Re: Would you help this person?
I read this thread last for the first time last Thursday or so, and I was sure thinking about it on Sunday. Spent the day on the lake with the wife and our 3 year old girl in our our 16' 1959 Whirlwind. It's a beautiful mahogany outboard that had been my grandfathers, and was passed on to me at his request when he passed away years ago. I had even just had it completely refinished last year. Around 5:00pm we are back at the ramp, and as I'm helping my wife guide our boat onto the trailer, there's a kind of loud, moderately obnoxious (but, to be clear, not being a jerk to anyone) guy on the next ramp (about 25' away) launching a 200hp outboard bass boat by himself. He apparently doesn't have the trailer far enough in the water, and has the motor in reverse at full throttle trying to get the boat off. I'm just kind of shaking my head at his actions, and as I begin winching my boat up I see him get in his truck to back down a bit more. I also notice his boat motor is still running and get a premonition of what is about to come. Sure enough, truck backs down and off slides the boat with the help of its motor, which is apparently still in reverse. The boat goes out about 50' at idle speed and then starts spinning in slow, tight circles. And I immediately think of this thread.
I tell my wife that we need to help the guy, and she says he should just swim out to it. I point out that that's not really an option with the prop turning in the water with no one in control- getting close to that boat in the water would probably result in some serious injury. So, I offer to help, and the guy accepts. Approaching a spinning bass boat in my sentimental mahogany baby is not my idea of a good time, but I didn't see any other way to get control of the other boat. To make a long story short, I approached it by circling around it in the opposite direction, and the only way I could think of getting it was to get close enough to try and grab the bow as it swung by. Ended up taking a glancing blow of his prob and base of his trolling motor against my windshield and wooden frame, which left a couple of marks and dings. Upsetting, but nothing horrendous. He tried to grab and stop his boat, but realized pretty quickly that he would not be able to and managed to dive onto his bow as it swung by. He thanked me, asked if there was any damage, and offered to pay me, which I turned down. I went back and trailered my boat, and he went on his way.
Even thinking about it since I haven't been able to come up with the best way to capture the boat. Is there a proper way to approach and get control of a slowly spinning unmanned boat without damaging your own?
Thanks,
Ted
I read this thread last for the first time last Thursday or so, and I was sure thinking about it on Sunday. Spent the day on the lake with the wife and our 3 year old girl in our our 16' 1959 Whirlwind. It's a beautiful mahogany outboard that had been my grandfathers, and was passed on to me at his request when he passed away years ago. I had even just had it completely refinished last year. Around 5:00pm we are back at the ramp, and as I'm helping my wife guide our boat onto the trailer, there's a kind of loud, moderately obnoxious (but, to be clear, not being a jerk to anyone) guy on the next ramp (about 25' away) launching a 200hp outboard bass boat by himself. He apparently doesn't have the trailer far enough in the water, and has the motor in reverse at full throttle trying to get the boat off. I'm just kind of shaking my head at his actions, and as I begin winching my boat up I see him get in his truck to back down a bit more. I also notice his boat motor is still running and get a premonition of what is about to come. Sure enough, truck backs down and off slides the boat with the help of its motor, which is apparently still in reverse. The boat goes out about 50' at idle speed and then starts spinning in slow, tight circles. And I immediately think of this thread.
I tell my wife that we need to help the guy, and she says he should just swim out to it. I point out that that's not really an option with the prop turning in the water with no one in control- getting close to that boat in the water would probably result in some serious injury. So, I offer to help, and the guy accepts. Approaching a spinning bass boat in my sentimental mahogany baby is not my idea of a good time, but I didn't see any other way to get control of the other boat. To make a long story short, I approached it by circling around it in the opposite direction, and the only way I could think of getting it was to get close enough to try and grab the bow as it swung by. Ended up taking a glancing blow of his prob and base of his trolling motor against my windshield and wooden frame, which left a couple of marks and dings. Upsetting, but nothing horrendous. He tried to grab and stop his boat, but realized pretty quickly that he would not be able to and managed to dive onto his bow as it swung by. He thanked me, asked if there was any damage, and offered to pay me, which I turned down. I went back and trailered my boat, and he went on his way.
Even thinking about it since I haven't been able to come up with the best way to capture the boat. Is there a proper way to approach and get control of a slowly spinning unmanned boat without damaging your own?
Thanks,
Ted