Funny Ramp Stories/ Boat Ramp Watching

[BoatingCop]

I searched but couldn't find anything on it, but was looking for funny boat ramp stories or anyone else who likes going down to the ramp and just watching people. I remember last year, while prepping the boat in the staging area to launch. I had a truck and trailer drive right past me and began to back down the ramp. He stopped just at the top of the ramp, after he turned around, and this is where he prepped his boat, blocking any one else from using the ramp while he prepped for at least 15 mins!!! He then proceeded to back down at which time the trailer went began to go crooked and he didn't know how to correct it. He finally got the boat launched after a total of about 30 minutes and blocking the entire 2 lane ramp. He got a lot of angry looks lol. Any more stories?? Take care and Happy New Year!!

 

[smallboatlover]

Re: Funny Ramp Stories/ Boat Ramp Watching

ya i went out on the boat parked the truck and came back and the guy next to me made his own parking spot its a two car parking spot it had my truck and some one elses van and this guy came in with a mini van and a trailer and blocked me in i have to pick the trailer up and move it my self thank god for it being a small trailer

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Funny Ramp Stories/ Boat Ramp Watching

Boating Cop I hope you brought pop corn because this is going to be a long thread!! Personally I have never been "That" guy at the ramp, I have made some rookie mistakes just like everyone else though.

Ironically I had a similar situation as you did and I am sure we all have but we (there were three boats with families that the guy passed) simply waited for him to park and finally go out on the boat, once he did we placed his truck on blocks, all four corners.

One time at the same lake the launch line was crawling literally(four lanes), then the park ranger showed up and then another so my wife knowing I am McGyver told me to go figure out what was going on and she would move the truck/trailer up(she rocks), so I go down to the dock where theres probably 30 people looking in the water behind a truck with the trailer 1/4 way in the water.....yep you guessed it the boat never made it back to the trailer and was sitting on the ramp bottom. well nobody knows what to do so in the water I go I got two lines hooked up to the boat one on the bow and one on the stern and then got five or six people to bring the boat up to where the trailer could get under it then I hooked up the trailer wench, we hauled the boat out a little at a time to let the water drain and not overload the trailer, took about 10 minutes once someone got off there backside. Turns out the boat was on the lake, hit a large wake and due to its age suffered some pretty serious damage to the transom joints but god bless her she got all 3 adults and two children back to the dock safely and gave up! This was probably a mid 60's boat and in serious need of a restoration. One of the occupants was the father of the owner and he quickly tried to hand me $50 but I couldn't take it its not me. So I look up and the wife is backing the truck and trailer down the ramp so I run over as this is my job and she rolls down the window and tells me shes tired of waiting on my butt so shes going without me!

Maybe not to funny but its my favorite story

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Funny Ramp Stories/ Boat Ramp Watching

"Stupid Human Tricks" is a great place for these adventures.

 

[BoatingCop]

Re: Funny Ramp Stories/ Boat Ramp Watching

Yeh, I figured it would be a long thread. I always like hearing good ramp stories!

 

[fat fanny]

Re: Funny Ramp Stories/ Boat Ramp Watching

I don't like to poke fun at others inexperience but it is definately the greatest show on earth. Just don't ever be that guy jumping line because there is always someone in line that will not tolerate that behavoir seen it happen (well @ least the result) above said guy jumed line launched pretty quick but I returned to retrieve before him and his rig was parked next to mine and when I went to get the truck and trailer someone behind me inline must have been pretty pissed and removed his trailer tires thing was I didn't see the lug nuts! Those guys always get thiers in the end

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: Funny Ramp Stories/ Boat Ramp Watching

let me start off by saying I am 47 years old and a decent, responsible person who plays by the rules..but.. back in the day..not so much.

back in the day... old girlfriend and I used to stay out very early in the AM partying out on the lake. Being the daring fool I was we would go out hell or high winds. The boat was the old LoneStar El Dorado that was high profile and 780lb bare hull with the 115hp Evinrude we would go anywhere. When time to put the boat back on the trailer the wind was blowing the boat sideways so bad I tied a line to the rear cleat , tied to the loading dock to the side, while I floated the front on. We had consumed many adult beverages and having a hard time. I was pi$$ed off and being a real jerk.I was yelling and cussing at the girlfriend for not being much help. When I winched the boat all the way up over tightened the line to the dock and could not untie it. The wind is blowing like 30 mph sideways, it's 3AM, and I don't have time for this crap. So grabed a beer bottle, broke it on the ramp , ran down and cut the line with it. The girlfriend was watching this from the side of the boat and when I broke the bottle and ran towards her and the boat, thought I was comming after HER with the broken bottle! She took of running down the road. I got in the truck and drove & picked her up 1/4mile down the road.

