Public ramps

[MH Hawker]

I had forgotten how bad a public ramp can be. Yesterday I went to pull my boat out to let a friend use it at another lake for a few days while he is doing some camping and fishing, and yes he is the only person that I would ever consider using my boat, its a thing we have doe over the years, any way, Its a 4 lane ramp on a sunny Saturday and it was full. I waited my turn to back the trailer down and as I did I noticed a pontoon with the front pulled up on the concrete tied off on the dock with a truck backed down loading stuff on board. Now it did take me about 10 minutes to walk over to my slip and bring my boat over. Once over it was on the trailer and off the ramp in 3 minutes. While I was in the recover area I head the fight start. It seams a bass tourney was about to get started and the boys were trying to drop their is and the pontoon guy was still there. In fact the pontoon guy had fired up his grill, lololol, As I was pulling out I heard a loud voice saying If you cant drive that _*_*_* boat we will drag you out of the way.

I am so glad I do not have to deal with it more than a few times a season.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Public ramps

Yesterday was the first time we've really seen much of note at the ramp. Someone was putting in a 28ish ft cruiser and using up both sides of the ramp. No big deal, they could have fit on one side but it was a big boat. Well, once it is in the water the guy hooks a rope to it and physically starts trying to pull it around to the other side of the dock. Lady pulls the trailer out spinning the tires all the way up the ramp (no idea why since it is a great ramp and the trailer was empty).

She pulls forward and leaves the truck sitting in the area that you would normally pull into and back up into the water. Luckily she is only blocking one of the 2 ramps now. She helps the guy pull the boat over to the side of the dock and they try to tie it up. Now the thing to understand is that this is not the big dock that you normally tie to, it is a short one meant for launching your boat. The boat is too long for the dock and it had do have been bouncing off the shore and bottom.

No idea what they were trying to do, but they were still messing around when we drove away in the boat.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Public ramps

Yea about all you can do is shake your head at them.

 

[ThrottleBack]

Re: Public ramps

To play devils advocate I have been cursed at by bass tourny fishers while doing everything the right way. They tend to come in thinking they own the lake so around here when they come up we don't go out.

 

[belairbrian]

Re: Public ramps

To play devils advocate I have been cursed at by bass tourny fishers while doing everything the right way. They tend to come in thinking they own the lake so around here when they come up we don't go out.

You'd think you lived near me. The river was low this week so the channel from the river was narrow. had a tournament style bass boat try and pass me in the no wake zone.

 

[belairbrian]

Re: Public ramps

I truly believe in boating Karma.

When i was around 20 i bought my first boat a 1963 15ft runaboat with a 59 Johnson 30hp. I'm up at the local lake on a week day evening and was just getting ready to go out. Another guy and his kid are putting in on the other ramp (dock down the middle) and the guy walks over and starts making jokes about my engine. Stuff like my 90 is smaller than that old 30. Guess he wanted to look good in front of his kid. I start up and as I let the engine warm up I hear his starter turning but no start.

I clear the ramp and we were out about an hour and a half. Come back he's sitting in the weeds still working on his engine. Ask another guy what happened and he told me he started working on the boat blocking the ramp. Refused to move. A couple guys walked down the ramp and pushed him over to the side.

Pulled out and walked down the shore. I just asked how many horsepower he was getting out of that thing.

 

[Ripfence]

Re: Public ramps

To play devils advocate I have been cursed at by bass tourny fishers while doing everything the right way. They tend to come in thinking they own the lake so around here when they come up we don't go out.

The tournament fisherman are some of the best launchers and boaters I've ever seen. I try to launch as fast as possible and, as an aggregate, I'm pretty fast but I'm sure it must look like forever to a tournament fisher. We have a lot of tournaments in my home lake "old hickory" and some of the folks seem to get put off if I decide to launch or fish on that day but I never heard anyone (the key word is "heard") curse me. To me, they seem like some of most skilled and safety conscience people on the water.

Now... I do holiday boaters keep me off the water. I don't go out on memorial day, 4th of july or labor day!

 

[Ripfence]

Re: Public ramps

I truly believe in boating Karma.

When i was around 20 i bought my first boat a 1963 15ft runaboat with a 59 Johnson 30hp. I'm up at the local lake on a week day evening and was just getting ready to go out. Another guy and his kid are putting in on the other ramp (dock down the middle) and the guy walks over and starts making jokes about my engine. Stuff like my 90 is smaller than that old 30. Guess he wanted to look good in front of his kid. I start up and as I let the engine warm up I hear his starter turning but no start.

I clear the ramp and we were out about an hour and a half. Come back he's sitting in the weeds still working on his engine. Ask another guy what happened and he told me he started working on the boat blocking the ramp. Refused to move. A couple guys walked down the ramp and pushed him over to the side.

Pulled out and walked down the shore. I just asked how many horsepower he was getting out of that thing.

Do you still have that boat? For some reason I love old outboards. I'd love to rebuild an old outboard. I don't have the skill but I'd still love to try.

 

[matt167]

Re: Public ramps

They can be 'Fun' at times. One time along time back some numbskull was hassling us for cranking the boat in instead of power loading, when the " No Powerloading" sign was right on the dock beside him.. It pays to go to the less used ramps

 

[belairbrian]

Re: Public ramps

Alas, we are pretty much condemned to public ramps. We had 2 private ramps with honor boxes for the $3 launch fee.

The owners got tired of cleaning up after pigs and getting stiffed on the fee. So they closed them down.

