Jack knifing the boat OUT of the Lake

[The Bayliner BarBeeQ]

Picture a nice beautiful day hardly any wind in the hills. The air smells crisp and dewy over the full lake of Black Butte. The water is a calling you to rip threw it like butter like a steel knife. You set to take off as you pop the boat off the trailor just tasting that first wet feel of spring water hitting your feet. The water refreshing as you guide your boat to the dock for safe keeping. I am the only person here, how kool is that, what a gorgeous day. I started the boat and ripped some water up by teasing the boat with fast sharp turns of joy and a smerking smile on my face. I decided to take the boat to the camping section in hope our neighbors were still cramping ( there was more than one neighbor so it is concidered cramping not camping). Anyway I shoot across the lake to find , they left. Oh well time to drowned a worm or 2 and see what happens. Come to a nice place away from the campers, turn the boat off to relax.. What a beautiful day out here. So time to putt around the lake and guess what?? Nothing, I forgot to check the battery. I was dead in the water. So I jumped over board and let out a cold shivering sound to get me to shore. My truck and trailor was clear on the otherside of the lake. Was lucky enough to get a ride to it and bring it back thinking to myself, how in gods green world am I getting this boat out. Told the park guy I had to go over the barriers to get to my boat in the camping section, He OK'ed it and gave me a funny look as said thanks. What pain, not only I had go over the wood barriers, I had to disconnect the trailor and walk it down inbetween 2 trees. Back the SUV up and rehook the trailor up. Then it needed to be Jack knifed in the water and the boat had to be hand lifted to the trailor. Then hooked and slowly lifted, if that makes sense. I couldn't get the trailor into the water all the way due to getting stuck once. So I managed to get half on and my rearend was sticking out. You know I realized that the boat is lighter in the water Than out of the water when I tried to crank it all the way on the trailor by myself. Sideways on the trailor and quite off the rails, I realized that the safety bumps in the road were for a purpose. They are used to streighten out your boat when it gets uneven on the trailor, so fast bump or 2 my boat was streight and I was off.. Lesson number one ; check your battery twice. Lesson 2 take camera with you just in case you do it again. 3. watchout for witness because there was 2 and they didn't offer to help. I guess they thought I knew what I was doing. 4 Go out the next day and see what else can happen. Anyway that was my late spring adventure in the boat.

 

[JB]

Re: Jack knifing the boat OUT of the Lake

::redface:

 

[ziggy]

Re: Jack knifing the boat OUT of the Lake

sounds like that was quite a day. good thing it was nice out so ya didn't have to fight the weather too. sounds like a did a great job in assessing the situation and what ya had to do to get out of it too. more kudos....us boaters got to be resorcefull...good job......and glad it worked out for ya........

i hear ya about them speed bumps. those are to strighten yer boat out on the trailer for sure.......not to limit speed......

 

[rndn]

Re: Jack knifing the boat OUT of the Lake

At least it sounds as though you kept your cool. I wish I could when things like that happen. I'll start cussing like a sailor and let it ruin my whole weekend. At least the only damage was a set of wet clothes. I've now gone the way of having two starting batteries in my boat just because it also happened to me once. Now before I go out I check each battery just to make sure.

 

[Vlad D Impeller]

Re: Jack knifing the boat OUT of the Lake

Shame on the two witnesses for not even offering to help obviously they were not iboats members
I once got all the way to the lake, only to discover that my battries were missing.
I had forgotten that i had removed them the previous day to the garage to be recharged, what a bummer that was.

I now have a trickle charger on the boat that remains constantly plugged in when the boat is not in use.

 

[FusionFrank]

Re: Jack knifing the boat OUT of the Lake

I always carry a jump box with me. I bought it at Sears Hardware for $89.00 (Craftsman / Diehard). It is more than just a jump box though. It has an air compressor that can easily fill a trailer or tow vehicle tire, and I always carry a tire plug kit (so I am covered for a flat). It has an inflator that I use to fill the tube. It has AC & DC outlets, so it can be used to power a cell phone charger or one of those gazillion candle power spot lights I always carry. This thing has saved me more than once (and that's in my first year of boating). When I head to the water the first two things I check are that the plug is in and I have the jump box, oh yea and beer in the cooler.​

 

[IOSLVR]

Re: Jack knifing the boat OUT of the Lake

I had forgotten that i had removed them the previous day to the garage to be recharged, what a bummer that was.

No doubt that had to suck!

