How do you not become "that guy" at the boat ramp?

[Home Cookin']

Re: How do you not become "that guy" at the boat ramp?

guys, let's back up a minute for the new guy who asked the question. We have no idea what kind of ramp he will be using. The crowded lake ramp out west and the way you use it doesn't exist in many places on the east coast. At every ramp, there isn't a "prep area" or side beach and many have courtesy docks and no crowds.
Power loading is an issue that varies by ramp. Even not sinking your trailer.
So the real answer (as some gave) is take an experienced local. If not, go observe (without the boat) and ask opinions of those who seem experienced and squared away.
If you are confined to crowded public ramps, practice backing in an empty parking lot (not at the ramp). Take a day off from work, go to the ramp on a weekday, and practice 4 launch/retrieves. You owe it to yourself and your fellow boaters.

 

[cheejudo]

Re: How do you not become "that guy" at the boat ramp?

Good point about backing the trailer too far. If you can drive the boat up and it bumps the back window of your truck...too far. If you're too far, you'll just float over your trailer and there's nothing to hold it in place. Winching it the last 18"-24" is easy compared to trying to center a boat on a trailer that's too deep.

I cheat at the ramp. I back the trailer right next to the dock, & just walk the boat onto the trailer. I have a bow & stern line in each hand and just drag the boat into position.

Last, make a sign or something that you hang on your truck mirror reminding you to put up the drive. I've scrapped my skeg & prop on a couple of ramps and messed them up.

i LOL'd

 

[jigngrub]

Re: How do you not become "that guy" at the boat ramp?

I'm totally new to the boating world-I've been on a few boats, etc...but I've never launched one or brought one back in myself. Is boat ramp etiquette/skills part of most boater safety/licensing courses? Can anyone recommend a good thread or FAQ?

Don't worry about it, there's no way around it!

At some point in time, you will be "that guy"!

We're depending on you to entertain us, please don't disappoint us!!!

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: How do you not become "that guy" at the boat ramp?

Good points Home Cookin' easy to overlook the different ramp configurations in different parts of the country

 

[cajunman83]

Re: How do you not become "that guy" at the boat ramp?

What I did with my first boat was to go to one of several launches around here that aren't commonly used. ie you don't have juice heads parading around in their 30' Baja's. That gave me the time to myself to try and figure it out, it's a whole lot easier when you don't have 20 people looking you on. All the while you're thinking that they're thinking, "Look at this newbie." It worked for me....happy sails!

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: How do you not become "that guy" at the boat ramp?

In two words.
Pay attention.

Read all the advice here and apply this one the most.

 

[VegasNordie]

Re: How do you not become "that guy" at the boat ramp?

i always tell people for the drain plug deal if you have holes in your steering wheels, that there is a good chance that your drain plug will fit into it, and when the drain plug is not in use to store it there, because if you launch the first thing you are going to see is that your drain plug isnt it...the reason i bring this up is because i have seen numerous people launch and realize their drain plug isnt in, and pull back out of the water to install it...that is a delay, because 9 times out of 10 they are going to wait for the water to drain that has just filled their boat up!

 

[takirb]

Re: How do you not become "that guy" at the boat ramp?

I ran into a few of "those guys" last weekend, First time i ever got really really aggravated at someone at a ramp, but i held my temper and kept my mouth shut. I'd been drinking a bit on the water, and didn't want to be "that other guy" that makes things more entertaining by starting an argument/fight LOL If you launch at a large ramp, make sure you pull to one side or the other and give enough room for the other lane(s) to keep moving, this will help ease "some" of the tension you may feel from others eyeballing you. If you take up the entire ramp to launch your boat, doesn't matter whether you're quick or not, you're gonna be "that guy" in my book....

I know other locations/ramps may not be large enough for 2 boats, but i felt those ramps were the best for me to learn on since i wouldn't be holding "everyone" up if others pulled in to launch while i was there. I still get a lil stage fright if i end up launching at a single launch and others are there waiting on me, though it now only takes me 5 min to put in, crank up, and get outta the way (thanks to iboats engine forums! lol). Once you do it a bit, it'll turn into a methodical process and try your best to stick with that same process each and every time. As stated before, just pay attention! Become complacent about it, and you'll end up making a dummy mistake.

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: How do you not become "that guy" at the boat ramp?

Great post, strongly agree on all, except one piece. My own personal pet peeve is that just because I like my music loud and it may be "noise" to some, it doesnt make me a bad person, or a bad boater. I follow rules and local laws, come to my lake and see I am not going to infringe on you or other boaters rights to exercise my own rights.

Your point about keeping it down (or off, like I do) at the ramp is 100% right in my book, but dont bash a whole category of boaters over a few bad apples, we all are not freaks.

Otherwise a well thought-out post. Thanks.

--Dan

Dan:

You are right, it does not make you a bad person. (Just noticed that you do keep it off at the ramp, Thanks! Great idea!) However here are a couple of points to consider. You play your music as loud as you want, so I do the same, and so does the next guy. Suddenly, there is a mixture of Rap, Southern Gospel, heavy Metal, etc in a testoserone fueled stereo war. Second, what if your music is the one that severly distracts me (in my case, Rap drives me to distraction.) Not your fault, but I am still distracted. As a result, I will be slower and make mistakes. Do you want to wait while I screw up backing my trailer four times? Even more importantly, when I am backing in, my wife may be giving me audio directions since I cannot see the empty trailer out my rear window. I need to hear her, more than you need to hear your music. Also, if someones rug-rat slips out of the car, I need to be able to hear and see everything I can to protect that innocent little brat. Can we just agree to keep the distractions at the ramp to a minimum (be they cell phones, stereo, or whatever)?

 

[NewfieDan]

Re: How do you not become "that guy" at the boat ramp?

Don't worry about it, there's no way around it!

At some point in time, you will be "that guy"!QUOTE]

jigngrub is right. At some point we are all "that guy". A few yaers ago my father was visiting during the summer. me and Dw decided to take him out on the local lake for a bit. He helper egt the boat loaded before we left home. I didn't realize it at the time but he had pulled the kill switch lanyard. So once the boat is off the trailer and truck parked I hop in and try to get the boat started. At the time DD had pushed us off the dock. So there we were floating around the ramp trying to get the boat started on a sunny summer day with everyone watching. All of them giving us those "what's wrong with this guy look?" After a few tries I realize the lanyard was pulled. I reset it and off we go.

Just an example that at somepoint we are all "that guy"

 

[the vision]

Re: How do you not become "that guy" at the boat ramp?

A couple of weeks ago I became "that guy". Retreiving got the boat on the trailer with just a little throttle and hear a grinding. The local ramp has a hole everyone knows about in the middle lane of three. I forgot to trim up skeg went in the hole prop hit the ramp under the water. Needless to say I'm off the water till the prop is fixed or replaced. Moral don't forget to trim up.

 

[DJ]

Re: How do you not become "that guy" at the boat ramp?

Everyone of us has pulled some kind of moron stunt at a ramp. It happens.

What drives me insane is when some people are completely clueless that there are other people in the world.

 

[Sixmark]

Re: How do you not become "that guy" at the boat ramp?

A couple of weeks ago I became "that guy". Retreiving got the boat on the trailer with just a little throttle and hear a grinding. The local ramp has a hole everyone knows about in the middle lane of three. I forgot to trim up skeg went in the hole prop hit the ramp under the water. Needless to say I'm off the water till the prop is fixed or replaced. Moral don't forget to trim up.

Now do you know what creates the holes in the ramp the majority of the time? Power loading of boats "washes out" the area just behind the ramp creating a hole.

Here is a very simple video clip to show the effects. http://www.boat-ed.com/images/animations/powerloading.html

 

[Monte1961]

Re: How do you not become "that guy" at the boat ramp?

Is all we need to do is have some common sense. Look, listen and learn. Take a well rounded boater out with you intill you feel comfortable about doing it yourself. My brother and I at the staging area, (NOT AT THE RAMP) can have the the boat ready for launch in 5 minutes or less. all but the bow line is off and ready to go. As soon as the boat touches the water, we disconnect and the rest is history. Being the fact I and my brother have been in, on around boats all of our lives, we have offered help to the novice and the well lets say pros! I own a 36' foot motorhome that we pull the boat with in summer. You can't see anything intill you turn. So backing down the ramp with trailer, gotta learn to use yer mirrors. Point being, it's easier than looking out the windows or trying to break your neck looking out the back window! Happy boating!

 

[Art Bernard]

Re: How do you not become "that guy" at the boat ramp?

I think the key to not being "that guy" at the ramp is to have all your stuff ready to go, boat loaded, and a smooth, quick launch and retrivel. It takes practice but get yourself a good system and stick to it. Don't be one those guys that makes everyone else wait 15 min because you don't have your stuff together. An example of "that guy" was seen by me today. A guy pulls his suv down to the ramp, unloads his kayak, than takes about 15 min to go thru his car and get all his stuff out and loaded, but the worst part was when he decided to spend another 10 min shooting the **** with someone standing on the dock. There must have been 6 people waiting on him to get out of the way so they could launch and another 3 waiting to get in. pissed allot of people off.


Art

 

[Sixmark]

Re: How do you not become "that guy" at the boat ramp?

Bad luck can rear it's ugly head as well........case in point:

I bring my boat to the landing along with a buddy and his bayliner, I launch mine and tie it off to the dock while letting it warm up as we launch his, we get his in the water and I untie mine to pull around the other side to make room for his, well mine dies backing away from the dock into the narrow waterway.....it will crank all day but no fire in the hole (turned out to be a powerpack).

