What’s the stupidest I thing you’ve seen at the boat ramp?

[simplecircuit]

This year…
I had my wife back me down the ramp, but I forgot to unclipmthe front of the boat. She didn’t understand my hand signals and the back end of the truck was in theater before I could get her attention to stop. When she pulled up, the boat was sitting on top of the fender of the trailer. No hat done, just embarrassing.

Last year…
I was putting I with my regular partner at Smith Springs. We were in a hurry and forgot to unhook the back straps. It took several revs of the engine in reverse to realize what the problem was.

Also, put in with a friend visiting from Vermont. I forgot the plug. Realized it when I got intheboat and there was water in the floor. Luckily, I got the bilge going before the batteries were completely submerged. Had to go get the truck and retrailer, dump the wate and thence were on our way. That’s what happens when you try to go fish before a titans game.

Other people…
On Sunday, I saw a guy drive a chaparral up and down his trailer several times, completely missing the front roller maybe 10 times. They had the trailer too deep. I felt bad for him. Also saw a couple trying to get their pontoon motor running earlier this year wi the trailers the water, taking up more than half thermal at elm hill for 30mins. It was the middle of winter,but still.

Lots of other stories from years past. I’ll put more in tomorrow

J

[krogers79]

I have been that guy that forgot the plug. Nothing more scary than getting back from parking the truck and realizing there is water in the floor. That won’t happen again…I can promise you that.

Last year while putting in at Fate Sanders, 3 good ole boys were taking out after a night of fishing and apparently drinking. One of the gentlemen had a little too much and when he stood up…out he goes onto those big rocks around the ramp.

Last year at Stewarts Creek, a gentleman was dropping his partner off to get the truck. The boater put the boat in reverse too quickly and he sent his buddy for a swim.

Seen numerous folks back their trailers off the side of the ramps.

[dcdietzel]

I believe it was about 4 yrs ago I went to check out the Long Hunter boat ramp. It was about 3 PM. There were several folks at the ramp. There was a orange cone on the ramp. I launched and while idling around I asked another guy going back and fourth slowly what was going on. Seems a guy from Brentwood had launch his boat and SUV. Everything was totally submerged out of site. When I got back to the ramp about an hour later there was a scuba guy trying to hook up a cable from a good old boys wrecker.

[hooperj14]

I pulled my boat out of the water and it was a little sideways. I just left it and put my transom saver and straps on. After doing so, I decided to fix it. I unhooked the straps but thought I could leave the transom saver on (forgetting that the back of the boat will float up off the trailer and the transom saver will disconnect from the trailer). I backed in the water, fixed the boat, and when I was pulling up the transom saver caught on the ramp and snapped in half.

[eanderson]

When I went to KY to buy my boat 2 years ago we were at a crowded ramp Memorial day weekend and I was sitting in the boat at the dock waiting on the guy to finish parking the truck. About the time the guy gets in the boat and sits down we are watching a large older cruiser boat being backed down the ramp (we were looking at the girls in the boat in bikini’s truth be known). The ramp was long and steep and it was an old roller trailer and his GF had unhooked it up front and he didnt know it. About 20ft down the ramp it let go and rolled off the trailer and slid down the ramp on its belly about 20ft and stopped about 10ft short of the water. There were about 15 boats in line to put in at this point. We all got over and helped him get the nose up on the trailer and get it hooked to try and wench it back on the trailer. Just as the rear was coming off the ramp the darn wench rope broke and back down the trailer and ramp the boat went! We hopped in my boat and left for a test drive after that! LOL

Rough day for that guy for sure!

[simplecircuit]

Pulling into Vivrette one night at dark [we had out lights on – the other boat didn’t], I had a couple of guys cut me off about 50yds coming back into the ramp. I was in a tracker 175 with a 40hp outboard that didn’t like to idle. When he dropped his buddy off, my motor had stalled out. Without looking, he backed the boat off the ramp and swung around without looking while my partner and I were yelling to him. He cracked the front end of his fiberglass rig pretty good on the nose of my aluminum boat. He never said a word. I’ve never seen a boat put on a trailer and take off faster. I’m guessing they were drunk.

Another time at Old Hickory, I saw a semi truck get a house boat stuck on the end of the short ramps at “the beach” by Dupont.
By the time we got back in from fishing, they had finally gotten it in the water, but that was probably 4hrs later of pushing/pulling with a semi.

One that I didn’t see, but a guide told me about…
We went out on a guided trip for Stripers out of Carthage with a guide. When we got back in that afternoon, he powerloaded his boat back onto the trailer. He really hit it pretty hot. So, I asked him if he was ever worried about jumping the trailer. He said he had landed his boat in the bed of his truck one time after getting after it too much while loading. I would have loved to see it. He didn’t seem to be bothered though.

j.

[philip-nichols]

Funniest thing I ever saw at the ramp was back in high school I took my boat and met my buddy with his boat at elm hill to go hybrid fishing. Launched my boat with no problems. Went to park the truck and as I was walking back watching my buddy launch his boat it was like a slow motion horror/comedy skit! He backed his down into the water but had an old pathfinder manual transmission left it running out of gear and just the parking break holding all that weight. Well it didn’t hold very long haha it popped rolled back into the lack and when he tried to open the door to stop it the force of the water caught the door opening it very rapidly into his face knocking him smooth out!!! Well truck was submerged completely and he never unhooked the front of the boat so for a while the back half of the boat and motor were up in the air. I felt bad for him but we were high school kids and I could not stop laughing! Tow truck was able to pull it all out.