Is your wife a good boater ?

[Marcq]

And can she back up a trailer?
I must say my wife is pretty good at backing with our boat trailer, she often gets compliment about it from lookers, it was the first thing I showed her when we started boating. Now she needs to learn the boating stuff, like operating the outboard, but I have a hard time letting her, I'm afraid that she can't be competent enough to deal with engines, I mean, only a guy can understand one, right? Or maybe I'm just jealous
But mostly, I would like her to learn how to get on board or off board, jump dammit!!
Marc..

 

[642mx]

Re: Is your wife a good boater ?

My wife is a good boater. She drives the boat on and off the trailer... I drive the truck. I've been really pleased with her ability to handle the boat in high wind and high current conditions.... she always gets it right on the trailer.

 

[Stachi]

Re: Is your wife a good boater ?

my wife wasn't good with the truck or the boat..........we divorced.........

 

[gstanton]

Re: Is your wife a good boater ?

My wife isn't good with the truck or the boat... Hmmmmm.

 

[waju]

Re: Is your wife a good boater ?

And can she back up a trailer?

My wife can hardly back the car up even without a trailer and she has no desire to learn to operate the boat. She's content on just being a passenger.

She does,however, always makes sure that I put the plug in. I guess she wasn't impressed with a previous experience that we had.

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: Is your wife a good boater ?

My wife stands there holding the rope talking to some other women while the boat was being pummeled up on the shore, but She still had hold of the rope and thats all I told her do so it was my fault of course,
Backing the trailer no way loading the boat no way never happening.
But She sure looks good laying across the sundeck, I gotta say.

 

[Marcq]

Re: Is your wife a good boater ?

But She sure looks good laying across the sundeck, I gotta say.

Marc..

 

[Bearfan]

Re: Is your wife a good boater ?

My wife gets to learn this year (operating the boat only since we slip). She's hesitant, but sometimes a DD would be nice so I can let go.

 

[packman35]

Re: Is your wife a good boater ?

One of our winter projects is to teach DW to drive the boat and/or back the trailer. I am tired of tying up to the dock while I get the truck and getting all the nasty stares on a busy ramp day.

 

[Triton II]

Re: Is your wife a good boater ?

But She sure looks good laying across the sundeck, I gotta say.

This thread is worthless without pix!

Mine's a superstar... a horsegirl all her life so she can back the trailer better than me.

 

[Jeff-in-PA]

Re: Is your wife a good boater ?

And can she back up a trailer?
I must say my wife is pretty good at backing with our boat trailer, she often gets compliment about it from lookers, it was the first thing I showed her when we started boating. Now she needs to learn the boating stuff, like operating the outboard, but I have a hard time letting her, I'm afraid that she can't be competent enough to deal with engines, I mean, only a guy can understand one, right? Or maybe I'm just jealous
But mostly, I would like her to learn how to get on board or off board, jump dammit!!
Marc..

My wife is an excellent boater. I have her unload the boat off the trailer while I park. I back up as where we launch is over 9'6" wide and with a 8' wide 24" pontoon boat, she gets nervous.

As far as operating the boat, no problems what so ever. I married the farmer's daughter so not only does she watch guages ( and fully understand them ) she also lets me know about any unusual noises ( which is a plus after 30 years in the machine shop )

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/JRD77VET/vacation/Sept 2008/DCP_3932.jpg

She can dock the boat quite well too.

Jeff
a lucky guy

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Is your wife a good boater ?

My wife would much prefer to be off in her kayak than driving the boat but I want her to be competent enough that she could jump in, fire it up and get underway as well as be able to dock it should she have to. There will come a day when someone either falls overboard or a neighbour's kid is in trouble out on the lake and I'm not around.

I must admit I didn't think her solo ride through all that well. One day while we were pulling up to the dock, I just left the engine running, jumped out and pushed her away back out into the lake. After five minutes of cursing me in a way that would have made a biker blush she settled down enough to listen to my instructions on how to get it back to the dock. Her training eventually kicked in and she didn't do badly either.

As for trailering - she has bravely offered to drive the rig home from the launch ramp while I take the boat around to the dock but we planned the route, talked about wide turns, careful lane changes and I prayed she didn't need to reverse the thing.

She surprised me one day, though by telling me it was backed into the driveway ready to unhook. She was very smug about it and I resisted mightily the tempation to go look at the lawn for tire marks.

 

[642mx]

Re: Is your wife a good boater ?

But She sure looks good laying across the sundeck, I gotta say.

I see the makings of a new thread! "Best looking wife on a boat"... I wonder if the 'powers that be' would be cool with it.

 

[MRS]

Re: Is your wife a good boater ?

She helps get the boat ready to launch and I backup straight on the ramp and she backs it in the rest of the way and parks it. Now if the ramp is not crowded she can back it in herself if crowded makes her nervous because cannot see the trailer but I am redoing trailer now and going to add the trailer 4' guide ons and she will be good to go. Yes I am proud of her

 

[oceansbreeze]

Re: Is your wife a good boater ?

hmm, my wife WOULDN'T try to drive the truck, forward, or backward..... she refused to try and drive the boat, she had no desire at all, nor any care to.... so yes, I divorced her too... It took 3 years after the divorce to be able to afford a boat...

I know my priority now, next "wife" must be boat-smart. Props to you lucky guys!


EDIT: I forgot to add, she couldn't cook, clean, and didn't work either.... so there was mroe to the divorce than the whole boat stuff.. lol - but in my eyes, theb oat stuff was the icing on the cake!

 

[piper_chuck]

Re: Is your wife a good boater ?

my wife wasn't good with the truck or the boat..........we divorced.........

I've had two like that! Finally decided the boat had to go too!

 

[HAV2FISH]

Re: Is your wife a good boater ?

My girlfriend does quite well at it now. Only took her two years to learn everything. She has no problem backing the boat to launch. However she still has a little trouble backing the empty trailer with the trucks tail gate up. I'm trying to get her to use the mirrors more. She has no problem driving the boat on or off the trailer or out on the lake. My next thing to teach her is to operate the trolling motor.

 

[rbh]

Re: Is your wife a good boater ?

It became a requirement, if she wanted to boat, then she was going to pick up the slack, meaning, "If I am going to bust my azz so was she", once the yelling was over, and she agreed, she now fires up the engines, drops the legs and backs it off and puts it on the trailer. I still have to tow the damn thing around but its 37 foot long on the trailer and 10ft on the beam and we cant afford to get her a class one licence
still married, two thumbs up

 

[BTMCB]

Re: Is your wife a good boater ?

My admiral is willing to help but not willing to tow the trailer or operate the boat near the dock. I back the trailer down the ramp, pop the boat off the trailer and she guides the boat standing on the dock with the line, cleats it off and turns on the blower while I park the vehicle. She will drive the boat while out on the lake if it isn't crowded. I dock, get the trailer and load the boat. If I power load, she just recently agreed to pull the vehicle straight up the ramp just a few feet so I don't have to climb over the bow. It's a baby step but a step nevertheless. I have had her practice towing and backing in a parking lot and she does pretty good, but on the road....not so much! She tenses up .... alomst as much as I do as .....when she is behind the wheel. But, she is fearless when riding her horse and like others have said about their first mate, looks pretty good lounging on the boat. Finally, I must admit she has fended the bow off the dock a time or two when I have screwed up my approach!!

 

[this forum wont let me]

Re: Is your wife a good boater ?

My wife is a great boater, I trust her so much on, and off the boat that I let her tube me around...Of course that day we must not have bickered at all...two thumbs up to my wife the great boater.