I hope it gets better for you! Great stories though.
Curtis

"Genius? Not!" wrote in message
. ..
Ok, so I'm new to boating and I've got an 18 foot boat with which to get
my feet wet. Here's the first couple of dumbass things I've done with or
to my new boat. Let's hope that I start learning from other people's
mistakes and don't make the same one's twice. In fact, I wish that for
everyone!

Did you know that when you raft up with a friends taller boat that
someone's fender is going to rub the decal off your boat? No worries,
it's a small blemish (I'm sure it's not the last).

Did you know that the Sherriff doesn't like it when you create a wake in
the no wake zone? Oops; seriously, it was a definition glitch (a wake is
not defined by the presence or absence of white water - a wake is a wake
is a wake). I got off with a warning, but had to suffer a prolonged
discussion as I was used as training material.

Did you know that when you tie your boat up alongside the open water side
of the dock, and you tie it tight to the dock, that even with fenders,
your protective rubber trim will get knocked out of its track? In defense
of my boating buddy, he told me not to tie it tight to the dock. The
problem was, from a distance, it sounded like he told me to tie it tight
to the dock. Sigh. I did learn that those orange pfd's make great
fenders.

Not last and not least, did you know that you should put the prop into
trailer mode the second you tie up to the launch dock? No damage on
pulling up the ramp, but plenty of embarrassment.

Now for the piece de resistance. A writer I'm not, but I'll try to convey
the scene for you boat ramp sadists. We pull up to the dock and squeeze
in behind a boat that was just launched. The boat in front is ready to
go, but the boss went to park his trailer and the rest of us are stuck (at
least those of us that aren't quite ready for the delicate task of driving
the boat onto the trailer) waiting for his boat to move out of the way.
Well, I had a great parking space so I was ready to back the trailer down
as soon as the just launched boat found it's owner so it could pull away
and let us move our boat forward. My wife, an impatient woman, god love
her, decides she isn't going to wait for the boat to move, unties our
boat, jumps in the water with the boat and walks it to the middle of the
ramp. The first thing I know about this is when I look back (remember,
still waiting for an absent owner to move his boat) and see my wife chest
deep in water not even holding a dock line as the boat begins to turn
sideways. Yeah, this is where I start yelling at her 'cause I'm an ass
and don't know what else to do. Now I have to back down (remember, I'm
new to backing trailers) to the middle of the ramp (sorry folks, I know
I'm taking up two spaces, but .... To make matters worse, we can't agree
on whether the boat is on the trailer correctly (I'm worried about is to
far to one side or the other and hitting the wheel well. Enough is enough
and I pull the damn boat out of the water and out of the way only to have
my kids run up and tell me the boat ain't right. Ah crap! It probably
wasn't as bad as it seemed, but it was cockeyed on the trailer. I didn't
realize that lined up means nothing if the blasted thing is still floating
when you start yanking it out of the water. It gets even better. For some
crazy reason (it's 5pm on a Sunday night), there's a line a block long
waiting to launch (someone's got to explain this to me). I figure I'm not
going anywhere until I reload my boat, but the next guy in line with the
sea doos, says hell no get in line. And so on. Anyway, we got the boat
reloaded, correctly this time, but we're not speaking to each other for
awhile (at least not anything nice - I'm dying from the embarrassment of a
wife who won't do what I tell her to do and a hundred witnesses to that
and to me not knowing what the hell I'm doing with the boat. Maybe you
can picture this; maybe not. It was actually the next trip where I
figured out why the boat didn't stay where I thought I had put it.

Hey, I'm sure there's more to follow, but I hope not!

Marty

On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 04:28:47 GMT, "Genius? Not!"
wrote:

~~ snippage ~~

Hey, I'm sure there's more to follow, but I hope not!

Great tales and instructive.

It's funny, in all the years I've trailered boats, I've had exactly
one incident offloading a boat when it got away from me and had to be
retrieved by a friendly boater.

I've been very lucky.

Don't forget to forget to leave your drain plug out at least once when you
launch. That's always a barrel of laughs.

Around 7/25/2005 9:28 PM, Genius? Not! wrote:

Ok, so I'm new to boating and I've got an 18 foot boat with which to get my
feet wet. Here's the first couple of dumbass things I've done with or to my
new boat. Let's hope that I start learning from other people's mistakes and
don't make the same one's twice. In fact, I wish that for everyone!

