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

"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.


Some perspective: When I was around 12 or 13, my parents had a 47 foot
Concord (IIRC). They apparently didn't compare their visions of how boating
would be. My dad, who spent time on an aircraft carrier in WWII, thought
nothing of taking us through some scary water in an area defined by Montauk
to the west and Nantucket to the east. I guess he handled it well because
I'm still alive. My mother, on the other hand, thought it would be nice to
have real dishes on the boat instead of plastic ones. Not fancy stuff, but
probably the first wave of inexpensive Japanese ceramics from companies like
Mikasa (when it was cheap).

Anyway....one day, my dad was trying gracefully manage a combination of a
wave and a wake and ended up making the boat roll a bit too much and too
quickly. We discovered that the cabinet locks in the galley were not
designed to deal with stacks of heavy dishes. My sisters and I thought this
was funny until we noticed how quickly icicles can form on a boat in the
middle of summer. :-) Interesting parental dynamics for a few hours after
that.