At the ramp.. Wow.

[BuzzStPoint]

Went to launch the boat yesterday evening..

At this ramp it's one stall.
I pull up and see there is a boat in the dock so stop and start to prep the boat. Figure I can take my time.. This guy is clearly having trouble backing his trailer in.. After about 5 attempts, his truck is nearly on the dock and trailer is at an angle in the water.. He starts to load his boat.. (Yes, still halfway jack knifed in the water)

Cussing and yelling at his wife (I assume it's his wife, No girlfriend would put up with that), she's up to her chest in the water trying to put the back of the on and he's tugging on the front. .

10 minutes lapsed here so i figured I would go offer some help. As soon as I get out of my truck I hear the guy yell. "Get it "effin" together there's people waiting to launch their "GD" boats" I just turned around and got back in my truck and thought no way am I approaching this one.

Now he starts to pull his truck out and I hear this awful noise. Not sure what is was, I can only assume it was the trailer/axle being drug because it fell off the concrete part of the ramp. boat tipped at an angle both ways on the trailer. Backs it in again and floats the boat 2 times before he's done...

Retrieval time: 23 minutes
Cuss words out loud: 50+ times
Degrading words to wife: 5-8 times
Looking and sounding like a jackass: 10+ stars

 

[Icyharp]

Re: At the ramp.. Wow.

Geeze and I was thinking that having a guy tell me that I did not have my trailer in the water far enough was bad.

Was thinking us in WI have a tad bit of controllable mannerism, guess not.

BTW I had to remind the guy that told me to go futher in the water twice that I have a roller trailer. So as soon as I fired the motor and my son let the winch lose I was rolling back slack the line get unhooked and ready to go. The guy stared at me and when I came to the dock to grab the kids and wife he said, "Well I be Dam". LOL

 

[lncoop]

Re: At the ramp.. Wow.

Yeah, I've found that it always helps to yell and swear at my wife when she's game enough to try and help me by backing the trailer. Classy.

 

[kcfromohio]

Re: At the ramp.. Wow.

How many empty beer cans did you see on his boat!

 

[TimBobCom]

Re: At the ramp.. Wow.

How many empty beer cans did you see on his boat!

I'd guess no empty beer cans in his boat. He's probably one of those guys who throws them overboard after he chugs.

 

[robert graham]

Re: At the ramp.. Wow.

Yep, lots of verbal abuse always works wonders with the boss-lady!....We always agree that we should set up a video camera and make a movie called "Ramp Fever"....It could be right up there with "Dumb and Dumber', "Larry and Moe Launch The Boat", etc., etc....

 

[JSGOLD]

Re: At the ramp.. Wow.

I will occasioanally "bark" at my wife if need be and visa versa...but the first time I did that at the ramp I would most likely find myself dodging anchors, fishing rods, or maybe even a 16' boat.

 

[sw33ttooth]

Re: At the ramp.. Wow.

yah some people shouldn't own boats because they cant launch or retrieve them effectively even after repetition. last fall i seen this semi back in the water with about a 35 foot trailer the boat was every bit of 33foot. sorry this is long but it was a funny long night.

now first thing is this channel for the boat ramp is about 25-30 feet wide[i know this because i have a 23 foot boat and only a few extra feet to turn around]. this channel is also only 2 feet deep between the launch and lake, where some people do swim so it is tight quarters for my boat then add another 7-10 feet plus its wider the channel also takes 2 tight 90 degree turns. i dont know how they got the boat into the launch physically i dont think i could walk it or pull it with a rope from the dock but they did.

2nd its about 9 pm starting to get dark total time spent loading 2 hours. now the people loading is an 80+ year old hill billy weighing in at maybe 130 lbs. a woman, i think, in a pair of jean overalls, and a shirtless, toothless, hairy type of guy. not trying to judge people by looks, but i want to see there house seriously.

now for the loading as it gets darker they procede to drive the boat onto the trailer, unfortunetly the ramp isnt deep enough. so betty in the overalls jumps off the swim platfrom now wading in 5 feet of water with her overalls on, trying to PUSH!. mean while the old guy is attempting to pull the boat on from bow cleat and a 5/8's rope. lets just say niether of them are doing anything.... so the hairy, shirtless, toothless guy gets in the cab of his peterbuilt and backs the truck in further while the old guy is still pulling. at this point i am enjoying my time since we were camping near by i grabed a chair to watch. after fiddiling around for 2 hours tieing up a 1 launch ramp that by the way no one came to use it luckily, they finnaly got it on crooked but it was far enough on the trailer for them to leave.

my entertainment was over but at least i learned something that day. if the channel between the lake and ramp is small and you have a large boat its probably not a good idea to try and launch and or retrieve from it.

oh yah, almost forget they never put any straps or chains or other safty devices to hold the boat on the trailer