Did you know that when you raft up with a friends taller boat that someone's
fender is going to rub the decal off your boat? No worries, it's a small
blemish (I'm sure it's not the last).

Decals? Who uses decals on boats? ;)


Did you know that the Sherriff doesn't like it when you create a wake in the
no wake zone? Oops; seriously, it was a definition glitch (a wake is not
defined by the presence or absence of white water - a wake is a wake is a
wake). I got off with a warning, but had to suffer a prolonged discussion
as I was used as training material.

I did in fact know that.


Did you know that when you tie your boat up alongside the open water side of
the dock, and you tie it tight to the dock, that even with fenders, your
protective rubber trim will get knocked out of its track?

Yep! It'll do that as long as it's still reasonably pliable. Funny; I
didn't have that problem with my 38-year-old hard-as-a-rock trim.

In defense of my
boating buddy, he told me not to tie it tight to the dock. The problem was,
from a distance, it sounded like he told me to tie it tight to the dock.
Sigh. I did learn that those orange pfd's make great fenders.

Temporary ones, though - they don't tend to last long in fender duty.


Not last and not least, did you know that you should put the prop into
trailer mode the second you tie up to the launch dock? No damage on pulling
up the ramp, but plenty of embarrassment.

Yep.


Now for the piece de resistance. A writer I'm not, but I'll try to convey
the scene for you boat ramp sadists. We pull up to the dock and squeeze in
behind a boat that was just launched. The boat in front is ready to go, but
the boss went to park his trailer and the rest of us are stuck (at least
those of us that aren't quite ready for the delicate task of driving the
boat onto the trailer) waiting for his boat to move out of the way. Well, I
had a great parking space so I was ready to back the trailer down as soon as
the just launched boat found it's owner so it could pull away and let us
move our boat forward. My wife, an impatient woman, god love her, decides
she isn't going to wait for the boat to move, unties our boat, jumps in the
water with the boat and walks it to the middle of the ramp. The first thing
I know about this is when I look back (remember, still waiting for an absent
owner to move his boat) and see my wife chest deep in water not even holding
a dock line as the boat begins to turn sideways. Yeah, this is where I
start yelling at her 'cause I'm an ass and don't know what else to do. Now
I have to back down (remember, I'm new to backing trailers) to the middle of
the ramp (sorry folks, I know I'm taking up two spaces, but .... To make
matters worse, we can't agree on whether the boat is on the trailer
correctly (I'm worried about is to far to one side or the other and hitting
the wheel well. Enough is enough and I pull the damn boat out of the water
and out of the way only to have my kids run up and tell me the boat ain't
right. Ah crap! It probably wasn't as bad as it seemed, but it was
cockeyed on the trailer. I didn't realize that lined up means nothing if
the blasted thing is still floating when you start yanking it out of the
water. It gets even better. For some crazy reason (it's 5pm on a Sunday
night), there's a line a block long waiting to launch (someone's got to
explain this to me). I figure I'm not going anywhere until I reload my
boat, but the next guy in line with the sea doos, says hell no get in line.
And so on. Anyway, we got the boat reloaded, correctly this time, but we're
not speaking to each other for awhile (at least not anything nice - I'm
dying from the embarrassment of a wife who won't do what I tell her to do
and a hundred witnesses to that and to me not knowing what the hell I'm
doing with the boat. Maybe you can picture this; maybe not.

Picture it, heck: I've seen situations like that more times than I can
count.


It was
actually the next trip where I figured out why the boat didn't stay where I
thought I had put it.

You might try not backing the trailer in so deep. Depending on the
trailer, even a little bit more out of the water might help the boat to
self-center itself.


Hey, I'm sure there's more to follow, but I hope not!

I hope so! It makes for a refreshing change from the usual wrecked.boats
fare. :)

--
~/Garth - 1966 Glastron V-142 Skiflite: "Blue-Boat"
"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing
as simply messing about in boats."
-Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

for providing good free entertainment at the local launch ramp. Last
trip to the beach (4th of July week) we actually went and parked next to
the ramp while we ate lunch (a couple of short spaces are reserved just
for spectators :) ). Geez, you could charge admission.

