What boating mistakes have you made?

[Knightrider2]

Re: What boating mistakes have you made?

Wow, where do you begin. I don?t know if I have enough time. The latest episode was last weekend when I hit a stump and bent my propeller. I tend to forget to turn off my selector switch for the batteries when I park the boat.

 

[Brad Smith]

Re: What boating mistakes have you made?

All the usual, bilge plug etc, but the most fun wasn't on the boat persay, bother and I launched my 18 ft Sierra, I pulled up ramp to park boat as it was very busy, I unhooked trailer in parking area, disconnected chains, and drove off, a few feet later his van stalled, he had tied the trailer connections to his van connection and I ripped out the the entire harness all the way to the firewall, including the fuel pump wires.

 

[bassman284]

Re: What boating mistakes have you made?

It was windy yesterday and after launch I tied up on the upwind side of the dock. After I parked, I forgot to push the boat away from the dock before I stepped in and shucked off the plastic fuel vent. Later went to the Lund dealer to get a new one and the salesman says, "Oh, you want a dock locater."

 

[codykoke]

Re: What boating mistakes have you made?

i screwed up big time. filled my tank up forgot to put oil in. lets just say i blew a rod in my 1954 evinrude fleetwin.

 

[AZBoatDreamer]

Re: What boating mistakes have you made?

Ok shoot Cody. Sorry.

 

[AZBoatDreamer]

Re: What boating mistakes have you made?

I haven't nailed it down but I run the Boat without Water 10 Secs at home. Put the boat in Storage and today went to run the Boat on Muffs.

No Water flow through the Outdrive.

I think I destroyed or just bad luck. Not sure.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=507333&p=3415889#post3415889

 

[mla2ofus]

Re: What boating mistakes have you made?

Took me 2 yrs to figure out I didn't need the outside guide posts I built to guide the 'toon on the tlr in a crosswind. Took them off and have the wife back the tlr in so the inside guides are 1/2 out of the water. Get the toons started over them then straighten the boat w/ the tlr using the engine and signal the admiral to back up the tlr 'til the boat touches the winch post. So much easier!
Mike

 

[jim765]

Re: What boating mistakes have you made?

coulda just sait it was a test run,worker quit well for me.2 times

 

[haley]

Re: What boating mistakes have you made?

My boat survived in pristine condition for 20 years before I purchased it...

Hit log and bent prop; while on test drive. First 20 minutes of boat ownership = $90

Spent a long time looking for what was causing "motor alarm", soft beeping with no apparent pattern. Turned out to be fish finder alarm when finned friends swam under boat.

And the big one:
Removed safety chain and winch strap on my roller trailer prior to launching so son would be able to easily pull boat off trailer once launched in water. Boat did not wait for water to launch. A boat sliding across a concrete boat ramp is 10x worse than fingernails on a chalkboard; 50x worse if you are the owner; 100x worse if you are the owner and the nimrod who detached it.

Extra points awarded if you happen to be "teaching" the Motor Boating Merit Badge to group of Boy Scouts: "Gee Mr. H., I never heard you say those words before." "Was that supposed to happen?" "Do we get in now?" "Are you crying?" "Will we be able to use the boat in the water too?"

The marina staff was very helpful - but for some odd reason could only communicate in short one syllable words between bouts of stifled laughter.

 

[mysweetone]

Re: What boating mistakes have you made?

In the two months of boat ownership so far i have only forgotten the gas cap at the gas station (but picked one up at the launchupon arrival) and run the motor on muffs w/o putting the drive down.... is this gonna cause serious damage?

 

[AZBoatDreamer]

Re: What boating mistakes have you made?

In the two months of boat ownership so far i have only forgotten the gas cap at the gas station (but picked one up at the launchupon arrival) and run the motor on muffs w/o putting the drive down.... is this gonna cause serious damage?

Done it a few times but Haven't caused any damage.

 

[haley]

Re: What boating mistakes have you made?

So, I am not alone with these mistakes. When one damages one's boat due to one's own stupidity do you file an insurance claim or is it just inviting them to a) deny your claim 'cause it's neglect (boat launched 25' short of water) and b) raise your rates?

 

[Dhopper71]

Re: What boating mistakes have you made?

