INJURY at the Boat Ramp, Some thoughts and observations.....

[paultjohnson]

Sun .. 9/11 coincidentally.... I witnesses some scary stuff at a boat ramp on the St Croix River in Mn. There is a really nice ramp i use , but the water level is low and there is only about 1-2 ft of concrete left underwater before the ramp drops of into the abyss created by a bazillion power loadings. I have witnessed alot of people struggling with launch/retrievals because of this. I was chattn with an older gentelman who was preparing to launch his new to him fiberglass bass boat for the first time. I mentioned the situation with the ramp and suggested that he may not want to back to far in. He said good to know and thanked me. I launched my boat, parked my trailer, walked back to the ramp. He was standing by his boat ,trailer backed WAY to far in and he is holding his bloody hand and his boat is adrift. What happens sometime is when the trailer is to deep, the boat starts floating, but the bow ends up resting on top of the winch post, exerting ALOT of downward pressure as the trailer rollers/bunks are not supporting the boat any more. So he gave a little push with his hand on the bow between the winch and the rub rail to push his boat back with the V of the boat between his forefinger and thumb. The boat slammed down, trying to settle in the water, smashing his hand between the bow and the winch. I could see 3 bones in the back of his hand and all the skin was in a pile like a rug that slid up against a wall. I helped him reload his boat , pack his hand in ice with a towel. Pulled his boat out for him. Off to the emergency room. I offered and offered to drive him but he said he would be ok.... I had observed that situation before, but that was the first injury caused by the bow resting on top of the post. The one other major safety issue I noticed was people NOT backing in far enough because they didnt want the trailer to drop off [there were alot of trailers resting on the metal cross support as well during launch and retrieval] So now they have to crank like there is no tomorrow to get the boat winched up on retrieval The scary part is people having their face, or their kids/ girlfriends wive face directly in line with the strap/ rope as the were exerting tremendous torque on the winch. I saw one guys strap snap, and it sounded like a .22 cal rifle going off. LUCKILY for him it didn't take his face off. No injury at all. But the potential was there.
My 2 points.....1 . Keep you hands, fingers and other body parts away from any pinch/ smash points.
2 Keep your face/eyes out of line with the winch strap/ rope when you are loading/
unloading. Ya ever smacked somebody with a rolled up towel? x 100....
Plz be aware and carefull out there!!!! Thanks Happy Boating... Paul
PS I tried to post this in the safety forum, but it wouldnt let me, dunno why ????

 

[QC]

Re: INJURY at the Boat Ramp, Some thoughts and observations.....

Excellent post Paul! I've even made an argument for leaving her in gear to take the strain off the winch strap, but that's obviously counter to the power loading deal and his it's own safety implications. The drop off the winch roller when the stern is floating high has always freaked me out. And the winch fear came early for me. I was standing next to a steel cable that snapped off a 4x4 winch when it flew by 5 or 6 of us when I was probably only 15. We had it stretched a good 20 ft. and it coulda whacked any of us. Lucky that day too.

I'll move up to Boat topics as it needs to be seen by as many as possible. I am sure I can move to the Safety forum which I'll do sometime later, but frankly I think more will see it in Boats than in Safety or in Trailering

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: INJURY at the Boat Ramp, Some thoughts and observations.....

bump also for safety ..

Thing is you have to know your Boat and trailer. You should not have a strap that can fail ( Inspection time end or beginning of season ).

Never Ever get your Body between a strap or a sling more then 1 second .. Never put your body between a boat and a boat to stop an impact.

Its YOU or the Boat .. Boats can be fixed .. you might not be able to fix your foot or leg or hand !

YD.

 

[89mercruiser]

Re: INJURY at the Boat Ramp, Some thoughts and observations.....

Since you were on the St. Croix, where did you launch from? I only launch at the St Croix Bluffs Park if i want to go on the St Croix.

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: INJURY at the Boat Ramp, Some thoughts and observations.....

Since you were on the St. Croix, where did you launch from? I only launch at the St Croix Bluffs Park if i want to go on the St Croix.

That was the place !

 

[scoutabout]

Re: INJURY at the Boat Ramp, Some thoughts and observations.....

Good post -- Seems to be the season. I posted last week about a winch attaching point failure and after having it zing by my face realized I got real lucky. I haven't experienced more than the odd scratch in almost 40 years of boating. Complacency can kill. Hope the guy's hand heals up ok.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: INJURY at the Boat Ramp, Some thoughts and observations.....

Since you were on the St. Croix, where did you launch from? I only launch at the St Croix Bluffs Park if i want to go on the St Croix.

