Omg!!!!

[jared ajlouny]

i feel soooo stupid, my friend and i went to the lake, we stop, take all the tie wraps and everything off my 2 kawi 550's and than i tell him to take the key ring that holds the pin thatt holds the skis in, he take the key ring out, than he also takes the pin OUT! i didnt notice so i was baking down the ramp and i stop and the skis are going still and i was like WTF?!?!!? than they both fall off and start sliding down the ramp, some guys were there watching and i felt sooo stupid!! ohh well, nothing broke that i know of and we had a blast out on the lake!

 

[bobdreadknot]

hahahaha thats halarious. wish you had a video

 

[410Fortune]

I have often thought about just grabbing the chair and a six pack and just sitting at the launch ramp all day to watch the antics.
To date I have seen 2 tow vehicles under water, 2 boats hit the concrete, 1 park ranger do an emergency dry dock (forgot their bilge plug), and a 350# monster of a man lift the 2 seater jet ski out from the back of his van into the water...


The fun never ends at the boat ramp! My favorites are the two chicks with the rented jet skis who have never backed up with a trailer in their life, let alone launched some jet skiis.
I have also heard the story about the brand new bayliner that just wanst performing properly out on the lake, going very slow, underpowered, then somebody tells you owner you are supossed to unhook the boat from the trailer, not the trailer form the truck....driving around with a trailer under the boat! hahaha oh man...

 

[Positive Vibes]

I have also heard the story about the brand new bayliner that just wanst performing properly out on the lake, going very slow, underpowered, then somebody tells you owner you are supossed to unhook the boat from the trailer, not the trailer form the truck....driving around with a trailer under the boat! hahaha oh man...

Your joking right??

jared ajlouny, at least it wasn't your fault. Now you know to always double check your buddies!

 

[410Fortune]

No actually that story was told to me by Royce, Royce is the guy in Colorado I used to store my boat with, he was like a brother to my grandfather and he owned a dry dock.
Sure as shi* some idiot launched his brand new boat with the trailer attached and was driving around like that
I didnt see it with my own eyes, but I believe Royce.
I have seen some pretty stupid stuff so I believe it.

My favorite is these guys who detach the winch cable at the top of the ramp and they have their buddy in the boat, then they back down to the water and tap the brakes, the boat slides off into the water, buddy starts it up and all is well. Very common practice amongst boaters, seems like a quick and easy way to launch right? Well not when a dog or something runs behind the boat on your way down the ramp! Brakes = boat hits concrete. Saw oine slide down the ramp about 25' before it finally stopped 5' short of the water........guys wife in the boat was not too happy at all, scared the crap outta her, could have killed somebody, not to mention the $$$ damage done to the boat hull...

Go to your local boat ramp on a crowded weekend, hours of entertainment...

 

[EMG7895]

Funniest thing ive seen at a boat ramp is a jeep getting stuck pulling 2 jetskis out of the water. The best part is that the ramp was just a very packed down part of the beach, barely any incline and they still got stuck.

 

[KPT]

Damn man I HATE jetski's. Tried to go out on the lake yesterday and the engine in the Yamaha XL1200 keeps thinking its a 2-banger. Brand new plugs and one cylinder is still missing. Also have a Seadoo GTS.... engine is damn near impossible to turn over. Pulled the jetpump and it does the same thing. Its probably blown....

 

[KPT]

My favorite is these guys who detach the winch cable at the top of the ramp and they have their buddy in the boat, then they back down to the water and tap the brakes, the boat slides off into the water, buddy starts it up and all is well.

I saw two rednecks do that with a pontoon boat once. Except they both stayed in the truck. Boat floated off and they had to catch a ride to it on another boat.

 

[Crankcase]

I have seen lots of stuff like that....

People that submerge their exhaust to far, and have to be pulled out,

The ones that have NEVER backed up in their life,

OR my favorite....the ones that launch the boat...all is well, they push away from the dock and go to start it....Battery is dead. They row back in....and take the one out of their truck

 

[410Fortune]

ahahahaha Crankcase, those are common place every day.

I always carry two batteries in my boat, jumper cables in the truck, and my charged up portable jumper box, I have played hero a number of times to those dead battery guys.

I even sat and helped one family get their Evenrude 85HP OB running one day, same as my old engine, been there done that! they were very grateful, it was a choke problem but it took us an hour or so to get it running.

