What are these people thinking???

[Mark42]

Launched the boat at a very nice park today. Problem I had was the floating dock is only about 3' wide, and there were a dozen or so parents and kids standing and sitting on the dock waiting their turn on the jet ski.

Normally I wouldn't care, but they had dozens of sandals, flip flops, wake boards, and other stuff spread all over the skinny dock.

So I am walking the boat to the far end of the dock, so i don't block anyone trying to launch or retrieve while I go park the car/trailer. I have a "reconstructed" ankle and foot (crushing accident), which means although it was not cut off, it doesn't work all that well either, and I stumble and lose balance easily. Especially when stepping on stuff on a floating dock that is rocking as it is.

So I bite my tongue and say "excuse me", "pardon me", as I work my way down the dock bumping into these people to make way for myself.

Idiots just stand there or sit there oblivious to the fact that this is a busy ramp/dock.

I take off, and 3 hours later return, to find the same crowd still occupying the dock. I tie up, and again, they are oblivious that they are blocking a 3' wide rocking, floating dock. And their buddies doing circles in their jet ski's are making the dock rock even more.

This time I am not so careful.... "Oh, sorry, was that your hand I stepped on?" "Ooops! Didn't realize that was your lunch in that bag...." , " Oh dear.... I knocked your beer (in a brown paper bag) into the lake...", "Uh oh, your shoe didn't float... ", " here... hold this line because your sitting on the dock cleat and I can't tie to it with your butt on top of it..." "I think your wake board cracked when I tripped over it...."

Seemed to work... The parents started to herd their kids and their shoes, toys, etc off the dock and onto the beach where they could wait their turn.

Just about then, a boat,( looks to be about 15 years neglected) is launched, and tied up in front of my boat. Guy sits there spinning the motor but it won't start. I walk to my car and come back, dunk the trailer, and he is still cranking the motor while his buddies all stand around with fishing poles in hand offering solutions. Finally, out comes the starting fluid, a good dose, and it fires up. Of course it won't idle, and they keep revving it to keep it running. I give the skipper the thumbs up, a nod and smile as I walk by hoping he will take off so I can trailer my boat. They all pile in the boat and chug away from the dock with the cowl off the motor spraying starting fluid at the motor...

Idiots.... they are all around us.

 

[JB]

Re: What are these people thinking???

If there are a lot of people I won't go there. You just explained why.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: What are these people thinking???

Those people aren't thinking and don't even have a clue! I don't even consider people like that boaters. I have a canned air horn for people like that, if they ignore me coming into the dock I'll point it at them sound it to get their attention. If they don't jump in the water when that thing goes off I'll say "excuse me, but I need to dock my boat so I can put it on the trailer". Even the inconsiderates are mostly understanding when you explain your intentions.

 

[Mark42]

Re: What are these people thinking???

I use this lake as my local test ground. Never go there just for fun. Over the years, I have discovered I enjoy boating on salt water. Even when on a bay, it opens to larger open waters... Spending 3 hours driving around a 5 mile long lake gets boring very fast. Same views, lots of boats, lots of jet ski's, lots of kids floating in the water after falling off a tube and no one noticed.... Rocks, shallow sand bars in the middle of the lake, and WEEDS just put me off. At least when I am on the salt, the charts identify any hazards like rocks and shoals. The drawbacks to being on the salt as far as maintenance goes is by far outweighed by the advantages of open waters.

 

[Fishing Dude too]

Re: What are these people thinking???

WHAT? They were thinking. lol. I would have actted drunk knocking them off the dock, as far as the guy in the boat, sure why not take a boat out with a motor not running, sounds like a sound train of thought. Heck if it breaks down just walk down to the nearest gas station to get help. lol

 

[dwco5051]

Re: What are these people thinking???

The simple explanation is that fully one half of the people in the world are below average intelligence. I learned that in a statistics class I took years ago but I didn't know it was right until forty or so years of being around boat ramps proved it to me.

 

[Guest]

Re: What are these people thinking???

If they could only take a look at what they do threw the eyes of a boat wise person I think they would have just jumped the water and drowned them selves in order make the human gene pool a hole lot better. Guess the old saying "DUMB IS AS DUMB DOES" is still alive and thriving in you neck of the back woods. :facepalm:

 

[reddogg]

Re: What are these people thinking???

Hmm, I might have been tempted to toss the fenders over the side and come in a little hot, 2 points for every one who falls off the dock

Red

 

[robert graham]

Re: What are these people thinking???

I agree with JB on this one, the more people around the more likely I am to just go somewhere else.

 

[timdan94]

Re: What are these people thinking???

I don't play with these morons anymore.... If you won't move so the people that have boats that need the dock to load up can I just call the cops/dcnr/pa boat comission. I just had an incident like this with 2 guys and 2 kids. the ramp bulletin board says no fishing from the dock or swimming. they were spread all over the dock and would not move over so I could dock. I beached the boat called the dcnr and waited. watched one guy wrap their line in his prop. the guy on the dock gave them dirty looks as they unwrapped their line from the prop. another guy just beached instead of dealing with them. dcnr came and wrote some nice fines for them and I was told next time just call the cops and have them arrested. This isn't the first time I've had problems with this at this ramp.2 years ago some kids ran behind me backing my boat in... they were swimming from the dock parents were sitting there not paying any attention.
in less than 2 years the new bridge will be finished so I won't have to use that ramp anymore, I'll just pay the $100 boat club dues and be done.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: What are these people thinking???

The simple explanation is that fully one half of the people in the world are below average intelligence. I learned that in a statistics class I took years ago but I didn't know it was right until forty or so years of being around boat ramps proved it to me.

Your statement also says half of the people in the world are above average intelligence. Yep, that's the definition of average. You forgot that the lower half and the upper half have no common sense and in today's world, too much selfishness. It's not a lack of smarts problem.

