Here's one for Ya.......!

[RANGER]

I was just thinking about fishing.....Duh!! And I thought about asking all of you..............What is YOUR, personal, biggest faux pas (screwup) at the RAMP? Witnessed or otherwise.

Mine - Local Walleye tourney. 5 of the teams are "our" guys - i.e. friends and we are in line together. Excitement, early morning launch, quiet, dew everywhere, the smell of "fishy" water, anticipation, not a ripple and boats unloading - fast, everyone watching, beautiful launch as boat just s l i d e s into the water, run to park truck and trailer, quick march back to the water, jump in boat, lower the main motor, hear higher pitch of trim motor, turn around and walk to back - BOTH transom savers still hooked up!!!!!!! Whole ramp in stitches!!!


RANGER


"KEEP YOUR LINES WET, YOUR POWDER DRY and THE BEER COLD"!

[Chuck Pederson MN]

A few years ago I watched a guy with his pickup facing the dock on an incline towards the water pulled his emergency brake release while outside of his truck with the door open. The truck broke thru the park on the tranny and sent the truck and trailer sailing down towards a guy loading his boat. The guy tries to get in the truck while it's on the move, well he is being dragged he manages to get in as his truck goes over a huge pile of field stone. His truck makes it over and he slams on the brakes matching door for door the other truck in the water. He missed that other truck by about 6 inches and his trailer was still on top of the field stone. Several of us had to unhook the trailer and lift it off the rocks by hand. If you have ever been to Walth bay by Mobridge SD. thats a steep landing. We were all amazed that someone didn't get killed let alone going thru that with no damage or a scratch. It was now cocktail time.

[Roscoe]

Had to quit about noon on opening day a couple years ago. Was pulling the boat out and my partner backed the truck down and got out to see if I needed help. Loaded the boat and he went to pull it out and the doors were locked and the truck was runing. It took almost a hour for a locksmith to come. Luckily the guys waiting had a good sense of humor and sat patiently. Now my partner always rolls down the window when loading!

[Chuck Pederson MN]

I got one more... In Chamberlain SD, a couple years ago we watched from the boat slips as a guy with a new Ranger boat and new Suburban was carefully backing down the ramp. Well being extra carefully with this new rig he opens the driver door to see how deep he was getting. Well the door catches on the dock and the guy panics he goes to slam on the brake and hits the throttle. This sends the whole works in the river and fills his truck full to the top of the back window with water and bends the door around to smash in the front fender as well. To add insult to injury my kids went over and took pictures.

[JKJ]

About 10 years ago, I was putting the boat back on the trailer. Everything going well until I started to pull out. Back then I had a full size Chevy with a stick. Well, as I started to pull out, I rolled back enough to let the trailer tire drop back into a washout hole at the end of the ramp. Got a little excited and got on the gas. Ended up hanging up the tires in that hole and just about left the axel in the lake.

Basically wrecked the trailer. Broke several welds, bent the axel, bent the tire rims. And finally, bent the back bumper of the truck.

Had to flat bed the boat and trailer home........

[wheels]

A guy drops off his wife at the dock one afternoon. She runs up, gets the truck and trailer. While attempting to back the trailer down she was only watching out of the drivers side mirror. Ever so slowly she went as the trailer jack knifed so far that the trailer was skipping sideways down the ramp. Unaware of the happens she didn't stop until she heard the calls of "stop!" from the group of people on the marina bar, deck. She pulled up to straighten it out and started again. As the trailer skipped sideways down the ramp for a second time the place was filling up as it was the last day of prefishing before a 200 boat tournament. Finally on the third try, the gent in the boat got mad, jumped out of the boat onto the rocks and backed it in himself. After swimming back to his loose boat, he finally got her loaded and there was a cheer of success from the bar!

[Homer]

About 10 years ago, my eight year old son and I pulled up to the dock right after he caught his first salmon, and we were showing it off to everyone at the ramp. After dropping him off at the dock, I moved the boat over to a better launch slip that had opened up. I jumped on the dock , but when I went to grab the ropes to tie off, I noticed that the boat was "drifting" straight backward. Well, it wasn't drifting, in the excitement I pulled the throttle back beyond neutral and into reverse. By the time I realized what was happening, I had to lean way off the end of the dock to reach the boat, and got pulled right into the lake. I was dangling from the bow of my 16' boat and getting slowly pulled to sea. I eventually worked my way to the side of the boat and crawled back in. Needless to say, everyone at the ramp got a good laugh.

[Boyder]

#1. Years ago, I used to do a little "Fishing Tips and Tricks" segment for a local TV network in N.D. I had just finished doing a segment on "Boat Ramp" etiquete, and decided to launch the boat to go fishing. I went thru my usual routine (so I thought) but despite all my efforts of reving the engine, rockin' the boat, and finally backing further down the ramp, the boat would not come off the trailer ... that is until I realized I'd forgotten to remove the tie-down straps from the transom ....

#2. At a tournament in S.D. on Lake Oahe near Mobridge, we were to launch our boat at a ramp in one bay, then motor around to the next bay to pick up our partner and get ready to go. I was running late that morning, and hurried to get my boat loaded and in the water. On my way around the point to the bay where I was to pick up my partner, the boat began to act "doggy" and would not plane-out very well. I finally got in to the bay and pulled up to the shore to ready my tackle when I noticed my feet were in an inch of water. In my haste, I had put the boat plug in the livewell intake instead of the bildge drain .... took 35 minutes to get all that water pumped out.

Boyder ... now happy and living in Wisconsin

[chrism]

Near dusk, a truckload of beverage-induced-happy-types came to this remote lake where they had a cabin on one of the distant Islands. They unloaded the boat, and stalled the truck on the steep ramp. The fellow driving then started it up and popped the clutch, when we all heard a big "thud" - the thud was his driveshaft seperating from his u-joint....

Of course, the fellow in his wise-state kept reving the engine to make the truck go forward, not knowing what happened - he ended up sliding right off the backside of the ramp, and his buddies in the boat picked him up off of the truck's hood.
This crew then decided to just leave the truck there, since it was almost dark... "and they had some cold beer and life was good"...next day, they didn't show, and the nearby lodge owner brought his backhoe tractor out and without any regard, tied a chain to the almost submerged truck, and yanked it up onto the rocks beside the ramp..... ouch....and the trailer wasn't attatched when the truck came out!

I wish I was there when they finally did come back - would have been priceless!

Thank goodness I had my boat in already, and didn't need to use the ramp...

[Dave in Mpls]

A few years back I was fishing the Mississippi below the Ford Dam in St Paul. As we neared the landing at Hidden Falls, we could see a group of people gathered at the end of the ramp looking and pointing into the water. As we got closer, I could see a ripple in the water, much like you would see on a wing dam. Upon closer examination, I then saw about 3 inches of an antenna sticking up out of the water! Apparently, some poor dude with a mini-van was loading up, thought he was in park, but not quite - the tranny was in reverse. He steped out of the vehicle, which immediately made a bee line for the river! While we waited, a wrecker shows up and backs down the ramp, and out jumps some young kid, scratching his head and laughing. He gets the cable in one hand, and for a swim he goes. It took him a couple tries, but he finally got hooked onto a "solid" piece of the vehicle. He fires up the PTO, and begins pulling the van and trailer out. Just as the front end of the van breaks the surface...BANG!!...the front bumper of the van comes off, and back into the water goes the rig. Finally, they are able to get the cable attached to the frame and get the van out of the water. However, as they are pulling it up the ramp, the cross-member on the trailer got hung up on the end of the concrete ramp and bent the snot out of the trailer. About six of us were finally able to lift the trailer up so that the cross-member would clear the ramp.

About an hour after the whole ordeal started, both van and trailer are sitting on dry ground. The owner (in very good spirits, considering) opens up the sliding door of the van and out flops about a 10" sauger!

I still look at the pictures we took that day and laugh my butt off!

Regards

[FJH1]

This happened several years ago. We were fishing the MWC Illinois River tourney. On day 2 we launched early and lightly pulled the boat onto the mud by the grain elevators to wait for take-off. We had minnows in the back baitwell and decided to transfer some to the front as well. This required adding some water to the front livewell. About 5 minutes before we were to take off we got ready to back out into the river alny to find that the bat wouldn't budge, stuck fast to the mud by the weight of the now full front livewell. After several minutes of struggling we decided that I should get out of the boat (the shallow taperd mud shelf extends pretty far out)...after some pushing, and two muddy feet and a really muddy floor later we were finally floating again. That Illinois River diesel scum mud was still in that carpet up to the day I sold the boat.

Best Regards,

FJH

[Jack G]

The question was "what was you personal screw up" but I see many guys can only bring themselves to talk about other peoples screw ups.

I have had several.

Once I left out the drain plug and took on so much water before I noticed it that I had to beach the boat, grab a plug from a livewell and reach over the transom with my head underwater to insert the drain plug. No one saw it but my fishing partner.

Another time I left the transom tie downs attached when I launched. Only when I saw my boat was not directly behind my boat did I realize my mistake. I simply pulled ahead and corrected the problem. No one saw this screw up but me.

I now use a 3X5 index card to check off necessary tasks when launching and pulling out.

Wonderful entertainment for the family would be to simply observe a launch ramp on a nice spring weekend day.

[Backwater Eddy]

Timely topic, yesterday or last night really, I was headed out on the Red. I asked the local Park's department to remove a the sand bar deposited in the ramp by the flooding and they kindly did so (Thank's Guy's).

Well the Red has dropped a bit more and as I backed into the ramp I stopped hard and sudden like, What the heck?

Here the loader had dug out the upper ramp but left a wall just out in the river far enough as to act like a shoot. Well anyway, I snapped off two transducers as I hit it, ARRRRRR----bummer.

I felt darn stupid but heck I couldn't see the sand at all when I backed in last night. I had to crawl out on the boat in the water to see what the heck I had hit. I hit the sand bar dead on like backing into a gravel pile, confusion followed by a deep feeling of stupidity!

Oh I have done FAR worse for sure, just this happens to be a new one on me is all!

Look before ya stick it in I guess? (The Ramp)

:)

Backwater Eddy

[Hawgeye]

Mine did not happen at the ramp, mine happened on the water last weekend.

My 7 year old son and I decided to go fishing for the weekend. He was very excited to get to fish with dad on a fishing trip in our new boat!

Well, the wind was blowing at about 30-35mph, it was raining and about 50 degrees. I could not break it to him that the weather was too tough to fish. I decided we could fish a lake that had a landing in a nice protected bay. We started catching fish as we slipped with the wind. Eventually we were getting close to shore and got out in the wind with 3-4 footers. I went to fire up the outboard and it fired but quit. I hit it again and nothing!

Panic time. I first dropped in the the autopilot, turned it on, flipped the footfeet on and nothing! I then went to the transom mount trolling motor. Since it was a 46lb carry over from my old smaller boat, it was not strong enough against that big wind a waves.

Now I am on the shore getting slammed against the shore. I jumped out in chest deep water to try to save my boat and get my son out of that fun predicament. I walked it around the point where it was calm and pulled the boat ashore.

Now I could think more clearly. First of all, my autopilot has the radio controlled footfeet which needs to be turned on after the motor is turned on...mistake #2.

I checked every fuse and even tried to pull start my 125HP but to no avail. I then went to trim it back and realized what about made me sick! IN GEAR! The waves pounding must have bumped my knee into the shift lever which did not allow me to start the motor. Being a tiller guy forever, now owning a console, this is one my 7 year old will never let me live down and he shouldnt!!!!!!!!! :)

Good news, only damage was the lost fishing rod that hooked a tree branch during the battle. I can live with that as a cheap lesson learned!

[EricCO]

I'll have to number them for you!

1. First boat, first time out. Pulling into dock after long day of fishing and didn't realize you could throw the engine in reverse while moving forward. Dock stopped me and I just about knocked people in the water.

2. Of course didn't put the plug in... once.

3. Got my new boat about a month ago and the first time taking it out, backed the boat in the water and my lady was trying to start the engine. ##### thing wouldn't start. So I jump in and try it. Still won't start. Start cussing and swearing, then I remember somone on this board one time telling a story of how the kill switch got flipped. Sure enough my kill switch was tripped while I was installing sonars. Engine fired right up after that!

Next one is one I saw..

At Chatfield two years ago saw a guy with a big glass boat on a roller trailer unhook his bow strap before backing down. I told my girlfriend to watch this...sure enough halfway down the ramp, Whammo! ... Transom on the cement..OUCH!!!

[Juls_WI]

Come on Jack, don't be so quick to jump on people. You didn't finish reading the rest of the first part of Ranger's post, or you read it to fast. He said, "witnessed or otherwise" too.
They all qualify...;-)

Juls

[Gilligan]

Well heres one on someone else and one on me...

1. 2 guys beat the am rush to launch I fish out of so instead of preping the boat in the nice..level area in the back of the launch they backed down the ramp, put emergency brake on and put standard shift truck in neutral. They had everything ready but before they got to the truck the emergency brake gave and they launched both boat and truck. What a strange site with truck under water and the headlites shining out from underwater! They tied boat off in a slip and called for a tow. Instead of hooking onto the large tow ring on the 4wd they jerked the bumper off! With orders from the truck owner the rig got pulled to a parking spot and the guys went off fishing!

2. I was fishing a small electric motor only lake near here at night. There is no lighting at the launch so when I forgot to put the plug in I never realized there was water in the boat until I stepped off the raised deck into 8" of water! My 250 gph bilge ran for at least 2 hours! I've added a 1000gph since. Considered welding a solid plug in to avoid 'operator error'

[TLY]

Bonehead #1:
My family is young and bride intimidated by suburban & 18 ft glass (ya, I had one of those once) so I attach rope to bow eye and trailer and backup/stop and watch it gracefully slip into river whereupon my bride takes rope from trailer and pulls boat over to dock while I park truck.
Inertia is sometimes not so great, rope snaps and boat heads down St Croix on its own. After the entertainment value wears off some kind folks go retrieve my boat and motor it on up to the dock.

Bonehead #2:
Clogged overflow on Starcraft. We were in campground having fire & cocktails and someone comes up the hill talking about the idiot whose boat had sank. On inquiry, yes, it was a green fishmaster. Had a good audience watching us bail that puppy, but all in good fun.

Bonehead#3:
See bonehead #2 except in this case the pump started by itself and the plumbing from factory was messed up, with no connected overflow. 3 hours of submessable pumpas well as 12v from boat to float it. Lots of pictures, many of ^%^%# jerks on dock laughing at the guy wading around orchestrating the salvage.

Going back for more. It's just the price of enjoyment.

TLY

[Caleb]

I was in charge of hooking up the boat trailer to my grandfathers pickup. I was like 13 and didn't know much about it so rather than ask for help I decided to wing it.well we were going to the ramp and my grandpa noticed something wasnt right cause thte boat was bouncing around. we checked it and the trailer wasnt on all the way. As it turned out I forgot to change the ball on the hitch. Needless to say never made that mistake again. :)
Good fishing
Caleb

[Kevin Moses]

I had a buddy who borrowed my canoe to do some pike fishing in the local resevoir a few years ago. My friend is the type of angler who no matter what, has to carry what seems like 200 pounds of tackle no matter if he is going to the local creek for a wading trip, or on a week long trip to Lake Erie.Anyhow the guy is what we refere to as a tackle scrounge. No matter where he fishes he has to check all the trees, snags, etc. for lost tackle. So picture if you will this 5'6" guy who weighs almost 300 pounds in canoe, in march, in Ohio, paddling along from tree to tree while trying to fish. I decided to stop by the resevoir to see how my buddy was doing. I got out of my truck just in time to see this guy standing up in my canoe which was packed full of equipment, wresting with a lure that someone had lost. You guessed it, splash!!!! The shear shock on his face was absolutely priceless!! Flipped canoe, floating tackle everywhere, and Rick yelling every obscenity known to mankind!!! That was before he realized 3 or 4 people had witnessed it. The locals still remind him from time, to time that Wal-Mart sells fishing tackle.

[Cangl]

How about this one a month ago, moored my boat backed trailer into bay and well steering the boat towards trailer a guy pulls ahead of me and seven other boats. He pulls up onto my trailer and starts to tie up to the dock!! Came in right by all the moored boats with one dock. Courtesy? lack of common sense plain and simple.

[ScottL]

Was on my way fishing, with my dad one time probably 15 years ago His truck, his boat, he had hooked it up, I was driving. We were talking as we drove up to Minnewaska on US Hwy 29 (fairly heavily traveled highway) he mentioned something about not beening able to hook up the safety chains, because they were too short, I didn't give it too much thought, until I looked in the mirror and watched the boat and trailer cross into the other lane, go down the ditch and out into a field, He forgot to put the receiver hitch pin in. Luckily for us it didn't hit anyone or anything, we drove into the field, hooked it up and away we went, this time with safety chains attached correctly. Looking back it was pretty funny, but not at the time. I sure miss him.

[cmb]

similar experience with a 16 foot ish john boat behind the work truck. while heading hame after a long long day bushing the boat up a river (and than back domnstream in a thunder storm!) we were driving on a busy interstate when--blam! boom! brind screech and a trail of sparks brought our attention to the fact that the trailer somehow poped off the ball!! with hearts pounding we got the rig slowed down and pulled over. when we got out we found that only one of the safty chains held!!! we reconnected and drove the rig to the shop.

SCARY-if that chain had failed someone would probably have been killed or at least hurt real bad.


most recently we backed the trailer off the end of a ramp. had to go in to lift the rear. not trajic but a pain!

[Walley Guide]

My wife and I got married at the Lake of the Ozarks in south Missouri. That night after the reception my "new" brother-in-law decided he wanted to go home.....Some of the family took his keys put him in his room and thought they had him in for the night. The next morning everybody was eating breakfast around the pool and my "new" brother-in-law walks up and proceeds to tell us he got out his extra set of keys and tried to drive home....he drove until there was water over the road so he parked at the edge thinking he would sleep a little then drive on in the morning when the water went down... He woke up the next morning and people were launching boats on both sides of his vehicle.....He was on public launch #2 and there was a Bass Tourney the next morning. Morral to the story..you can pick your friends but somethimes you can't pick all your family....
I thought someone may have been in that tourney...he said there were at least 50 empty trailers in the parking lot......

Happy Fishin'
Walley

[OrangeBarrel]

1) Being used to bunk trailers and not roller trailers, I borrowed my buddies Brand new Lund w/ shorelander trailer. At the ramp, without thinking I unhooked the winch strap and his brother was backing up the boat. After he starting backing up, I realized, "Maybe I shouldn't have unhooked that strap". Too late,....WHAM. Off the trailer it comes. He just got the numbers for the boat that day too.

2) Went fishing with a buddie on Lake Winnebago in my old Sylvan. We were trolling around for awhile when I looked down at the in-floor storage and noticed in was filling up with water. "OH NO", I thought. I reached back and felt that the drain plug came out. My buddie was freaking out until I told him I had a spare in the glove box. Well, I put the new plug in and we sat there waiting for the bilge to pump out the water while singing, Gordon Lightfoot's "The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".

[Rob L]

1. Many years ago I bought an old Chrysler runabout and lovingly restored it to better than new. My very first boat. After a shakedown cruise, I was ready for the maiden voyage. I loaded the boat, picked up my girlfriend and proudly drove to the ramp for a day in the sun. Arriving a the very busy launch, I installed my girlfriend at the helm with instructions to idle around in the river out of the way of the ramps until I parked the car and returned. Everything went well until I got halfway up the ramp and made a cursory check over my shoulder to see how she was doing. She was doing fine, one knee on the seat, looking over the windshield, purposeful look, out of harm's way. Only problem was that the stern was submerged almost to the rubrail. I knew once the water filled the splashwell, it was all over. I jumped from the car (remembering to put it in park) and began hollering over the noise of passing boats, frantically waving. After what seemed an eternity, I got her attention and waved her in. She motored up to the beaching area still oblivious to the fact that she was sinking. By then I had located the plug in my hip pocket (duh) and waded in to install it. Fortunately, all twelve people in line thought the whole deal was pretty funny. Took about 30 minutes for the bilge pump to empty it while traveling downriver. After a run out into Lake Michigan to impress the girlfriend, my first tank went dry coming into the channel. I switched tanks and cranked her over. Nothing. Bilge pump drained everything, alternator didn't work. Got a tow from a nice bunch of bodybuilders in a 30' noise machine. Girlfriend married me anyway.

2. Same launch, following summer. Taking the folks out for a cruise. I pull the boat up to the riverbank while dad parks the car. I get close enough for mom to step from bank into boat. One leg in, boat drifts, she's caught in the splits before falling in. Dad returns, takes one look, goes back for car. Loaded the boat and went home, mom wrapped in beach towels.

3. Same launch, different boat, years later, taking dad fishing. He waits in boat while I park the truck. I return to boat, confidently shove off while jumping in. Trim motor down no problem, turn key and nothing. Battery dead, trim took what was left. Now 50 yard downstream from launch in middle of river. No oar. Scratch head, remove seat cushions and we "paddle" to shore a quarter mile downstream. Walk boat back to ramp. Go home.

I don't use that ramp anymore. I don't even drive by it.

[Jim O]

Sparing details I'll just go to a list

1. Drop new 17' Alumicraft Phantom off roller trailer a couple feet short water. Requires return to factory.
2. Fox River depere get blown into bay while on bowmount, Late November, ice on shoreline, too shallow to run big motor, grounded out on something in 2 foot of water and 14 yr old son on board and 30+ wind. Strip down and put on lite rain gear, bare feet, wade to shore to find branch to pry boat free, while 14 yr old runs bowmount, then starts big motor when we are deep enough. I have some body parts that never recovered from the cold!!
3. Run aground making wrong turn at night on fox below Omro.
4. # 3 again 2 years later, same spot and of course in November
I'll save the rest for another post
Jim Ordway

[wheels]

We refer to that last one as a "pre-launch"

[Hawgeye]

It is known in my part of the world as "dry docked"! :)

[Hawgeye]

It is known in my part of the world as "dry docked"! :)

[Eyesrfn]

while waiting to launch, my girlfrien and I watched a brand new Lund get pulled backwards up the boat ramp, with the motor running, by the left tiedown strap. The proud new owner had unsnapped the strap but forgot to remove it. He jumps in the boat waves his bubby to back the boat in, lowers the motor, fires it up and waves to his buddy to pull on out. His bubby, not being used to a stick shift, drops the clutch revs her up and takes off with out looking back, the bow of the Lund comes side-ways over the fender and gets dragged with the motor down and running about 30 ft up the ramp before anyone can yell at the driver and get him to stop. we went to a differant ramp to launch.

[scott]

I feel so much better knowing I'm not the only doorknob in the world..About a month ago in Red Wing, I backed in..it was a little steep and icy yet..so I was having trouble getting traction to get the trailer out...someone hooked up the rope to pull me out..there was a loud noise..a terrible metal sound as I was pulled forward..the trailer hung up on the ramp..left the axle-wheels and all, in the river..If anyone ever catches em' let me know!!

[water_wolf]

a friend & co-worker onetime decided to help out a 2nd co-worker by trailering his boat to a nearby lake where he kept it for the summer. btw he was towing the boat with his company issued pick up. came up to road construction site on NYS thruway. traffic was stopped so naturally he stopped.....however the 18 wheeler behind him didnt. the big truck hit the back of the boat at about 45-50 mph. impact swung boat/trailer into side of pick-up totaling truck/trailer/boat. and also punctured diesel fuel tank on semi. fortunately no one was injured....until he had to tell the boss about the truck...LOL. the rochester news crews were all there to capture this moment on film. & yes he is still a co-worker.:-)

Rich

[little bow mount]

i was waiting in line to fish with my dad when i was about eight years old below lake francis case on tthe missouri river one morning. it was spring and ice was building up on the boat ramps. we were putting in next to a guy when his whole rig started sliding in the water. as he tried to get in the pickup he slipped and fell under the tire, was run over, and died at the scene. i have never been back to that boat ramp. i can't live with the memories. this just is a reminder to how careful you must be. i will ALWAYS take my time at the boat ramp and i hope this will make you remember to do the same.

[harv]

every other year without fail, some guy thinks hes hot ##### and decides to unhook hi boat and back it in fast. usually hits the first bump of the grates and drops the boat right on the cement. really funny to be watching from the water but the guy usually cries when his new 150 horse gets the lower unit ripped off!!