Water is low? The sidewalks in Stillwater are finally just barely out of the water. We always launch at Hastings in the Mississippi and then head onto the St. Croix from there.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: INJURY at the Boat Ramp, Some thoughts and observations.....

bump also for safety ..

Thing is you have to know your Boat and trailer. You should not have a strap that can fail ( Inspection time end or beginning of season ).trash a bad one but ANYTHING can fail so never trust that it won't

Never Ever get your Body between a strap or a sling not even for an instant .. Never put your body between a boat and anything to stop an impact.

Its YOU or the Boat .. Boats can be fixed .. you might not be able to fix your foot or leg or hand !

YD.

made a couple changes but otherwise I agree





a couple years ago I spun a hub on my carver and a buddy came to tow me..... he went a little overboard on the throttle and his cleat whizzed past my head at mach 3..... SCARY CHIT!..... watch ur hiney folks

 

[master bowman]

Re: INJURY at the Boat Ramp, Some thoughts and observations.....

Its crazy to see all the things that could have happened. I had a pretty close call. I had just gotten my boat about a month ago. I asked a marine mechanic what i needed to do to the engine before i started it beings as it sat for about 5 years without being run. He told me to clean the carbs out really well and make sure it was in water when i started it. I was in the process of spraying the carbs out really good with carb cleaner. I hadnt even tried turning over the engine. So i was pulling on the pull start, it pulled alot easier than i had thought.

The throttle on the boat was up, and prop was in gear. I was standing right next to the motor when it roared to life and the prop started whippin. I ran up to the front of the boat and shut her down. If i had been standing any closer im sure it would have got me.

Scary doesnt even describe what i felt. Felt pretty ignorant for not checking to make sure it was in nuetral and throttled down.

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: INJURY at the Boat Ramp, Some thoughts and observations.....

Water is low? The sidewalks in Stillwater are finally just barely out of the water. We always launch at Hastings in the Mississippi and then head onto the St. Croix from there.

Yep the water has dropped like crazy over the last month or so. Have ya been to the Kinnikinnic lately? There is 3 x the beach now that there was in mid summer. When you are on the shoreline it looks like a bombed out war zone cuz now all the big holes made in the sand from the big boats power beaching are now high and dry. All the heavy spring/early summer rain has drained and they have opened the locks downstream [ according to some boaters up from down south]. Also , pulling out of the channel my depth finder wouldn't go below about 6 ft now it gets under 2 ft in spots.

Its crazy to see all the things that could have happened. I had a pretty close call. I had just gotten my boat about a month ago. I asked a marine mechanic what i needed to do to the engine before i started it beings as it sat for about 5 years without being run. He told me to clean the carbs out really well and make sure it was in water when i started it. I was in the process of spraying the carbs out really good with carb cleaner. I hadnt even tried turning over the engine. So i was pulling on the pull start, it pulled alot easier than i had thought.

The throttle on the boat was up, and prop was in gear. I was standing right next to the motor when it roared to life and the prop started whippin. I ran up to the front of the boat and shut her down. If i had been standing any closer im sure it would have got me.

Scary doesnt even describe what i felt. Felt pretty ignorant for not checking to make sure it was in nuetral and throttled down.

Wow... that could have ended up really bad... I am surprised it would start in gear, do you have a malfunctioning, or non-existent neutral safety switch ?

 

[jmarty10]

Re: INJURY at the Boat Ramp, Some thoughts and observations.....

Kudos to you for helping the guy. To many times people like to laugh at others who are having problems at the ramp.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: INJURY at the Boat Ramp, Some thoughts and observations.....

I think the launch/retrieve is one of the most dangerous parts of recreational boating. The forces used are tremendous.

Ever see someone hook the boat to the winch cable, get it cranked tight, then walk over the bow and up the trailer tongue to the winch/dry land? Ever picture a vascetomy performed by a whipping winch cable?

And winch handles are like a serpent waiting to strike. Even a slow moving one on a power winch can get you--one got me once; caught my T shirt and wound me up, left a semi-circle scar on my belly.

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: INJURY at the Boat Ramp, Some thoughts and observations.....

I think the launch/retrieve is one of the most dangerous parts of recreational boating. The forces used are tremendous.

Ever see someone hook the boat to the winch cable, get it cranked tight, then walk over the bow and up the trailer tongue to the winch/dry land? Ever picture a vascetomy performed by a whipping winch cable?



And winch handles are like a serpent waiting to strike. Even a slow moving one on a power winch can get you--one got me once; caught my T shirt and wound me up, left a semi-circle scar on my belly.

