Stupid people doing stupid things on boat ramps!

[Woody_tobius_jr]

Always good for a chuckle to see the videos of the ramp on long weekends, any weekend really, but the long weekends seem to bring the rock stars out. Hopefully with your long weekend coming up, there will be some videos to post.


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[pdxCC]

My all time fav was watching an I/O on a trailer with rollers get dumped on the ramp when the owner forgot to engage the ratchet on the winch and left off the bow strap too... It was after the normal 20-min fight to get the boat on the trailer. Luckily only pride was hurt that day.


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[EchoLodge]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9rfmmGMBYU

[lucky7t]

^ looks like a giant cluster &$@( !!

[shag]

Lol that's one ill use from now on

This is a good one, and will fit well in my job as a Paramedic...

[Woody_tobius_jr]

Stupid people doing stupid things on boat ramps!

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the guy that doesn't back in deep enough, and hits the throttle to push himself the rest of the way on the trailer, leaving a spectacular trench behind him


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[MTRBTR]

I don't know if I would call this poor girl stupid but it was obvious she didn't know what she was doing. Was walking by the ramp to my slip when I noticed she was trying to start her "seadoo" style jet boat. It wouldn't start and she had almost drifted into the rocks. Two people from the marina were trying to help her. I waded into the water and pushed her boat over to a dock where she could tie up. While pushing her over I asked If she was by herself. She said she was and that it was her uncles boat who had a cabin near by. She said she had driven the boat a couple of times before. I noticed that the safety lanyard had come loose so I suggested that. Boat fired right up. Now its early afternoon and the wind on the lake is just howling and there are huge white caps every where and I am thinking the stupid person is this girls uncle who sent her down here by herself to drive a boat she knows nothing about in the howling wind. Well she goes off out of the marina with one of the guys that works in the marina with her to give her some pointers on driving the boat. I thought that was good at least she isn't out there by herself. Well after about 5 minutes they come back, park the boat in the slip and everyone leaves including myself. 3 hours later I am back at the marina and all the staff at the marina are bailing water out of this boat. The gal shows up about the same time. They are doing a pretty good job of bailing water out of it but water is still half way up the engine. I got one of my fatsac pumps and helped get the water out. I asked where the plug was and the gal said she didn't know, and that the bilge pump is broken. I tell her to go get her trailer and she asks me to back it in the water for her. We took a long line and pulled the boat over to the ramp and loaded it for her. When she pulls it out water is draining from 3 different ports. The girl is very respectful and greatful but obviously had no experience with boats. What kind of uncle sends their 25 year old niece down to the water on a very windy day by herself?

[Chexi]

A) a drunk one.
B) a high one.
C) a stupid one.
D) one who didn't, but the girl went and did it without his permission.

It's a mini-jet boat. I'm going with C.

[MTRBTR]

HA! I agree!

[Chexi]

So God taught me an overdue lesson in humility (for taking pleasure in the mishaps of others at the launch) and patience (for getting impatient with my pregnant wife for having to go to the bathroom when we got to the launch 10 minutes after she went at our house instead of helping bump the boat off the trailer first) last night. From now on, I'm floating the boat off the trailer.

[MTRBTR]

Oh Man sorry about that. That is a sick feeling when you hear/feel that prop hit.

[Chexi]

Here is the crazy thing. I was about to pull the boat immediately out of the water and check on the prop, but was in a state of denial (as in, maybe the prop just tore up the bunk and didn't get damaged)... I'll test it and see how it feels... Right....

Well, I ended up taking the boat out for 1 run. Pulled a guy slaloming at 29. Wake was normal. Virtually no vibration. I don't normally pull anyone that fast, as this is the first person to slalom behind my boat since I bought it, so I could not really say whether the boat was working harder or not. My wife riding in the passenger seat could not tell a difference. But I could hear it. Slightly different sound. When his run was done, I went into the water and felt the prop with my toes. Then I had that sinking feeling again and could not believe what my toes were feeling. Not so much that I was surprised that the prop was torn up, but that the boat still handled so well. My damage was pretty even on each blade I guess.

Another lesson was learned here. While I carried a spare prop on the boat and prop puller and wrench for the castle nut, I didn't have any cotter pins on me (I had left them at the house). I also did not have a hammer, a block of wood, and/or a rubber mallet. I was able to trailer back home (since I live so close) and change props and get back on the water in about an hour (got the old prop off easy, but getting the new prop on was not so easy... getting the prop forward enough to get enough access to the cotter pin hole took some major cranking on the castle nut). So, if you're going to have a spare prop on the boat, carry ALL the tools, cotter pins, shaft key, and spare castle nut or the nylock nut alternative as well.