I have saved a few people to date as well, in Powell one year on the 4th of July I sat down for dinner and was looking out over the water, I kept seeing this flashing light. A few minutes later I realized it was SOS....got in the boat, went and found them, 12 people in a inboard ski boat, 2 still in the boat bailing the other 10 were swimming the boat trying to get to shore. They hit a sand bar full bore and put the prop up through the floor. I towed them to the ramp that night, boat was 3/4 under by the time we got there. I was the hero again! Funny thing is they were from Breckenridge CO, I still get a call from those guys once in a while just to say whats up..

I love boating

 

[expo5.0]

i have many of the same stories.

It sure feels dang good to know what your doing when backing your boat in doesn't it? Our 20' sea doo challenger is on a trailer all summer since i like going to a few different lakes the mississippi so i get real good at backing her up and doing all the little things to make it go smoothly. Can get the boat launched in the time it takes most people to remember to take off the two straps.

My favorite thing i ever saw though was a 97 or so tahoe back right into the river. was about 1.5' of truck sticking up, and none of the hood was even visible. Guy's girlfriend or wife was in the boat and he backed up and tried to launch her but it wasn't getting deep fast enough so he tried the slide back and hit the gas to dislodge the boat, she didn't like that and yelled at him so he jumped out and went to the back (truck was still in drive i think) and started pushing on the boat. all the sudden everything just breaks loose, the rear wheels of the trailer go over the edge of where the cement was and in goes the truck.

 

[410Fortune]

hahaha oh man Yes I have my GF trained and I can get the boat in the water in about 2 minutes.

Straps, plug, trailer lights. Back it in.
She is trained to undo the winch from the trailer (while still in the boat)
Trim it down and get it running, choke and advanced throttle

Shes getting pretty good at it too! She even knows enough to get the boat to the end of the dock to allow room for others to launch

Your story reminded me of one more, You know how people LOVE to drive their boats up onto the trailer, instead of doing it by hand (which is fine if you do it right or if its a huge boat you have to drive it) well this lady on a super nice 25'+ Chapparell was pulling up onto the trailer while the husband shouted orders from the ramp, she hit the gas just a little too much, put the very tip of the bow right through the rear window of the suburban. Broken glass + boat ramp doesnt mix.
THats why you use the winch, you dont have to drive it all the way up onto the trailer.

I also LOVE the people who insist that they must run their jet ski engine for at least 10 minutes and you must hit full RPM's after pulling it out of the water to get all the water from the impellar (more harm then good) It only takes a few seconds MAX to ge tthe water out...

 

[jared ajlouny]

yea, im just glad that the hulls didnt break. at work one of the rangers were telling me that someone in an RV was trying to launch a boat and the whole RV went in the water,t hhey had to hire divers to pull it out. lol. yea, well the freaking county that takes care of the lakes is trying to ban 2 stroke jet skis, the 2 stroke out boards will still be allowed. the water is not even polluted they want to ban them because "they may pollute the water". i hate freakin tree huggers who take away peoples fun!

 

[ammo troop]

I can add one, Saw a guy and gal try and launch a 22' foot center console with a 78/79 camero, thats not too bad, but the ramp was pretty steep and very slick w/ moss. I got to be the hero with my explorer after he was sliding backwards while smoking the tires up in drive! yeah, he was embarrased and I got some free beers, saw him a few weeks later driving an Isuzu trooper

 

[Trail Runner]

In case it won't show....If you don't have luck just clicking on the link, paste it to a new window, it works???

http://www.geocities.com/sjamies1/pwclaunching.jpg

 

[jared ajlouny]

hahahahhahhahahha that thing is really funny, where did you get it from?

 

[Crankcase]

I can add one, Saw a guy and gal try and launch a 22' foot center console with a 78/79 camero, thats not too bad, but the ramp was pretty steep and very slick w/ moss. I got to be the hero with my explorer after he was sliding backwards while smoking the tires up in drive! yeah, he was embarrased and I got some free beers, saw him a few weeks later driving an Isuzu trooper

HAHAHAHA.....I love when the people finally realise its time for a truck like vehicle....

 

[FordLover]

Go to your local boat ramp on a crowded weekend, hours of entertainment...

Best of all, free entertainment. I considered charging 10 bucks to back the trailers down the ramp and launch the boat for these people.
Seems to me people that have no idea what they are doing are becoming more common on the lake.
-Martin

 

[Crazy5711]

That's why I don't go to the lake, I have no clue what I'm doing. The only trailer pulling I've ever done is towing my 88 Grand Am across country, and I was using a tow bar, all 4 wheels on the ground, so, no backing up on that.

 

[410Fortune]

I learned all of this by joining my friends who had boats many many times before I attempted to purchase my own.
If you get a boat just find a friend who knows the routine, and learn it from them
Safety first, its just really mostly common sense and knowing what a boat, trailer, and to w vehicle can and cant do and how they all work.