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WalrusLike
23-04-2012, 10:45 AM
Learning from others mistakes is the best way to avoid grief.

I can help you there, because my boating is spiced up with the odd bit of stupidity, so I can provide lessons for other newbies.

The latest dumb thing I did was not have the trailer lock key on both the car and boat sets.

So after arriving at the ramp and tying to the pontoon, I had to remove the boat keys as well as take the car keys, to bring the trailer round. It would have been better to have been able to leave the boat keys in the ignition.

The reason for that is because after backing trailer down and trotting round to the pontoon, I went to start the boat and it kicked over but sounded an alarm and wouldn't fire. Crap! Few more goes then quickly checked fuel, oil and all seemed ok.

Other boats waiting, so quickly (?... not sure those waiting thought so...) tied a long line on bow and threw to missus who started pulling boat over to trailer. Lucky no wind to speak of other than a gentle assisting breeze.

Got boat on and hand winched up. All ok in end but coulda been a bigger drama and it did hold the other folk up. Sorry bout that.

It all could have been avoided if I had remembered that the boat ignition needs that dicky little PWC type safety latch clicked in before motor will start.

Or if I had trailer lock key on both sets and therefore didn't need to remove the boat keys from the ignition. Lesson learned. at least I now know that the alarm buzzer in the controls works. 😄

I may post some more stuff-ups later on....

Back In Black
23-04-2012, 11:05 AM
WalrusLike,
Did the same thing at Mooloolaba in my Baysport. Could get it to go for love nor money(or cursing for that sake!) until another bloke at ramp said "is your lanyard in?" Couldn't thank him enough!! One thing I can assure you is that is the 1st & last time you"ll make that mistake.
Looking forward to your next post on new stuff ups!! Just taking the piss
Tony

Andy56
23-04-2012, 11:33 AM
been there , done that, next, lol

finga
23-04-2012, 11:34 AM
I've forgot to bung the bungs in....twice now.
Always check the bungs and bait.
We've taken 40 minutes to get to our secret snapper spot and the dope in charge of the squid left it in the Landrover.
He near swam back to get it.

So it's bait and bungs

Cheers Bert

Crunchy
23-04-2012, 11:53 AM
Yeh always best to learn from others mistakes, a lot less pain involved.

"nah I dont need a list...lists are for pussies" 8-)...........weeks later ...."why's the bilge pump going hard out...ohhh crap bungs out!!:-[ .........now I have a list!:P ("Check Bung" comes first and last on the list)

and then there was the day I was 20Km out to sea on 35 deg C day, "now where's that drinking water....ohh crap"

Still_Dreamin
23-04-2012, 11:55 AM
As I posted the other day, drove out of the shed without lowering the Bimini and rocket launcher. I know I wont ever forget to lower them again. I have a nice crack in the windscreen and a scratch in the gel coat to remind me not to mention some nice scrapes and dents in the roller door.!!

wayno60
23-04-2012, 11:57 AM
yep about the only dumb thing ive done was left the bungs out...yer but only twice in 30 years...

FishHunter
23-04-2012, 12:07 PM
Haven't made too many with boat. Forgot sounder once, water another time, bait once and forgot to remove winch handle twice. We won't talk about kayak stupidity :-)

Sent from my GT-P7500 using Tapatalk 2

Micadogs
23-04-2012, 12:10 PM
My worst mistake so far, was to not put the engine up (tilted) when towing out of the driveway. It also took sveral metres before I heard the scraping noise. No damage done, but could have been bad.

AnthonyL
23-04-2012, 12:13 PM
I did the same thing first time out in a previous boat and got towed back to the ramp only to find it was my stupidity lol.

Also left the bungs out ONCE, wife thought boat was sinking and picked dogs up and go out fast lol.

midcoast learner
23-04-2012, 12:19 PM
WalrusLike,
Did the same thing at Mooloolaba in my Baysport. Could get it to go for love nor money(or cursing for that sake!) until another bloke at ramp said "is your lanyard in?" Couldn't thank him enough!! One thing I can assure you is that is the 1st & last time you"ll make that mistake.
Looking forward to your next post on new stuff ups!! Just taking the piss
Tony

Have done the lanyard mistake.Luckily i was checking everything was working in my yard at the time so not on the water.Just slipped the key into ignition under the cover .Took a couple of days and other poster on here to remind me about the lanyard.Glad i'm not the only one.Yes did the bung left out a couple of times.

WalrusLike
23-04-2012, 12:41 PM
Ever seen one of the Garfields stuck to a back windscreen?

