Boat Ramp High-Jinks!

[BigFish]

Was waiting by a Hingham boat ramp yesterday for MAC as we were headed out in the yaks! Guy was backing his boat down the ramp (a rather expensive looking Grady White....25 footer?) He had stopped his truck on the ramp (which if you know the Hingham ramp is rather steep) the stern of the boat was barely hanging over the water when for some reason the guy had climbed into the boat when suddenly the boat slid off the trailer, crashed onto the concrete ramp and slid the rest of the way into the water.....on the concrete!! Ouch! At the same time the boat slid off, the trailer released from the ball hitch as the weight of the boat shifted back, flipped up in the air and smashed the back window out of the SUV! From where I was standing it looked as if the entire back of the truck had been ripped off but lucky for them all that got damaged was just the glass! The guys wife was standing close by and was lucky she was not hurt!! After I went over to make sure she was ok and to lend a hand I had to determine that the guy A.) Had already untied the boat from the trailer prior to descending the steep ramp and B.) Not properly locked the ball hitch as it was in the "UP" position. I am gonna guess there was significant damage to the hull of that GW! Also guessing the guy was a first timer and had no idea what he was doing! Expensive lessons can be learned at the boat ramp!

[PRBuzz]

Ouch hard lesson learned. Pics would have been nice!

[ProfessorM]

typical day at any boat ramp, any weekend. Quote from this guy last year as his guys boat started to sink at floating ramp, " plug, what plug".

[piemma]

Originally Posted by ProfessorM

typical day at any boat ramp, any weekend. Quote from this guy last year as his guys boat started to sink at floating ramp, " plug, what plug".

I saw something similar last weekend at the Oakland Beach Ramp in Warwick. Guy took his boat off the trailer (with great difficulty) without putting the trailer in the water. Yep, he dragged it down the concrete ramp on it's hull. You could hear the grinding all the way across the hull.
Two guys later THIS nitwit launched his boat makes a hard right turn and promptly puts the friggin' boat hard aground on the sand bar. Mind you the channel is clearly marked and at low tide you can SEE the sand bar.

[Van]

Originally Posted by ProfessorM

typical day at any boat ramp, any weekend. Quote from this guy last year as his guys boat started to sink at floating ramp, " plug, what plug".

After 40 years of boating, 30 of which were launching.
I could write a freakin book on the dumbarse stuff I have seen.

One time it was a good friend of mine, just as I arrived to help and walking to his boat on the ramp, I was 10 feet away then....SMASH....onto the pavement she went. .

Yup......he unhooked way up too far........

[FishermanTim]

Just like the swallows returning to Capistrano, or the annual migration of bass, the boat ramp maestros have returned to entertain and frustrate us all. Maybe we should all bring cameras and post pics and vids showing that possible future Darwin award nominees in action!

[O.D. Mike]

Originally Posted by BigFish

Was waiting by a Hingham boat ramp yesterday for MAC as we were headed out in the yaks! Guy was backing his boat down the ramp (a rather expensive looking Grady White....25 footer?) He had stopped his truck on the ramp (which if you know the Hingham ramp is rather steep) the stern of the boat was barely hanging over the water when for some reason the guy had climbed into the boat when suddenly the boat slid off the trailer, crashed onto the concrete ramp and slid the rest of the way into the water.....on the concrete!! Ouch! At the same time the boat slid off, the trailer released from the ball hitch as the weight of the boat shifted back, flipped up in the air and smashed the back window out of the SUV! From where I was standing it looked as if the entire back of the truck had been ripped off but lucky for them all that got damaged was just the glass! The guys wife was standing close by and was lucky she was not hurt!! After I went over to make sure she was ok and to lend a hand I had to determine that the guy A.) Had already untied the boat from the trailer prior to descending the steep ramp and B.) Not properly locked the ball hitch as it was in the "UP" position. I am gonna guess there was significant damage to the hull of that GW! Also guessing the guy was a first timer and had no idea what he was doing! Expensive lessons can be learned at the boat ramp!

BigFish,

Were you laughing or crying...

I would have been crying, poor boat.....

[Duke41]

Originally Posted by PRBuzz

Ouch hard lesson learned. Pics would have been nice!

That would be a good way to get your ass kicked.

[Offshore24]

Went to the Canal Friday. Ended up coming back to ME on Saturday night. About 7:30PM I was approaching the I-295 exit in Portland and there was a trooper with the lights on just before the ramp. I couldn't make out what the big blue thing was that he had pulled over until I was some 100 yards away. Then I noticed the white marks all over the highway, leading to the big blue thing. A 25-ft v-hull, on it's side, trailer crumpled up against a road sign, boat lying across the breakdown and slow lane of the 4-lane highway. Van positioned facing south in the northbound side of the highway. Looks to me like the trailer let go of the vehicle, boat left the trailer, and boat took a circuitous route across three lanes of the highway before it stopped facing west in the northbound side of Interstate 95/ME Turnpike.

[FishermanTim]

I've seen a boat that "fell" off of a trailer on route 3 a few years back.
I've also seen a sailboat that decided to take the trailer for a trip right into the back of the station wagon that was towing it at the route 93 N/route 3S split in Braintree. Both made me grimace at the cost of the damages, but made for interesting road trips.

[Raven]

that there should be a lesson video on how to
properly unload and retrieve one's boat.

