i grew up boating and learning how not to launch boats and load boats etc from family outings i think the only thing our family adventures did not include at some point or multiple poiints was a dry launch. both of the previous family boats were sunk due to no plug and in one case when a too small plug was purchased and came out while moving to a fishing spot. fortunately i wasnt afraid to jump in with a foam bobber and jam it in the plug hole. we made it back in with a 3/4 full bilge and a burned out bilge pump. growing up boating with all that was good learning lessons for me.
i remember one trip in particular on the texas gulf coast we had just gotten to a oyster bar in the bay and my dad was yelling at my brother to get the anchor in the water, it was his first time and being new to ropes and knots he was desperatly trying to get the knot tied, my dad yells at him "JUST TOSS THE ANCHOR SO WE CAN FISH!!" he tossed it and it made a beautiful arc across the sky as it sailed out to do its job sans rope... nearly 30 years later my brothers and i still laugh about it.
when i was around 12 my dad took me out for a fishing trip in our new tri-hull. being 12 i was the designated dock post and rope holder. my dad launches and goes to find a spot to park and its some distance away. he comes back and sees me still there with rope in hand but no boat. he asks me "where is the boat??" i replied "dont worry dad i got it its still on the rope". this was a time before boats were made to float regardless and a missing drain plug sank it straight to the bottom. took my dad a good bit to back the trailer down tying off the bow rope and pulling with the car and rebacking re-tying and pulling to get it far enough to get the eye hooked and crank the boat onto the trailer and pull it out. it sure seemd like it took longer to drain the boat than it took for it to sink. that boat still ran and we used it for another 5 years. it really was a good boat.
anyway the wife and i just bought a brand new 16' pro-guide tracker for the two of us. she is totally new to boating and our first step is teaching her to drive the boat. i have impressed on her the checklist for launch and pre-prep of getting everything ready so all we have to do is chuck the life jackets and cooler in boat in the pre-launch area as there isnt reasonable space left for stowage while trailoring for those things. so right now she is a rope holder. when she gets the boat driving bit down better she is going to be motoring the thing up to the trailer when its time to leave. growing up in a boating family that really didnt know how was a good start for me as i tend to look like a expert nowadays. but im not telling the folks at the ramp that i have experienced just about everything that can go wrong growing up.
i remember one trip in particular on the texas gulf coast we had just gotten to a oyster bar in the bay and my dad was yelling at my brother to get the anchor in the water, it was his first time and being new to ropes and knots he was desperatly trying to get the knot tied, my dad yells at him "JUST TOSS THE ANCHOR SO WE CAN FISH!!" he tossed it and it made a beautiful arc across the sky as it sailed out to do its job sans rope... nearly 30 years later my brothers and i still laugh about it.
when i was around 12 my dad took me out for a fishing trip in our new tri-hull. being 12 i was the designated dock post and rope holder. my dad launches and goes to find a spot to park and its some distance away. he comes back and sees me still there with rope in hand but no boat. he asks me "where is the boat??" i replied "dont worry dad i got it its still on the rope". this was a time before boats were made to float regardless and a missing drain plug sank it straight to the bottom. took my dad a good bit to back the trailer down tying off the bow rope and pulling with the car and rebacking re-tying and pulling to get it far enough to get the eye hooked and crank the boat onto the trailer and pull it out. it sure seemd like it took longer to drain the boat than it took for it to sink. that boat still ran and we used it for another 5 years. it really was a good boat.
anyway the wife and i just bought a brand new 16' pro-guide tracker for the two of us. she is totally new to boating and our first step is teaching her to drive the boat. i have impressed on her the checklist for launch and pre-prep of getting everything ready so all we have to do is chuck the life jackets and cooler in boat in the pre-launch area as there isnt reasonable space left for stowage while trailoring for those things. so right now she is a rope holder. when she gets the boat driving bit down better she is going to be motoring the thing up to the trailer when its time to leave. growing up in a boating family that really didnt know how was a good start for me as i tend to look like a expert nowadays. but im not telling the folks at the ramp that i have experienced just about everything that can go wrong growing up.