Needless to say I don't behave like this anymore( now I have a slip! lol) and I am horrified when I see someone berating thier GF/wife while having trouble at the ramp. All I ask my wife to do now is just sit & look pretty !

 

[BoatingCop]

Re: Funny Ramp Stories/ Boat Ramp Watching

let me start off by saying I am 47 years old and a decent, responsible person who plays by the rules..but.. back in the day..not so much.

back in the day... old girlfriend and I used to stay out very early in the AM partying out on the lake. Being the daring fool I was we would go out hell or high winds. The boat was the old LoneStar El Dorado that was high profile and 780lb bare hull with the 115hp Evinrude we would go anywhere. When time to put the boat back on the trailer the wind was blowing the boat sideways so bad I tied a line to the rear cleat , tied to the loading dock to the side, while I floated the front on. We had consumed many adult beverages and having a hard time. I was pi$$ed off and being a real jerk.I was yelling and cussing at the girlfriend for not being much help. When I winched the boat all the way up over tightened the line to the dock and could not untie it. The wind is blowing like 30 mph sideways, it's 3AM, and I don't have time for this crap. So grabed a beer bottle, broke it on the ramp , ran down and cut the line with it. The girlfriend was watching this from the side of the boat and when I broke the bottle and ran towards her and the boat, thought I was comming after HER with the broken bottle! She took of running down the road. I got in the truck and drove & picked her up 1/4mile down the road.

Needless to say I don't behave like this anymore( now I have a slip! lol) and I am horrified when I see someone berating thier GF/wife while having trouble at the ramp. All I ask my wife to do now is just sit & look pretty !

lol We all have our moments! Having a slip really helps with things!! Great stories so far!

 

[JBF 1962]

Re: Funny Ramp Stories/ Boat Ramp Watching

Oh yeah, this is gonna be a good thread. There's a spot that we like to tie up for the night that also has a large n busy ramp. It's always entertaining to have afternoon refreshments and watch the antics that go on. Wish I could think of something especially crazay other than the usual stuff, something will come to mind...

 

[Lastfin]

Re: Funny Ramp Stories/ Boat Ramp Watching

Back in the 80's we were at Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City. My buddy had a 25' trailerable sailboat he pulled with a CJ 7 Jeep. The city dock had a steep and deep ramp from the Ranger station. The ramp also had a railway system on it. My buddy Larry was on the boat and another friend was backing the trailer into the water. After the boat was launched the friend tried to pull the Jeep out, but according to him, the clutch was not engaging until the very top of the pedal throw (I can attest to the truth of that as I had driven this Jeep). With the engine on high rev, the trailer and Jeep disappeared backwards into the lake. At the last second Larry yelled to his buddy to get out of the Jeep, at which point he bailed out of the drivers window!

I arrived at the ramp about 2:00 that afternoon (we had early shift in the Air Force then). I see my buddy diving in the water while his boat is tied to the dock. Thinking that he had lost his keys, I walked out onto the dock where about 6 people where standing around watching. I said to another friend "what's Larry looking for?" He say's "Jeep" at which point I started laughing hysterically. The story I mentioned above was then relayed to me.

My buddy goes under about 6 more times while I'm watching. The Rangers finally show up and Larry is talking to them. The Rangers pull out the rail cable system and Larry starts diving with the cable, all the while getting more direction from the early observers from the dock. He finally comes up and announces "Found it!" About 4-5 more dives and he finally gets the cable around the front bumper of the Jeep. Meanwhile a crowd continues to gather at the dock and the story is continually retold.

As they winch the vehicle out of the lake the top of the windshild breaks water and the crowd, now about 30 people, erupt into applause. The Jeep and the 25' of trailer are winched to the top of the ramp. One of the spectators was a mechanic and he volunteered to help save the Jeep. They immediately pulled the spark plugs and drained the oil pan. The mechanic said about 4 quarts of water drained from the oil pan before any oil was seen. The battery still worked and they cranked the engine until all of the water exited the cylinders. The oil filter was replaced along with some fresh oil, the plugs reinstalled and the engine fired right up! About an hourr later I saw Larry sailing his boat on the lake.

