Yesterday's boat ramp knuckleheads

[convergent]

Most of the time I boat on a small lake... about 2 miles long... which has a decent set of 4 ramps. Rarely is there ever a wait at this ramp during the week, but last night my head was spinning at the range of nuttiness going on there. This lake has an "off the lake" time each day. Last night it was 8:15 and we were fishing so I headed for the launch at 8:00 with my daughter. I tied off on the dock and went and got my trailer, loaded the boat by myself, and then pulled up out of the way to tie down and clean up the boat. It only took me a couple of minutes.

One of the ramps was closed because the water is very low and I guess people were having trouble on it, so down to 3 ramps. Given that the lake is closing, anyone on this ramp would know that all the boats that they see need to get put on trailers, so the guys idling out there I'm sure were getting ticked off.

So on the first ramp, just as I'm pulling into the dock initially, I hear a lot of ruckus and look up and a guy with a bayliner bowrider is pulling up the ramp with the motor down dragging the skeg up the ramp. Everyone starts screaming and he stops and gets out. He raised the motor and then stood there chatting with his friends for the rest of the time I was there... just sitting on the ramp doing nothing but chatting.

On ramp number 2, a guy comes in with a really nice competition ski boat and I noticed him because he came in head first and then spun around to the dock backwards... dropped the guy to get his truck, and then he was facing the wrong way. He eventually got the boat on the trailer but then sat on the ramp loading stuff out of the boat for forever. Not directly related to the ramp, but just ahead of him had been a big pontoon boat and it caught my eye because it was parked next to my trailer in the parking area. There had to be 40 people of all ages all hovering around the boat. Never seen anything like it. I have no idea how many of those people were out on the boat.

Then we come to ramp number 3. After I cleared it, immediately (like I hadn't even gotten fully clear of the ramp and this guy started) a guy proceeded to back his trailer down the ramp. The poor guy was trying, but he never ever got it down the ramp fully by the time we had finished getting things tied down, packed and left. He had to have pulled back up 25 times while I was there and was still way crooked about 3/4 of the way down the ramp when we pulled out of the lot. I felt bad for the guy but not sure what I could have done. The ramp is very wide, has large curbs on each side to keep you from falling off. The guy was just incapable of backing it up.

As we left, I saw a couple of guys standing next to their trucks/trailers watching this, and waiting for their turn. Two ramps tied up with people doing nothing but gabbing to their friends, and the third with a guy who didn't look like he'd ever driven a trailer in his life. I think if I were waiting I would have walked over and asked the talkers to please move off the ramp, but they had more patience than me. I assume the people that worked there would eventually speed things up because it was way past the time the boats were supposed to be off the water and the remaining boats were stuck waiting.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Yesterday's boat ramp knuckleheads

Had a pretty pleasant experiance at the ramp on my parents lake on sunday. I arrived at the ramp to pull our boast out and find a lady with a jeep and a jetski trailer sitting perpendicular to the ramp. She's having a heck of a time and has obviously not backed up a lot of trailers.

Now this ramp is a terrible ramp to begin with. You have to back up about 1.5 blocks on flat land and pick the one side of the shallow ramp that has the concrete in the water.

She sees me and decides to pull over to the side of the alley and have me go first, I back in and grab the boat in a couple minutes. Then ask her if she wants some help backing her trailer. She says no thanks, that she has to learn sometime but is just trying to not be in the way while she is figuring it out.

 

[sebber83]

Re: Yesterday's boat ramp knuckleheads

My personal pet peeve with the local ramp is that the local boat mechanics think they own it. When they head out to test boats they leave their trailers and trucks in the ramp. It's got 2 ramps but we live in a town of 20 000 people right on the river, so most people I know own boats, therefore when one ramp is "clogged" by the mechanics, we go down to only one ramp and line-ups form quickly. I would be fine with the mechanics if it was on a monday morning and they would only be gone 5-10 minutes. But I have seen them do this on a saturday and be gone an hour while "testing" customer boats. Would it be so hard to yank the trailer out of the water and park it with the rest of them. Sure we only pay 75$ a year for ramp usage, but it sucks to be delayed 30-45 minutes because some lazy person doesn't take the 1 minute necessary to park the trailer in the trailer lot! sorry, i woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!

 

[nofuss]

Re: Yesterday's boat ramp knuckleheads

thats the problem with the public in general u get all types of people. maybe the talkers would not have been to friendly about being told to hurry it up. but then maybe they would have. However after backing up about 10 times the guy having problems would have, i am sure, been glad to get some help. this would have saved a lot of time on the one active ramp. if these guys wanted to get their trailers some kind help would have got them away earlier. but while offering help i would have thrown a word or two over to the talkers also.

 

[Doernuth]

Re: Yesterday's boat ramp knuckleheads

Sollution - A tractor with a good chain.

Or just reach in and release the parking brake and let gravity do its thing....

 

[convergent]

Re: Yesterday's boat ramp knuckleheads

However after backing up about 10 times the guy having problems would have, i am sure, been glad to get some help. this would have saved a lot of time on the one active ramp.