Never boat on weekends or holidays using public ramps.

 

[mnypitboat]

Re: What are these people thinking???

Your statement also says half of the people in the world are above average intelligence. Yep, that's the definition of average. You forgot that the lower half and the upper half have no common sense and in today's world, too much selfishness. It's not a lack of smarts problem.

Never boat on weekends or holidays using public ramps.

This is why we store our boat at a marina with a private dock and when we go elsewhere, I have no problem paying a fee to use a less crowded ramp. I hate public ramps.

The fact that people are below average intellegence does not give them the right to be inconsiderate, or a reason for that matter.

 

[AZSenza]

Re: What are these people thinking???

We go through this same situation all the time. Dont know why they cant hang out on shore? Oh NO, gotta be on the dock. And whats with everyone walking BEHIND the boat as were backing down the ramp? I'm really worried about the future.

 

[jayhanig]

Re: What are these people thinking???

I think I must have seen the family you're talking about today: they pulled into the ramp towing a kid on a float, then unloaded the rest of the kids into the water at the end of the dock that goes alongside the loading ramp. Then one of them went to get their trailer while the kids floated around and he backed it in about a third of the way over: not quite in the middle but it'd have been tight if a second boat tried to load or unload at the same time (as people usually do there). He drives his boat onto the trailer but doesn't bother to winch the boat snug against the front roller. He didn't bother with any safety chain or transom straps either. I didn't say a word.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: What are these people thinking???

This is simply Darwinism prepping for the next round of draftees. He has to separate the herd somehow...

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: What are these people thinking???

I would start with the presumption that they were not boaters and did not know that the dock was for staging. The correct solution is an attempt, politely, to educate them. Suggest they put their stuff on shore, and only go on the dock to get on/off the ski or if no one is around.
If that doesn't work, then the air horn and accidental spillage overboard is warranted. But if we boaters start the process as aholes, then why do we expect better of the land crabs?

BTW I used a public dock twice this past week; it was crowded Sunday with boats but no people around at the time; they were all out and so was the tide. Bet it was busy at sunset, but these are water people and I bet there were few problems. Made me think about all the stuff I read here about crowded public ramps on the lakes.

 

[mnypitboat]

Re: What are these people thinking???

I would start with the presumption that they were not boaters and did not know that the dock was for staging. The correct solution is an attempt, politely, to educate them. Suggest they put their stuff on shore, and only go on the dock to get on/off the ski or if no one is around.
If that doesn't work, then the air horn and accidental spillage overboard is warranted. But if we boaters start the process as aholes, then why do we expect better of the land crabs?

BTW I used a public dock twice this past week; it was crowded Sunday with boats but no people around at the time; they were all out and so was the tide. Bet it was busy at sunset, but these are water people and I bet there were few problems. Made me think about all the stuff I read here about crowded public ramps on the lakes.

I think that a lot of people that have a certain amount of common sense, assume that others also have a twinge of common sense. In thinking this way we automatically get upset when others do things without using just some slight common sense. They had to have been in other people's way, and the first time someone had to stumble over my kids stuff, or my stuff, I would have moved them out of the way. It goes back to the restaurant issue with noisy kids. People with these kids just think that because they have kids that they are entitled to let them act as they want to. I actually had a lady, after I asked her to keep her kid from kicking my chair and stop him from throwing things in our food and asked her to quiet him down, she actually turned around and said "you must not have kids, you dont understand". I looked over at my daughter, that was the same age as her hellion, and told her to stand up so they could see her. She was being so good that they didnt even know she was there. Immediately she took her unruley child outside. I have watched people leave carts in parking lots so that they can roll and hit cars, directly beside the cart return. Completely oblivious to the fact that they could damage someone else's property, and completely oblivious that there was a cart return 6" from where they flung their cart. They think because it doesnt bother them, why should it bother anyone else.

I think what it comes down to is that people have this mentality lately of me me me me, and have absolutely no consideration for anyone else in the vicinity.

 

[itsaboattime]

Re: What are these people thinking???

Posts like this one make me realze just how luck I am. The public ramp I use is rarely a problem where idiots are concerned. Folks are generally considerate and know that the docks are for launch and retrieval. The pick up dock is a lil downstream.
And usually if sombody is having a problem with their motor there is no shortage of fellow boaters to lend a hand.

 

[taurus72]

Re: What are these people thinking???

Hi, I learned the hard way. I use to launch only during the week. Then one weekend I went to the Chain of Lakes in IL. I was waiting to launch one some guy backed his eldo into the water about half way down the trunk and proceeded to get stuck. I was amazed at what I saw that day not only on the ramp but out on the lake too. I think people fail to use common sense sometimes.

After that weekend I have never launched on a weekend there again.

Richard

 

[jayhanig]

Re: What are these people thinking???

Posts like this one make me realze just how luck I am. The public ramp I use is rarely a problem where idiots are concerned. Folks are generally considerate and know that the docks are for launch and retrieval. The pick up dock is a lil downstream.
And usually if sombody is having a problem with their motor there is no shortage of fellow boaters to lend a hand.

The ramp I use is generally that way. I've seen plenty of mistakes made, but generally the inexperienced ones are good natured about things and take suggestions well. I commented on the family above because they were so unusual. They weren't nasty... just totally oblivious. I didn't speak up mostly because the list of errors was getting lengthy and I didn't see how I might educate without becoming pedantic. So I chose to say nothing.

I am a new boater myself. But I have spent many a day at the ramp just watching people load and unload to see what techniques work and what doesn't. I've learned a lot about loading and unloading boats as a result. As for myself, I only bring my boat during the week. If I'm going to screw something up, I'd rather the witnesses be fewer.