Swampings, boats drifting off, rammings, dunkings, all in an hour's time.

To start off, some guy with the whole family and grandma too parked his
behomoth pickup right at the dock, blocking the swing-in path for those
loading and unloading, just so the family could fish from the dock and
have a cooler handy in the pickup bed. I was amazed that no one
complained to the guy - it resulted in all sorts of crazy gyrations and
wild backing from those trying to get in and out.

It went downhill from there...

We've got the routine down pretty well after 20 years of trailering, but
we still make the boneheaded move now and again. That very 4th of July
week I got home (only a few miles) after an outing and realized I hadn't
put the tie down strap on the back. Fortunately the boat didn't go
airborne going over the bump leaving the parking lot (well, I don't
think it did ;) ).

So I'd like to say it gets easier with experience, but...

Lars

"FishWisher" wrote in message
...
Oh yes! This adventure from a few years ago when I owned a 25' Bayliner
and kept it on a lift:

3-28-99



Yesterday afternoon upon arriving at the dock from fishing on the
Sacramento River, I was just finishing up the chores of docking and
raising the boat on it's boat lift. I do these chores after every cruise,
there's nothing to it!



A boat lift is a fine device when operated properly.

Great story!

"Garth Almgren" wrote in message
...
Around 7/25/2005 9:28 PM, Genius? Not! wrote:

It was actually the next trip where I figured out why the boat didn't
stay where I thought I had put it.

You might try not backing the trailer in so deep. Depending on the
trailer, even a little bit more out of the water might help the boat to
self-center itself.


Hey, I'm sure there's more to follow, but I hope not!

I hope so! It makes for a refreshing change from the usual wrecked.boats
fare. :)

I'm glad you appreciated the contribution to the ng. And thanks for the
tip.

Someone mentioned somewhere that I should back in enough to get the bunks
wet, then pull forward until ...; it's the until that I haven't figured out
yet.

"lars" wrote in message
. com...

We've got the routine down pretty well after 20 years of trailering, but
we still make the boneheaded move now and again. That very 4th of July
week I got home (only a few miles) after an outing and realized I hadn't
put the tie down strap on the back. Fortunately the boat didn't go
airborne going over the bump leaving the parking lot (well, I don't think
it did ;) ).

So I'd like to say it gets easier with experience, but...

Lars

It is getting easier each time we go out; at least the things I've screwed
up haven't been repeated yet. ;)

Genius? Not! wrote:

I've got the 5.5 foot box, so that might explain why its a little squirrely
when I'm backing. I'm getting better at the backing. The trick for me was
to finally give in and use the bottom of the steering wheel to direct the
trailer.

No shame in that.

The trailer tongue length, actually the distance between the hitch and
the axle, has more to do with it than your tow vehicle wheelbase. I'm
betting you can back your truck pretty straight without a trailer. I
used to have a little utility trailer that was a real pain to back
straight. The boat is a piece of cake in comparison. I tend to do better
with my head turned around looking backwards than using the mirrors.

Keep at it and you'll have it down in no time.

-rick-

Does anyone still have all those fine old ramp stories circulating on here
about a year or two back?
The best was the one about Bubba and his 300 HP racing merc OB and how he
pulled the tow vehicle into the lake with it!
Fredo

"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...

"Genius? Not!" wrote in message
. ..

Dude! - I can *so* relate!! I got a new Bayliner 175 Capri, and
struggled with almost all of the items you mentined. However, I
had the help of a experienced boater with me for the first few
outings, but I'm on my own now, so yeah, I can relate fully!
(and your piece is written pretty cool too!)

So that covers a lot of "logistics", but how about your actual
outting itself? Waves, dodging people, other boats etc?
So have you hit a wave yet and come down and landed so
hard that it knocked you senseless? I recently did this, and
don't know if I caused any damage, or if this is semi-normal,
or just how much of a slam landing a boat like this can take.

