if not one thing, another - dissappointing outing

[jasperpso2]

well, i got off work late, and the river was crazy with the festival going on.. right off the bat, when trying to get anchored in, somehow, my prop got caught on the anchor rope... im not gonna try to give a excuse, but it happened.. anyways, i put on a life jacket, and jumped in the river, and got it untangled, and thank goodness, i dont think there was any damage?? so we go for a short cruise, and then i load up, cause i am a little frazzled, and it looks like rain.. so i get it on the trailer, and up the ramp, and i strap it down and get the heck heck out of there.. i get home and there was a 6 inch long stick wedged between the pontoon and the trailer, and i dont like how it looks, wedged in there, and i am worried it might cause a dent!? and i cant lift the pontoon to remove it, no way.. it is pouring rain, and late, so i am gonna take it down to the river in the morning to take a test run to satisfy me that i didnt hurt anything, and get it reloaded minus the stick... what a nerve rattling evening..

am i freakin out over nothing about this stick thing?? i live only live 1 mile from the boat ramp, and at slow in town speeds.. it looks like it is pushing in on the outside lower edge of the pontoon, but i am guessing? it will reshape once the stick isnt pushing against it.. it is real soggy, and i dont 'think' it could puncture it??

also, anyone ever made a newbie mistake like me and get a rope caught on the prop at very slow speed? do you think i could be lucky, or would you guess i caused damage? it did seem to run ok going home, but it freaked me out..

thanks for any responses..

 

[lmuss53]

Re: if not one thing, another - dissappointing outing

I've owned boats for 35 years and I wound a line up in the prop last week. I got the bright idea of putting a 4 foot piece of line on the swing down ladder I installed to retrieve it with. I just didn't think of everything that could happen to that line and it ended up in the prop. It wrapped up tight and about tore the ladder off the boat before it stalled out. I unwound it and moved on. I don't think you hurt anything but watch and SNIFF for signs of lower unit oil. If there isn't a puddle under it in the morning you are probably OK.

I also don't think the stick in between the tube and trailer will hurt much either. Take the boat off the trailer and run it up to the bank. Get in the water and do a touchy feely examination of the area the stick was hitting. If you don't feel any big gouges all is probably well.

Relax and enjoy your time on the boat, the newbie stuff will pass and you'll hopefully find your boating time takes away from your stress level in life, not adds to it.

 

[5150abf]

Re: if not one thing, another - dissappointing outing

Even if it did dent it it is probably a small one and other than having a small dent it won't hurt the boat and you won't notice any difference in performance so ya you are freaking a little.

I try to look at those trips as, ya there were a couple problems but I still got out, if life was always smooth what fun would that be.

 

[EGlideRider]

Re: if not one thing, another - dissappointing outing

You are probably fine with the stick. You will always make newbie, and oldie, mistakes. That's part of boating. In a few months, you'll look back on these events and have a good laugh. And you'll retell the tale many times.

As my dad said many times. "Learn by the mistakes of others, you won't live long enough to make them all yourself."

 

[lncoop]

Re: if not one thing, another - dissappointing outing

Sounds like you're SOL. Better just scrap the whole rig and start over. Just kidding. Those little mishaps are drops in the bucket. You should be fine. As others have said, just take a good close look at the LU to make sure all is well (if you were able to remove the rope that easily it most likely is) and if you get a spare hour drop the barge in the water so you can perform a stickectomy. Boating, baby! Gotta love it!

 

[PGFISHER]

Re: if not one thing, another - dissappointing outing

Had a fishnet type screen hooked to the bimini top with shower curtain rings.
Anchor slipped and we were headed for the rocks in a stiff breeze. Just as I fired up the outboard, the screen caught the wind and one end came loose. Of course it went into the prop. Leaning over ihe poopdeck to untangle is no fun.

 

[EGlideRider]

Re: if not one thing, another - dissappointing outing

Had my SeaDoo tied to my boat while anchored in the lake. The line was tied around the mirror of the SeaDoo. Looked up and the line had come untied from the boat and the SeaDoo was about 10 yards away. Put on a life jacket, jumped in and retrieved the SeaDoo. I goosed the motor, the line got caught in the jet pump, jerked a $120 mirror off the SeaDoo, and the mirror struck my knee and I could barely walk for about a week.

All who were onboard now laugh at the incident every time it is mentioned, but there was no laughing at the time.

 

[jasperpso2]

Re: if not one thing, another - dissappointing outing

took her out today, no mechanical issues, and the pontoon is fine.. went out for the whole afternoon, and had another great day.. last night is already a memory.. thanks again guys

 

[ptbrauch]

Re: if not one thing, another - dissappointing outing

FWIW, I've taken a 1" x 1" by about 12" piece of wood and put that between the pontoon and a bottle jack I was using to jack the toon up off the trailer to replace a bunk board before. It caused no damage.