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darkside
02-08-2011, 04:23 PM
69886Launched from Spinnaker near Bribie this morning and heard very loud noise from the boat ramp.The owner had undone chains and winch cable and as he reversed, the boat parted company from trailer, just a touch shy of the water. I went back and a few of us lifted the boat while it was winched back on, very little damage except for a bit of pride. But a good reminder about launching. !!
I spent most of the day on the water , it was a top day, but no fish, and tried everywhere. But a bad day fishing is better than a good day working !!!!!! :-[

mustang5
02-08-2011, 04:27 PM
ouch!!!! I suppose things like this have happened to the best of us lol...

I reversed into the fence the other night, no damage but a sh!tload of banter from the missus lol..

tropicrows
02-08-2011, 04:28 PM
Not a good start to the day. Why would you remove both the chains & winch cable before putting the boat in the water, "beats me". Too busy thinking about the fishing to come, one would assume.

darkside
02-08-2011, 04:29 PM
Mustang.

If I had a dollar for every stupid thing I have done I would be a rich man . !!!!

Robbo76
02-08-2011, 04:48 PM
Don't know why you would undo both while reversing? I did once push our old boat(4.5 tinny) off the trailer onto the cement ramp, about 2m from the water. Too busy talking fishing, and forgot i was not in the water! Lol. Didn't know wether to laugh or cry. Winched that sucker up quick smart!

lethal098
02-08-2011, 04:58 PM
Lucky its a tinny and not a glass boat.

fisho8
02-08-2011, 05:50 PM
Yeah would have been a differant story if it was glass I have seen a few blokes do that with their boats up at scarbrough some of them big ones on easy roller trailers to I was always taught the saftey chain stays on until the boat hits the water. I bet hit shit himself when he saw it dissapear off the trailer.

NAGG
02-08-2011, 05:55 PM
A mate just named his new boat .... The Getaway:D Second time on the water & launched with the winch and chain off - luckily or unluckily he did it in front of other friends who helped him retrieve it & offer the name;D

Chris

jason p
02-08-2011, 06:37 PM
Don't know why you would undo both while reversing? I did once push our old boat(4.5 tinny) off the trailer onto the cement ramp, about 2m from the water. Too busy talking fishing, and forgot i was not in the water! Lol. Didn't know wether to laugh or cry. Winched that sucker up quick smart!

LOOOOL:2vrolijk_08:MAAATE what were you thinking. r sht thats hilarious. must have had a real good conversation going not realise that there was no water behind the trailer:-[.

:LMAO:.

jp

robothefisho
02-08-2011, 06:43 PM
Lucky its a tinny and not a glass boat.
You're far better off dropping a big glass boat on a ramp then a big plate boat or a tinny. For a few hundred dollars the glass boat will be like new. Where as the tin boats you will always see the damage.

Dignity
02-08-2011, 08:17 PM
Once backed the boat down the ramp and some one had undone the brake on the electric winch, fortunately it was almost in the water and the only damage was the bottom of the skeg snapped off and my pride, but it did go off with Dignity :) . I check it all now before I leave home and at the ramp again as I have had the pin removed from the tow bar and other strange events occur, if I ever find the culprit who used a cigarette lighter on the bow of the boat I will show him/her where else it wasn't designed to fit. I figure that passing hoons with nothing better to do usually around school holidays think it is a hoot to remove/undo something and then laugh about what might happen. Same thing happens with my solar lights in the yard, every now and then a couple go missing and I find them in neighbours yards or down the street.

Spaniard_King
02-08-2011, 08:46 PM
Darkside, the best outcome is that you have learned from this and move on. plenty of us have made bad calls in our lives and will still make more.

hope the fish are kinder on ya next outing.

darkside
02-08-2011, 09:14 PM
Darkside, the best outcome is that you have learned from this and move on. plenty of us have made bad calls in our lives and will still make more.

hope the fish are kinder on ya next outing.

Spaniard ,

Wasn't my boat, we just helped get it back on his trailer. And the fish are never kind to me and it's hardly like I pose them a threat . !