Now imagine a fat old fart clinging to the bow of his boat and then trying to clamber up before the boat drifts on to the rocky mud near the ramp.

I apologise to the bystander who nearly split his sides laughing at me. Sorry if you injured your ribs like I did. This was a while ago and the torn muscles on my ribs from the frantic clamber up are now starting to heal.

I had launched on a shallow angle ramp standing at the winch beside the trailer with stern and bow lines in hand.... Then realised I had no way to get up.

Two better options were getting wet walking into the water to get to the stern ladder, or swinging the boat around using ropes till stern was nearly bumping ramp then stepping on with a shove off.

It all could still have come undone if the motor failed so it's not ideal, but when the ramp angle is shallow I can't start the motor while on trailer.

So lesson learned.... Old farts can't, or shouldn't, clamber up on the bow from below. Just call me Garfield.... My bloody annoying wife now does!

midcoast learner
23-04-2012, 12:52 PM
Once i launched at the ramp up the road.Beached the boat .After parking the car i pushed the boat out a bit into slightly deeper water (Carribean Concorde )the realised i couldn't get in over the side so had to get fully wet getting around the back to the ladder.

Jarrah Jack
23-04-2012, 01:05 PM
Saw what could've been a beauty today. Police boat at the ramp pontoon. One guy was out checking someone. The other guy jumped onto the pontoon did a few steps turned around and noticed he had left the boat in reverse. No ropes. Gee did he move quick.;D

Noelm
23-04-2012, 01:11 PM
I have seen a guy launch his boat by the 'reverse at full speed and hit the brakes" method with his wife holding the very short rope on a very slippery ramp, she was still standing as she went into the water, just slowly disappeared over her head, I guess she never thought of letting the rope go, the husband got out of the car yelling at her to make sure the boat did not get scratched on the rocks. I bet there was a few "icey" moments in that household for a while.

Bros
23-04-2012, 01:11 PM
I've forgot to bung the bungs in....twice now.

One mistake is acceptable the same mistake twice, well what can I say.

Crunchy
23-04-2012, 01:32 PM
Here's one that caught me recently....Don't step out of the boat onto the "beach area" at Pinkemba boat ramp on a spring low tide.

fat-buoy
23-04-2012, 04:21 PM
Pulled the boat up on the sand at the ramp at Mooloolaba and went to go get the car.. by the time I got through the line up to pull the boat out of the water the boat had been washed back in by the wake of passing boat traffic and was now floating away by itself and half way across to the other side of the river... a few choice words were said that day my friends :)

Zippidy
23-04-2012, 04:27 PM
Forgot the bungs a couple of times. We for a swim and put them in.

Tried starting the boat for ages when the safety was off.

midcoast learner
23-04-2012, 04:45 PM
Just remembered had one a couple of weeks back.Launching boat with my 23 year old nephew.I thought he had the bow rope.He thought i had the rope.Pushed it off the trailer and realised neither of us had the bow rope.Boat kept floating out.Sent him to go get it.He got it soaking wet .Don't know if the remote he had for his car he had in his pocket worked again.

finga
23-04-2012, 05:12 PM
I've forgot to bung the bungs in....twice now.
Cheers Bert


One mistake is acceptable the same mistake twice, well what can I say.
That I'm at least honest??

Cheers Bert :)

Bros
23-04-2012, 07:00 PM
That I'm at least honest??

Top marks for that. I think there are only two groups of people who have forgot the bungs and it is those who have and those who will as I think everyone has forgot them at one time.

fisho8
23-04-2012, 07:45 PM
I have forgot the bungs in the tinny once or twice haha. I remember when I had my 1750 I was walking down the walkway of the trailer got to the end and went to go out on one of the frames to clip the winch cable on and I lost my balance fell off the trailer into the drink everyone who was putting their boat up and in found it quite funny my missus was rolling around on the pontoon laughin at me I was soaked from head to toe. Always been careful walking down my trailer ever since. :)

Jarrah Jack
23-04-2012, 08:19 PM
A guy did the same at the local ramp and broke both or his arms so you were lucky there. I don't trust my sense of balance so just walk in if I have to, no matter how cold the water is and what I'm wearing.

ozscott
23-04-2012, 08:27 PM
fell against the control and accidentally detached the kill switch - didnt have the lanyard attached, but just knocked it. Couldnt work out why the motor had stopped coming down off a big wave...:P

I have learned, with a near miss, that keys and mobile phone and wallet should go in a Dolphin box or similar and go into the boat that way...not in pockets or in your hands!.

