Boat Launch idiots!!

Was taken our boat out after a great day pulling the kids and wife Wake Boarding and Wake Surfing and all I have to say is - no one at the ramp had any sense, no courtesy, and I swear I thought I would go postal.
First thing is the beloved Jet skiers tied up all three ramps with their jet skis just talking - no trailers just sitting blocking the ramps... I figured they would get out of the way if I started backing the trailer down the ramp - But no such luck - while I was backing the trailer up - a twit in a black Mercedes drove behind me which caused me to slam on the brakes and many words I thought where out of my vocabulary came out... She looked at me when she got next to me and said - sorry... I informed her in language I am sure she could understand that she was more than sorry.... I then got out of the truck and yelled at the jet skiers - it was like I flushed a covey of quail - they started scattering. Well I got back in to back up again and a small car towing a jet ski pulled behind me to launch their jet ski blocking me and making me slam my brakes on for the second time. He decided once I got out of the truck he might want to get out of the immediate area and left.
Finally got the trailer in the water -Wife put the boat on the trailer - I asked her to cut the motor off - I pulled the boat out to wipe down and clean before heading home and well The wife left the motor running - I heard the boat running about 30 feet from the ramp - slammed the brakes on and yelled to cut the boat off - she did cut the boat off. At this time I was needing something stronger than a diet Coke... I pulled back around - put the boat back in the water and asked her to crank it up and let me know what the temp was - Thank God it was 160 degrees - Let the boat run for 5 minutes to make sure we didnt ruin the impeller.
This was my GREAT DAY at the lake - Thank God for Johnny Walker Red....... I will never launch again at Lanier South!!!!!!!

North side is the best side! However there are a BUNCH of idiots at 6 mile where we usually put in...I feel your pain

It drives me up the wall when this stuff happens. Dropped my buddy off at the dock to back the pickup down and when he started backing up a boat pulled on his side of the dock and stayed there. He got out and said that I was getting ready to pull in and his reply was "Well my boat is here" After some unkindly words we were able to wait for the other side to come avaible, but is just frustrating.

Ok so at least I know its not just the people that are at my launch. A couple of things I think are just common sense but I have been proven wrong a few times. Be ready when you get to the launch, ropes and life jackets in the boat, the only thing I leave to do at the ramp is put the plug in. If I get there and am waiting I then put the plug in, I have the plug and wrench ready so I don't have to look for it. If I get there and don't have to wait I back the boat almost to the water, get out and put the plug in and attach the bow line. Then drop it in. I can't believe how many people get to the ramp and then try to get organized and take 15min to launch while others are standing there waiting.

During a hotspell up here this summer I arrive at the launch to take my boat out. The dock is full of swimmers and fisherman. Two adult male dumb a$$es are swimming and standing at the end of the dock by the ramp so I swing around them and park. No big deal I guess, but if it was me I would have got out of the way for the boat. So now I dock and tie up, go get in my truck and back up toward the ramp. The one rocket scientist that is standing in the middle of the ramp doesn't move so I get out of the truck and he asks me if I need to get in there. I politely answered yes out loud, but my inner voice is saying "no you $hit for brains I am just practicing backing up my trailer and will leave the boat at the dock for you guys to enjoy". So he gets out of the way but his friend stays right at the end treading water. I back the trailer in and probably am within ft of him I go and untie my boat and finally have to say "hey bud can I just get in there for a minute to load my boat?" his reply was a rather sarcastic "sure bud".

I guess this happens at a public free launch that is right beside a trailer park.......

Brian

We are lucky around here to have an incredibly steep ramp right next to the only marina on the lake. The length and grade of the ramp seams to keep the morons away.

It does help that I have seen conservation officers handing out tickets for people fishing or swimming near a boat ramp.

I'm curious why you wait till you get to the ramp to put the plug in (assuming you mean rear drain plug)? I usually do that at home before I leave for the ramp and before I put the swim platform on. Do you drive a long way and worry about a storm hitting while enroute?

