Idiots at the launch!

[Mr Crabbs]

Re: Idiots at the launch!

Boat ramps are the cheapest entertainment around. 4:00 to 6:00 on any summer weekend, set out the lawn chairs, bring a cooler, maybe some soft tunes, and just enjoy man's inhumanity to himself and others ...

LOL, we are getting our first boat Thursday and went to 'ramp school' Saturday to learn how to/not to launch and retreive. Saw a family doing just that!

 

[NelsonQ]

Re: Idiots at the launch!

I watched what I assumed was a newbie launch a boat on Sat. I don't know if he's new to boating, but certainly to backing it into the launch. he took about 4-5 runs at getting the boat/trailer lined up. Once he did, it looked like he was going to be very successful.

However, for some odd reason, as he was backing in nice and straight he started cutting the wheels like mad and jackknifed the trailer and truck at the edge of the lake.

Didn't help that there were 10-15 people watching....

 

[JimKW]

Re: Idiots at the launch!

I actually took a lawn chair and some iced tea and watched people loading and unloading yesterday from 6:00 to a little after 7:00 pm yesterday. Came to the conclusion that I'm actually pretty good at it for being fairly knew. I just bought the boat the beginning of August last year. My problem with watching though it I want to help them, but some people don't want help.

 

[JimKW]

Re: Idiots at the launch!

Here is a story about the idiot at the ramp that I posted on one of theother forums:

I sat at the public ramp yesterday for about an hour and watched people load and unload their boats. Power loading is what most of them do. One guy had this real big boat for the lake I was at. First of al he pulls his boat up to the dock while another guy is all set to back down and blocks that entire side of the ramp. And it is supposed to be a double. The other guy has to go to the other side of the dock. There is a coutesy dock where most people tie up while they go get the truck and tailer, but not this guy.

Then the guy with the big boat goes to get his truck and leaves his wife (I'm assuming wife) standing there holding this big boat. He was gone for about 10 minutes and comes back in the really nice Suburban and spends about 10 minutes trying to back the trailer down the ramp. So at this point he has tied up that entire side of the loading area for 20 minutes.

Once he gets the trailer in the water, he goes to his wife and they act like they are going to just pull this boat onto the trailer. But he finally gets on the boat and drives onto the trailer. It doesn't go on very far so he guns it and gets it on fairly far, but not all the way. He keeps getting out and looking at how far it is and then getting back in the boat and gunning it some more. When he finally got it up fairly close he guns it a few more times and I see the Suburban moving down the ramp.

I literally got up and ran over and said you are really making you truck move down the ramp when you hit it that hard. He says that's normal and not to worry about it. I look at the distance between the winch and the boat and it's about 10 inches. I say put the winch on the boat, back the truck up a little more to float the boat a little bit and winch it the rest of the way in. Wife says that's a good idea. Don't think he liked the wife liking my idea at all. He starts to get in the truck without putting the winch line on the boat. I say winch it first before backing up. He does then backs the truck up little. Then he gets out of the truck and gets back and start powering the boat.

I just walked away. He obviously didn't think he should have to crank the winch at all and would not do it. He still can not get it all the way on, so another guy comes over and cranks the winch and they finally get it on the trailer. Over 45 minutes of tying up the loading ramp at 7:00 pm on Sunday night on Memorial day weekend. As they were going up the ramp he didn't even look at me but the wife did and smiled and waived at me. She knew.

 

[Andy'sDelight]

Re: Idiots at the launch!

Left the ramp yesterday with no one there in the morning. Shocking for Memorial Day weekend. Came back around 3pm and sure enough the action was on full bore. The ramp I use has a short dock that usually fits 3 boats at a time. The ramp has 2 slots. Backed into each slot is a whole group of people with a Jet Flea on the back of each trailer. On the ramp they are disrobing and inflating some huge sofa looking thing while putting on PFD's. I ask them politely if they could move it along because I want to pull my boat out and a line was starting to form. These were a bunch of characters straight out of Jersey Shore so of course I get a bunch of "Ayyy ohhhhh's" and some chest thumping. They've clearly never launched a Jetski either because one they couldn't get the concept that the trailer needs to actually get wet. Another guy offers to help them and he too gets the "Ayyy ohhhhh" treatment. They finally muscle one of them off while one meathead is sitting on it. They literally picked it up while they guy was on it. (My potentially ignorant interjection, do Jet Flea's have plugs?? If so they most definitely didn't put them in).

They finally get one truck out of the way and I back down. The rest of the group is just standing around in the vacant slot BS'ing. I back down and just keep going. My trailer went right up to the back of one guy's leg before he finally noticed and moved. Because I was alone I have to make haste after dunking the trailer and run back to my boat. I get over to my boat and get ready to drive up to my trailer and sure enough the other jetski is just floating unwatched right into my trailer. My fender is putting a nice scratch in his gelcoat from the current and waves constantly pushing it up against it. I yell out and they realize whats going on and push it off, only to have it float further away into a piling with a good layer of barnacles to scratch it up some more. I pulled up to my trailer at this point which kind of cut off their access to getting to the jetski without going for a bit of a swim. Normally I would have helped them out with their entire launch, but if you're gonna be an *** you're gonna get treated like on. I winched on and went on my way for the next guy to scream at them to get out of the way.