Cheers

Andy56
23-04-2012, 10:36 PM
got the boat up the trailer and drove the car up to a safe spot and had the motor running all the way! Those 4 banger yammies are QUIET!

WalrusLike
24-04-2012, 08:06 AM
I mentioned in another thread my scary mistake.... I drove off with the tow ball release latch propped up (open) so the boat could have bounced off the ball. Only 1.5 klms though. Lucky all was well.

I now count ten things up front to check before driving. And nine things at the stern.

Back In Black
24-04-2012, 08:34 AM
Coming back from The Hards at 30+ knots & I fell onto the anchor winch release. Chain & rope heading out at a rapid rate of knots, between the hulls on the cat, chunk of paint off up high on hull & a dinged prop. Note to self- turn off winch when underway.
Tony

Lancair
24-04-2012, 08:38 AM
I let my bro drive one day, we anchored up and he switched off. A few hours later I go to start up and nothing, NADA. Tried for 10-15 mins, checking batteries (dual setup), checked lanyard, thought I checked everything. My young cousin on board was getting nervous so called up the coastguard. They had a boat on the water already and he was heading our way. 10 min later got a call from the coastguard as they approached, as I answered the call, my shoulder bumped the throttle (radio is mounted under throttle) and I heard a slight click. Instantly I knew what had happened. As I replied to the CG boat I tried the starter and as normal it fired up instantly. My bro never put it properly in neutral and I never checked in all my attemtps at starting it ? ? ? I apologised to the CG, but as they were already out and about they didnt mind at all.
Ive also left the bungs out in my old tinny, had my kids on-board as I launched the boat, just as Im about to unhook the winch cable and pull the boat around to the beach my 4yr old says, Daddy theres water everywhere. Quickly winched the boat back up the trailer and pulled it out of the water. He has never let me forget it, to this day he reminds me everytime before he gets in the boat. Bungs in is now at the top of the to do list on launching and retrieving, first thing in before boat goes in, first thing out when boat comes out.

fat-buoy
24-04-2012, 08:49 AM
I too have tried to drive off without the towball hitch being locked in place.. I was very lucky as I had to put the boat down the gutter before leaving and when walking the wheels off the gutter slowly the boat kept on coming closer and closer to the back window of the cruiser... luckily I had the safety chain attached and even luckier that with the chain attached the bowsprit was not long enough to reach the car.. got away without a scratch on either car or boat :)

Jarrah Jack
24-04-2012, 09:57 AM
I find if I stick doggedly to a routine for launching and preparing my boats its all good but if something intervenes then the mistakes can happen. I have a few mental checklists at various stages and if something else takes my attention I now know to be wary. There are so many simple things but leaving one out can be very costly. Being half asleep anything can be missed.

I think I've already told the story how Winga from Ufish hitched up the work trailer instead of the boat and didn't discover it until he reached the ramp.;D

Noelm
24-04-2012, 10:15 AM
When I go out, I have the boat in front of the garage door at home, I then put in bungs, bait (from bait freezer in garage) rods (from the garage) and any other stuff I will need for the day out, I never ever need to pick up anything on my way (so it is never forgotten) or have to refuel on my way to the ramp, I also do EVERYTHING myself, well... sort of, I have a helper in the boat that I pass stuff up to. I find that if you do things yourself, it becomes routine and is not forgotten, although somehow I once went fishing without any knife at all, what a bugger of a trip that was, biting line off, and luckily we were using Pilchards for bait, so cutting bait was not a problem, to this day I have no idea how the knives got out of the boat!

thelump
24-04-2012, 12:48 PM
I too have tried to drive off without the towball hitch being locked in place.. I was very lucky as I had to put the boat down the gutter before leaving and when walking the wheels off the gutter slowly the boat kept on coming closer and closer to the back window of the cruiser... luckily I had the safety chain attached and even luckier that with the chain attached the bowsprit was not long enough to reach the car.. got away without a scratch on either car or boat :)

Me too exactly the same except it was my mate who didnt hook it up. Note to self: Never trust anyone other than yourself to hook up boat.

stue2
24-04-2012, 12:58 PM
Geez....should I list them all or just one at a time.

I'll start with the one I never learnt from.

The old "trust somebodgy" to hook the boat up trick....3 times!! with the chains hooked up. One bounced off on the road so I slowed it down with the tailgate on the hilux. I trusted the longtime owners of these boats to get it right. Shoulda checked myself.

