Re: Worse thing you hit in the water ?
My own trailer... Please dont ask..
I did that too. I had a little issue where we needed a boat to go on vacation in a quick time, with none of my projects complete. So, I managed to find a 12' Sea King on a POS trailer for a reasonable price, so I coupled that my 4 horse Evinrude kicker, and the trailer for a bigger boat I was working on, which I had repainted and replaced everything, but hadn't yet fabricated a winch post. So, a strap forward and a strap backwards would serve as a winch post.
Well, given that I pride myself in taking very little time on the ramp, I was going to powerload without a winch post. Worked fine most of the time. I figured out the sweet spot for loading, where I would ride right up on the bunks, and the lower unit would hit the back roller, and I would leave it in gear as dad started to pull out, hitting the kill switch just as he started moving. Then, he would pull up enough to allow the side steps of the trailer to be on dry land, and I would jump out, hook a strap onto the bow eye and wrap around trailer. Worked great, and we were always the quickest loaders there, besides looking like the biggest rednecks in the world.
However, one time, I was fishing alone for a couple hours, and as I headed back to the ramp, dad pointed out that my anchor line was still in the water. Crap, no wonder it felt like the motor was still digging sand (coastal flats are so different than my home lakes, and lacking a depthfinder, I found so many sandbars) when it looked as if I should be running deep water. So, I pull that in, and start to load. I idle on, and it felt like the prop was hitting something. So I kill it, and dad starts to pull out. The boat starts to lean real good, and I scramble to the side step, hollering for him to back in. So, he backs in, and I am sunk to my knees, as I push the boat back, and hold it on as he starts to pull back out.
Basically, I overran the roller, as we were too deep, and the skeg got caught between the frame and roller. The spinning prop started hitting the roller, so it dug grooves in it while spinning the roller, so now I have a treaded roller.
The next time, I was in a 15.5 foot flatbottom with a 40 tiller. Normally, I fished the south end of my local lake, but I decided to visit the north end. So, I am running around up there, and I thought I gave the reef marker enough room. Well, I didn't, and felt rocks and sand below the prop. So, I quilckly kill the motor, and tilt it up (no power trim, or I would have powered out of there with it set shallower). But, the issue now is that the wind is 30 mph, blowing me towards the shore. So, by the time I get to the trolling motor, I am against this sandy beach, trapped between two sandy points. No attempt to push myself out with a paddle or by getting out and pushing is saving me, due to the wind, broadside on the hull, being stronger than me. So, I called a buddy who I remembered mentioning that he would be out that day. I had to literally lay down on the floor so the gunwales would block the wind enough to hear him. He runs up there in his bass boat, and after about 30 minutes of attempts, and about getting himself stuck, manages to tow me off. Boy did I feel stupid.