Escaped Major Boat/Motor Damage Last Week

Eric Patterson

Eric Patterson

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Staff member
I forgot to mention this earlier but we had a close call last week. The temps were in the teens one morning last week and while backing the boat down the ramp I saw the boat begin to slide off the trailer. I gently braked stopping the truck with the boat and trailer intact. Got out of the truck and put the wench strap back on and got back in the truck and thought, "whew, that could have been really ugly." Started to back down again and as the angle of the ramp increased I started hearing the wench clicking and saw the handle flying around. I'M A FRIGGIN IDIOT!!!! A lot a good a wench does keeping the boat in place when you negect to flip the lever and lock it! How could I be so stupid as to stop the disaster and then not lock her down! I stared in horror as my Black Brant slid right off the iced bunks and onto the ramp. When the motion stopped the boat was pointing up in the air at about a 45 degree angle with the foot of the motor taking most of the weight. Had the launch not been coarse I suspect the skeg would have slid instead of digging in and my whole rig would have hit the pavement in a loud painful crash. To my amazement there was no damage, not even a bent skeg which was spared by the motor being straight. A hunter standing nearby came over and offered some assistance stating he did the exact same thing that morning.

Moral to the story, never unhook or unlock your wench unless you know the boat is staying on the trailer until if gently floats off.
 
Glad you got out of that one with no damage. I put a new winch on the trailer for my War Eagle; it's a three-position with click-in, click-out, and freespool...the damn thing confounds me every time I pick up...I have to fiddle with it to remember which way is which. Which tells you how much hunting I've done this year out of my boat....
 
Luck was on your side.

It's one of those lessons you learn over time, like putting the plug in the boat before you launch. I've seen what you've described happen to some guys, that have rollers instead of bunks, the steep ramp and the buat rolls off the trailer before the guy reached the water. Bunk type trailers and ice, I could picture it now. Another lesson that I've learned check ice thickness before backing up and tilt the motor up when backing into an ice. My buddy busted his skeg once backing into thick ice.

Thanks for sharing.

-Jack


We could probably start a thread on the things we learn at 5:30 in the morning.
 
I don't know about the rest of you, but if I put a new wench on my trailer, the wife would be none to happy about it! And I don't know of to many wenches that would stand on the back & hold the boat in place anyway. Nor would it be legal to ride down the road with her holding the boat. And I have NEVER seen a wench with a switch, on-off, or otherwise.
Eric, my advice is to invest in a winch, they are much more reliable and less controversial.
 
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Boy that would have put a damper on things....Says something about the transom you put on it though!

I've gotten in the habit of unlatching my strap clasp and putting the rope I launch with to the trailer when backing down the ramp. I've had the thought go though my mind what happens if I have to hit the brakes hard. After reading this I think I'll keep her hooked up untill right before the water.

Thanks,

Ed L.
 
What the???? Why on earth would you unhook it before the boat is in the water?Bezubic did that with his Outlaw about the first time we launched it. He had a roller trailer and when the ice didn't break when he backed out on it he pulled forward with our 140lb buddy Iobe hanging on to the bow painter...that baby shot straight up in the air at almost a 90 degree angle and swung Iobe to the other side of the trailer as he was trying to keep it down. If porpoising doesn't destroy these things..I doubt falling off the trailer would hurt anything.
 
Lee

When I hunt alone I always float the boat before unhooking. When I hunt with a partner I let them handle the rope and keep the boat from floating away. Thomas was my partner and I should have accounted for his inexperience in managing such an anomaly.
 
A couple weeks back the boat froze on and I backed extra deep to thaw it off. With the thunk of the trailer hitting bottom when it thawed, I looked back to see the boat drift off. By teh time I got to it it had cleared teh trailer and was on its way to deeper water. I was able to put one finger into a bungee hanging off teh bow to stop it at the top of my waders. It was unhooked completely because I had unlatched it at normal launching depth to push off and had the painter coiled on the bow. Deviation from the normal routine will get you every time.

T
 
Ok, I know the difference between a wench and a winch. Although, some places I have launched, a wench might have been a better choice.

But what the heck is a painter??????????

RVZ
 
Eric,

Good to hear you got back safely.

Truth be told, my Yamaha took the same hit this summer, but I managed to get the whole boat off the trailer. Put a dent in the aluminum strip on the center keelson, but other than that, no damage.

Take care!

-Bill
 
Lee,

I hunt alone 95% of the time. I clip my bow line on the winch and back the trailer in. The boat floats off, I pull forward and tie of at the dock. I have a bunk trailer and never had that happen yet. Normally in the later part of the season the boat is frozen to the trailer so it all floats for a time anyway.
 
The painter should never be longer than the boat to keep it from catching in the prop in the case that it falls over. How many have learned that lesson the hard way?!
 
I always unhook the bowstrap & safety chain before backing in. I hook the painted to a cleat in the back of the truck before hand to keep it from floating off into deep water.
However, after Erics little tail, I may not unhook from now on!
 
Carl

I'll do you one better. Let the line be too long and then get it caught in the prop while backing up. I did this once and could not raise the motor to clear the prop becasue the line was taught and couldn't unclip the bowline either. Shifting to forward didn't help. Had to paddle to the bank and work it loose underwater.
 
Eric, I remember some one posting an incident a few years back of getting a prop in a mother line and no one could lay hands on a knife. Kong story short, they swamped, capsized and had to swim some yards to their blind. I seem to remember the spent a good bit of time in the blind till help arrived, lost a good dog and most of their gear. Since then I have a knife fastened to the front of my mesh life vest.
 
Just who are the "youngsters" on this site just by reading this thread. I'm with Harker, You NEVER unhook the boat before it is over the water! I've never dropped a boat off a trailer yet doing it that way. ;>) ;>) Course, I've always been a fan of roller trailers. Back up over the water, grab the rope, unhook the boat and give a light push, done deal.

I use the same basic procedure with my bunk trailer, just have to back in a little further. Still never unhook till over the water. No sense in taking any unnecessary chances.
 
Thanks guys!!!! Now all of a sudden my dropped motor is not the oooppps of the day. Good lessons all around though. Now we all know what a painter and a wench are.. It does speak well to your craftsmanship in building a boat that can handle a drop like that. Another very good point is that as soon as the routine is broken-LOOK OUT!!!!!!!. Glad to hear all worked out and BTW congrats on your new hunting partner.
 
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