We too have idiots at the ramp, I can't understand why people don't take the time to train their wive's/girlfriends to either drive the boat onto the trailer or back a trailer. My wife has been backing the trailer since we got the boat so we never need to take up space at the ramp waiting for the tow vehicle. Yesterday at the end of the day we pulled up to to the ramp, I dropped my wife to get the truck/trailer and saw a pontoon FULL of adults sitting at a ramp. I thought they were going out and were waiting for the guy who parked the truck. My wife pulls up a few minutes later to the same ramp they are sitting in (luckily they were at least all the way back in the ramp) and I motor around the pontoon. on to the trailer, hook up and we are clear in less than a minute or 2. Next thing I see is the guy in the truck getting ready to recover his pontoon with all the adults in it (he had to wait a minute for us to clear). We had the boat wiped down and were pulling out of the parking lot by the time they got up to the recovery area. Just my little pet peeve, teach someone else to do something useful so they don't need to sit there holding a rope taking up space at the ramp.

Luckily we never have swimmers or anyone else taking up space at the ramp, just the occasional idiot boater who insists on leaving his boat forward in the ramp instead of all the way at the back of the ramp, and completely tying up that one ramp so nobody can launch or recover until they are done, a$$ hats!

There' a launch in Lake Shawano, Swan Acres subdivion where the neighbors adjacent to the launch simply pull up there their lawn chairs just watch the comedy show during really busy holiday or whenever a quick storm comes or even after the fireworks on the 4th.

Ive also seen local Wisconsin Fishermen blow into the ramp at just about full speed, reverse, drop, park, jump in their boats & be off in one breath! Unfortunately I've been one of this idiots when I first acquired my boat ...thats a why they call us FIBTAB's....

I had no ramp issues yesterday. I took my good friend out and his son and 4 of his friends plus a few of my kids. There was just about nobody out there except for one group of kids in a Nautique. This guy came barreling down on my down boarder in the water. I drove straight at him and made him "chicken" away from my rider. I didn't yell or anything cuz I had a boat full of kids. A little while later he decides he needs to pass me while I'm towing a kid on a board. He messed up our water for no good reason several times (there is about 10 miles of river in the area and hardly anybody out-- no reason to be anywhere near me). Anyway, later on I saw them floating. Then I saw them floating again a mile or so downstream. Turns out they were broken down. I wonder why they couldn't find a tow in. LOL. I was going to go fetch them at the end of the day anyway cuz it's who I am-- but not going to waste half my day to tow them 6-8 miles back in in the middle of our day. An hour later I saw them getting towed by a little fishing boat. Good for them-- hope they never come back.

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Originally Posted by REDFIVE48

I'm curious why you wait till you get to the ramp to put the plug in (assuming you mean rear drain plug)? I usually do that at home before I leave for the ramp and before I put the swim platform on. Do you drive a long way and worry about a storm hitting while enroute?

We too have idiots at the ramp, I can't understand why people don't take the time to train their wive's/girlfriends to either drive the boat onto the trailer or back a trailer. My wife has been backing the trailer since we got the boat so we never need to take up space at the ramp waiting for the tow vehicle. Yesterday at the end of the day we pulled up to to the ramp, I dropped my wife to get the truck/trailer and saw a pontoon FULL of adults sitting at a ramp. I thought they were going out and were waiting for the guy who parked the truck. My wife pulls up a few minutes later to the same ramp they are sitting in (luckily they were at least all the way back in the ramp) and I motor around the pontoon. on to the trailer, hook up and we are clear in less than a minute or 2. Next thing I see is the guy in the truck getting ready to recover his pontoon with all the adults in it (he had to wait a minute for us to clear). We had the boat wiped down and were pulling out of the parking lot by the time they got up to the recovery area. Just my little pet peeve, teach someone else to do something useful so they don't need to sit there holding a rope taking up space at the ramp.

Luckily we never have swimmers or anyone else taking up space at the ramp, just the occasional idiot boater who insists on leaving his boat forward in the ramp instead of all the way at the back of the ramp, and completely tying up that one ramp so nobody can launch or recover until they are done, a$$ hats!

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New law in MN states that you must have the plug removed while towing. Evidently, it also means that you must not put anything into the boat until you are at the launch. Morons are everywhere.

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Originally Posted by Tire Guy

New law in MN states that you must have the plug removed while towing. Evidently, it also means that you must not put anything into the boat until you are at the launch. Morons are everywhere.

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Wow, interesting, what is the reason the lawmakers came up with for this if you happen to know? Thankfully this isn't the case in NC (that I know of).

