Never thought I'de be that guy.

[Coosa]

So I haven't posted on here for quite some time mostly because there really has not been much for me to chime in on. Well that changed today!  I decided instead of taking the yak out today I'm gonna hook on to the boat and go fish the 43 acre conservation lake near my house.  After loading my stuff I throw my dog in the back of the truck and we are off. About a mile from the lake I hear my dog just start going crazy. I stop pretty quickly and look back thinking she fell out or something. I was happy to see she was still there but she had some new hardware (a whopper plopper) connecting her foot to her mouth. After about 10 min I somehow manage to get her free. I don't know how because 2 hooks went past the barb. I was really surprised how still she stayed while I worked on her.  As we pull up to the lake I notice a ton of people there which isn't normal. Usually there are 2 or 3 people fishing and it's pretty quiet. Not today. There were tiki torches and tables set up, and probably 20 people standing around the boat ramp. I get out, get the boat ready, and back down the ramp. This is an electric only lake so I jumped in the boat, pushed off the trailer, drop trolling motor in and.......nothing. After a min of messing with that and starting to float away I decided for the 1st time in 20 yrs on this lake I'm firing up the motor so I can get back to shore and get my truck off the ramp. And that's what I did. So then I return to the boat to see if I can get this trolling motor to work. After 15 min or so of failing at that I decided the trip just wasn't meant to happen.  Back to the truck, back down the ramp. Jump in the boat, start the motor,  drive onto the trailer. Then things take a drastic turn. I'm walking to the front of the boat to hook it to the trailer and about 3/4 the way there I hear BOOM and the sound of grinding gears! Truck takes off backwards and I jump out of the boat into the back of the truck to TRY to make the "save". HaHa...ya right, that wasn't going to happen. It all happened pretty darn quick and in less than a min I went from sitting in my boat looking at my truck to sitting on a ramp  needing polarized glasses just to see my truck.

[MOPanfisher]

Wow, that went south quickly.  Glad you are OK.

[WHARFRAT]

That's horrible.  Hope the truck didn't sustain much damage and glad you're fine.  Could have been worse.

I was the guy that left out his plug once launching my boat,  didn't sink, but it sure filled up quickly before I got back to the ramp.  Hope that's the worse thing that happens.

[Greasy B]

Ouch! I have had a lot of close calls, hopefully my time will never come. I appreciate you your post. 

[DADAKOTA]

What a day.  Glad you and the pooch are OK.  Was the "BOOM" the parking brake letting go, the truck jumping out of park, or both?  Perfect example of why I tell folks to NEVER have anyone in the vehicle unless they are in the drivers seat when loading or unloading a boat.  Seen more than one youngun in a vehicle (some in car seats) while the Dad loads or unloads the boat.

[MOPanfisher]

29 minutes ago, DADAKOTA said:

What a day.  Glad you and the pooch are OK.  Was the "BOOM" the parking brake letting go, the truck jumping out of park, or both?  Perfect example of why I tell folks to NEVER have anyone in the vehicle unless they are in the drivers seat when loading or unloading a boat.  Seen more than one youngun in a vehicle (some in car seats) while the Dad loads or unloads the boat.

Many having worked some of the vehicle in the lake incidents the idea of a kid in a car seat in the cab of a launch vehicle give me the willies.

[ollie]

This will be the one you will want to forget, but never will!  Glad you and dog are ok though.

[Terrierman]

I witnessed a deal like that several years back on Truman Lake.  Later saw that same truck with a sticker in the back window that read "I survived Truman Lake".  Poor guy was in the boat watching his truck and trailer roll down the ramp.  I mostly remember hearing over and over "Get Somebody!  Get Somebody!"  By then it was way too late.  So it happens.

The other big boat ramp boo boo I witnessed was a couple of Asian guys launching for obviously the first time and not unhooking the boat from the trailer, either front or rear. 

The misfortunes of others are always hilarious.

Glad no one was hurt.

[fishinwrench]

We're you not using the parking brake ?

Stuff like this haunts me because I launch and load boats on a daily basis, sometimes on steep and sketchy ramps, and while I've never had this happen I'm sure my day is coming.   Wheel chocks with a tether are an option I probably need to consider, but I would think the most likely time for it to happen would be while you are getting out to throw the chocks down.....so what's the point? Right?

[bfishn]

Wheel chocks aren't a for-sure prevention either. It happened to me while my little 4 speed Datsun was resting on a 6x6 block. Someone had removed 4 lug nuts on my right front wheel and loosened the 5th one while I was out fishing. That wheel stayed in place just long enough for me to back down the ramp. As soon as I got out, that wheel went thunk and all but fell off, letting the other wheel that was blocked turn and spit out the block (no steering lock on a '79 Datsun). :-(