I hear ya, a spinning winch handle is also a knuckle buster for sure. I have learned to stand off to the side when I am winching my boat onto the trailer. I know its alot more comfortable and ergonomically correct to straddle the trailer tongue with your legs, facing the boat, and crank with your right hand, putting your face in direct line with the strap/rope. But of course that can be an accident waiting to happen... Now I stand off to the port side of the boat, facing forward, toward the tow vehicle, as much as possible.. Then just peak over my right shoulder briefly to make sure the boat is coming up ok. If the strap would break, or bow eye comes out, god forbid, I am not in line with it. IMHO the lesser of two evils is to get whipped in the back of my thick head, then smack in the face, teeth or eyes. In the NAVY they showed us scare tactic videos of the result of a line parting [rope breaking] I am talking the big ones that they tie ships off with. They put a life size mannequin in line with it. Ouch, one of those rope can cut a man in half. They do have stretch tho, just like an anchor line. But.........

 

[backyardhockey2]

Re: INJURY at the Boat Ramp, Some thoughts and observations.....

I was launching a few weeks ago. Stern floating, but bow still tight though I had given the strap an inch or two of slack. I reached forward to unhuck strap from bow eye. Just then the boat starts rolling backwards (roller trailer and a steep ramp). Winch handle into jaw. Thought my day was done and I would be visiting Dr. Feelgood. Taste of blood and a fat lip. I got off easy. I keep a hand on the handle now.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: INJURY at the Boat Ramp, Some thoughts and observations.....

Posted this before but will do so again.

Many years ago a friend and I were loading a hull onto a trailer that was setting on the ground. We got the boat about 3/4 of the way on when the bow eye gave away. I was on the winch at the time. The cable came so fast I never saw it. The cable caught me across the face and I went down like I was shot!

Long story short. Emergency room and 3 days hospital stay with broken blood vessels in my eye causing the eye to fill with blood. Was very fortunate that was the only injury! Sometimes one just can't tell when something is going to fail. Sense that time I have never used another cable.

 

[erwinner]

Re: INJURY at the Boat Ramp, Some thoughts and observations.....

You're a good man for helping out a fellow man, Paul!
Just about a week ago a good friend of mine was out on a boat with friends and they took the boat in to dock too fast and she tried to stop it... Smashed up her hand really badly between the boat and the dock. Couple surgeries later and hopefully she'll regain some use of her thumb.
I always grab my oar if I need to push the boat off the trailer or nudge the dock when pulling in. Sure is nice to have a few feet of strong wood between me and that kind of force!

 

[slowleak]

Re: INJURY at the Boat Ramp, Some thoughts and observations.....

I was at a bar in PA a few years ago that had boat access on the lake, there was a guy struggling to get an old trihull going that wouldn't start, his old lady was screaming at him the whole time. When he finally got it started with a rope, he pulled away and forgot that one of the rear tie downs was still tied off to the dock cleat. The dock cleats were about 5" long and secured with long lag bolts into wooden floating docks. He pulled away, it hesitated so he hammered down on the throttle and the dock cleat gave way, the cleat ripped the bolt heads off, still attached to the rope, bounced off his wife's head and through the left side windshield of the boat. She got lucky and only had a small abrasion and a lump from the ordeal but he nearly ripped the whole dock section free before the rope broke. The bolts that broke off were two galvanized 3/8" lag bolts, they held in the wood but they bent over and the heads popped off both bolts.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: INJURY at the Boat Ramp, Some thoughts and observations.....

Good shot!

("his old lady was screaming at him the whole time" "bounced off his wife's head")

OK that was ugly please forgive me and bless the starving pygmies too.

 

[kemer1]

Re: INJURY at the Boat Ramp, Some thoughts and observations.....

I had a situation happen to me once when I was launching. Had the boat off the trailer and tied to the dock. I already had the stern line off and was taking the bow line off when the current started pulling the stern away from the dock. I got one of my fingers cought in the line and as the stern started coming around the line tightened around my finger. I could have sworn it was going to cut my finger off. However I was somehow able to swing the stern back just enough to release some of the pressure off the bow line to get my finger loose. Everything came out ok, but man was that a painful and scary few moments. Just goes to show that something as simple as untying from the dock can catch you off guard.

 

[fotto]

Re: INJURY at the Boat Ramp, Some thoughts and observations.....

Good shot!

("his old lady was screaming at him the whole time" "bounced off his wife's head")

OK that was ugly please forgive me and bless the starving pygmies too.

LOL. That's just Karma at work.