watching boats at the ramp today ....

[holguinerito]

i went to a lake near by today and took the time to look at some guys putting their boats on the water and notice that some guys go by thenselfs and do not want any help . I ask myself if they feel stupid when anyone offers any help ???? the second guy i saw when i got there had a new tundra and looking at the boat it was a yamaha 212x that look like he just got it of the dealer, also looking at what he did im sure it was his first time too , he back up in the water and did not took off the straps , i went down and told him and yup he told me he did remove the straps and also told me "i got this " I wont get into details of what was the end for this guy :facepalm:... When ever i finaly get a boat ill would take advice from anyone or help from anyone if i ever need it ,i have already practice with friends but lets just say i did not have friends with boats ill take someone with me from the dealer if it was posible ..I dont know whats wrong with some guys this days ......

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: watching boats at the ramp today ....

Just like the old saying for directions...... Hey buddy how do I get to Carnegie Hall ???? The answer is easy........

PRACTICE........PRACTICE........PRACTICE........

A few people here should use a checklist too

 

[MAXXIE]

Re: watching boats at the ramp today ....

I'll tell you what, Last year was the first season for me & the first time I put it in the water I just sat in an out of the way place & watched quite a few people put in. I learned a lot from doing that. All summer long there were lots of people willing to give advice & lend a hand, I took it every time. I was really nervous the first few times as I didn't want to screw up & hold up other people. As stated above, practice-practice-practice. I can launch & retrieve my boat by myself now, (if I have to), in less than 5 minutes. You never know what your going to see at the ramp, I've had my share of run in's with the "butt-heads" out there, but I just let it go & be on my way. The situation you described is the worst by far... Seeing a problem & try to tell or help & you get barked at for it, "There's some men you just can't reach.":facepalm:

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: watching boats at the ramp today ....

I've said this often to new boaters--while the advice here is usually good, there is no substitute for local knowledge. For example, many people here say "launch the boat and drive it around to the beach." I have never, in 52 years on the water, seen a ramp with an adjoining beach. Around here, no one who does it right ever--I mean ever--gets wet in the process above perhaps ankle boots. But obviously that's how its done elsewhere, correctly.

There should always be people around to advise and even help you, you just have to approach them the right way, at the right time, and weed through the ***-hats. Heck, I've found the people in New York City to be very friendly--when you ask them for help. Don't be nervous, but at the crowded public ramp, be aware and considerate of the impatient crowd. No one should ever launch for the first time on a crowded weekend day; even if you have to take a day off from work, you have to go practice on a weekday. It's just part of owning a boat if you are using public ramps.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: watching boats at the ramp today ....

One day at the ramp I saw a guy obviously having trouble loading his boat. Taking up valuable ramp time while others were waiting in line. I went over to see if I could help. "I've been doing this for 30 years" was the curt reply. So as I turned to walk away I remarked to him" Yeah! And you've been doing it wrong for 30 years." Some people are just too thick to either want or accept help.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: watching boats at the ramp today ....

Watching the launch ramp is better than anything on TV!!!

If the ramp is crowded when I either want to launch or load, I'll park and wait to be last just so I can watch the antics of some of the people.

If it looks like someone is struggling, I will offer to help... but other than that, I'll just sit back and enjoy the show.

I launch by myself 90% of the time. I've had people offer to help, but I decline in a nice way. That way if anything goes wrong or gets messed up I have no one to blame but myself... and even if I have someone with me I'll do it by myself for the same reason.

 

[user64]

Re: watching boats at the ramp today ....

Yep..when I was first married (42 yrs ago) we had no money. So, for cheap entertainment we would go to the park on a nice night and watch folks launch and retrieve their boats. By the time we got home our stomachs hurt from laughing so hard. You just COULD NOT have made some of this stuff up. Apparently things haven't changed much in all this time.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: watching boats at the ramp today ....