Anyhow he fires his bayliner up to come get me, pulls alongside and shuts down the motor (safety first) so we can tie off a tow line to the stern of his boat, we are all set for the tow back to the dock, his bayliner won't crank (defective 2 week old starter)

So now the people that show up after the fact are pissed off at us until one guy actually comes out and lends a hand getting us back to the landing, at which time word spreads what happened and we all got a laugh out of it.

It really is what you make of it, you don't always know if it's someone who just doesn't know better, or someone having a legitimate problem..........but be careful, the guy you start screaming at could end up being the last person to go by you when you are stranded on the lake trying to flag someone down to help.

 

[444]

Re: How do you not become "that guy" at the boat ramp?

Had a run-in with one real set of ramp idiots at the lake last year. Me and a friend planned a camping trip and wanted to take my boat. My tow vehicle was down and out so all we had to bring along was his school bus that had been converted into a camper, which we had already planned on taking with us anyway. We were just now going to also have to launch/retrieve with it. Launching the boat with it was fine but one day while we were out in my boat it starts to rain, I mean barely drizzle. So we decide to pack it in for the day, it was time for us to head home anyway. So to retrieve the boat he has to pull my boat trailer up to the ramp, unhook the trailer, turn the bus around and drive the trailer in forward. It's a small bit of extra work that adds maybe 2 or 3 minutes to the whole process. Most people get a kick out of it anyway seeing a 30 year old school bus drive a boat in/out of the water. But these guys were just being total asses about it. We waited for our turn at the ramp and while my friend was turning the bus around, the next guy tries to cut ahead of us inline. And as I'm unhooking the trailer his idiot friend in the boat in the water starts whistling at me which I don't even bother to acknowledge. When the other guy tried to cut in front of me I go up to him and yell at him to wait his turn like we did, mind you there were maybe 2 people waiting behind us. He starts dropping f-bombs at me so I return the favor. I never lose my temper but I came *this* close to clobbering the guy or showing him what a 10,000 pound school bus barreling down on him will do to his truck!

I admit boat launching/retrieving with a school bus isn't ideal but we were in a pinch. If you see a couple guys retrieving with a school bus wouldn't you just say to yourself "wow" and give them the extra few minutes it takes to unhook the trailer and turn the bus around without being used jerk offs about it? After the boat was on the trailer we backed the bus out to the parking area so it's not like we were holding up the ramp after that.

 

[Sixmark]

Re: How do you not become "that guy" at the boat ramp?

Had a run-in with one real set of ramp idiots at the lake last year. Me and a friend planned a camping trip and wanted to take my boat. My tow vehicle was down and out so all we had to bring along was his school bus that had been converted into a camper, which we had already planned on taking with us anyway. We were just now going to also have to launch/retrieve with it. Launching the boat with it was fine but one day while we were out in my boat it starts to rain, I mean barely drizzle. So we decide to pack it in for the day, it was time for us to head home anyway. So to retrieve the boat he has to pull my boat trailer up to the ramp, unhook the trailer, turn the bus around and drive the trailer in forward. It's a small bit of extra work that adds maybe 2 or 3 minutes to the whole process. Most people get a kick out of it anyway seeing a 30 year old school bus drive a boat in/out of the water. But these guys were just being total asses about it. We waited for our turn at the ramp and while my friend was turning the bus around, the next guy tries to cut ahead of us inline. And as I'm unhooking the trailer his idiot friend in the boat in the water starts whistling at me which I don't even bother to acknowledge. When the other guy tried to cut in front of me I go up to him and yell at him to wait his turn like we did, mind you there were maybe 2 people waiting behind us. He starts dropping f-bombs at me so I return the favor. I never lose my temper but I came *this* close to clobbering the guy or showing him what a 10,000 pound school bus barreling down on him will do to his truck!

I admit boat launching/retrieving with a school bus isn't ideal but we were in a pinch. If you see a couple guys retrieving with a school bus wouldn't you just say to yourself "wow" and give them the extra few minutes it takes to unhook the trailer and turn the bus around without being used jerk offs about it? After the boat was on the trailer we backed the bus out to the parking area so it's not like we were holding up the ramp after that.

I would have just backed it in to begin with, but I also have had a CDL for 17 years so I'm used to it. Best thing is to just take some time to practice backing the old banana and get comfortable with it. I have used my Freightliner before to launch a boat as well, and people gave me plenty of room.

 

[df909]

Re: How do you not become "that guy" at the boat ramp?

That would have been pretty funny watching a school bus launch. I think I'd have to hang out to watch.

 

[444]

Re: How do you not become "that guy" at the boat ramp?

It was my friend's bus and my boat was a small 15' glastron gt-150. With the boat being so small, and the fact that you can't really see out the rear window of the bus, backing it with a school bus is tough because you can't see the boat. Puts on a good show though, big school bus launching a tiny speed boat! Got a lot of look from the folks at the beach it was pretty fun the other times we launched/retrieved with it. Don't really want to take that thing again to the lake, last time we averaged 6mpg with it doing 50-55 on the highway!