On Nov 4, 11:20 am, (Richard Casady)
wrote:
On Tue, 4 Nov 2008 10:01:02 -0500, "Alta47"
wrote:

I bought a 13-foot aluminum boat and trailer this summer. I never owned one
before, so I had to figure out how to get it into the water using a boat
launching ramp. As far as I can tell, part of that process includes backing
the trailer into the water and then actually having to wade into the water a
short distance to push the boat off the trailer.

My stupid question is: Now that it's getting cold outside, if I want to
launch the boat in cold weather, do I actually have to wade into icy cold
water on a cold day to do that? I assume there must be another way to do
this.

You can push the boat with an oar. It is small enough to row if the
motor goes on strike, so you really ought to have a pair. If you are
on a starvation budget, get a piece of 1x2 about ten feet long.

Casady

When I was younger and in college, one quarter I "coded" accident
reports for the Florida Highway patrol meaning that I read the report
and filled in computer forms about them. The best one I ever read
involved someone at a boat ramp.
When he backed his truck down to the ramp and launched his boat, it
slid off the trailer into the water by itself. He decided to take off
his clothes and swim out to the boat. When he got to the boat, he
turned to see his truck roll backwards into the water. Sitting in the
boat, he realized he didnt have the drain plug. The trooper remarked
that the poor guy had a bad enough day that charging him with indecent
exposure would have been cruel.
Another accident I remember involved someones pet turtle that crawled
under the brake pedal.