Boat Ramp Repair

[DaNinja]

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

Do it under cover of night wearing a black Ninja outfit ...lol...seriously ... just do it when no one else is around. You can always say it was like that when you arrived, and you saw the empty bag on the ground and figured you should take it home and dispose of it properly...just sayin....

Even Ninja garb won't help at LOTO. I could probably get away with digging out my slip or the nearby ramp when the water is low in the winter, but it would only take one grumpy greenie from the HOA and the power company, The Corps, and EPA would tell me to start writing checks.

 

[blifsey]

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

Here's solution...You will need several bulldozers and other pieces of big equipment and a few prisoners.

Link in case inline video does not play

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

one thing to keep in mind, once you talk to ANYONE official about the ramp automatically kills your options. As others have mentioned its a gamble, and considering the ramp has been neglected, it most likely would end up with a chain across the ramp.

I say go for it. Nobody is going to get bent out of shape over a couple bags of quikcrete above the waterline.

 

[Engine344]

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

In the Great State of Pennsylvania if you mess with a river bank you better have the appropriate paperwork in hand. We fixed a private ramp a few years back without paperwork and it to 2.2 seconds to have Satte Police and River Authority knocking on our door. To quote the inspector "We will burry you under the jail if you do this again" To our credit we did it beyond there standards and squeeked by with a wrist slap....best of luck my friend sounds like you are doing a nice thing for the community!

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

In the Great State of Pennsylvania if you mess with a river bank you better have the appropriate paperwork in hand. We fixed a private ramp a few years back without paperwork and it to 2.2 seconds to have Satte Police and River Authority knocking on our door. To quote the inspector "We will burry you under the jail if you do this again" To our credit we did it beyond there standards and squeeked by with a wrist slap....best of luck my friend sounds like you are doing a nice thing for the community!

I wanted to take a Bobcat into my slip while the water was down and the dock was on the bottom.
I was told by the "Powers" that the silt that I was going to remove from our slip was Hazardous Waste" and had to be disposed of accordingly.

They also said I needed a permit and there was a moratorium on permits.

 

[Hogger]

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

Don't discuss it with anyone.

Too late.
I'd go ahead and fix it.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

I'm in the "fix it without telling anyone" camp. If you go to the town board, they are likely to tell you that you can fix it once you have the correct permits, inspections, surveys, and studies in hand. Then they will park Barny Fife at the entrance watching for you with your quickcrete. What are you willing to pay for the convienience of using it? A few bags of quickcrete is a cheap launch fee. All that said, only make repairs above the waterline, and pick up everything when you are done. Good luck with it.

 

[biglurr54]

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

Well the ramp is in the city so there are people around. I might head down at night with some fishing poles and see how much attention i bring then another night bring the quickrete and patch them and get out for a few days. I thought about getting a bunch of other local boaters that use the ramp together and tackling it together. more man power and a bigger purse but more attention. each year people clear all the river debris away so you can get a boat in but no one has done that yet this year. i think i will resort to the ninja suit maybe a buddy or two as look outs. Quick easy and cheap repair. I just wish i didnt have to make it quick and at night so i could fix it right.

 

[robert graham]

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

Take your boat to the ramp like you were going to launch, take Quickrete with you, patch the holes while you're parked at the ramp. Anybody says anything, you can say, "I'm afraid I'll tear up my boat or trailer getting in and out of here, so decided to fix it". What could they say? I mean are they going to arrest a guy for trying to repair a boat ramp?

 

[Andy'sDelight]

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

If you're fixing potholes in a boatramp at night no one (except authorities) are going to say a word or think twice about it. I wouldn't worry too much about people ratting you out.

 

[NSBCraig]

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

Hey Troy New York hows it going? That's were I'm from way back but still have lots of family there!

 

[a1akeywest]

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

Everyone has commented on there opinions on the matter but no one has mentioned the real issue here..

It seems like a simple matter of a bad ramp and a guy who wants to repair it.. seems simple enough. Some people also mentioned that it is unfotunate that a private citizen cannot make any efforts to improve the ramp on his own accord, and that is an unfortunate thing. However this is a result of the very people who use these ramps all over the country, and any other public areas.

