"HarryKrause" wrote in message
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Doug Kanter wrote:
"Genius? Not!" wrote in message
m...
"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
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"Genius? Not!" wrote in message
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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.

It's different with every boat/trailer combination, as well as the
slant of the ramp and the shape of the hull. My boat's small, and the
hull's not a deep V. On a steep ramp, if I put too much trailer in the
water, the boat doesn't contact the bunks until it's 90% on the
trailer, at which point it's probably not sitting straight relative to
the trailer, due to wind or whatever. The boat's light enough that I
after I pull away from the ramp, I can shove the boat into position
just by lifting it, but that's just so un-stylish. :-)

Then, there are the ramp demons. I'll launch & pull out 50 times in a
row, getting everything perfect. And then, the 51st time, on a day with
no wind, no rush to get out of the next guy's way, no beer in the
captain, same ramp as always, and everything turns to crap and it's
like I'm a blind man trying to steer the truck with one toe while being
shot at AND swarmed by bees. Ramp demons are the only explanation.

I thought ramp demons were the unsupervised kids that walk right in
front of or right behind the truck or boat where they can't be seen
until it becomes a close call.

Oh yeah...them, too. And their parents, 50 feet behind, feeding pickles
and french fries to the ducks. One of the ramps I use a lot has a serious
design flaw: 3 burger & ice cream joints a half a block away. Lots of
pedestrians who come to slurp an ice cream cone and pretend they don't
notice the trailers. My son and I initiated a new thing last week - we
trying to see if tapping the horn can make anyone drop their ice cream
cone. :-)


At the Beach Boulevard public ramp in Jacksonville, FL, if you're really
lucky, after you've made sure the ramp is clear and you start backing down
your rig, some yahoo in a jetski will pull right into the base of the ramp
on his boat so he can chat with the three jetskiers chatting at the base
of the adjacent ramp. There's a really good chance you'll be able to prong
one of his earrings with your lower unit or, if the gods are really with
you, push that lower unit right through the jetski.

Note, please, that up here in the mid-Atlantic, jetskis aren't much of a
bother, but in NE Florida, they're worse than no-see-ums.

Some communities here in the Finger Lakes are really grinding their heels
into the jet ski nonsense. The local news two weeks back included an
interview with the sheriff, who said they're going to be pulling people over
(mostly jet skis, but also boats) and "advising" them that the 200 foot
no-wake rule should be interpreted to mean 500 to 1000 feet, especially
around anchored boats, since it's absolutely no inconvenience to allow the
extra space. I think the county's trying to change the law, but I missed the
first 20 seconds of that news story.