JimKW
Petty Officer 1st Class
- Joined
- Jul 10, 2009
- Messages
- 397
I was out on the boat Sunday before Memorial Day and it was not too crowded in the morning, but started getting crowded around 11:30 so we decided to go in before it got too bad. The water was already pretty choppy, but the ramp was not really backed up.
So I went to the courtesy dock and waited my turn to dock. Sure enough a Jet Ski cut in front of me because they could fit in the small space next to another Jet Ski and when the 1st Jet Ski pulled out there was still no room for me because the other one had cut in front of me.
I went to the other side of the dock where there was a pretty good size boat already there. I docked right at the end of the dock as far back as I could so the other boat would be able to get out. So I?m tying up the stern and my wife is doing the bow and she says ?We have a problem here?. I get the stern tied up and go to the front and there is a beat up Pontoon Boat just about ready to drift right into us and the other boat already tied up.
My wife is protecting our boat while a teenage boy jumps off the other boat that is tied up and holds the Pontoon Boat away from his boat. Turns out the Pontoon Boat was unloaded from the main ramp/dock and would not start, but I have no idea how it got all the way over to the courtesy dock (about 30 to 40 feet away). So I get the dog out of the boat and go get the truck and trailer.
The ramps are wide enough to do four at a time, but most of the time we just do two, one on each side of the dock. But they were doing four wide this time around. Since my boat was at the courtesy dock I didn?t need the dock at the ramp so I took the farthest away and made it down and left room for another to back down next to the dock.
So I go get the boat and find that the boat that was docked there is gone and the Pontoon Boat is now tied up in front of me. Found out it was their first time out for the season and they never tried to start the boat until it was in the water. My wife told them my husband ALWAYS starts the boat at home before leaving for the lake. Hope they take the hint before next time. At this point my wife leaves because she came in a separate car so I could stay out longer if I wanted to.
I slowly motor over to my trailer and have it perfectly lined up to drift almost to the bow stop like I normally do and then reach out and grab the strap and hook it to the boat. Just as I shut the motor down to drift in a wave hit me and knocked me outside the bunks and I?m sitting crocked on the trailer. Luckily the stern went left or my outdrive might have hit concrete. Remember we normally go two wide to avoid this tight space.
So I lean over far enough to hook the strap and get it on the front of the boat, but I?m not sure what to do from there. I tried using the engine to back off a little, but I?m afraid of the concrete and messing up my boat under power.
Another boat starts backing down and sees I?m kind of sideways on the trailer and a little in his space and he had a pretty good size boat. His wife was standing there guiding him in and she asks if there is anything she do to help. Very nice! I said if you can figure out how to get this boat straight on the trailer that would be great. She suggests backing out and she would crank me in.
I basically said if I can get my butt out of this boat without falling I would rather just do it manually, but I was afraid I would fall climbing from the boat to the trailer. I?ve done that before, fell that is. Well I shut the boat off and raise the trim to trailer, and manage to climb out without falling knowing the wife next to me is watching. I then loosen the strap and push the boat out far enough to clear the front bunks and it is really rough and the boat is bouncing pretty good. I line it up and crank real fast and manage to get it on perfect. Both the wife and the guy look at me and said good job, and he said that is the hardest place on the ramp to load your boat, good job.
Oh wow too long a story with not a very good punch line. Maybe I should end with the guys wife climbed in my truck with me and my dog and we ? oh never mind.
So I went to the courtesy dock and waited my turn to dock. Sure enough a Jet Ski cut in front of me because they could fit in the small space next to another Jet Ski and when the 1st Jet Ski pulled out there was still no room for me because the other one had cut in front of me.
I went to the other side of the dock where there was a pretty good size boat already there. I docked right at the end of the dock as far back as I could so the other boat would be able to get out. So I?m tying up the stern and my wife is doing the bow and she says ?We have a problem here?. I get the stern tied up and go to the front and there is a beat up Pontoon Boat just about ready to drift right into us and the other boat already tied up.
My wife is protecting our boat while a teenage boy jumps off the other boat that is tied up and holds the Pontoon Boat away from his boat. Turns out the Pontoon Boat was unloaded from the main ramp/dock and would not start, but I have no idea how it got all the way over to the courtesy dock (about 30 to 40 feet away). So I get the dog out of the boat and go get the truck and trailer.
The ramps are wide enough to do four at a time, but most of the time we just do two, one on each side of the dock. But they were doing four wide this time around. Since my boat was at the courtesy dock I didn?t need the dock at the ramp so I took the farthest away and made it down and left room for another to back down next to the dock.
So I go get the boat and find that the boat that was docked there is gone and the Pontoon Boat is now tied up in front of me. Found out it was their first time out for the season and they never tried to start the boat until it was in the water. My wife told them my husband ALWAYS starts the boat at home before leaving for the lake. Hope they take the hint before next time. At this point my wife leaves because she came in a separate car so I could stay out longer if I wanted to.
I slowly motor over to my trailer and have it perfectly lined up to drift almost to the bow stop like I normally do and then reach out and grab the strap and hook it to the boat. Just as I shut the motor down to drift in a wave hit me and knocked me outside the bunks and I?m sitting crocked on the trailer. Luckily the stern went left or my outdrive might have hit concrete. Remember we normally go two wide to avoid this tight space.
So I lean over far enough to hook the strap and get it on the front of the boat, but I?m not sure what to do from there. I tried using the engine to back off a little, but I?m afraid of the concrete and messing up my boat under power.
Another boat starts backing down and sees I?m kind of sideways on the trailer and a little in his space and he had a pretty good size boat. His wife was standing there guiding him in and she asks if there is anything she do to help. Very nice! I said if you can figure out how to get this boat straight on the trailer that would be great. She suggests backing out and she would crank me in.
I basically said if I can get my butt out of this boat without falling I would rather just do it manually, but I was afraid I would fall climbing from the boat to the trailer. I?ve done that before, fell that is. Well I shut the boat off and raise the trim to trailer, and manage to climb out without falling knowing the wife next to me is watching. I then loosen the strap and push the boat out far enough to clear the front bunks and it is really rough and the boat is bouncing pretty good. I line it up and crank real fast and manage to get it on perfect. Both the wife and the guy look at me and said good job, and he said that is the hardest place on the ramp to load your boat, good job.
Oh wow too long a story with not a very good punch line. Maybe I should end with the guys wife climbed in my truck with me and my dog and we ? oh never mind.
