Always a good time at the boat ramp

[Waiting2Exhale]

Originally Posted by squeaks

Best thing i can suggest is when you do it, do it at your own pace, it is very important to get it done quickly and efficiently, but safety is much more important. When you do things that are not safe, you make a fool out of yourself, but if you take your time and do everything correctly youre only going to be called out on being slow. How fast you unload/load a boat is dependent on how many time you do it. the more you do it the faster and more efficient you will get at it. The most important part of a boat launch is backing up the trailer. if you learn or practice backing up your trailer ACCURATELY, youre launching will occur at a much faster pace. because once you have the boat in the water all you have to do is detach and power( or float depending on ramp) your boat off. powering your boat off is the step in launching that you have to take much care in, as you have to have a well developed feel for your boat's throttle, you will make yourself look stupid if you haul a$$ off your trailer and hit a dock or boat behind you. The first couple times you launch do not be afraid to ask for help or accept help from the guys there. if its your first time, or first couple times launching you may need the help, and chances are, the guys around you wont mind helping if it means they get their boat in faster. I always make it a point at the ramp to help anyone i see that needs help. An experienced boater with you wouldnt be a bad idea either. And one thing you can do to practice, is to back your boat up into certain places in your yard, mark out a place you want to put your boat and drive around your block, come back and back up. like i said, if you practice and learn to accurately back your boat in, it makes all the differece at the ramp. guys that take up too much space at a boat ramp irritate the boaters around them just as much as the drunk idiots. It may also behoove you to teach your wife/girlfriend/sons/daughters how to detach/float/power off/ or back up the trailer. that way one of you can be there to detach and power off the boat and one can be in the truck ready to drive away.

my two cents... hope it helps.

X2......I got my 2nd boat when I was 16 and my dad made me go to a parking lot and practice backing into parking spots. You can find tight angles, straight back or just about anything you want depending on your vehicle. If you dont have great vis out the back window, practice using your side-views cause it wont get any easier to see when you have a big boat back there.......best of luck and if you dont feel comfortable, pull forward and try again. The guy waiting on you would be much happier waiting another 3mins vs. waiting for you to figure out how you are going to drain your vehicle when it slides in and blocks the ramp......

[cdog]

Originally Posted by Waiting2Exhale

My favorite happened to an employee of mine. He was at the ramp when a guy comes up, engine WOT but only goin 10MPH. He asked the guy whats wrong with his boat and the other guy told him he didnt know, it was the first boat he ever owned. So my employee, Jim, got in with him and they made a loop around. They get back to the ramp and Jim is scratchin his head when he realizes there is a line stretched taught from the bow. He thought this dumbass has done ran over his bow line. Thats when Jim leans over the bow and sees the trailer still attached to the bottom of the boat

Back in the day a Boston Whaler dealer sold a boat to a guy living in the Sac Delta who didn't have a road to his house. They just launched the boat still strapped to the trailer and went real slow.

[kywestfreediver]

Originally Posted by Markio

This my be a good opportunity for me to ask...so How do you learn to launch or pick up your boat. I know most of it is common sense, but if you did not grow up around boats and you get your first boat you are gonna f&*k up a few times so how do you suggest someone should learn to do it without making an idiot out of yourself. I am in the market for a boat and I know the first few time it is gonna be tricky to get it right. What do you do? do you go early morning when there is no one around? have some experienced guy in the boat with you?

I've seen some guys making some mistakes I would never make even with no experience but some of the ramps around here are not huge.

One common mistake i've seen on private ramps which might be narrower or have objects to avoid is that when you take the wrong line people tend to pull forward just a couple feet and re-attempt. This usually leads to ending up in the same position b/c you don't have enough room to correct your mistake. If you find yourself off line too far, pull forward as much as you can and start over.

[kwtony]

I had a lady get upset with me when i asked her kids (very nicely) to move from the boat ramp as i had to launch my jet skis. She went apeshit and I started laughed in her face for being absolutely crazy. Huffing and puffing, running to a rule board to try and find rules saying you cant launch jet skis and all the crap. Saying trailers were illegal in Key West, som sort of nonsense. She dialed the police and low and behold my friend shows up and writes her a fine for no flag and almost hits her with a child endangerment fine. All the while he had to hold back from laughing throughout the whole thing.

[mangler203]

A few weeks ago, we pulled in to load our boat up from Berkely Harbor in Berkely, CA and 2 older gentlemen had just got done makin a rude comment to us. They were launching their boat, and my dad pointed out to me that they had forgotten to unstrap the straps holding down the boat to the trailer. Had they not have given us crap we would have told them, but karma will getcha and we let it happen. They backed the boat up and floated their boat AND trailer. The incline angle if the launch ramp was somehow enough to break their ball of, and away floated their trailer and boat. The funniest thing ever watching an older man prepare to dive in after his boat and trailer. Being the nice people we are , my dad and I grabbed their ropes and handed it to them. Tow truck was pulling in just as we were finishing cleaning our boat.

[slingnsteel]

Let me start off by agreeing that the boat ramp is one of the most frustrating places ever, that is if youre trying to use it. Great entertainment otherwise!!!!!!! me and my father have a very good and smooth operation, and are usually pretty fast in and out and avoid the hassle... but one day at sandsprit in stuart there was an un-avoidable wait!! I dropped my father off to get the truck and trailer... waiting just outside the ramp with 30 other boats for him to get in the water so we can leave. this guy puts his piece of shit cabin cruiser (old bayliner) in the water and there are boats and people all over and around. im guessing he didnt use the blower... because when he turned the engine over to start it and is exploded(i mean EXPLODED) blowing the engine cover over 30ft in the air and lots of other debris out in all angles... with a big BOOM!!! the boat imediately bursts into flames and begins to burn to the water... all the time people are just standing there looking... then people finaly got the idea that it may really explode when the fire heats up the tanks enough... and started to scramble. the guy on the boat starts to try to get coolers and his belongings off the boat like an idiot... cops are running around like chickens with their heads cut off just yelling at people.. one ran up to my father who was in line with a bunch of other trucks trying to get around to the ramp and says " you have to move and get out of here", he calmly replied pointing to the other 3-5 trucks in front of him "where would you like me to go?" lmfao... and instead of acting and trying to save their boats... people are standing there with their phones videoing and taking pictures... one of the most memorable days at the boat ramp i will probably ever encounter!!!!!!! luckily nobody was injured...