

 

[Guest]

Re: Safety officers

Guess that goes show us all that THEY are human just like the rest of us With one exempion " THEY KNOW BETER THEN WE DO" because of their SPECIAL training. :facepalm: Ya right

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Safety officers

I don?t think I would allow anyone to load my boat, or drive my tow vehicle, ever. Looks like a law suit in the make?s IMO. I?m sure they were trying to help but in the end they don?t know my boat or tow vehicle and I?d hate to see anyone damage anything.

 

[sw33ttooth]

Re: Safety officers

guess who gets to pay for a new prop, every single one of us! i alway power load even when theres a sign a 23 foot boat going on bunks is a long and hard crank. easier to lift outdrive and drive up, loads perfect every time!

 

[scrit9mm]

Re: Safety officers

1. It wasn't their boat so why care if they damage it.
2. Power hungry people are everywhere, remember that kid you picked on in 5th grade, he may be a cop now, and he likes showing off.
3. He doesnt care about a prop! We all just bought that boat a new one. Tax money.

Dont get me wrong, I am sure the good and helpful officers are aggrevated by these jack-holes just as much as we are.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Safety officers

guess who gets to pay for a new prop, every single one of us! i alway power load even when theres a sign a 23 foot boat going on bunks is a long and hard crank. easier to lift outdrive and drive up, loads perfect every time!

And this is exactly why the ramps are screwed up! If you can't crank the boat up, put the trailer a little deeper. There is absolutely NO REASON to power load a boat! They float on.

 

[Cap’n Ray]

Re: Safety officers

I have to agree with Fireman, my two most recent boats were 27' cabin cruisers and I never had to power load either of em. Idle speed to get lined up going the right direction then drop it in neutral and start raising the drives as the bow taps the trailer. My old Carver was on a bunk trailer, and the Bayliner was on an EZ-Load (rollers) but both loaded quite nicely the last few feet with the winch.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Safety officers

guess who gets to pay for a new prop, every single one of us! i alway power load even when theres a sign a 23 foot boat going on bunks is a long and hard crank. easier to lift outdrive and drive up, loads perfect every time!

Just for clarification, can you be specific as to your conception of powerloading? It's been my experience that definitions vary. Idling your boat onto the bunks until they're seated is one thing (and isn't really powerloading), while gunning the engine to get the boat within a few inches of the bow stop is quite another and won't earn you many friends since it can create scour holes at the bottom of the ramp.

 

[JSGOLD]

Re: Safety officers

I see people even at our small local lake firing up their 50-100-even 200HP motors just to shove their fishing boats on the trailor....and it is a 10HP max lake. Really makes a mess at the dock. Always puzzled me why they do this except being lazy.

One of the weirdest things I have seen as far as saftey officers go was about three years ago. Me and the wife were fishing at a large lake and three saftey boats came in to the dock there to check people going in and out, people fishing off the bank, and have a general pow wow I guess. One of the boats was running idle, and was not anchored but was facing into the bank we were on. The driver put the boat into the bank, left the motor running in gear and jumped out for about 3-4 minutes while it idled. I guess he was pretty good at this as the boat sat there and simply churned water. Still seemed odd to me.

 

[Splat]

Re: Safety officers

This makes me want to post the video that's on my phone of the coast guard laying on the throttle at the ramp to get that last few inches up the trailer.

Bill