That whole backing up of the trailer *sucks*, and thats all
there is to it. (there is no sugar coating it). Might have to
do with the truck, and trailer design, but all I know is that
my 1996 F-150 4x4 w/ short box makes backing my boat
in a straight line very difficult (short wheel base on F-150
small box). Anyways, I found what helps is to take the
boat to the local school (school's out), and keep practicing
until you either go mad, puke, go silly, the tranny drops out,
or you get so fustrated that you back the thing thru the fence,
and on to the 4-lane highway, and a Mach truck takes it out
(in which case its game over). Being new to it, I make it a
point to go to the school before every outing, and again
on the way home from the outing before I get back home
so that I don't embarass myself in front of the neighbors.
Even then, I still sometimes handing up putting the thing
on the neighbors lawn. (but I'm getting better) The
challange for ME is that fricking gas meter upside the
house. I got 1 foot (max) between house/gas meter, and
the edge of the gravel RV pad and the neighbor's lawn
(and this really sharp concrete scallops lawn edging).
Taking out that gas meter really *WOULD* be "game over"...


Ok, so I'm new to boating and I've got an 18 foot boat with which to get
my
feet wet. Here's the first couple of dumbass things I've done with or to
my
new boat. Let's hope that I start learning from other people's mistakes
and
don't make the same one's twice. In fact, I wish that for everyone!

Did you know that when you raft up with a friends taller boat that
someone's
fender is going to rub the decal off your boat? No worries, it's a small
blemish (I'm sure it's not the last).

Did you know that the Sherriff doesn't like it when you create a wake in
the
no wake zone? Oops; seriously, it was a definition glitch (a wake is not
defined by the presence or absence of white water - a wake is a wake is a
wake). I got off with a warning, but had to suffer a prolonged
discussion
as I was used as training material.

Did you know that when you tie your boat up alongside the open water side
of
the dock, and you tie it tight to the dock, that even with fenders, your
protective rubber trim will get knocked out of its track? In defense of
my
boating buddy, he told me not to tie it tight to the dock. The problem
was,
from a distance, it sounded like he told me to tie it tight to the dock.
Sigh. I did learn that those orange pfd's make great fenders.

Not last and not least, did you know that you should put the prop into
trailer mode the second you tie up to the launch dock? No damage on
pulling
up the ramp, but plenty of embarrassment.

Now for the piece de resistance. A writer I'm not, but I'll try to
convey
the scene for you boat ramp sadists. We pull up to the dock and squeeze
in
behind a boat that was just launched. The boat in front is ready to go,
but
the boss went to park his trailer and the rest of us are stuck (at least
those of us that aren't quite ready for the delicate task of driving the
boat onto the trailer) waiting for his boat to move out of the way.
Well,
I
had a great parking space so I was ready to back the trailer down as soon
as
the just launched boat found it's owner so it could pull away and let us
move our boat forward. My wife, an impatient woman, god love her,
decides
she isn't going to wait for the boat to move, unties our boat, jumps in
the
water with the boat and walks it to the middle of the ramp. The first
thing
I know about this is when I look back (remember, still waiting for an
absent
owner to move his boat) and see my wife chest deep in water not even
holding
a dock line as the boat begins to turn sideways. Yeah, this is where I
start yelling at her 'cause I'm an ass and don't know what else to do.
Now
I have to back down (remember, I'm new to backing trailers) to the middle
of
the ramp (sorry folks, I know I'm taking up two spaces, but .... To make
matters worse, we can't agree on whether the boat is on the trailer
correctly (I'm worried about is to far to one side or the other and
hitting
the wheel well. Enough is enough and I pull the damn boat out of the
water
and out of the way only to have my kids run up and tell me the boat ain't
right. Ah crap! It probably wasn't as bad as it seemed, but it was
cockeyed on the trailer. I didn't realize that lined up means nothing if
the blasted thing is still floating when you start yanking it out of the
water. It gets even better. For some crazy reason (it's 5pm on a Sunday
night), there's a line a block long waiting to launch (someone's got to
explain this to me). I figure I'm not going anywhere until I reload my
boat, but the next guy in line with the sea doos, says hell no get in
line.
And so on. Anyway, we got the boat reloaded, correctly this time, but
we're
not speaking to each other for awhile (at least not anything nice - I'm
dying from the embarrassment of a wife who won't do what I tell her to do
and a hundred witnesses to that and to me not knowing what the hell I'm
doing with the boat. Maybe you can picture this; maybe not. It was
actually the next trip where I figured out why the boat didn't stay where
I
thought I had put it.

Hey, I'm sure there's more to follow, but I hope not!

Marty