Well this one is not half as good as the others, but I wanted to share a newbie story and this is only my first season as a boat owner, I am sure the good ones are waiting for me
. Oboy.<br /><br />I have been around boats off and on for years through friends and such, I was the one to get the truck / trailer or hitch up. Also I am not sure of all the correct terms for the components that make up a tongue so I'll fake it.<br /><br />When I first picked up our boat the salesman hitched it up for me ( I had not hitched up our boat yet) and I headed home. So now we are ready for our first boating trip. I get off of work, it is about 4:30pm the kids have started getting things together. I back the truck up and lower the tongue down. Odd, it does not seat down all of the way on the ball, raise it back up and look up inside the tongue all looks fine, lower again, nope still will not sit down on the ball. Raise it back up and look again, I never really understood how those things worked anyway, another glance, nothing has changed in there. After much head scratching the rest of the family is ready to go (its is about 5:30 now) and they are outside helping me with questions like "Honey are you sure the ball is the right size?". I start getting serious so I get the tools (including the hammer) and start loosing up the 'clamp fork' because I can see that it is not going back far enough to allow the ball to go up inside the tongue. This took several loosening adjustments, some prying with screw drivers, hammer work and lots of raising and lowering to get the 'fork' back far enough to allow the ball to pass it, during this time a neighbor also shows up, same question. "Are you sure the ball is the correct size?". <br /><br />Guys I drove home with it, remember (also checked the top of the ball and the top of the tongue, just in case)!!<br /><br />I finally get the tongue to accept the ball (its about 6:15, 45 minutes to get the tongue on the ball, the kids are curious if we are still going out, I am curious why I had to loosen this thing up, the wife wonders if I know what I am doing, the neighbor wonders what I am doing too). Now the 'draw lever' (where the pad lock goes) won't go down to draw the clamp up to the ball, it only goes down about halfway, the 'clamp fork' is loose as can be and still stay attached. Now its about 6:30, the family is in the house, the neighbor has gone home and I am still under the tongue trying to hitch up the boat. Its time to REALLY figure out how this thing works, I finally notice that the 'clamp fork' is not supposed to slide under a pin it is supposed to go over a pin that goes through the tongue, must have come off when I unhitched
<br /><br />We made it out to the water about 7:00, we can now be on the road in about 15 minutes, that's more like it.<br /><br />Lesson: learn how those simple things work, don't take them for granted!! <br /><br />Thanks again for such a fun forum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