Let my FIL help me launch my boat after spending a month redoing the engine and finally getting it to run like a top! First time going back in the water. We drove 3 hours to Pickwick Lake, TN to spend a week in a cabin and boating. First morning we go to the launch to put in. Backed down enough to start her up and man does she sound great. After she warms up a few minutes it's time to launch. He unhooks the winch and starts to push me off ... crooked. The stern starts turning sideways before i'm off the trailer and starts to get stuck on the alignment poles on the back of the trailer. He keeps pushing and says it should be clear and to put it in reverse. And I did .... DUH!! Not 2 seconds and I hear a BIG crunch. I immediately see the look on his face .... shear terror. I instantly dropped it back in neutral and just sit there in shock. Took me almost 5 minutes to stand up and look at where the noise came from. As I look over the left edge of the boat, I see the alignment pole has now lodged itself firmly inside the hull!! Gouged a 14" horizontal crack and about 10" of vertical with a 3" triangle of glass just gone all together. I haven't felt that sick in a long time.

Turns out that the right side bunk had slid to the left almost 8" during the trip down and was pushing the boat off sideways as he pushed. I'm just lucky it stuck on the bar and didn't come off the trailer or I would have sunk!

I had to patch the thing up with duct tape and expanding foam and launch the boat again later so the dry dock forklift could lift me out of the water and store it while I rebuild the trailer. Could have been worse. At least it wasn't a $60K boat I just bought.

 

[narwhals]

Re: What boating mistakes have you made?

ouch that really hurts. it makes me cringe just looking at that picture. we were gutting my friends boat and replacing all the floor boards,we decided to use a circular saw to cut out the old pieces for easier removal. we got done with a section and the blade was set too deep. oooooops now we can see daylight through the bottom of the hull. good thing it was on the trailer and we knew how to do fiberglass repair.we did finish the boat a few days later and it ran great with no leaks. whew.

 

[j_martin]

Re: What boating mistakes have you made?

I hope you're going to change it a bit so there aren't any glass eating corners like that on the trailer.

There's always the day you have to pull out in a gale, and the water is moving 3 feet up and down. Every corner and edge on the trailer had better be rounded and padded, or you're toast.

I've had my boat crossways across the wind boards with no damage, except to ego.

 

[Dhopper71]

Re: What boating mistakes have you made?

Yeah, I was almost physically sick when I finally looked over the edge of the boat! Never would have even thought about something like that happening. Guess it's better to learn with this boat early on before we move on to a bigger and more expensive one.

I'll definitely be changing up the trailer. I took everything off of it and stripped down the old paint. Refinishing it from the ground up pretty much. Will have all new rollers. I also am resetting the original bunks to be set 2" higher and locking in the correct angle much better. Will probably add a second set of bunks that run farther up the trailer toward the bow for more stability and direction control. Replaced the old winch rope with a new strap and added a bow safety chain. Re-wired the lights and added more relectors.

Hopefully it will be set up for long term use now. I'll have to post up resto pics in the trailer forum when I get the bunks back on.


edit: can't forget that I also removed those dang guide rods, too!!

 

[narwhals]

Re: What boating mistakes have you made?

updating stupid stuff, took the family out fishing today no fish. launch and recovery of boat no problems. moved boat off of the launch area, everything tied down, remove the rod holders before going home, one sticks give it a good tug, hits me square in the face, bloodied my lip and my jaw, few welts on cheek, extremely embarassed. duuuhhhh.

 

[josemcolon]

Re: What boating mistakes have you made?

thats is the best one so far i have read.(buying one)

 

[bassman284]

Re: What boating mistakes have you made?

So, I am not alone with these mistakes. When one damages one's boat due to one's own stupidity do you file an insurance claim or is it just inviting them to a) deny your claim 'cause it's neglect (boat launched 25' short of water) and b) raise your rates?

A little late with this, but an awful lot of what insurance pays for is the result of owners' stupidity, inattention, error, premeditated negligence, etc. Whether or not they raise your rates probably depends on the insurance co.

 

[stackz]

Re: What boating mistakes have you made?

if there's a mistake with boating...I've probably made it or got reeeaaallll close to making it.

lol. learning the hardway:facepalm: