Boating stories from this weekend - share yours

[valkyr]

Come on, share your funny or serious boating stories from this past weekend. I'll start...

#1) Met a friend of mine from work at the lake on Saturday around 1pm. As I'm a new boater, he was going to show me around which I gladly accepted. Problems ensued after getting to the agreed upon boat ramp that I had never used. There wasn't a dock and my boat's draft is too deep to get close to shore (and I will NOT beach it except in an dire emergency). So we solved that with little problem.

Later we're anchored in a narrow part of the channel well away from boat activity and I can't get my anchor to hold and I keep drifting close too close to the bank. So I'm moving the boat around and my friend's boat is too close and the ski boom comes into my boat and breaks one of the bimini top mounting anchors. Luckily that was the only thing that got broken. Lesson learned.

Finally when we left I was inspecting the boat and the noticed on the bottom I had knocked a piece of gel coat off where I hit something. I never heard anything hit and can only guess that when the boat was anchored so close to the bank that it drifted onto a rock or something. Ordered a patch kit for that today.

The ironic thing is that it took meeting a friend at the lake to show me around that my boat got damaged LOL

#2) Saw a guy and gal screaming at each other after they nearly sunk their pwc and lost the key. That was pretty funny except for the language that my kids were subjected to. Luckily they had a pontoon boat with some friend s on it that gave them a tow.

#3) Group of guys jump in front of me at the boat launch on Monday when leaving and send the drunk guy (maybe they were all drunk) to retrieve their truck. Bear in mind my vehicle is already in the water waiting for me to trailer my boat. So I have to wait for this guy to make like 6 attempts to get the truck in the water and when he finally did, I swear he was like 3 inches from my Jeep....Geez.

 

[riesesdad]

Re: Boating stories from this weekend - share yours

Took out my 'new to me' 91 bayliner for it's maiden voyage, and after trying three different launch sites I found one that I could get deep enough into for a novice like myself.

Luckily there was no one around except my wife, my father-in-law and my 7 year old daughter. Launched the boat without any trouble and started it up, then tried to back away. This is when I realized that the steering was so stiff that I could hardly turn the wheel as I'm drifting into range of other boats!

My wife ran interference for me running around making sure that we didn't hit anyone else's boat while I tried to get us out of the marina area. We finally got into some open water for a couple of minutes to make sure that everything worked on the boat, (without another boat on the water since the steering was so stiff).

As you can imagine, docking wasn't too much fun with stiff steering either, but we made it back with everyone helping.

Luckily there was no one at the marina or on the water throughout all of this, and now the boat sits getting the steering cables replaced since I cleaned the steering tube and it was still stiff.

Can't wait until this weekend!

 

[riesesdad]

Re: Boating stories from this weekend - share yours

Valkyr, I see you're from Murfreesboro. I visited some people I know that were trying to get a diamond mine started there, Star Resources. Nice area, I loved driving around there.

 

[vandy21]

Re: Boating stories from this weekend - share yours

i spent my weekend working on replacing the floor in my boat. Hopefully soon i will be able to get on the water and not have to spend beautiful weekends in the garage.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Boating stories from this weekend - share yours

I avoided this since I refuse to try and fish on a holiday weekend.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Speed Boat Slams Into Pontoon: Nineteen People on
Board Both Boats

A speed boat slams into a pontoon in Chippewa
County and leaves dozens injured.

Scott Bowe with the DNR says 19 people were on
board the two boats on Lake Holcombe. He says most
of them had some sort of injury.

Bowe says he saw very serious head injuries and
lots of broken bones.

Bart Chapek of Cadott is recovering from the crash
at Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire. Sunday, he
was with his friends on a new pontoon boat when
everything went black.

?All I remember is sitting there and my teeth felt
funny and two fillings were out. I tried to lift
my arm and it wouldn't reach," Chapek tells
NewsCenter 13 from his hospital bed.

Bowe says the crash happened around 11 o?clock
Sunday night near the Paradise Shores Resort on
Lake Holcombe.

He says a speed boat hit the pontoon head on,
partially jumped it, then got lodged on top of it.

"A couple guys got pinned under it and the motor
still running,? Chapek says. ?I was laying on the
floor and a girl was yelling he's dead?luckily I
wasn't."

Bowe says the speedboat's driver was arrested for
OWI and says the DNR and the Sheriff's Department
are still investigating other factors.

"Most of the time when you see crashes it's
alcohol, speed and lights that are the main
factors,? Bowe says. ?We want people to go out and
have fun, but don't want their weekend to end up
like this."

As for Chapek, he's thankful to be alive:

"If any of us would've flown out of the pontoon,
we probably wouldn't be here,? he says.

But, anxious to get out of his hospital bed and
back into the water.

"I like boating. I think if you're careful and
respectful, you can do OK."

Chapek will spend Monday night in the hospital and
will be back later this week for more surgery on
his broken arm.

The Chippewa County Sheriffs Department is not
releasing the name of the speed boat driver who
was arrested.

AFTER READING THIS IS THERE ANY DOUBT ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT ONE SHOULD BE INSURED??????? Yes -- I'm shouting.

 

[n4wwl]

Re: Boating stories from this weekend - share yours

OK, I'll bite. As a new boater, I took the family cruising this weekend to a rivershore restaurant near our marina. Anchored out (first time dropping anchor) and took a water taxi to the place. Upon our return to the boat, the heavens opened up -- not unusual weather for our area as PM thunderstorms are common daily occurances in summer. Had hoped to be back at the marina well before any storms struck, but, alas, didn't make it in time.

Tried to raise anchor during the downpour and got soaked. Headed for the marina without a working windshield wiper. Got to the marina and tried to dock, but had to grab the docklines on the pylons with the boat hook. Standing on the bow in the rain, wind, and lightning with the boat hook in my hand I looked like Charlton Heston playing Moses trying to part the Red Sea. The Admiral thought I would get struck by lightning and that would be a sign from you-know-who to abandon recreational boating and take up Parchesee as a substitute hobby.

Needless to say, I "weathered" the storm and lived to tell the tale. Of course, we were all drenched from head to toe -- and for the first time in my life I left the car windows open at the marina earlier in the day to avoid baking inside the car when we got back. Naturally, no worries there, as the car interior was soaked.

Yeah, I'm an idiot. Lessons learned.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Boating stories from this weekend - share yours

your an idiot for leaving the windows down, but for the rest no. i expect to get wet some way every time i launch. atleast sprayed.

several weeks ago we let my 20 y/o niece at the helm of the deckboat, well she had pwc experience, and was just certified. she did a couple of jet ski moves and then a big donut. came back around and just as we got to that big wake, she cut power. i was in the bow and saw it comming, tooooo late, soaked to the bone. it was warm, and was really funny, but she learned the deckboat wasn't a pwc.

 

[johnson1989]

Re: Boating stories from this weekend - share yours

Silvertip,

I live in Eau Claire where most of the people on that boat where from. You get some of these dumb ***** speed boat guys that run around with no clue what they are doing. This guy was drunk and just not paying attention, pretty scary at times..

I had two guys drive right by me in a no wake zone at half/ full throttle on Saturday.

Two weeks ago on the Chippewa river I had a boat come flying by me around midnight with no lights on at all.. I didn't see him until he was right next to me passing me. Overall most people are great but you get a few that ruin it for all just like this guy did.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Boating stories from this weekend - share yours

Although I live in Minnesota, I do most of my fishing in Wisconsin and I am particularly familiar with the Holcombe Flowage as we spend three weeks each year there. The people on the speed boat were probably drinking at East Bay and Staying at Pardise Shores. Pretty simple trip if you can keep your eyes open.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Boating stories from this weekend - share yours

My boat sits in the driveway on Memorial Weekend to avoid all the "fun", both on the water and the highway. I usually go out the following weekend and have the lake all to my self.

 

[loppster]

Re: Boating stories from this weekend - share yours

My story starts last Monday when I decided to get out to the boat and tighten a loose fitting on one of my trim cylinders. I proceeded to tighten it down and then broke the trim cylinder where the fitting screws in. I got a used cylinder on Wednesday and put it on my boat. A friend was in the boat and started to test the new cylinder by sending it up. The lower unit moved up a little and the POP. My upper gear housing where the trim cylinders are attached broke. Apparently, when I hooked up the lines to the new cylinder, I attached them wrong. One cylinder pushing up, the other holding it down.

Lucky for me, I found a good welder who was able to reinforce the area I broke. And with all of the knowledge on this board, I was able to get the boat out on the water Friday and it ran better than it had all of last year.

The best part of the story....A friend had purchased a used boat a few months ago. His boat (1997) is quite a bit newer than mine (1983) and I was happy to have him on the lake with in case something else went wrong with my boat. It just so happens that i had to tow him back to the marina because he had run out of gas.

It turned out to be a good weekend.

 

[rad1026]

Re: Boating stories from this weekend - share yours

We do mostly beach camping on somewhat sandy beaches. I usually use a auger type anchor to keep my boat off the beach. The auger works great under most conditions as long as you let the boat clock around from wind shifts, etc. On Saturday I was out on the boat stowing life jackets, etc. when I saw the wind kicking up sand off the shore about four miles down the lake. I know his lake well enough to know when things are going to get rough so I immediately decided to throw out a danforth just in case. As I saw the chop and quickly waves start to build I threw out a second danforth. I put on my bow cover and no sooner did I snap the last corner the wind hit with a vengeance. Nothing I could do but ride it out and hope my anchors held. Three foot waves and blowing white caps were soon hitting my bow as I stooped under my windshield out of the horizontal rain. I saw literally every boat along the shore pull up their auger anchor and get thrown on the beach. Every tent, awning, chair, everything that wasn't tied down was either torn apart or blew away. I'm a veteran lake sailor and I know the wind was hitting 50+. It lasted about 20 minutes and when it was over my old '89 Chaparral was the only boat still anchored. It was luck that I was out on the boat when it happened, I'm not sure I would have been able to get out there in time and set those anchors. When I inspected for damage afterward I noticed my brass clip had torn away from my bow hook that was tied to my auger and only the two danforths kept me from beating on shore. I love my anchors.

 

[rogerwa]

Re: Boating stories from this weekend - share yours

On Saturday I went to pick up my new to me 25' Pontoon party barge. This thing is huge. It has a capacity of 17.

I had to drive about 70 miles from our cabin to pick it up and drove those same 70 miles white knuckled as the wind kicked up while I towed it back.

We took our maiden voyage on Sunday with a load of 11 and there was still a lot of room left. the only problem is that I am going from a 17ft OB with 130 Hp to a 25' barge with 40hp. The thrill just isn't there. I will probably be bumping up to a 90hp in the near future.

I bought it knowing it was not going to be a speed demon, but for the size and price and condition, I couldn't go wrong. I bought it from an old couple that were meticulous about taking care of it and it shows.

 

[Jerico]

Re: Boating stories from this weekend - share yours

I spent most of the weekend in my boat, just in my shop instead of at the lake. It's kind of how I look at New Years. Professional drunks I don't worry as much about. Amateur drunks are more likely to kill ya. Make that an amateur boater AND amateur drunk, bad combination.

On the bright side the new carpet in my boat looks great.

 

[2broke4this]

Re: Boating stories from this weekend - share yours

Like a few others, I spent quite a bit of time with my boat, just not on the water... I worked on it Friday, Saturday, and Sunday... and got it all ready for the maiden voyage on Monday.... or so I thought... Backed the boat into the water, fired her up (and she ran!), put her in reverse, and went nowhere... every time I tried to put the boat in gear it died.... The good news is that the ramp wasn't all that busy and I didn't make anybody wait... and I got a good picture of the boat on the trailer NEAR the lake! Hopefully this weekend goes better!

-Carl

 

[wildspeed]

Re: Boating stories from this weekend - share yours

Agree there...
Went out last labor day...and after almost getting run over by a stupid a#$&% in is speed boat trying to race a Offshore in the Gulf, I decided that the boat was staying on the trailer for those big weekends.

 

[wickedcool16]

Re: Boating stories from this weekend - share yours

Why is it that everyone allways takes their new boats out for the 1st time on one of the busiest weekends of the year, only to find out that

1. They dont know what the heck they are doing.
2. There are a whole lot of other "newbies" out there
3. Ooops my boat is broke since this is the first time out this year and I didnt bother to check it at home


Thats the best part of the long weekend....

 

[Scout Sport Fish]

Re: Boating stories from this weekend - share yours

Went out on my Uncle's 44ft Silverton <3 Proably one of the best experience's ever.

 

[QC]

Re: Boating stories from this weekend - share yours

We have a really good system for Memorial weekend on Mead. Shared it with Boat My *** Off and I think he would agree that it is pretty reasonable, and safety there is about wind, not other boaters . . .

Anyway, nothing really to report as far as stories are concerned other than we have a new guy hanging with us and he likes to "follow" us to coves and beaches he doesn't know from the front . . . What a pain in the arse that is. I spent a lot of time chasing him down to reel him back in. Fun part is I just tell Mrs. QC "Hang on, I gotta go get Matt again . . ." She can't get too mad at me for getting airborne then

 

[2broke4this]

Re: Boating stories from this weekend - share yours

Maybe I'm being overly sensitive... I know that Wickedcool's comment may or may not have been directed at me, or others like me, but sometimes when you work all week you just want to get out there and give the new boat a try.... and in this case, my first opportunity happened to fall on a holiday but not all lakes are absolutely crammed on Memorial Day... The weather that day for us wasn't the greatest, and if there had been a long line at the ramp, I wouldn't have bothered.... I had run the boat at home earlier that morning, but still ran into problems once I got to the water.... I still had a decent day and didn't spoil anyone else's....