I wonder if the extra weight of the boat on the trailer in heavy rain plus the slick conditions could cause an accident. I think "auto bilge pump" should be a defense to having the plug in.

Invasive species. Weeds and other critters get into the bilge water and then released at other lakes.

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Originally Posted by REDFIVE48

Wow, interesting, what is the reason the lawmakers came up with for this if you happen to know? Thankfully this isn't the case in NC (that I know of).

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They are trying to slow the spread of invasive species. Now they have a weed nazi at the public launches asking me if I drained my livewell.

I have heard they also ask about ballast bags and tanks.

I remember in Wisconsin you could be fined if there were weeds hanging off your trailer while on the road. I think it was Eurasian milfoil that was the worst. Had a friend in high school who cut the weeks for one of the local lakes and he said that stuff could grow a foot a day!

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Originally Posted by bzubke1

I remember in Wisconsin you could be fined if there were weeds hanging off your trailer while on the road. I think it was Eurasian milfoil that was the worst. Had a friend in high school who cut the weeks for one of the local lakes and he said that stuff could grow a foot a day!

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The Milfoil is terrible. They don't often write tickets for weedy trailers, but most people do a good job of cleaning their trailers. It only takes a 1/2 inch piece of milfoil to infect a lake so they are working pretty hard to try to keep it contained.

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Originally Posted by patrick232

I have heard they also ask about ballast bags and tanks.

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Yup, any water in the boat must be drained.

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Originally Posted by REDFIVE48

I'm curious why you wait till you get to the ramp to put the plug in (assuming you mean rear drain plug)? I usually do that at home before I leave for the ramp and before I put the swim platform on. Do you drive a long way and worry about a storm hitting while enroute?

We too have idiots at the ramp, I can't understand why people don't take the time to train their wive's/girlfriends to either drive the boat onto the trailer or back a trailer. My wife has been backing the trailer since we got the boat so we never need to take up space at the ramp waiting for the tow vehicle. Yesterday at the end of the day we pulled up to to the ramp, I dropped my wife to get the truck/trailer and saw a pontoon FULL of adults sitting at a ramp. I thought they were going out and were waiting for the guy who parked the truck. My wife pulls up a few minutes later to the same ramp they are sitting in (luckily they were at least all the way back in the ramp) and I motor around the pontoon. on to the trailer, hook up and we are clear in less than a minute or 2. Next thing I see is the guy in the truck getting ready to recover his pontoon with all the adults in it (he had to wait a minute for us to clear). We had the boat wiped down and were pulling out of the parking lot by the time they got up to the recovery area. Just my little pet peeve, teach someone else to do something useful so they don't need to sit there holding a rope taking up space at the ramp.

Luckily we never have swimmers or anyone else taking up space at the ramp, just the occasional idiot boater who insists on leaving his boat forward in the ramp instead of all the way at the back of the ramp, and completely tying up that one ramp so nobody can launch or recover until they are done, a$$ hats!

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Just my routine, I don't like to deviate from it because it works for me. I also like to make sure the boat is dry and if there is any water left in it hopefully it will drain out. But it should be dry as the boat is left very nose high in the driveway. My kids are too young to drive the truck, but are great on the dock. Don't have a wife to drive the truck. Loading and unloading my boat is a quick 2 minutes like you.

Brian

We really never have too many ramp idiots on the river where I ride, maybe that is because it is so far out of town that the weekend warriors just don't come. I have never seen anyone swim at the launch before, maybe that sign that says "DANGER: GATORS AND POISON SNAKES" keeps them out?


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I need to get one of those signs and put up at the ramp!! I bet it would reduce the idiots... The thing these people dont have is common sense when at the boat ramp - family tree must be one limb with one leaf

back during my stint with the sheriff's dept. I've of off marine guys launched at a locate tidal launch and left his vehicle in place on the launch due to the emergency. Well he came back to find fish in his unit.

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Originally Posted by REDFIVE48

I can't understand why people don't take the time to train their wive's/girlfriends to either drive the boat onto the trailer or back a trailer.

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That would be in order to preserve the relationship and the boat/trailer/truck.

That's not a joke. My GF can drive my truck or boat, forward, in easy conditions, if absolutely needed. That's probably never going to get better, and would be highly stressful to change. Maybe I should have had a GF checklist that included being tall enough to reach the truck pedals with more than the tips of her toes.