 

[seajuice]

Re: Idiots at the launch!

I've made all the mistakes. Except I've had plenty of experience with backing a trailer. I've laughed at myself the whole way. I think I have enough experience now but I'll make another mistake. I also try to help as much as I can at the ramp but as has been said some just don't want the help. My wife laughs at me when I tell her I'm going to ride my bike to the ramp on Saturday night to watch people load, slam in to the dock, swear, and generally act like drunken idiots. It's FUN!

 

[KermieB]

Re: Idiots at the launch!

Ron White said it best:

You can't fix "stupid"!!

 

[JimKW]

Re: Idiots at the launch!

I kind of screwed up today. I was doing fine putting my boat in by myself and everything. When I left my trailer in the water after putting my boat and went to dock my boat at the courtesy dock I noticed another guy starting to back down the ramp blocking my lane to get out. I ran to my truck and yelled jsut wait a minute and I'll be out of here. His boat had the full cover still on it and I was thinking he was going down the ramp to stage his boat.

As I swerved hard to get by him and off the ramp I said to him as he was meesing with the back of his boat "A little patience goes a long way". When I got back from parking the truck and trailer he said "What did you say earler?" I said "A little patience goes a long way". He said he was just backing boat a little ways on the ramp to drain the water and saw that nobody was in my truck so he thought he would be done and out of the way before anybody was needing the ramp.

So now I feel like the idiot. I told him I apologize and tried to be sincere in saying it. But I have to just learn to keep my mouth shut I guess. Guy looked like he could have kicked my butt pretty easily too. But when you're 60+ years old with grey hair and all, I don't think many young guys are going to take much pride in kicking my butt, but that still doesn't give me the right to mouth off at somebody. I really thought he was being an idiot though when I saw him backing right in front of my truck though.

 

[BTMCB]

Re: Idiots at the launch!

An update to my original post. Thought about editing it with this but decided to just do this. Saturday we launched at Long Beach. Crowded but everyone seemed to know what they were doing, plus we went early. Great day on the ocean - no idiots! Sunday I went back to the local lake that prompted my OP but without the boat - just to observe. I planned on watching the morons and idiots for about an hour but ended up staying for over 4 hours. Am totally amazed at how many people are just plain stupid, inconsiderate, unsafe, and lack common sense - let alone boating sense. I will not bore you with all the stories but I am truly amazed that no one was killed or severy injured. Can't say the same about the boats..launching without the plug, banging of dock, other boats, trailers scraping dock, trucks scraping dock. Unfriggin believable. It would be funny if it wasn't so dangerous. Obviously, most of the people I watched are indeed clueless idiots who should NOT be allowed to endanger the lives of others and their own. Most have no idea about ettiquette, which is one thing. But others are down right dangerous. Obviously they do not belong to IBoats or have ever had a boat safety class and have no friggin common sense. Their were "parents" allowing their kids to swim in between the launch docks. I couldn't help myself... told them to get the kids out of the water, read the no swimming signs and suggested they not launch their boats!! I would hazzard a guess that 50% of the boats were overloaded and did not have required safety equipment. Unbelievable. The patrol boat was no where in site. I would estimate that 50% of the boats launching or retrieving whacked the dock hard enough to go through the gelcoat. There were at least 10-12 boats that hit other boats. Again, this was beyond idiotic - it was dangerous.

We launched there this morning (ok I am idiot for going there!) very early. Was not going to allow the morons to prevent me from boating on Memorial Day. Had a great time and retrieved before the madness began thank God.

 

[canyonken]

Re: Idiots at the launch!

Relax is the key.

We live within a mile of several extremely busy ramps. Hauling out on the weekend became so stressful that I now have my wife bring the kids in a separate vehicle. When they get ready to go I just drop them off at the doc. Then I motor out into the cove and watch the show.

I actually look forward to the that time of day.

Great idea.
I do the same thing when we go to the river close to our house.
I prefer to launch solo without any distractions. If I need any help for whatever reason to speed it up I ask someone standing around to grab the line while I get the trailer off the ramp and out of the way. Most of the ramps I use have no dock (bummer) We have to beach it on shore and depending on water level - it may be nice or might be crudy. It is never the same launch twice because of changing river levels.

 

['78 Crusader]

Re: Idiots at the launch!

My poor son must have been mortified this past Sunday!!

Typically I back the boat down to the water and then let a less experienced driver back the boat into the water with me in it. Well this past Sunday was my 17 1/2 year old sons turn to back me in. He's done if many times in the past however I think this time he was a little too "Confident". He backed me in, I started the boat and backed off the trailer and then gave him the signal to go ahead and park the truck. Well.....he forgot to take the truck out of reverse and attempted to pull the trailer out of the water but this time when he hit the gas, it went straight back. My mouth dropped and I yelled "Stop!!!!". He stopped but not until 1/2 the bed of my truck, the tail gate and bumper were completly submerged. He put it in drive, pulled it out and parked it. I didn't get onto him as it was an honest mistake.....i knew the lesson he learned was far better than anything I could have told him.