I've said this often to new boaters--while the advice here is usually good, there is no substitute for local knowledge. For example, many people here say "launch the boat and drive it around to the beach." I have never, in 52 years on the water, seen a ramp with an adjoining beach. Around here, no one who does it right ever--I mean ever--gets wet in the process above perhaps ankle boots. But obviously that's how its done elsewhere, correctly.

+1 for local knowledge! Parking on the beach is the only way to do it here... Unload, park on the beach which is immediately next to the ramp, and then pull the vehicle out. Loading is a reverse of that process. Park the boat on the beach, get in line with vehicle, back in when its your turn, and then load. The time it takes me alone to load/unload my boat from the time I take up the ramp to when I'm clear of it is usually under 2 minutes.


It works great until someone decides they can't get their ankles wet and ties up to the divider dock. (it is not a courtesy dock, it just divides the ramp in 2) If they are loading, they now have to budge in line in front of possibly 10+ vehicles all waiting. If they are unloading, everyone in line has to wait for them to get their cooler loaded, engine started, life jackets on, etc... If everyone did this, it would be 100% impossible to unload at 5:00 PM, as there is a constant stream of people coming off the water.

 

[freelancer]

Re: watching boats at the ramp today ....

After the sloppy trip down the ramp with the truck, then comes the "BOAT PLUG" part of the story

 

[security6]

Re: watching boats at the ramp today ....

i went to a lake near by today and took the time to look at some guys putting their boats on the water and notice that some guys go by thenselfs and do not want any help

I prefer not to have people loitering at the boat launch "help" me, but I'd be polite if anyone ever offered (nobody ever has). The main reason I don't want a stranger's help is because I have no idea if they are competent so they end up being more of a distraction than a help.

A couple questions to prove my point:
1) If a boat launch loiterer "helps" me back up and I back into someone's truck because the loiterer says I was clear, who pays?
2) If a boat launch loiterer "helps" me by holding my boat and lets it drift into someone else's boat, who pays?

While the boat launch loiterer should pay, I can't envision a situation where the boat launch loiterer would actually pay. I'd be the one stuck with the bill, probably after the loiterer says sorry and walks off. I'd rather take a little longer and make sure things are done right.

BTW - When I first got my boat I did go over to the ramp on weekdays to practice.

 

[kailec00]

Re: watching boats at the ramp today ....

I could not think of any thing that a ramp watcher could help me with. All the lakes around me have docks that are out of the way and you tie up to that to load passengers or to tie up to if you are alone. I would not let a stranger drive my truck and would sure not let them drive my boat. However I would be polite about it when I declined the help.
Now I will listen to advice or if someone is telling me something that I might have forgotten about.

 

[rrhodes]

Re: watching boats at the ramp today ....

One of our local ramps has three lanes, When I was trying to pull out a guy in a jeep was already in the exit area of the ramp, Everyone should wait in-line until a lane is empty... So this guy is sitting waiting to back into the lake and blocking my way out... My suburban with a 30' trailer needs a bit of room to turn and the guy wouldn't move... I got out and asked him right in front of his friends if he was born stupid or did he have to go to school for it!!! It took 3 boaters to explain that until he moved we could not get out of the ramps..... Ramp etiquette should be required during a boater education course...

I also love the guys that take up 20 minutes trying to get on the trailer and yell at me when I offer a hand. That is what separates real boaters from weekend idiots. Most people appreciate a hand if they are having issues due to wind or the idiot jetski that does not understand what no wake means while others feel like they look macho if they do it by themselves and seem to think accepting help would result in the immediate revocation of their "man card"

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: watching boats at the ramp today ....

competent help can be a blessing; incompetent help a curse. Luckily, most of the people who volunteer are somewhat competent.

As for "who pays" if there is a mishap, it is you, not the volunteer, legally and practically (the latter being more important).