 

[carguy001]

Re: Public ramps

We have had really good experiences at our public ramp over the last 3 years, until yesterday. We go to our normal ramp and see it is kinda busy by that I mean 2 boats putting in and looks like 2 waiting, no biggie we prep our boat and load the kids and cooler in the boat, and get in line. Well that's were the frustration begins, you got 2 kayaker s blocking the turn around area, and a jack leg with some jet skis in the water letting his kids swim and play on the trailer while he is fiddling around with one of the skis,and another guy with a 22 foot 4 winns that is waiting to use the spot next to the dock but mr jet ski guy is blocking up. After 15 mins I kill the truck motor and wait, by this time we are 4 boats deep behind me final mr jetski pulls his trailer out an the guy with the 4 winns goes, I end up able to get close enough to the kayak mess and swing my rig around back down unload the and the wife take the truck up to park meanwhile I tool around and watch the action at the ramp and dock, but see there a 4 jet skis tied up and the guy with the 4 winns is sitting waiting for the driver to return I can barely get to the dock to pick my wife up, as shout you think we can move some of the skis, come to find out no one was around that owned the skis.

We have great boat ride we return to much of the same, I drop my wife to go get the truck she backs it down I load the boat hook the bow strap and safety kill the boat motor and raise the drive out in under 5 mins.

That was our worst public ramp use to date, I am sure there will way more good time and few worse but all in all we had a good time.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Public ramps

Over the years I have noticed its more the time of year that you run across the problem boaters. In the early spring you have the fishing people who never do any maintenance but want to go out for awhile, I call those the starter fluid guys, snickers you can smell them all over the lake. Then as school lets out you get the few time a year people who also think a boat is a mini van and because they have kids ever one else will just wait on their stupidity. Then comes along the 4 th with its madness, and after that you get the wow the summer is drawing to a end and I haven't even had the boat in this year bunch and labor day is coming up so I need to get it in running shape crowd. Personally I will be glad when labor day is past and the summer bunch is gone and peace and quiet returns.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Public ramps

The tournament fisherman are some of the best launchers and boaters I've ever seen.

You and I have different definitions of best! Yes, they are quick, but it also means they use electronic bow lockers which require powerloading. Every single one that I've seen will run that 250hp merc in full on 'dredge' mode until the bow clicks in. There is zero regard to what may be happening to the ramp underwater.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Public ramps

You and I have different definitions of best! Yes, they are quick, but it also means they use electronic bow lockers which require powerloading. Every single one that I've seen will run that 250hp merc in full on 'dredge' mode until the bow clicks in. There is zero regard to what may be happening to the ramp underwater.

Illegal in Michigan, but I see many do this type of power loading.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Public ramps

I'm not sure how you can begin to stop powerloading now that most "popular" trailers are bunks with hand-crank winches, advertised as "drive-on" or "float on" trailers. If the "popular" boats still came on roller trailers there might be less power loading, likewise if people used power winches. Also, people are routinely trailering bigger and bigger boats than before, so hand-cranking is not really an option.

 

[matt167]

Re: Public ramps

It's illegal at most public ramps in the Fingerlakes region of NY, and they'll write tickets to violaters.. Not everywhere in the US carries those restrictions, but in those cases, 2 speed gear reduction winches, power winches and bunk slicks, that's why they make them

 

[OrangeTJ]

Re: Public ramps

So funny about the power loading - I don't do it, but I've had a few people chastise me for not powerloading at our local lake. We load/unload at a four lane ramp with two courtesy docks. From the time we pull up to the dock to the time I have the trailer backed down, the boat hooked up and the whole rig back up the ramp, I'm occupying the takeout area for 5 minutes, max. With rare exception, from what I've seen at our lake, the folks who nose up to the dock, drop a driver, float back out, wait for the trailer to come back down to the water, idle a couple hundred yards back to the dock, power load, hook up and go are actually tying up the ramp for just as long if not longer (their boat may not be in the slot at the ramp, but it is not useable by anybody else, just the same).

Seems to me that everybody needs to take a breath and recognize that we're pretty much all out there to have fun. Yes, you'll have some folks who are very inefficient at the ramp, but getting all in a huff about it doesn't seem to make for a better time for anybody.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: Public ramps

I'm not sure how you can begin to stop powerloading now that most "popular" trailers are bunks with hand-crank winches, advertised as "drive-on" or "float on" trailers. If the "popular" boats still came on roller trailers there might be less power loading, likewise if people used power winches. Also, people are routinely trailering bigger and bigger boats than before, so hand-cranking is not really an option.

Couldn't agree more. I have wittnessed the holes at the end of short ramps and I've wittnessed gin clear lakes look like coffee around the ramps by these "drive on" users. "Gee we're almost there just a little more gas should do it!"

Don't get me wrong as I have no problem with the practice as long as the ramp was designed to handle it. Many were not!

 

[java230]

Re: Public ramps

The advantage of a small boat. The ramp by my house is a single lane, no dock, just a little strip of sand either side. I don't even use the motor to launch or retrieve the boat. dump in in wife grabs the bow line and drags it onto the beach. Park, take my time getting it started.

Pull up the the beach. Go get the truck, back in and my wife float it onto the trailer. I can easily back in deep enough to not need the winch at all.

I always want to yell at the people power loading big boats. The launch in on a canal, and is just 1' wide pieces of concrete laid into the water. Sand underneath, there is a HUGE hole at the end of the ramp.....

 

[Ripfence]

Re: Public ramps

You and I have different definitions of best! Yes, they are quick, but it also means they use electronic bow lockers which require powerloading. Every single one that I've seen will run that 250hp merc in full on 'dredge' mode until the bow clicks in. There is zero regard to what may be happening to the ramp underwater.

I don't think I've seen a boat not powerload around here. I've even seen the Corps of Engineers and the TWRA do it.