I usually have a buddy in the boat who can handle the boat at the launch in the rare event that it's crowded enough to warrant dropping me off to get the truck/trailer.

Man I just feel more and more lucky. The first summer Heidi and I were together there was a drought that left only one ramp usable and this ramp did not have a dock. We go out on week days a good bit just the two of us and she caught on real quick, she gets in the boat, I back the truck and she reverses it off and come to get me at the end of the ramp.

At the end of the day she motors up close to the ramp and I hop out with the truck keys and get back the truck down and she drives the boat right up on the trailer. Makes it super easy! She is probably better at pulling the boat on the trailer than I am since she does it all the time and I rarely do it.

It seems to get worse every year. The major problem with the lakes in South Carolina are the lack of no wake zones in the dock areas. not real easy to manage your boat when everyone feels the need to pull tubes and test out their new prob 15' from the dock. For some reason jet skiers also find it necessary to stay around the docks all day making it even more interesting. Just a complete lack if curtesy and common sense.

Good for you guys. My wife was afraid to do any part of it for years. Now she will back down the last few feet to launch and pull the truck out and go park it. I taught both my older daughters to drive on the trailer. It can be a little tricky when I don't have any of the three of them with me but with twin 13 y/o boys coming up I'll have some more help soon.

I'm getting mad just reading about all this!

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Originally Posted by Ian Brantford

That would be in order to preserve the relationship and the boat/trailer/truck.

That's not a joke. My GF can drive my truck or boat, forward, in easy conditions, if absolutely needed. That's probably never going to get better, and would be highly stressful to change. Maybe I should have had a GF checklist that included being tall enough to reach the truck pedals with more than the tips of her toes.

I usually have a buddy in the boat who can handle the boat at the launch in the rare event that it's crowded enough to warrant dropping me off to get the truck/trailer.

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Amen Brother!!

My wife and are a pretty good team. We critique other people's launch and retrieval skills, or lack there of, most are pretty good, some are just abysmal and should be flogged :-) Anyway I'll back the trailer down and then jump in the boat and back off, she'll take the truck and trailer and park it as long as she doesn't have to back up she is gold, and if she gets in a bind she has asked a fisherman for help before, they just picked up the trailer and moved it so the tire wasn't on the line (50$ fine for that). I pick her up at the dock, then when we are done I pull the boat up to the dock so I can jump out and she takes over and backs the boat away from the dock while I get the truck and trailer, once I'm backed in she drives the boat on. There is the occasional bumper car effect when she comes in a bit crooked and bounces around some but overall she does a great job. Just don't get her nervous, then her default escape plan is to throw the boat into a fully power turn, not sure why and it is scary ;-) We make it as fast as we can so we aren't one of "those guys".

My wife and I have made a pretty good team over the years as well. I usually handle the trailer duty (she never quite got the hang of which way to turn the wheel of the truck to make the trailer go the way that she wants) and she handles the boat. Like David, my wife has actually gotten much better than me at driving the boat onto the trailer!!!

Makes for a pretty quick in-and-out at the launch and we can usually do it in less than 5 minutes.

I moved off the lake about 6 years ago and we moved out to hick country. There was a dirt boat launch by an old abandoned supermarket into a big part of a river north of a relatively popular reservoir. Aside from when I hit a stump one time, it was great because weekdays it would just be me and maybe a few fishermen, and I'd guess about 150 acres of usable watersport area.

Anyway, on the weekends the boat launch was the biggest gathering of idiots I've ever seen. To give you an idea, the average value of a boat being launched there was probably about $400, and same for the vehicle hauling it. Not to mention, again it's a dirt launch. I'd say about 5-6 people per day got stuck, and the biggest mud truck in the parking lot at the time would pull it out - there was always one at least. Also, at all times there were kids swimming and people floating on tubes and stuff at the boat launch, literally I had to yell at people to get out of the way to launch and load. It was always quite the site!

About wives...I just asked my wife yesterday "why don't you ever use the jetski I bought you over the winter, you've ridden it once?" (I bought her a nice 3 seater so she could take the kids out while I'm gone at work or traveling). Her response was "I don't want to try and get it off or back on the lift"...if that gives you any idea as to how much help I have loading/unloading watercraft.

got a good first mate here, she will back the boat off the trailer, or park the truck-as long as its a easy simple parking job. she drives the boat onto the trailer 99% of the time and makes it look pretty easy--plays bumper boat with the quide poles sometimes but overall does a damm good job. Gotta get to training my daughter to she can help out too.

