CR CRUISER
Seaman
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2009
- Messages
- 64
I was strapping down a customer's boat that I had just picked up at a small private launch ramp. A young guy and his girlfriend show up with a Mustang towing a 17' ski boat. He jumps in the boat and she tries to back it down the ramp but with absolutely no success. He's yelling at her, she's getting flustered. Finally he drags her out of the car, backs it down the ramp then climbs in the boat. He fires it up but it won't come off the trailer. Everybody who is now watching this show is wondering how long it's going to take for him to notice the yellow strap across the back of the boat.
When he finally sees the strap, he just whips out his pocket knife and cuts the strap. By this time the wind has blown the boat about 45 degrees to the ramp but the water is still plenty deep. He backs the boat off and goes to tie it up at the dock. She tries to drive the car up the ramp but after just a foot it stops with a bang. She tries to back up but bang it stops again. He comes storming up the dock, drags her out of the car again and tries to show her how to do this simple task. Bang. Bang.
It appears that many years ago there used to be a dock beside the ramp. The dock is gone but the pilings are still there. When he cut the transom strap, the trailer was over top of the old pilings and dropped down with one of them inside of the trailer frame. No amount of swearing, cursing and tire smoking would get the trailer to bounce up and over the piling.
I had to leave before we could see how he solved his situation.
When he finally sees the strap, he just whips out his pocket knife and cuts the strap. By this time the wind has blown the boat about 45 degrees to the ramp but the water is still plenty deep. He backs the boat off and goes to tie it up at the dock. She tries to drive the car up the ramp but after just a foot it stops with a bang. She tries to back up but bang it stops again. He comes storming up the dock, drags her out of the car again and tries to show her how to do this simple task. Bang. Bang.
It appears that many years ago there used to be a dock beside the ramp. The dock is gone but the pilings are still there. When he cut the transom strap, the trailer was over top of the old pilings and dropped down with one of them inside of the trailer frame. No amount of swearing, cursing and tire smoking would get the trailer to bounce up and over the piling.
I had to leave before we could see how he solved his situation.