An amazing but one of may true ramp stories. Did I mention the time I saw a Hobie cat hit a Corvette? Yea, that's another story.

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: Funny Ramp Stories/ Boat Ramp Watching

aaww man i think you topped me!

once present wife & I were out on the lake partying till the wee hours of the AM ...back in the day...and I lived "in town" with her & kept the boat parked on trailer at the closest apts. to the lake where I used to live.
I back the trailer into the spot , unhook everything, and I'm loading stuff from the boat to the truck. She decides to " help me" . when we pull out to leave-BAM!- the boat trailer is following us. We jump out of the truck to see what happened and the saftey chains are attached to the hitch. I say " Why did you hook them back up???" She says " Cuz THATS WHERE THEY GO!!""

P.S -she was blond at the time.

 

[veritas honus]

Re: Funny Ramp Stories/ Boat Ramp Watching

One of the times I was doing Rescue Boat drills on the Flint River as a Firefighter, An overweight, overbearing loudmouth was excercizing his freedom of speech... Complaining about the Fire Department using recreational "Public property" to waste his time and make him wait. We, of course, immediately stopped what we were doing, quickly secured our equipment, and moved aside for this "gentleman" to launch. He was launching solo and refused our offer of help. While standing on the bow after rather skillfully floating the boat off the trailer, he tied the bowline to the dock, stood staight up, put his hands on his hips with his chest inflated almost as much as his gut, put his hands on his hips superhero style, flashed us all a dirty smug look, and fell backward into the water. We were very professional about the whole incident. We reacted instantly which turned out to be a good thing. He swallowed a lot of water and aspirated some. As he was in no condition to refuse our help any longer, he ended up thanking us as the responding ambulance crew was assessing him.

 

[fisherguy123]

Re: Funny Ramp Stories/ Boat Ramp Watching

Around Sept every year a lot of people go fun fishing for mackeral in the bay here. We only have one free public boat ramp to use and most people know the unwrriten rules to launch and clear the area as quick as you can. We got down to the ramp at about 6am one morning and low and behold there was a shiny new truck and empty trailer parked on the ramp. A couple of us regulars hadn`t seen this vehicle before ,so he must have got there early and took off out in the bay with no regard for anyone but himself. We the had to go down to the local marina and pay $5 a head. I then noticed this was ebb tide. Anyways we came back several hours later and guess what....ya the water was over the trailer and in to the back doors of the pickup. there is some justice after all !!!!!

 

[GLENN M]

Re: Funny Ramp Stories/ Boat Ramp Watching

me and my dad arrived at boat launch about 630 am,false creek van b.c,tide was out along way and ramp was really steep.we got ready for our turn and dad noticed one of the boats ahead of us was the exact same as ours 19.6 ft kc thermoglass with 120 mercrusier.as we were watching him back down ramp he hit his brakes and the boat kept going came off the trailer a good 20 ft short of the water.they took bow line off to back down,my dad no longer had to imagine things going wrong.worse part was them dragging it back onto trailer watching the leg grinding along boat ramp i thought my dad was gonna cry.

 

[DianneB]

Re: Funny Ramp Stories/ Boat Ramp Watching

And some people wonder why I spend so much time aboard my boat at the slip and never go anywhere .... My slip has a perfect view of the boat launch .... I don't even need a television for entertainment! I see the efficient folks, in and out in 3 minutes, and I see the ones who need 45 minutes to launch or retrieve the boat.