And a 4th time which was the first time a very close relative was pulling our boat around to wash it down but never clamped the chains or the ball. Lucky this happened back when I could sprint a bit so when she popped off I was able to push on the draw bar to spin her around and stop her falling off a 6 foot wall onto the beach.

Now I'm anal about it. Everything is double checked and the boat is unchained from the trailer only when it will float. Don't trust the winch.

Cheers, Stu

stue2
24-04-2012, 01:08 PM
Funny story about a mate.

When fishing over west with another mate they flew round to the ramp and back straight in only to have the boat beat them and land on the conc.
One week later they teamed up again so mate #2 asked mate#1 if he had everything right this time. Of course he did.
Boat was secure on the trailer chains done up and werent to be released untill the boat had made the water. No Prob. back he went only to have the boat beat them again.....with the trailer still firmly attached. Mate #2 recons it was the smoothest launch he has seen.

Cheers, Stu

Paulio
24-04-2012, 01:29 PM
My latest and very embarrassed to say was last Saturday night.

Decided to do a solo overnighter at Curtin, spend hours getting organised but it wasnt until I got all the way out there and all set up that I realised I had absolutley everything but ..... My Fishing Rods !
Could not believe it

lucee81
24-04-2012, 01:56 PM
My latest and very embarrassed to say was last Saturday night.

Decided to do a solo overnighter at Curtin, spend hours getting organised but it wasnt until I got all the way out there and all set up that I realised I had absolutley everything but ..... My Fishing Rods !
Could not believe it

i would have been emotional.. do you stay cause at least your away or do you head back with your tail between your legs to the wife??? Hard decision to make...

WalrusLike
24-04-2012, 02:50 PM
Easy.... Stay. Sitting on a boat is better than anything you could do on land.

Potter around and refine your marks or find new ones.

PROS
24-04-2012, 04:57 PM
I have a couple of rod holdes attached to the side of the boat, also couple more rod holders on the bait boards.
My bait board is one of those with two legs, each leg has a swivel joint in the middle, the worst bait board I have ever seen, come with the boat.
The board swings back to front useless loosing all the bait to drink behind the transom, thats why I made a bit of rope with hook on both sides, one side goes on to the boat, the other in to the bait board so it is locked in to place.

One day I went to my fishing spot, eager to get the lines wet.
1st rod goes in to boat rod holder.
2nd rod goes on to bait board rod holder.
As I just put the 3rd rod on to bait board rod holder and was about to secure the bait board with rope, fish hooked up on the 1st rod, big bend.
In a panic, I just grabbed the rod with fish on, reeling it in than I just saw the hole bait board swinging down outwards, 2 rods still in the rod holders.

Launched to the bait board to save both rods before going in to drink, than I realise the 1st rod is not in my hands anymore.
With a quick glimpse, I could see the 1st rod in the water, sinking down rapidly, fish still hooked on.
It was an expensive setup, Shimano Baitrunner 12000 & good quality rod.

Few choice words, laughing out loud then realizing losing my favorite rod, my blood was boiling.

Grabbed the sharpest bait jig in the boat, hooked up to a rod with a heavy weight attached, casting and dragging off the sea floor, all sorts of directions.
About 45 mins later my shoulder was sore as from casting, just as I was about to give up, hooked on to something solid.

Bringing to the boat up slowly, it was my favorite setup.

One of the funniest days on the water.

I lost the fish though.

WalrusLike
24-04-2012, 05:07 PM
Shimano's are tough....

not good eating ....

You should of thrown it back.

Paulio
24-04-2012, 07:08 PM
I stayed, chilled out had a few quiet ones and had a nice night on the water. It will be the first thing I check next time. Havent forgoten the bungs since I hade to swim in 10 deg water to put them in offshore.
Life is full of experiences & what doesnt kill you makes you stronger !

Brad O
24-04-2012, 07:22 PM
I backed my car & trailer down the Pinkemba ramp and went to collect my boat from the beach to drive on to the trailer meanwhile a P&O Liner causes a > 1.5m bow wave to wash over the back of my car!!! Don't launch from the Pink any more!

WalrusLike
19-05-2012, 10:56 PM
I made a few more today...

Parked in the ramp carpark with wife and daughter assembling bimini while I went for the preflight pee and came back to the boat to be faced with that horrible question..... "Dad where are the boat keys?"