 

[Ezrider_92356]

Re: Jack knifing the boat OUT of the Lake

why dident you drive the truck to where the boat was swap the battery out with the one from your truck and fire her up

 

[section8]

Re: Jack knifing the boat OUT of the Lake

oh man ezrider!make him feel like a butthead

 

[skimmer]

Re: Jack knifing the boat OUT of the Lake

My worst number was when I was out fishing one night, I'd had a bit too drink, bumped the kill switch out, being a bit drunk I did my troubleshooting back to front and checked the first thing last, by the time I realized, i'd killed the battery trying to start it. hmmm that was a lonnnggg...... night, It's a good trick to sober up..... paddle home. p.s forgot to write I don't condone drinking whilst boating, I just can't help myself every now and again

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Jack knifing the boat OUT of the Lake

I only have the one battery on board.....but have the Canadian Tire booster box with me at all times. Never had to use it on the boat.....but it has been invaluable with the old Windstar i used to have. Always there just in case and it also doubles up to deflate the tube completely when we are done with it....and also to reinflate it when we decide that we want to use it again !!!!
It still has plenty of starting power after that if needed and will charge from the 12 volt power outlet on board.

 

[terry2626]

Re: Jack knifing the boat OUT of the Lake

I never have done anything like that. but i have jack knifed the trailer while backing it back into the water. i was about 18-19 at the time and I just i talked my dad into letting me take out his boat by myself for the first time ever. While putting it into the water everything went great. No problems what so ever. Had a great day out on the lake even taught my new girlfriend of about 5 dates how to ski. Thing could have not got any better. Well i was still kind of new to backing up a trailer without the boat on it. If i can see it i can back anything up. Well being the smart one that i was at the time. I thought to myself that if i put the tailgate down then i could see the trailer. Well as we all know that went over really good. As i started to back up everything was going good, but i had to turn a little harder than i plan and that is when everything went to crap I heard a load bang and crunch. I was like oh crap what have i done. so i got out to look and i saw that i was not as smart as i thought i was. the trailer jack knifed into the tail gate and made a very nice dent into it. Oh course it had to be my dads truck also. So fearing the worse i got the boat back on the trailer and home i went. fearing for my life becuase i had to tell dad that i messed up his truck. Lucky for me nothing happen to the trailer. So when i told him what i did he was cool about it.(that really scared me) But simply asked did i learn anything from it. So i told him yes i did. Then he told me that he had done the same thing about a week before. So i still felt bad, but not as bad. Like they say Father like Son.

 

[Windykid]

Re: Jack knifing the boat OUT of the Lake

I never have done anything like that. but i have jack knifed the trailer while backing it back into the water. It just had to be the first time i talked my dad into letting me take out his boat by myself. While putting it into the water everything went great. No problems what so ever. Well i was still kind of new to backing up a trailer without the boat on it. If i can see it i can back anything up. Well being the smart one that i was at the time. I thought to myself that if i put the tailgate down then i could see the trailer. Well as we all know that went over really good. As i started to back up everything was going good, but i had to turn a little harder than i plan and that is when everything went to crap I heard a load bang and crunch. I was like oh crap what have i done. so i got out to look and i saw that i was not as smart as i thought i was. the trailer jack knifed into the tail gate and made a very nice dent into it. Oh course it had to be my dads truck also. So fearing the worse i got the boat back on the trailer and home i went. fearing for my life becuase i had to tell dad that i messed up his truck. Lucky for me nothing happen to the trailer. So when i told him what i did he was cool about it.(that really scared me) But simply asked did i learn anything from it. So i told him yes i did. Then he told me that he had done the same thing about a week before. So i still felt bad, but not as bad. Like they say Father like Son.

:redface:

 

[bigboneli]

Re: Jack knifing the boat OUT of the Lake

I always carry a jump box with me. I bought it at Sears Hardware for $89.00 (Craftsman / Diehard). It is more than just a jump box though. It has an air compressor that can easily fill a trailer or tow vehicle tire, and I always carry a tire plug kit (so I am covered for a flat). It has an inflator that I use to fill the tube. It has AC & DC outlets, so it can be used to power a cell phone charger or one of those gazillion candle power spot lights I always carry. This thing has saved me more than once (and that's in my first year of boating). When I head to the water the first two things I check are that the plug is in and I have the jump box, oh yea and beer in the cooler.​

I 2nd that. I just emptied our boat, including the new 'powerpack' from the local Canadian Tire...700A, twin 12vdc plug ins, and the always useful 'jumpstart'.

Mentioned how glad I was she got it for us and how happier I was that we didn't need to use it. Held it's charge up all summer no problem too, for what it's worth. Always have a 1amp trickle on the one Mack battery that the bilge is hooked up to, which is also starboard battery, whenever shorepower is applied. 2 Mack batteries, 1400 cca or so, and backup booster with 2x1amp trickle chargers. Never enough juice.