Yep, I wasn't sure how to help the guy. He was right next to me with his window down and I was watching to see if he had any indication he wanted help and he never seemed to. He didn't look flustered or rushed at all... just kept pulling up and backing in. There were people out in the water in the boat he was trying to retrieve... a center console. I don't think I'd ever offer to drive someone else's vehicle for fear of liability and I can't see how I would help other than driving it myself.

As for the guys talking... I don't think they would have been upset if someone nicely asked them to pull up. They weren't doing anything with the boat at all, and it was clear that other boats were waiting and that the place was closing. I just think that people turn off their brains and forget that anyone else is in the world around them sometimes. I know that I've done stuff at times where I got busy doing something and didn't realize I was affecting other people.

Speaking of knuckleheads at this ramp, the craziest thing I ever saw anyone do here was on a busy weekend day this guy comes in with a huge diesel pickup and a quite large boat to launch. He pulled off to the side to prep the boat... good so far. But when it was his turn, instead of pulling forward a little ways and backing down the ramp, he decided to make a U-turn and come back so he was facing the opposite way of every other truck/trailer lined up behind him. This is a pretty small area and so he immediately got into trouble because there wasn't enough room for this move and he ended up blocking 3 of the ramps for a while as he had to now wait for all the people behind him to reposition/backup so he could have room to pull up and back in. If he'd just pulled forward in the beginning, he could have easily backed in like everyone else did.

Like I said, people sometimes just turn their brains off. Maybe its the excitement of a bunch of friends/family that are all jumping around ready to go boating that causes people to rush going in and make mistakes ..... and the relief of getting the boat back on the trailer that causes people to just want to stop and relax after they are coming in.

 

[Cuyose]

Re: Yesterday's boat ramp knuckleheads

I am actually surprised it isn't becoming more common for local municipalities to hire launchers for these ramps in the summer months.you could employ 2 experienced high school kids or college kids on summer break to handle the lines and even back your rig in to launch then park and leave your keys in a box, much like a valet. Upon return they get your truck back it in and you drive up to the dock and they take over from there.

It seems to me this would be infinitely more efficient and take care of the situations where you have people making a dozen attempts at backing down the ramp and sitting there chatting while they unload stuff at the ramp.

 

[convergent]

Re: Yesterday's boat ramp knuckleheads

I am actually surprised it isn't becoming more common for local municipalities to hire launchers for these ramps in the summer months.you could employ 2 experienced high school kids or college kids on summer break to handle the lines and even back your rig in to launch then park and leave your keys in a box, much like a valet. Upon return they get your truck back it in and you drive up to the dock and they take over from there.

It seems to me this would be infinitely more efficient and take care of the situations where you have people making a dozen attempts at backing down the ramp and sitting there chatting while they unload stuff at the ramp.

That's a good idea in theory, but it would probably never work because of the liability of the thing. Plus, every tow vehicle/boat/trailer combo has different idiosyncrasies that the valet guy wouldn't have any way of knowing. Having them direct traffic and move people along would be good though.

 

[Cuyose]

Re: Yesterday's boat ramp knuckleheads

Yeah, that's the kicker, but after seeing people move my 28 ft carver on a giant forklift to launch and retrieve at dry moorage, I would think there might be some kind of liability agreement they could come up with

I live by Lake Sammamish in Washington, its a fairly large lake, 10 miles long by a couple miles wide. Same sunset rules apply, and its not out of the ordinary for there to literally be a queue of close to 50 boats waiting out on to the parkway to launch on a nice weekend.

Why someone would want to sit in a line for close to 2 or 3 hours to get in the water is beyond me. We do have Fish and Game down there on weekends to handle the queueing, and youa re right it does help. It basically takes away the confrontations due to people just cutting in line or bullying other people on the ramp

 

[robbyr1]

Re: Yesterday's boat ramp knuckleheads

Wow, there are "off the lake" times!?!!? Does that mean you can not have a boat in the water after this time? Seems weird.

 

[Purecarnagge]

Re: Yesterday's boat ramp knuckleheads

My personal pet peeve with the local ramp is that the local boat mechanics think they own it. When they head out to test boats they leave their trailers and trucks in the ramp. It's got 2 ramps but we live in a town of 20 000 people right on the river, so most people I know own boats, therefore when one ramp is "clogged" by the mechanics, we go down to only one ramp and line-ups form quickly. I would be fine with the mechanics if it was on a monday morning and they would only be gone 5-10 minutes. But I have seen them do this on a saturday and be gone an hour while "testing" customer boats. Would it be so hard to yank the trailer out of the water and park it with the rest of them. Sure we only pay 75$ a year for ramp usage, but it sucks to be delayed 30-45 minutes because some lazy person doesn't take the 1 minute necessary to park the trailer in the trailer lot! sorry, i woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!

Its amazing how a phone call to a towing company would change this.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: Yesterday's boat ramp knuckleheads

I also wouldn't want to pay (taxes) for the launchers when I'm perfectly capable of doing it my self. If it was optional, and those that want the service could pay on their own, I'd be all for it. That's how it worked when I was younger working at a campground. We didn't charge, but it was customary to tip. I'd launch and retrieve a couple hundred boats in a busy weekend. Camper would disconnect their trailer, I'd swing in on the tractor and hook it up, back it in, park the trailer. When they were on their way in, they could call ahead or pull up to the dock and I'd grab the trailer, and haul them out. They were happy to tip me a couple bucks, and at 16 years old, that was good money to me (on top of my 5 dollars an hour normal pay).

