Boat Ramp - just so funny

[Captain Graham]

I have been sailing all my life and that does not make me immune to doing something stupid at the boat ramp.

It was early in the spring and I was excited to get my Yankee 24 Seahorse into the water.

I got the mast up solo, everything ready and backed her into the water.
Started to push her off the trailer but he would not budge.

A guy watching called out so all could hear, "maybe you should unhook her first".

Yes the bow was still hooked to the trailer wench.
LOL It was about 6 inches from my face but I did not see it.

[ohgary]

Know that feeling.... I was launching my boat and look back and wonder why the bilge pump is pumping some much water out. DUH, Guess putting the drain plug in would stop that... It was in my hand the whole time.

[Tailwheel]

LOL! You get to a certain age where you can’t focus on things as close as six inches without glassses!

[Tayana42]

You were probably distracted by the wench on the trailer. Was she near the winch?

[jacktheflyer]

When my kids were little I was launching the dinghy to go fishing. As usual there were a number of rubber neckers around the ramp watching boats. I noticed after launching that I hadn't put the bung in. Not a problem as the water will drain when I'm on the plane and the boat won't take on a lot of water in the meantime. All was cool until my boys discovered my error and pointed it out to me at the top of their voices as though I was slitting their throats.
Scrubby

[Bentwings]

I doubt if there is anyone who has forgotten the drain plug at least once. We have the Zebra muscle problem so boats must be drained as they are removed from the water. You can see the “ forgot the drain plug” nearly every weekend at the boat ramps.

I haven’t seen any submerges yet however. A couple close calls. I didn’t see it but a guy was afraid to back down to the water so he unhooked the trailer from his truck. He luckily forgot the remove the trailer to boat straps and the whole unit got away from him. So the boat was in the water with the trailer still attached. That must have been a real Laurel and Hardy act. I would have paid admission to see it.LOL

[a64pilot]

Ever seen someone take off from a stoplight and leave the boat on the road?
Funny as heck and actually easy to recover, just unhook the trailer and winch it under the boat.
No it wasn’t me, but could have been.

[sheldon957]

I remember the reading about the newbie boating couple who bought their very first boat, a brand new runabout. After getting it into the water, the engine started and ran fine but the boat had no get up and go.

They could not make it get up on plane.

Luckily their dealers dock was nearby so the idled over and the mechanic came to check it out.

He encountered the same problems. No go fast! After spending some time diagnosing on the engine he happened to look down into the water.

The TRAILER was still attached to the boat! They had just unhooked the trailer from the truck!

[Hunky Dory]

Its funny now, but not at the time. A friend pulled his 26 ft trailerable, water ballast sail boat out to take it to the car wash. To save time and effort he left the mast up. All was well until he hit a large power line that actually knocked the boat off the trailer and left it sitting in the middle of the road. Luckly no one was hurt and the boat only has a few scratches to show for the event.
it won't happen again. Happy New Year!

[Jimmy4Jesus]

Yeah. Mine was a combo of that. Forgot plug and realized it so went to pull boat out but forgot to relock the winch. Dropped a 22' deck boat right in the middle of the boat ramp. Wish I had known about unhooking the trailer for an easy fix

[oleman]

Years ago (early 70's) I took our old 16' outboard for a spin on the San Francisco Bay. Trip started fine and old Johnson outboard purred like a leaking kitten. The boat started lugging and I blamed the motor. Eventually the boat settled into the water further. At that point I remembered that (saw the flotation plug) and realized I forget to put the flotation chamber plug in before launch. That old boat had a flotation chamber in the hull below the floor. It had no foam, it was an air chamber that was always drained when loaded onto the trailer. With a full throttle run to get her sort-of bow up that drained the chamber and took it back to the dock to finish draining and replace the plug.
Another time I re-cabled the steering and wrapped the drum backwards, you guessed correctly. Turning the wheel to the right made it turn left.
We all have our stories if you have been at boating for awhile.

[carlheintz]

Oh, I have to save this thread for those times when I need reinforcement that I'm not the only one who makes really stupid mistakes!

[PuttingDoctor]

One of our docks here at Halifax Harbor Marina faces the launch ramps. I understand many of the folks use lawn chairs and beer coolers on summer weekends. The entertainment is free.
I think my best ramp experience was when I pulled a MacGregor 26 motorsailer out singlehanded. I pulled as far forward as I could so others could make the turn to back in. One of the lead boats waiting to launch waited not thinking he had room. A female from a truck some 5 or 6 back comes up to the boat as I’m getting ready to drop the mast and begins bitching me out about blocking the ramp.
I politely mentioned that the vehicle at the turn had plenty of room and perhaps she should speak to him. I also pointed out the mast and trees close ahead and said, “everybody gets a turn, mine just takes a while longer.” She walked away with a puzzled look on her face.

[MV Wanderlust]

I forgot the drain plug on our double hull, hardside dinghy and ran it for several hours before returning to the boat. It's darned near unsinkable so it sat a little lower but that was all. The davit arm nearly snapped under the extra weight... and then I realized what had happened. Managed to get it about a foot above the water and hold it there for more than half an hour while the water drained out. Duh. Haven't forgotten since.

[Zoidislander]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Ever seen someone take off from a stoplight and leave the boat on the road?
Funny as heck and actually easy to recover, just unhook the trailer and winch it under the boat.
No it wasn’t me, but could have been.

Yup, did that once with a customers boat. I didn't change him for the repairs.