Escaped Major Boat/Motor Damage Last Week

Almost as stupid as the idiot who let his rig sit out in the rain the other night so as to help wash the salt off... next morning, hooked up the rig and started to back it into the drive and into the boat barn... scrape/stop... I left the motor down and the skep caught the driveway bump and bent the skeg... stupid me.
 
Hey Eric, maybe there's an engineer-type at work that can give you a one-over for those daunting mathematical and mechanical obstacles.... <insert smiley here>

Oh, and that was HANS that was in the boat that caught a decoy line (they use rope or wire for season-long decoys, anchored in mud with a 1x2).
 
paul

I don't think I will be calculating coefficients of friction and critical angles of inclination. I'll just keep the damn winch hooked and LOCKED.
 
paul

I don't think I will be calculating coefficients of friction and critical angles of inclination. I'll just keep the damn winch hooked and LOCKED.
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hehehehe

It's been a serious mental exercise to remind myself that I now have roller bunks and I need to keep everything hooked up until I'm touching water... So far so good, but I wouldn't put it past myself to launch the boat ONTO the ramp one of these days...
 
The trailer I have now has a chain with an S hook. I think it is an emergency extra and I use it in parallel with the winch when driving down the road, but you could probably add one to your winch tower and use it as an emergency catch for when you're launching?
 
Yeah Charlie,but if'n the boat slides a little and fetches up tight on the chain hook,(which it will),you then need to reattach the winch hook to relieve the strain on the chain hook.Best use the chain hook when traveling,not on the ramp:0)
 
Joe,

Great point!

I use a bunk trailer so I've never had these things happen. Heck, the boat is frozen to the bunks for half of our season!

Charlie
 
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If My boat was frozen to my bunk trailer,I probably wouldn't know it,cause I'd be in the house,and the boat at the barn.Guess I'm not a "Dyed in the wool Duck Hunter"
As an aside,if the skeg on a motor is hitting even small speed bumps,you need larger tires (DIA) on the trailer or a tilt lock on the outboard.I must be missing something here about why a skeg would hit the ground.I suspect the trailers are set low to enable shallow ramp launches and the motor ,in the down position,doesn't clear the road more than a couple inches.
 
I ain't gonna tell you about the time my F350 Turbo diesel slid down the slimey ramp into lake michigan with the boat and trailer still attached, just to make you feel better. No sirrie!

Trailer hooked the last pier footing preventing the whole shebang from dropping into 30' of water in the Milwaukee harbor. Damn thing kept running too. Had a passer-by help pulling me out. Was sort of unhappy to see the smelt pouring out of the cab with all that water when I opened the door.

Then again, I still have that truck, 125000 miles later. It has proved to be a good buy.

At the time I was a mite pissed. Needless to say I don't use that ramp anymore.

Jim
 
That must have been a veeerry slimy ramp.

I've slid down a few slimy ramps on my arse, but I've never seen a truck slide down one.

Speaking about boats floating off, I almost forgot that that happend to me this past summer. Never mind what stupid thing I did to allow that to happen, but the wind was blowing and the boat was drifting away from the dock. Nothing to do but jump in a swim after it. I assume it's deep because the ramp is so steep. Anyway, there's no one around so I undress to my skivvies, leave the pile of clothes on the end of the dock, and jump in. It's only three feet deep! I walk over to the boat, three feet deep all the way, and tie it to the dock. No need to strip down after all.

That's when the landing suddenly got busy with families out for a Sunday boat ride. And I tell you what, there's no trees to stand behind at the end of the dock.

I just hate being the idiot at the landing.

Rick
 
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Eric:
I'm sitting here in Wisconsin in a driving rain reading all these posts and laughing at all the comments and experiences. Today is the first day we've been able to get out of our driveway for three days due to the thick ice and these posts have been a bright day. The "wench" and "painter" certaintly tells the age of some. I could add some stories to those already told but enough said. We all do some stupid things in the process of duck hunting and thankfully can live to tell about them. Compiled what a book they would make.
Thanks for your story and the pictures. You've made my day.
wis boz
 
Boz

Well heck, I'm glad you enjoyed this thread. It was pretty much an afterthought but I should have known folks would respond to it. Other people's stupidity is always popular.

Hope your ice all melts away.

Eric
 
Almost as stupid as the idiot who let his rig sit out in the rain the other night so as to help wash the salt off... next morning, hooked up the rig and started to back it into the drive and into the boat barn... scrape/stop... I left the motor down and the skep caught the driveway bump and bent the skeg... stupid me.
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I've done that at least a few times, was harder on the asphalt driveway than the skeg though. The trailer my Black Brant is on is roller that is set up to launch in some shallow spots. It's nice for that, but I have to always be sure to lock the motor up or use a transom saver - which I should get back in the habit of with that boat.
 
Does anyone use anything to hold the boat while parking the truck when hunting alone? There are absolutely no tie offs at the landings i use. I bought one of those fishing rod holders that is basicallly a curled piece of metal.
 
Then there was the time last year when I got to playing around in a Tug boat wake and spun the motor right off the transom. Because of the angle of the transom I couldn't get it out of the water and had to paddle back to the ramp 2 miles with a 5 foot canoe paddle. Did save the motor though.
 
Rick,

Sounds like you could have used my EMERGENCY rope out of my tethered boat that I carry my emergency stuff in...hehehe

Great story...where's the camera when you need one!

Ed
 
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