General Outdoor Discussion
Boat launch idiots!
The idiot was me! I bought a POS Lund 17' Pro from a guy that's probably still laughing. We agreed that we would work through a dealership in Chicago. He's probably laughing too. I asked the dealer to run both the main motor and the kicker motor and make sure both started and ran, and that I'd pay him for his trouble. When I got there he said he ran them without issue. I asked him to run them with me standing there but he balked: "Too busy, hose in garage, etc. etc." So I took him at his word and left. I took the boat up to Delavan the text weekend all excited. Took two of my kids, launched and tied up to the pier. Whoops and sh*t, I forgot to put in the drain plug. Inserted it and ran bilge pump to drain the water. Bilge pump didn't work so I figured, get the puppy up on plane and let it drain out. Went to start the kicker and it would not start. Double sh*t. Went to start the main motor, Mariner 60hp, and it started but did not run worth a sh*t. Obviously I had been cheated. Called the dealer who basically told me to go pound sand. Called the gentleman that sold me said POS and he also told me to go pound sand. Sold the kicker for a decent price. Took the boat to local dealer who tuned the Mariner. All good you ask? Hardly. Went out fishing a few times and noticed that the plywood floor was springy. Discovered floor was rotten. Carpet was also worn. Hooked the boat up to my S10 Blazer, drove from Chicago up to Lund plant in Bumbledoodle MN, had them install a new floor and carpet. All excited again. Driving back, the engine on my Blazer seized up and I had to take it to a dealer to see about getting engine repaired. Nope. Needed a new engine. How soon can you get to it, I asked. Couple of weeks at minimum. Ended up buying a brand new pickup and hauled the boat back to Chicago. Fished with the boat a few more times with other problems and decided it was jinxed and sold it. I then sold the pickup. Next time I'll be buying a brand new boat.
Not necessarily at boat launch but, I think the guy forgot to do something before heading out onto I-94 in Kenosha County Sunday afternoon (5/15/22).
Does he get a ticket from DNR/Coast Guard for failure to control vessel or ticket from State Patrol for losing load on highway, or both???
i still don’t know how this guy did this but at our local launch I noticed a gentleman with a trailered boat that was backed in the water struggling to get it pulled out. So I went over to see if I could assist him. When I got there I noticed that somehow the framework of the pier got on the inside of the fender of the trailer and was 2-3” below the top of the fender. I suggested he backup a ways , turn the steering wheel hard right, but that couldn’t make the fender clear either. It was a dilemma ! All the while his wife was raising a loud Ruckus and calling him every expletive deletive that starts with dumb. I don’t know how he took it but I finally asked her to stop and explained she wasn’t helping any thing. in My mind she was the BLI. I suggested we take the boat off and get in the water and try to pull the trailer out from under the pier by hand. But.....he just decided to back it up deeper and gun the truck which actually got him out but the fender was toast. that set off WW2 between those 2.
The End
I had a few interesting experiences.
I was launching in Door County. My buddy was parking his car while I was in the launch lane, getting ready to back in.
A woman in a truck swooped in and started backing into my lane. No big deal, because my buddy was still walking to the boat from his car, but it was interesting. She angled and got behind my boat (which was an amazing back up job), then turned and looked at me. Her eyes got real wide and she asked if she was using my launch. I said that she was, but it was no big deal, since my buddy was a good 2 minutes away yet. She backed in the rig perfectly, someone got the boat on quickly and she took off, while waving at me with a smile.
She was not a boat launch idiot, and I found the communication very refreshing.
Once I had the boat in the water with my buddy in it. I went to the lot. There were two open spots and someone had pulled out and decided to park behind the two open spots to take stuff out of his boat, blocking both parking spots. He saw me swing in there and did nothing.
I just got out and asked if he could pull forward 50 feet so I could park. He apologized and pulled ahead, no big deal.
Again, the communication was very refreshing.
Kind of a tame Lake Watch program this year. Went to the local lake and it was busy as it was such a nice day. Most were in mid season shape execpt one poor fella. I felt kinda bad and offered to help. It was a dad with 3 younger kids. they were all excited to go fishing. He backed the boat in several times and then would pull it out again. At first I thought he was checking the plug, but he forgot the Transom Strap a few times of back and forth and he got it.
Then he forgot to undow the wind up strap. I told him... We all have days like that AND HE WAS OFF!! the kids could have cared less. Was nice to see and get a little chuckle out of as well!!
Almost to the Eve of the best holiday of the year. Opening day!! I used to go to the bait shop on Hwy 100 and Green field in Milwaukee only to watch Police direct traffic bc people couldnt get their boats in/ out of the parking lot!! Spent a year up by White Potato Lake watching PPl try and back into the lake!! Not sure where Im going this year.. Where is everyone sitting???
Enjoy!!
Went fishing somewhere in Oneida Cty with a buddy of mine and his boat. We are geezers no and have been fishing together for nearly 50 years. He launched and pulled his truck up to park. When he got back, I asked him if he put the plug in. The look on his face was priceless- Oh _ _ _ _.... He ran out on the dock, looked at the transom- then looked my way. Big evil grin on my mug- he HAD forgotten, but I did not.... He may have called me something at that point ;)
My dad and I were fishing one time and when we got back my dad couldn't find the trailer. It was at a private launch, so we went into the owner's shop and asked if he had seen my dad's trailer and he said he took it off the truck and moved it so it wasn't in the lane of traffic for the launch area. The parking area was all gravel and apparently my dad parked his trailer right in the driving lane. Whoops!
banjo dan,
I admit I have made a number of mistakes launching or taking my boat out. The first time I pushed my boat off the trailer in early April shortly after the ice was off the lake I didn't have it tied off to anything and ran into ice cold water with my coveralls and parka on. That's when i found out I couldn't climb into my boat with an extra 50 lbs. of wet close on. Shortly after that I went out to the middle of a bay and started catching Crappie one after another. It wasn't until I was ankle deep in water before I realized I hadn't put the plug in.
We ALL make mistakes, I have helped LOTS of people launch and remove their boats from the lake, It's the guy that knows his wife can't back a trailer and is in his boat swearing at her while she jack knifes his truck and trailer at the launch that I am talking about. I have helped the same couples out time and time again. Why doesn't he know this isn't going to go well and just beach the boat, get in the truck and back in the trailer. I am almost ALWAYS alone at the launch and understand it is a little more work, but it may save them a fortune in attorneys fees. There are a lot more wealthy stupid people in the world that have boats than you know. Like the guy that spends $50-$100 grand on a wake boat to take his 15 year old son he gets every other week end wake surfing a couple of times over the summer. If people need help, they need to be smart enough to ASK! When my wife asks what she can do to help, I ask her to stay out of the way.