Consider this,, the gentlemen repairs the ramp.... does a reasonable job,, seems to work fine,, however one area where he laid some cement he left a 1 inch lip and it wasnt smoothed out..... something that is quite possible considering that he may be doing it at night,,, in a hurry etc...... a day later some lady walks by, doesent see the lip, trips on it and splits her head open.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, whats she going to do? most likly call the city,,, most likly a lawyer and raise a huge stink..

and what would the city say? what would you say if u were in that situation??

ummmmmm.. sorry mamme, we did not do this work at the ramp,,, therefore we are not responsible....and they would probably go looking for who did do it...

this is the sad truth, and this is why the city, municipilaties, etcc... arre very cautious about these kinds of issues,,, if the repair was done by the city,, it is done by an approved contractor,, and the work is INSURED...

unfortunatly this is what it has come to,, its not that some guy at the citys job is to be a pain in the but for people who want to use this ramp,, its just that they are aware of all the possible issues that could arise from it...

my suggestion would be to send a letter to the city,, notify them that the ramp is in poor condition and that there are a lot of people who wish to use it... see what they have to say,, use the ramp as long as you can and if it becomes unuseable,, take the 10mile ride to the next ramp,,,, hell i ride over an hour to get to my ramp,, i wish it was 10 miles away...

good luck,,,,,

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

The problem is, if he reports the conditions to the city, I am almost 100% sure they'll "fix it" by installing a nice new locked gate. Bye bye ramp.

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

Afew years ago I was helping my friend Ken at his new home by a creek.

I took alittle dirt out from the bank with a backhoe the DEC found out about it.

They fined me $1.000 bucks for disturbing the fish & frog habitat. :facepalm:

 

[jeeperman]

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

Is this ramp on the very end of a street? That ends at the waters edge?
Might not be an official boat ramp.
Just a neighborhood launch site that has evolved over the years.
Look it up on Google Earth or better yet the cities gis info/tax collector/accessor/appraisier website.
Then you can see who owns it or if it is called out as a boat ramp, etc.

 

[64osby]

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

My .02

I would get some of this

http://www.doitbest.com/Blacktop+re...feeds&utm_medium=googlebase&utm_campaign=BROI

Not a cement based product. Go to the launch and fill in the holes a little at a time. use your truck tire to compact it or a metal tamper. Get it up to surrounding material level and then sprinkle w/ some dirt. I don't think anyone would ever notice that there was a patch.

Good luck and and keep an eye out for big brother.

As a side note I stopped by to look at my local launch yesterday and the DNRQ officer was there. Surprised the heck out of me. I have never seen one there in 10 years. Still see a lot of ice on the lake - not a boat to be seen.

 

[Fisherball]

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

Put an old tire & crappy wheel on the trailer then back down real fast, blow that tire & bend that rim. Make 'em pay to replace those & fix the ramp, or maybe, tell them you'll settle if they fix the ramp!!

 

[Hogger]

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

Curious about the outcome. Have you done anything yet?

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

sad to say, a1akeywest makes the best legal point here--once you assume a duty (fix the hole) you become responsible if it's not done correctly. It's possible your homeowner's insurance will cover you, but not certain. So you have to assess the risk that someone will get hurt on the repair you make.

Too bad the world has come to this.

 

[DJ]

Re: Boat Ramp Repair

Everyone has commented on there opinions on the matter but no one has mentioned the real issue here..

It seems like a simple matter of a bad ramp and a guy who wants to repair it.. seems simple enough. Some people also mentioned that it is unfotunate that a private citizen cannot make any efforts to improve the ramp on his own accord, and that is an unfortunate thing. However this is a result of the very people who use these ramps all over the country, and any other public areas.

Consider this,, the gentlemen repairs the ramp.... does a reasonable job,, seems to work fine,, however one area where he laid some cement he left a 1 inch lip and it wasnt smoothed out..... something that is quite possible considering that he may be doing it at night,,, in a hurry etc...... a day later some lady walks by, doesent see the lip, trips on it and splits her head open.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, whats she going to do? most likly call the city,,, most likly a lawyer and raise a huge stink..

and what would the city say? what would you say if u were in that situation??

ummmmmm.. sorry mamme, we did not do this work at the ramp,,, therefore we are not responsible....and they would probably go looking for who did do it...

this is the sad truth, and this is why the city, municipilaties, etcc... arre very cautious about these kinds of issues,,, if the repair was done by the city,, it is done by an approved contractor,, and the work is INSURED...

unfortunatly this is what it has come to,, its not that some guy at the citys job is to be a pain in the but for people who want to use this ramp,, its just that they are aware of all the possible issues that could arise from it...

my suggestion would be to send a letter to the city,, notify them that the ramp is in poor condition and that there are a lot of people who wish to use it... see what they have to say,, use the ramp as long as you can and if it becomes unuseable,, take the 10mile ride to the next ramp,,,, hell i ride over an hour to get to my ramp,, i wish it was 10 miles away...

good luck,,,,,

Best advice so far.

Government agencies have NO mercy, no common sense and a true lack of compassion.

LEAVE IT ALONE. REPORT IT but leave it alone.

Your best course of action is to report it, gather some fellow boaters that are willing to work on it. Appeal to the "authorities" with a plea to allow you to fix it. If they grant permits, you are OK to proceed.

Government agencies are usually (some are strongly opposed) welcoming of citizen groups that are willing to their (gov't) job for free.

If you fix it yourself, trust me, they WILL find you and it will NOT be pleasant.