Stoopid, stoopid day...and many thanks Officer

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Tassie 1

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Not actually boating but did involve a boat and trailer,

decided to get my sons skiboat out of the storage yard a few mins drive away,

he was at work and reminded me by text that it's a heavy trailer to lift up ( jockey wheel bracket is cactus )

replied that l'd take a trolley jack with me to lift the drawbar up of the ground

everything was going fine until l needed to shove the drawbar over a tad to line up to the ball, maybe half an inch,

that's when things went balls up...or down...

hitch slipped of the top of the ball and fell of the jack dropping the drawbar straight onto my foot at the base of my toes...

l found out just how heavy that boat really is
REALLY, REALLY HEAVY...

And my foot was trapped...no matter what l did or tried to do l couldn't lift the drawbar with only one place to get one hand on ( the hitch handle ) to move it at all,

stuck between the car and trailer and not able to extract myself from a fairly simple event was slightly ridiculous and frustrating...and very painful at the same time

Small town, no one around, remote controlled entry and l had the remote 150 yds from the gate and the pain was getting worse...thinking of broken toes/ bones etc

tried scratching gravel and dirt away with my fingers...didn't work

luckily enough l still had my phone in me trackie daks so was able to contact one son but he wouldn't be able to get there for 40 mins or so l bit the bullet and tried to call the local one woman police station but the call was diverted to Hobart HQ and l spoke to a very helpful lady who took all the details and 15 mins later a male police officer parked next to the 8 ft high gate and used the bonnet to climb over it,

l was very grateful when he lifted the rotten thing of me foot...and feeling a bit stoopid as well
if it had been the female officer l would've kissed her...or tried
but

morale of the story?
always carry ya phone with ya...without that l would 've been there a LOT longer,
don't wear crocs when doing stuff like that,
start acting me age...
l ain't a young bloke anymore...lows 60's... just cain't do the things them young 30 yr old blokes do anymore,

went to the docs later...no broken bones just bruising...
cheers
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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glad your ok


I suggest you buy a proper trailer jack for the tongue as a gift to your son
 

gm280

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Interesting, even if painful, story. I have to say you caught me wanting to know how it worked out. So many times we try to short-cut situations and that is when Murphy's law kicks in and we get ourselves in trouble. I have to totally agree with Scott's suggestion of getting a trailer tongue jack.
 

Tassie 1

Chief Petty Officer
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Thanks for those words,
l agree the trailer needs a new jockey wheel bracket welded on,

not so sure l should be the one paying for it though

he has already agreed to pay for that...after looking at my purple, slightly mangled foot

l was doing No.1 son a favor...or at least attempting to lol... by moving HIS boat to MY backyard ( again ) to save him storage fees, at his request,

he will then have two boats in MY driveway and backyard,
can't put either of them at his joint around the corner without major fence/carport surgery

he earns far, far more money than l ever did when working,
more importantly though, drives a BMW x5 so on that point alone should really buy another trailer as the current pos trailer passed it's use by date a few years ago,

yep, short cuts and Murphy's law are the real villians here
cheers
 

poconojoe

Lieutenant Commander
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I guess his trailer jack is welded on instead of bolt-on. Couldn't you just get a bolt-on one instead of worrying about getting it welded?
 

Neverquit

Seaman
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Nov 28, 2018
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If it makes you feel any better I will tell you what a friend of mine did years ago.

He was working as the produce manager at a grocery store and would often have to arrive early to receive delivery's.

Early one cold winter morning he pulled into the parking lot driving his little RX-7.
He put his car keys into the right front pocket of the suit pants he was wearing, gathered his jacket and briefcase then locked the door and swung it shut with his right hand just like he had done hundreds of times before with one exception, this time for some reason his brain forgot to tell his fingers to let go of the door.
With a couple of fingers stuck in the door jamb he said hollering and screaming made him feel a bit better but did him no good as the lot was deserted, yes he did have a cell phone but this was back in the days when cell phones were hard wired into your car so it was out of reach.
As he explained later it was impossible to get his left hand into the bottom of his right pocket to retrieve the key even after partially undoing his pants which he discovered he could not do back up with one hand.

45 minutes he stood there in pain, fingers numb along with the rest of his body because holding your jacket in your hand does not have the same insulating effect as actually wearing it. (go figure).

Finally he saw a car pulling into the lot, it was the cute young gal that worked in the bakery department that he had been hoping to get to know better but not like this.

He called over to her when she got out of her car and asked her to come over to his car.
There he stood hand stuck, shivering, nose running, pants half undone embarrassed as all could be, he then had to convince her to dig around in his front pocket to get the key and unlock the door, fortunately she cooperated, unfortunately after all that he did not manage to woo her into going on a date with him.
 

Tassie 1

Chief Petty Officer
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Apr 13, 2018
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That was a good read as well lol,
you could understand the young lady's reluctance to go anywhere near some lecherous looking bloke with his strides undone and him telling her to put her hand in his pocket...
and her thinking " l'm not falling for that one again "

l used to try something similar on the the girls at school back in the early 70's,

never worked for me though
 

Mopie

Cadet
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Sep 22, 2014
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1. Tassie, If you had called, I would have been there with you trying to get the boat. Hopefully we would have done better, and there well might have been two of us with sore feet.

2. After helping friends, members, and moving literally hundreds of trailers before and after floods; I tend to walk away from JUNK Trailers and Equipment. Flat tires and rust and missing or broken parts are the first warnings.

I have been damaged many times by Junk which people refuse to maintain or repair. It does not bother me to walk away, since it did not bother them to let it rot.
" The Well Intended Rush In"
I have Been One too many times.

Thank You all for posting these experiences. These conversations keep us tuned up and thinking.
 
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