[PRBuzz]

Originally Posted by Raven

that there should be a lesson video on how to
properly unload and retrieve one's boat.

It is no fun to watch the right way!

[thunder]

Originally Posted by Raven

that there should be a lesson video on how to
properly unload and retrieve one's boat.

i wish they had a big screentv at taylorpoint to show that ,first was the rods then life jackets then tackle box ,several trips later was the straps all of this at 6;30 in the morning on the ramp to back in i hope he caught a cold

[BigFish]

Originally Posted by O.D. Mike

BigFish,

Were you laughing or crying...

I would have been crying, poor boat.....

I did not find it funny. Someone could have been injured due to someones negligence.

[piemma]

Originally Posted by thunder

i wish they had a big screentv at taylorpoint to show that ,first was the rods then life jackets then tackle box ,several trips later was the straps all of this at 6;30 in the morning on the ramp to back in i hope he caught a cold

I will tell you that if the guy did that at the Oakland Beach ramp there would be shots fired. On weekends they stack up 10 deep and there are 2 ramps so they launch 2 at a time. You best do it quickly or the fireworks will start.

My slip use to be directly across from the ramp and you could hear the yelling and cursing sometimes.

[MAC]

I'd bet that keel had a 2" wide flat area running the length of the boat.

[blue oyster]

i would love to sit at the weymouth ramp some weekend with a cooler of beer .it would be funnier than a stooges marathon .

[Motor Fish]

I see "fans" with their lawn chairs at the Plymouth ramp every weekend.... One even applauded me after quickly backing down the ramp in the middle spot (I think there was some special cream in his coffee).

[visch1]

Remember that "acting as if" is the name of the game at the ramp. What percent of the trailers have their chains crossed?

[stcroixman]

thanks guys, as a newbie to boating I really don't look forward to being ridiculed at the ramp.

[PRBuzz]

Originally Posted by stcroixman

thanks guys, as a newbie to boating I really don't look forward to being ridiculed at the ramp.

No worse than the ridicule on this board....

[Offshore24]

Launched the Offshore24 last night. Backed it down, unhooked, had a friend with a bow and stern line, backed up till truck was a few feet from water's edge, hit brakes, launched boat, parked truck, priceless .

[RIROCKHOUND]

Stcroixman

Three things:
1. doing all the little things, i.e. chains, straps etc is key.
2. Everyone elses %$%$%$%$ stinks too, and I'm sure we have all done our fair share of stupid %$%$%$%$ at a ramp!
3. find a quiet ramp, on a weekday, and launch then!

I have been on the water my entire life, working professionally in at least some capacity since 16, and have 100% confidence in my ability in handling just about any boat in most any condition. Put a trailer behind me and I sweat like a rookie. We all have out skills. My trailering is not one of mine!

[Van]

Originally Posted by stcroixman

thanks guys, as a newbie to boating I really don't look forward to being ridiculed at the ramp.

Practice/launch on a weekday.


It was the freakin launch ramps antics...(yelling, guys cutting ahead of others, even had a guy walk through my boat to get on land cause the docks were full, and a 3 hour wait one Saturday when it started raining with the family on board) that made me get a slip.

Never looked back, but I do miss the crazy ramp stuff when it happens to others

[Nomad]

Jumped into the Ct. River at Old Saybrook once to put a plug in for a guy who had no clue.....his boat was quickly filling and he didn't know what to do!! "Whataya mean plug?" He ran to get his trailer so I calmly grabbed one of my 4 spare plugs and jumped in......Then showed his wife where the auto/manual bilge switch was....float was stuck.
By the time he had his trailer in line (6 trailers long) his boat was almost empty.

I caught a 40 that day along with a ton of fun 15+ lb Bloos

Karma.....but I still laughed my a$$ off as I pulled away from the dock

[Grapenuts]

just ain't the trailer folks who can make your day...we just got back from clamin and were standin around bs'in...a little blue car drove down the ramp to the waters edge..a young couple got out..the guy goes to the trunk an pulls out a 5 gal bucket..as the girl watches he dips into the saltwater an starts to wash off the car..bucket after bucket..the girl climbs in the car an turns the wipers on...he puts the bucket back in the trunk a off they go..wonder if the car lived long at that bath.

[Mr. Sandman]

Boat ramps can be a great source of entertainment...almost like reality TV but in reality!

There has got to be a book worth of outrageous trailer stories.

[Hooper]

Bigfish, I too saw a new, very expensive Grady White launch from a trailer. It wound up high/dry at least 30 feet from the water, right in the middle of the ramp.

What I learned from all the screaming and yelling that followed was the owner's young son unhooked the trailer from the boat unbeknownst to Dad... I felt really bad for the kid, Dad was pretty upset at him.


The Grady made one hell of a sound as it left the trailer and landed on the pavement, Vvvvvvvvv...... BOOM! (and then the yelling started)

[Raven]

the psychological damage from that incident far out weighs the damage to the friggan Boat

.............that isn't flesh and blood

it gets internalized and creates untold havoc later...

[Hooper]

Originally Posted by Raven

the psychological damage from that incident far out weighs the damage to the friggan Boat

.............that isn't flesh and blood

it gets internalized and creates untold havoc later...

Agreed, not to mention Jr will never want to get on the boat again