 

[texasabil]

Re: Funny Ramp Stories/ Boat Ramp Watching

OK twenty years ago my brother in law wanted to go on a fishing trip. so we went to the Colorado river a friend told us where a boat ramp was and you could camp there.well he had a ford ranger he said ill drive we can take ur boat it was a 15 ft Arkansas traveler with a 20 hp Johnson. well we got there at 12 pm and the ramp was narrow one and very muddy I told him what ever you do don't run ur truck off of it. lol as he was backing me down I was in the boat and he was doing fine well i'm getting the motor ready hooking the fuel line up getting it ready and bam he ran his back tire off the ramp well being nothing but mud we where stuck!!!!! 200 miles from anyone we knew!!!! so we left the truck there for about 6 hours went fishing and got back i took a shovel and dug out put some logs and nothing his rear end of the truck was setting on the ramp. well it was dark no cell phones we went fishing got back at 11 that night seen some head lights it was a taxes game warden he pulled up and pulled us out!!! And at every family reunion i tell this story and they give him hell lol

 

[avenger79]

Re: Funny Ramp Stories/ Boat Ramp Watching

Boating Cop I hope you brought pop corn because this is going to be a long thread!! Personally I have never been "That" guy at the ramp, I have made some rookie mistakes just like everyone else though.

Ironically I had a similar situation as you did and I am sure we all have but we (there were three boats with families that the guy passed) simply waited for him to park and finally go out on the boat, once he did we placed his truck on blocks, all four corners.

One time at the same lake the launch line was crawling literally(four lanes), then the park ranger showed up and then another so my wife knowing I am McGyver told me to go figure out what was going on and she would move the truck/trailer up(she rocks), so I go down to the dock where theres probably 30 people looking in the water behind a truck with the trailer 1/4 way in the water.....yep you guessed it the boat never made it back to the trailer and was sitting on the ramp bottom. well nobody knows what to do so in the water I go I got two lines hooked up to the boat one on the bow and one on the stern and then got five or six people to bring the boat up to where the trailer could get under it then I hooked up the trailer wench, we hauled the boat out a little at a time to let the water drain and not overload the trailer, took about 10 minutes once someone got off there backside. Turns out the boat was on the lake, hit a large wake and due to its age suffered some pretty serious damage to the transom joints but god bless her she got all 3 adults and two children back to the dock safely and gave up! This was probably a mid 60's boat and in serious need of a restoration. One of the occupants was the father of the owner and he quickly tried to hand me $50 but I couldn't take it its not me. So I look up and the wife is backing the truck and trailer down the ramp so I run over as this is my job and she rolls down the window and tells me shes tired of waiting on my butt so shes going without me!

Maybe not to funny but its my favorite story

love both of those.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Funny Ramp Stories/ Boat Ramp Watching

I'm soooooo with you Dianne I love the fact that here in Colorado we have very large ramps and boat loitering areas as my wife and I regularly put the boat on the water and anchor a couple hundred feet from the ramp and enjoy the festivities!! Seems to me May and June seem to have the funniest material. Easy to be out of the way and still get impressive audio!!

VH Now theres Karma!!

 

[texasabil]

Re: Funny Ramp Stories/ Boat Ramp Watching

Well I have seen my share lol. on lake Brownwood in texas last year I purchased 6 lake lots on brownwood lake and I have my own ramp now its very nice. the local ramp here isn't bad until the holidays you can tell all the first time boat owners lol.I watched a guy cuss his gf or wife she could not back she tried for 30 min he was in the boat yelling at her calling her some bad names.well she got it done he loaded the boat and our ramp was covered in slick moss when he went to pull the boat he just slid. i let him go for about 15 min as no one was waiting on him i pulled him out his gf or wife took off walking he said what is her problem i said you where saying some pretty bad things to her he said i was just mad but I showed my wife how to back me down a ramp deer hunt,and run a tractor !!!

 

[SangerTom]

Re: Funny Ramp Stories/ Boat Ramp Watching

That truly is when Stupidity is Painful

One of the times I was doing Rescue Boat drills on the Flint River as a Firefighter, An overweight, overbearing loudmouth was excercizing his freedom of speech... Complaining about the Fire Department using recreational "Public property" to waste his time and make him wait. We, of course, immediately stopped what we were doing, quickly secured our equipment, and moved aside for this "gentleman" to launch. He was launching solo and refused our offer of help. While standing on the bow after rather skillfully floating the boat off the trailer, he tied the bowline to the dock, stood staight up, put his hands on his hips with his chest inflated almost as much as his gut, put his hands on his hips superhero style, flashed us all a dirty smug look, and fell backward into the water. We were very professional about the whole incident. We reacted instantly which turned out to be a good thing. He swallowed a lot of water and aspirated some. As he was in no condition to refuse our help any longer, he ended up thanking us as the responding ambulance crew was assessing him.