Back In Black
02-08-2011, 09:24 PM
Speaking of stupidity, I exhibited some last week. Went out to the Hards, & on the way back, doing about 30 knots, went down the face of a wave as I was fiddling with the Garmin. Arm dropped down, hit the electric winch, & heard the HORRIBLE sound of anchor chain dropping doing that speed! Threw it into neutral within a second, winched it back up & thought all was good, that was until next morning(got home in the dark) Walked past the boat, saw the ding in the prop, the 100mm square of paint missing between the hulls(cat) & the smash marks from the anchor as it belted the starboard motor. Maintenance man couldn't believe I didn't foul the prop & do more damage. Note to self. Unless anchoring or retrieving, turn winch isolator OFF!!!
Tony

darkside
02-08-2011, 09:28 PM
Speaking of stupidity, I exhibited some last week. Went out to the Hards, & on the way back, doing about 30 knots, went down the face of a wave as I was fiddling with the Garmin. Arm dropped down, hit the electric winch, & heard the HORRIBLE sound of anchor chain dropping doing that speed! Threw it into neutral within a second, winched it back up & thought all was good, that was until next morning(got home in the dark) Walked past the boat, saw the ding in the prop, the 100mm square of paint missing between the hulls(cat) & the smash marks from the anchor as it belted the starboard motor. Maintenance man couldn't believe I didn't foul the prop & do more damage. Note to self. Unless anchoring or retrieving, turn winch isolator OFF!!!
Tony

Back in black,

We should run a post to see the amount of near misses and things that could have ended in tears, your escape is a perfect example. How many times have we nearly reversed into the garage with the Bimini still up , or driven down the road with the trailer strap not on, but made it to the ramp "Doh "

Back In Black
02-08-2011, 09:30 PM
Darkside, I got off SO lightly. A mate asked what would have happened if I did it whilst crossing Noosa Bar? Doesn't bear considering!
Tony

darkside
02-08-2011, 09:33 PM
Yes Tony,

Absolutely "no good" could come from that !!!

Jarrah Jack
02-08-2011, 09:46 PM
Back in black,

We should run a post to see the amount of near misses and things that could have ended in tears, your escape is a perfect example. How many times have we nearly reversed into the garage with the Bimini still up , or driven down the road with the trailer strap not on, but made it to the ramp "Doh "

There would be many B in B. I know of one guy, who has his own fishing show, who ended up at the ramp in the early hours with the wrong trailer. Half asleep he hitched up the work trailer and not the boat. Lucky he woke up to the fact before he launched it.

Robbo76
02-08-2011, 10:21 PM
LOOOOL:2vrolijk_08:MAAATE what were you thinking. r sht thats hilarious. must have had a real good conversation going not realise that there was no water behind the trailer:-[.

:LMAO:.

jp


Yeah, was with my old man. We were talking about our reef trip which was to happen the next day, got too excited! Forgot about reversing the rest of the way down. Although, he did notice the boat strap still on, that's why we stopped 2m from the water in the first place. I had to whinch the bastard up myself as oldman was laughing so hard he put his back out. LOL.

Noelm
03-08-2011, 01:39 PM
I posted this once before, but it fits here, I was once launching my old Sharkcat as I had a thousand times, used to stop away from the water, undo the winch and safety chain and reverse back, hit the brakes and the boat would slide into the water, for some reason this day, i did the usual, but when I hopped in the old F250 to launch, the boat slid off, hit the concrete, and continued straight into the water, when the "hang on" rope took up, it jerked the boat back onto the ramp, lucky for me, it was still dark and no one was around, and there was almost no damage, except to my heart and under pants!

mal555
03-08-2011, 02:29 PM
A bloke down here bought a brand new 7.3 Whittley Sea Legend, takes her down to the ramp with a group of his mates for the very first launch.
Everybody was excited, fussing about and trying to help. The owner was a pretty experienced trailer boater and used to his own system, but got caught up in the excitment of the launch day.
Unknown to him, one of his mates released the winch and safety chain on the flat ground as he was slowly reversing, just prior to the severe decline of the steep river-bank ramp.
She landed hard on the concrete, the worst thing was being the official launch.

mal555
03-08-2011, 02:50 PM
Twenty years ago I was launching a 2250L Signature on a horrible raining, windy day and for some reason released the safety chain and spring loaded cog lock in all the rush and turmoil.
The pregnant wife was in the boat keeping dry with the outboard up and locked as I backed over towards and just onto the ramp. I got out to lower the outboard, forgetting about the unsecure state of the boat, and saw the bow disappearing backwards away from me and the winch handle spinning like a blur.....:-0

I jumped into the vehicle, hit reverse and went flat out backwards down the ramp, trying to keep the trailer underneath the boat.
That was fine, until the boat shot off into the water, spinning the winch handle until the wire pulled out of the winch hub and the boat and wife sailed off backwards about twenty five metres away.
Fortunately it was a fairly strong onshore wind, because she didn't know how to lift the engine and release the stabilizer bracket, prime and start the engine anyway. The boat drifts back towards the rocky shore, I wade in up to my chest (mid winter) to hold it off the rocks and push it back to the trailer, start it up and drive it on......


