Really bad incident on the Ramp today

[Roger Craig]

I have noticed people just do not know how to back up using thier sideview mirrors anymore..

Boat trailer, box van, mini man. When I am driving my little HHR and back up I just use my side mirrors.

When I had my boat I would launch by myself with and hook on back of trailer, long rope connected to the bow of boat, fly in reverse and let that baby slide of trailer. Could launch a boat in seconds lol.

Some people just have a hard time backing up things..and drive like Mario Andretti.

[merc1997 Bo]

So if you can't back a trailer you automatically can't drive a boat? That's an ignorant assumption. You know how many people can't parallel park? I work downtown and get to witness it daily, there aren't very many. So I guess none of those people should be driving a car.

if they actually operated that boat much, they would do a much better job at launching it. the thought of people that can not back and parallel park also scare me to know they are driving up and down the road. guess that is why we are to drive defensively both on the road and on the water.

bo

[MOPanfisher]

I used to always turn around in the seat to back up. Time and life have made that more difficult and I have had to learn to back with mirrors also. As for helping if you have witnessed very many busy days at the ramp you can pretty quickly tell who is willing to be helped and who will fight you for even offering. From the description I would have done the same Bill, slip past launch and be out of there.

[Mike Ray]

gotta put my two cents in here. Know a guy that has one of these destroyer sized [at least a 40 footer] ships that pulls it with a Honda [that's right I said Honda] any way he had a friend backing it in to launch who managed to hit a telephone pole with the lower unit [THREE TIMES] before busting the lower unit case and all . estimated 8 to 10 grand to fix. B.T.W. it is 4 sale it has a 454 big block . lol

[Codywskeeter1521]

gotta put my two cents in here. Know a guy that has one of these destroyer sized [at least a 40 footer] ships that pulls it with a Honda [that's right I said Honda] any way he had a friend backing it in to launch who managed to hit a telephone pole with the lower unit [THREE TIMES] before busting the lower unit case and all . estimated 8 to 10 grand to fix. B.T.W. it is 4 sale it has a 454 big block . lol

Poor telephone pole. Lol

[skeeter]

Baxter ramp was the usual Funnyfarm over the weekend. Then, some highly intelligent individual decided to launch off the Marina parking lot. Don't know how he got past those steel cables strung at the lower extent of the lot but his prop managed to hit two dock-anchor cables on his way out.

[GNSfishing]

What they do is take on thousands of pounds of water as ballast to make the boat ride lower and be incapable of going on plane without throwing a huge wake. Then they crank up the loudest music possible - two varieties allowed, country songs about getting drunk and cheating or rap about popping caps and sexing. Once the music is cranked, you put the boat in gear and someone uses a rope to pull themselves and a board into the wake. Most of them hold onto the rope and "surf" in the wake - similar to riding a bike with training wheels. The more talented let go of the rope and "surf" without it. Of course, many can't manage to do this even with a rope and fall down, requiring the boat to turn suddenly and take the rope back to the victim. Meanwhile everyone in the boat screams obscenities at the chap who fell for being so uncool.

After the bloke manages to get back in the wake the boat driver turns to look forward for the first time. His job at that point is to identify and follow the course most likely to swamp other boats or cause damage to boats in slips.

You need to remember that consuming mass quantities of beverages designed to make you stupid enough to enjoy the above is mandatory.

Hey guys, did I leave anything out?

Yep you did, this has to be done in the narrowest part of the lake that you can find that is full of fishing boats.............. Trying to get away from them.............

[kyled]

_{Money cant buy happiness but it can certainly give you some options, large boats, fast cars, and private planes being a few of them. My guess is the fear of death and the FAA keep the runways clear of people who cant get their plane out of the hanger, and speed limits do a pretty good job of making sure that those who want to drive a race car without the helmet or any training get safely from point A to B in about the same time as a guy in a Prius. Boats just seem to be the easiest way to separate an ego or mid life crisis victim from his wallet. However, making a horses arse out of yourself is not limited by your net worth or lack thereof. If you stand at the ramp above Hooten Town on the James River for a few minutes on any summer weekend or at Blunks on a busy white bass day you will see similar if not worse. It just seems like its the price you pay to enjoy the outdoors. If your boat is on lift, a low life at some point might steal something, if you trailer to a ramp at some point you are going to see a cluster beyond your wildest imagination (we all have stories). So all we can do is help when possible, not contribute to the problem (teach your kids), and know when its best to not involve yourself. On a side note...... my favorite ramp story. I watched a guy load an aluminum boat (tracker with maybe 50hp) on the trailer while blocking the entire ramp, make sure he got everything imaginable out of the boat and loaded in his truck then lean on the boat for five minutes talking to his buddy on the phone about how good the fishing was, after one more long look through the boat checking and rechecking storage lockers he got in his truck and gunned it when the truck and trailer started to roll back. This sent his boat sliding off the wet skids and landing on the ramp.... he never hooked up his winch or transom straps. So funny!!}

[Browning Guy]

Said it a hundred times.............. pack a cooler, lawn chair, sun screen and head to the ramps for pure entertainment. I asked a guy if he wanted some help loading at Mill one time and he looked at me like I insulted him. Meanwhile, we waited another 20 minutes for him to get his wife, kid and little lap dog onto the water as he waded out nipple high trying to rock the boat off the trailer.

I suspect the guy with the $150,000 cruiser makes more money than I can imagine, but has little in the way of common sense or courtesy. Welcome to LOZ, uh, I mean TR.

[ness]

Never equate assets with net worth. Assets-Liabilities=Net Worth. Folks don't talk about their liabilities and you can't see them.