Oops.... They are 50 minutes back up the highway at home. But this is where my 7 P's come in. Prior Planning and Preparation Prevent Piss Poor Performance. I knew I would do this one day so I had a spare set in the boat. :)

Boat in water, motor fired sweetly thanks to all that extra electricity flowing through Pete's electrical superhighway that he installed for me, and a lovely trip got underway.

Anchored at Peel and knew the tide was going to leave us dry if we weren't careful so dropped the anchor a long way out and reversed back to beach. Was about to tie up the stern to a post when we realized that we had 100 meters of floating propeller grabber out the front. The bloody anchor rope floats! Haven't noticed it floating before because it's never been slack on the water.

Crap.... Better haul it in quick before someone comes along and takes us for a bit of a troll. So now I know I need a new anchor rope. Anchor ropes should sink... So passing boats don't.

Later on when ready to go I fired up the two smoke and it roared into life with more bellow than usual.... Crap.... I didn't put the leg in the water. Trim down quick smart and all seems well. Oops.

Back at the ramp I made my biggest mistake....

I listened to the missus....

I had just done the sweetest docking maneuver ever performed by any human (basically its the first time i got it right) and so left boat on pontoon and backed the trailer down the ramp. Now the initial plan was for me to swap places with the missus... She gets off boat and I get on... I do another of those beautiful maneuvers to gently nudge the boat into the trailer... Hold a bit of power while she hooks me up then away we go.

But it all went wrong... She says 'you stay there and I will throw you the rope and you can just pull the boat over'. Why did I listen to that devil woman? So now I am in the water getting the bottom bit of my shorts wet while I grab the rope and start pulling. oh crap!! There is a concrete ledge all the way down the side of the ramp to keep cars from going off. My beautiful boat is heading straight for it! So I go way deeper than planned and pull it away from the nasty glass ripping concrete ledge.

Disaster averted but I am now soaking wet all the way up to and beyond my delicate parts. Bloody woman... She will be the death of me. Oh... And my car seat is now soaking wet too....

So... Lessons learned are: Keep spare keys on boat, make sure anchor rope sinks, lower outboard before starting, keep a towel on seat when using boat ramps..... AND NEVER LISTEN TO THE MISSUS.

lucee81
20-05-2012, 06:07 AM
I have a couple of rod holdes attached to the side of the boat, also couple more rod holders on the bait boards.
My bait board is one of those with two legs, each leg has a swivel joint in the middle, the worst bait board I have ever seen, come with the boat.
The board swings back to front useless loosing all the bait to drink behind the transom, thats why I made a bit of rope with hook on both sides, one side goes on to the boat, the other in to the bait board so it is locked in to place.

One day I went to my fishing spot, eager to get the lines wet.
1st rod goes in to boat rod holder.
2nd rod goes on to bait board rod holder.
As I just put the 3rd rod on to bait board rod holder and was about to secure the bait board with rope, fish hooked up on the 1st rod, big bend.
In a panic, I just grabbed the rod with fish on, reeling it in than I just saw the hole bait board swinging down outwards, 2 rods still in the rod holders.

Launched to the bait board to save both rods before going in to drink, than I realise the 1st rod is not in my hands anymore.
With a quick glimpse, I could see the 1st rod in the water, sinking down rapidly, fish still hooked on.
It was an expensive setup, Shimano Baitrunner 12000 & good quality rod.

Few choice words, laughing out loud then realizing losing my favorite rod, my blood was boiling.

Grabbed the sharpest bait jig in the boat, hooked up to a rod with a heavy weight attached, casting and dragging off the sea floor, all sorts of directions.
About 45 mins later my shoulder was sore as from casting, just as I was about to give up, hooked on to something solid.

Bringing to the boat up slowly, it was my favorite setup.

One of the funniest days on the water.

I lost the fish though.

I pretty much have the same bait board and all i did was bung a couple of screws into the swivel joint works a treat and dont have extra ropes hanging around. can handle sitting my weber q on it with out movement.

LittleSkipper
20-05-2012, 10:57 AM
I made a few more today...

Parked in the ramp carpark with wife and daughter assembling bimini while I went for the preflight pee and came back to the boat to be faced with that horrible question..... "Dad where are the boat keys?"

Oops.... They are 50 minutes back up the highway at home. But this is where my 7 P's come in. Prior Planning and Preparation Prevent Piss Poor Performance. I knew I would do this one day so I had a spare set in the boat. :)

Boat in water, motor fired sweetly thanks to all that extra electricity flowing through Pete's electrical superhighway that he installed for me, and a lovely trip got underway.