We laugh about it today...:-)

fat-buoy
04-08-2011, 11:38 AM
Many years ago at that very same ramp I was with a group and the owner of the 19 foot alloy half cab (very new and shiny too) undid both chains on the boat and began to reverse down the ramp.. when we saw the two parting company we yelled for him to plant his foot and he tromped it backwards down the ramp as the boat continued to part company.. at the trailer hit the water he braked as the boat was just going off regardless and it landed heavily on the back of the boat but with enough water so that it basically bounced back and floated itself... not much in the way of damage but that was due to luck more than anything as if it hit earlier it would have been lying on its side on the ramp... either way it was one hell of a ride for the guy who was in the boat at the time :)

johncar
04-08-2011, 06:04 PM
I have seen the odd boat launched onto the concrete, a 19' GRP just recently at Spinnaker Sound Marina as well. I think the guy removed the safety chain and backed down and the little winch cog lock broke away, not sure but anyway it landed hard on the deck and bounced 3 times I think.
I took a photo with the guys permission who asked that I don't spread it all over the internet so I wont embarrass them, but yeah make that safety chain the last thing to take off before launching and the first thing on after retrieval. I lost a boat after retrieval luckily I had just got onto the grass esplanade at the top of the ramp as the crimp on a brand new steel cable let go and dumped the boat on the grass, 30 odd years ago so good lesson learnt::)

The pic someone sent me below was no miss though, ouch!

69962

jason p
04-08-2011, 06:22 PM
::)wich side, port, starboard, port, straboard, bugger me just split it. lol dopy shit.
better tie it up aswell so it dont float away:D.

Greg001
04-08-2011, 06:31 PM
Went out with a m8 of mine a few years ago, we got to the ramp and reversed down the ramp (no one around) and undone the straps and preped the tinny for launch. Ok all good M8 jumps in car and promptly drives up the ramp and parks???
The look on his face was pure GOLD when he got out of the the car and seen the tinny still on the trailer.
We didn't catch much but had a good laugh.

Greg

mal555
05-08-2011, 08:55 AM
69962


Good pic John, wonder if it happened in daylight or dark??

edit; doesn't look like the pic will show!?

Robbo76
05-08-2011, 09:04 AM
Ok, i'm not the only one who felt like a noob at the ramp then. Looks like we have all done some funny/silly mistakes. Lol

mal555
05-08-2011, 09:22 AM
Ok, i'm not the only one who felt like a noob at the ramp then. Looks like we have all done some funny/silly mistakes. Lol

I reckon the two things that make even the most experienced operator fail, are rushing under pressure and total complacency.
When you think about, you don't spend that much time at the ramp, for potentially the amount of serious dramas you can have.......calm and focused ;-)

fat-buoy
05-08-2011, 10:53 AM
The other end of the spectrum at the Scarborough boat ramp a pro fisherman used to launch his boat with an old falcon sedan.. had the routine down pat.. undo all the chains, tie the rope off on to the trailer, reverse down the ramp at 100kph and hit the brakes to slide the boat off....... well after the 3rd attempt he was getting frustrated and was driving deeper and deeper in with each run.. after a few more hits he had the car so far in the water that the exhaust was simply bubbling away, the back doors were half under water, when he opened the driver door the water simply flooded into the car.... only to find that he had not undone the safety chain!!!! :) he undid the chain and the boat simply floated off the trailer... he had a sheepish look on his face as he slowly drove the old falcon out of the water.. funny stuff to watch! ;)

IcyDuck
05-08-2011, 11:04 AM
I agree SB. My wife says I'm annoyingly routine at the ramp (actually she says a lot worse than that at times) but making sure I follow the same process every time ensures I don't forget anything ...

Like the name of the boat in the pic ... Temporary Insanity. Might have been a bit of that involved at the time.

mal555
05-08-2011, 01:06 PM
The old saying, "you're only human", has to be appropriate in this case.

You're driving down the road towards the ramp, going through the check list in your mind, excited but still in control.
Indicator goes on for the turn into the carpark, a nice day, so quite a few boats and trailers about, the adrenalin starts to flow a bit and the pulse rate lifts as you try to work out how and where the queue is to launch.
You've still got to load a bit of gear into the boat, while carefully watching the state of play so you don't miss your turn to back in. Are these blokes going in or going out?

Hang on a minute, I can see a drama brewing over here, and race off to help a stranger in trouble, who just happens to have a boat you've always admired and the chin wagging starts......what does she go like, how many fish did you catch....

There's more going on at the ramp than out on the water...is it any wonder a bloke forgets things? ;D