 

[Cuyose]

Re: Yesterday's boat ramp knuckleheads

Uggh, don't get me started on taxes. I am not sure how it works in your municipality, but I think charging for launching a watercraft on a public launch paid for by local tax dollars is ridiculous. We already pay property taxes for the parks department along with schools, transportation, etc.

When was the last time you saw a cover charge at the local city hall, Toll Booths on the bike lanes, bus fair on a school bus?

I am way off topic, but if they are going to charge for launching your own boat, they should be making the whole situation as efficient as possible.

 

[slag]

Re: Yesterday's boat ramp knuckleheads

Uggh, don't get me started on taxes. I am not sure how it works in your municipality, but I think charging for launching a watercraft on a public launch paid for by local tax dollars is ridiculous. We already pay property taxes for the parks department along with schools, transportation, etc.

When was the last time you saw a cover charge at the local city hall, Toll Booths on the bike lanes, bus fair on a school bus?

I am way off topic, but if they are going to charge for launching your own boat, they should be making the whole situation as efficient as possible.

We pay extra above and beyond taxes to let kids ride the school bus. Its a yearly fee, but it is extra if you live in an area that gets serviced by busses in our school district.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Yesterday's boat ramp knuckleheads

First, why does the lake "close?" at 8:15? or at all?

Second, ..... well, I'm still hung up at the lake having a closing time.

I don't get it.

Often times we don't launch till 7 pm, fish till 10:30, thats when the fish bite.

So I'm guessing the guy that made this law is out there from 8-10 pm, catching all the walleyes by himself.

 

[badkins50]

Re: Yesterday's boat ramp knuckleheads

That's a good idea in theory, but it would probably never work because of the liability of the thing. Plus, every tow vehicle/boat/trailer combo has different idiosyncrasies that the valet guy wouldn't have any way of knowing. Having them direct traffic and move people along would be good though.

It probably would never work because they couldn't put their cell phones down long enough to do anything let alone be responsible enough to handle some of these $100k set ups thats hanging on the edge of the lake by a simple little brake. No thanks. I'll just go down the road and do it myself.

 

[badkins50]

Re: Yesterday's boat ramp knuckleheads

Oh yeah I forgot, I too am wondering why is the launch closing at 8:15?

 

[Thad]

Re: Yesterday's boat ramp knuckleheads

Uggh, don't get me started on taxes. I am not sure how it works in your municipality, but I think charging for launching a watercraft on a public launch paid for by local tax dollars is ridiculous. We already pay property taxes for the parks department along with schools, transportation, etc.

When was the last time you saw a cover charge at the local city hall, Toll Booths on the bike lanes, bus fair on a school bus?

I am way off topic, but if they are going to charge for launching your own boat, they should be making the whole situation as efficient as possible.

You must be at Lake Geneva.

First, why does the lake "close?" at 8:15? or at all?

Second, ..... well, I'm still hung up at the lake having a closing time.

I don't get it.

Often times we don't launch till 7 pm, fish till 10:30, thats when the fish bite.

So I'm guessing the guy that made this law is out there from 8-10 pm, catching all the walleyes by himself.

I'm pretty confused by this as well. We have a couple of Park District marinas that have a closing time, but the rest of the ramps do not. I could not imagine being MADE to get off of the water.


You might be on to something with the fishing...."I have to go check and make sure there are no boats on the water...be back after I catch my limit, er, uh, see ya in a bit"

 

[pmillar]

Re: Yesterday's boat ramp knuckleheads

I could see a time limit for privately owned lakes. Not sure I understand the why or how if it's a public lake and ramp though.

The reality may be as simple as having some very well connected (politically speaking) people with houses on the lake who don't like the noise of boat traffic. Why do you think John Wayne airport shuts down for the night? Newport Beach $$...

 

[tburda]

Re: Yesterday's boat ramp knuckleheads

My personal pet peeve with the local ramp is that the local boat mechanics think they own it. When they head out to test boats they leave their trailers and trucks in the ramp. Sure we only pay 75$ a year for ramp usage, but it sucks to be delayed 30-45 minutes because some lazy person doesn't take the 1 minute necessary to park the trailer in the trailer lot! sorry, i woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!

Let me just say, NO you did not wake up on the wrong side of the bed. On our lake, there are 2 DNR launches, 1 privately owned public launch, an apartment complex that has a launch that rents slips, and a private neighborhood launch. (total of 5) Most people use the two DNR launches. One has 4 ramps, the other only has one. The one with the 4 ramps is where most people put in at. I can tell you now, if a mechanic left a vehicle parked on the ramp at that launch, it wouldn't be there when they got back. Anyone would be furious about that, and you said you ONLY pay 75 a year? We pay 25 for access to two different launches on either end of the lake and that kind of behavior wouldn't fly.