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Originally Posted by rdlangston13

Man I just feel more and more lucky. The first summer Heidi and I were together there was a drought that left only one ramp usable and this ramp did not have a dock. We go out on week days a good bit just the two of us and she caught on real quick, she gets in the boat, I back the truck and she reverses it off and come to get me at the end of the ramp.

At the end of the day she motors up close to the ramp and I hop out with the truck keys and get back the truck down and she drives the boat right up on the trailer. Makes it super easy! She is probably better at pulling the boat on the trailer than I am since she does it all the time and I rarely do it.

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Jill does the exact same. I'm not sure I've ever put the LSV on the trailer

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Originally Posted by Woody929

Jill does the exact same. I'm not sure I've ever put the LSV on the trailer

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Sounds like we got some quality women!

Few weeks ago on our last camp trip I let my 10yr old drive it on. Was a straight shot, calm water, but a narrow single lane between the dock and rocky beach. He powered it on like a stud, even had him goose it a few times to get the nose up tight to the front roller. Drove it like a boss! I guess he really has been watching quite a bit and picking up all dad's advice and tips. My 20yr old daughter and her BF sitting in the back were shocked that I'd let him and even more shocked how good he was.

Not sure I'd want him doing it in a crowd or wind/current yet but I'm sure that day is not far off when he'll step right up. Dad is going to make sure he's never "that guy" at the launch.

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Originally Posted by bergermaister

Few weeks ago on our last camp trip I let my 10yr old drive it on. Was a straight shot, calm water, but a narrow single lane between the dock and rocky beach. He powered it on like a stud, even had him goose it a few times to get the nose up tight to the front roller. Drove it like a boss! I guess he really has been watching quite a bit and picking up all dad's advice and tips. My 20yr old daughter and her BF sitting in the back were shocked that I'd let him and even more shocked how good he was.

Not sure I'd want him doing it in a crowd or wind/current yet but I'm sure that day is not far off when he'll step right up. Dad is going to make sure he's never "that guy" at the launch.

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Hats off to you for giving your boy the opportunity. It is indeed rewarding to find out they are paying attention and listening.

My son has been putting the boat on since we got it and does a great job. I can probably handle the boat better in close quarters, but he is a champ at loading/unloading.

Well as of yesterday I just may have joined the list of boat ramp idiots myself. Out on the water rushing to get the boat on the trailer as a storm was rolling in. Backed my truck into the water as usual, except that I could see my wife having trouble managing the boat because the wind picked up. So not really thinking about anything but my boat slamming against the dock I rush around the side of the truck to hop up on the dock and both feet come out from under me on the slippery concrete. I slammed the side of my head on the dock and it was lights out. Ended our weekend early and now home with a concussion.

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Originally Posted by smitty75

Well as of yesterday I just may have joined the list of boat ramp idiots myself. Out on the water rushing to get the boat on the trailer as a storm was rolling in. Backed my truck into the water as usual, except that I could see my wife having trouble managing the boat because the wind picked up. So not really thinking about anything but my boat slamming against the dock I rush around the side of the truck to hop up on the dock and both feet come out from under me on the slippery concrete. I slammed the side of my head on the dock and it was lights out. Ended our weekend early and now home with a concussion.

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Wow that sucks! Make sure to give yourself a couple days, esp since you actually blacked out! Concussions are a beast! Hope you feel better quickly!

Whoa, what a bummer, hope everything is ok.head injuries are nothing to mess with. Bet you wife was not worried about the boat at that moment.

Sunday evening being a holiday weekend was actually very uneventful at the docks. I happened to go to a beach that I hadn't been to for a few years and ran across many people that I knew and some with different boats.

We all came back at dark and if there was anybody at the launch to watch a fiasco they would have been very disappointed. There were six boats and all four launches were in operation with vehicles pulling in as others were moving out. Very little talk at the launch and all six boats on their trailers in less than 10 minutes. It did get a little crowded top side as we wiped our boats down but that is a good thing.

Most of those people go out almost every evening and I was just trying to put some hours on the boat as my knee surgery has kept me from skiing and away from the water.