shortly after i bought my boat and got her lake ready, i decided to go for a spin. went to a local lake and was very careful to make sure everything was okay and safe for launch. made several walks around the boat to be sure the transom straps were off, all required gear was aboard, etc. then i had my buddy back me in the water. i started the motor and started to back off the trailer when i heard a strange gurgling noise. during my maticulous prep, i had forgotten to plug the boat! oops!. well i immediately put the boat back on the bunks and signaled my bud to pull up. let the water drain and plugged it. had a great day boating and fishing. at one point, we needed to go to the store so we beached the boat near the ramp and unhooked the trailer and went to town. got back and had a good time the rest of the day. when it was time to leave, i stayed in the boat and my bud went to hook the trailer back up and get me. i guess he wasn't too keen on how to hook up a trailer. i pulled the boat on and didnt know anything was wrong until i was completely out of the water on dry land. thats when i felt something strange and called for him to stop. got out and saw that he dragged me out only with the safety chains,,didn't lock the ball. luckily, he HAD hooked up the chains, or my trailer would have surely come out from under me as i put the weight of the boat on it and been at the bottom of the lake. in the end, no damage was done to anything and now i am more careful about making sure everything is done right. learned lessons and got experience.