One thing I don't like--this is just me, perhaps--is those who help by giving hand signals. Seldom can I see them. Often they are ambiguous--was that a come on back, or a horsefly? (one guy held his hands 3 feet apart to indicate (to me) I had three more feet to back up to hitch the trailer. To him, it meant stop. Ouch.)
So I insist on loud vocal commands. And "left/right" is useless when your head is screwed around backwards and the trailer goes opposite the wheels which go opposite the steering! It's "to me" or "to the dock" or "away." You just got to train the help!

But I have learned my car, ramps and mirrors so backing up and down the ramp is nothing I need help with (occasionally a corner spotter is nice). It's backing up to hook up, backing into a parking place between two boats, when I can use a little help. I also have a long curvy narrow driveway with hedges on both sides, and at a hunting camp, have to back between several trees to get to the gas tank. I do it alone so much that I'm used to hopping in and out of the car to hook up, I have a good sense of where everything is, and sometimes I just poke and pray!

 

[hostage]

Re: watching boats at the ramp today ....

I have taken help before when people offer it. It doesn't mean your a novice, sometimes things don't go as planned. The chances of someone helping messing things up is less than yourself making a mistake. Just be a little more cautious when working with someone else.

I do trailer my boat, though I opt for the $100 more expensive season launch pass from a Marina, than the public launch. Very few people use the launch at the marina and the marina is across the road where I pay $40/month to store my boat. If I did the public launch, then I would have to deal with all the yahoos and drive an additional 12 miles round trip to use the public launch. The savings in gas alone makes it worth it. Also the nice non-public bathrooms and free wifi access also helps

 

[lncoop]

Re: watching boats at the ramp today ....

and sometimes I just poke and pray!

Permission to use that phrase please?

 

[sprcpr]

Re: watching boats at the ramp today ....

I like to do it myself as I have a routine. My son helps and is VERY good (He's 14) but he has been trained from the beginning to fit into my checklist. It's when things are wrong and I get out of order that I do stupid stuff like forget to raise the motor. I will say that I do try and avoid the crowds if I can. My local ramps even on the weekend seem to be busiest very early (6AM, and then at noon (the worst time, all of the old timers coming in, and the younguns going out) If I'm coming in and there is a line, I just turn around and go back out for a half hour if I can. If I'm going to wait, I might as well wait out on the water. Our boat launches are BUSY and I don't recall a time when I had to wait that long to get out or in.

I almost always have to tie up to the launch dock as I am the only one that can operate the boat and the truck. I don't trust my kid driving the boat to the other standby dock, especially if there is traffic and the wife can't handle the trailer. I could either leave the truck in the water, move the boat, and then go move the truck, or I could leave the boat, park the trailer, and then go hop in the boat and go. I have my son start the boat, get it warmed up, and make sure everything is ready to go. I can still be out of the dock in under 5. I just don't look up if it's real busy.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: watching boats at the ramp today ....

granted. Not responsible for adverse consequences if used in inappropriate context or activity.

Permission to use that phrase please?

 

[lncoop]

Re: watching boats at the ramp today ....

granted. Not responsible for adverse consequences if used in inappropriate context or activity.

Fair enough. Context is key.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: watching boats at the ramp today ....

I usually launch by myself, and don't like to take help as far as pulling the truck out or backing it in. I don't trust anyone with my truck or boat, because they almost invariably booger something up. A stranger------NO WAY!!! I politely say that I'm so accustomed to launching alone that I'd probably mess up with help--which is true. Every once in a while, I take a friend fishing and they ask to back in the truck. It's a nightmare. They'd have better luck winning the lottery. I've seen a lot of jackknifed trailers caused by "helpers". If someone hollers or gives advice, I usually listen carefully since I do have a hard time thinking of multiple things at once and if I have a duck or bass on my mind, I'm usually prone to a screw-up.

 

[rrhodes]

Re: watching boats at the ramp today ....

I should add that I will help getting boat centered on the trailer but I won't get behind the wheel of someone else's vehicle unless I know them.