Anchored at Peel and knew the tide was going to leave us dry if we weren't careful so dropped the anchor a long way out and reversed back to beach. Was about to tie up the stern to a post when we realized that we had 100 meters of floating propeller grabber out the front. The bloody anchor rope floats! Haven't noticed it floating before because it's never been slack on the water.

Crap.... Better haul it in quick before someone comes along and takes us for a bit of a troll. So now I know I need a new anchor rope. Anchor ropes should sink... So passing boats don't.

Later on when ready to go I fired up the two smoke and it roared into life with more bellow than usual.... Crap.... I didn't put the leg in the water. Trim down quick smart and all seems well. Oops.

Back at the ramp I made my biggest mistake....

I listened to the missus....

I had just done the sweetest docking maneuver ever performed by any human (basically its the first time i got it right) and so left boat on pontoon and backed the trailer down the ramp. Now the initial plan was for me to swap places with the missus... She gets off boat and I get on... I do another of those beautiful maneuvers to gently nudge the boat into the trailer... Hold a bit of power while she hooks me up then away we go.

But it all went wrong... She says 'you stay there and I will throw you the rope and you can just pull the boat over'. Why did I listen to that devil woman? So now I am in the water getting the bottom bit of my shorts wet while I grab the rope and start pulling. oh crap!! There is a concrete ledge all the way down the side of the ramp to keep cars from going off. My beautiful boat is heading straight for it! So I go way deeper than planned and pull it away from the nasty glass ripping concrete ledge.

Disaster averted but I am now soaking wet all the way up to and beyond my delicate parts. Bloody woman... She will be the death of me. Oh... And my car seat is now soaking wet too....

So... Lessons learned are: Keep spare keys on boat, make sure anchor rope sinks, lower outboard before starting, keep a towel on seat when using boat ramps..... AND NEVER LISTEN TO THE MISSUS.

Great advice! Will ensure I do "ALL OF THE ABOVE" and remember to remove the outboard support before launching the boat in the water :oops:

ovakil
20-05-2012, 08:21 PM
1,forgot to lift motor up & went to drive up boat ramp
2,going scuba diving always carry spares except I forgot to put tanks in,just told them I prefer to snorkel.
3,Next time I went out decided to hook all dive gear up,layed it down forgot to turn air off & had leaned on reg (i think)put gear on only 1/4 tank of air.
Now I take spare tanks as well.

Moonlighter
20-05-2012, 09:00 PM
1. Like nearly everyone else, forgot bungs a couple of times on my new Surtees. In my defense, on my previous boat the bungs rarely were taken out so still getting in the habit with the new boat.

2. Lanyard. This one was one funny thing, many years ago was selling my first boat and being at work, organized my Dad to come down to my place one day to show a prospective buyer over. She had a 30 yammy 2 stoke that was one of the easiest to start and most reliable motors you could ever ask for. All good, but got a phone call at work, for 30 minutes he's been trying to start motor to demo for the buyer with no luck, he's just about ready to explode and buyer about to walk away. "you did put the lanyard on didn't you?" I ask, "the what?" he says. Oh... Lanyard on, the Yammy fires up instantly but more smoke than Allan Moffat's falcon on a bad day at Bathurst..... But the deal was done, amid much laughter from everyone!

3. no landing net. Catch my best snapper, get colour, tell deckie "grab the net, this is a good fish", but no net, no gaff, nada. Had to grab it by the tail and haul it over the side. Phew!

4. Drop boat on ramp. Thank God only a 14 ft tinny. Dad undoes the safety chain and then one of us also undoes the S hook on the winch rope, halfway down there's a terrible crash as she ends up on the concrete. Dinted keel at stern, fixed for less than $100.

Lesson: have a set routine that you follow to the letter when you launch and retrieve, and ALWAYS do it myself, never ask a deckie or anyone else, that way you know what's been done and that it's done right.

5. forgot to refuel. A social day on the water over at Amity with the family on board and meeting several other boats for brunch. Got there and then remembered, checked tank with the trusty ruler dip, and there's about 10 litres showing. Organized an escort back to Cleveland, and only just made it.

That's my confession Father, please forgive my sins!

ML

Lovey80
20-05-2012, 09:03 PM
Walruss mate what you need to buy is a large downrigger bomb to keep on board the boat. You want your anchor rope to float so the day you snag your anchor and break your anchor rope (which always seems to happen close to the boat) you can still get that expensive anchor back. On days when you want to leave a long anchor rope out do everything the same way you did before except just before you pull up that last 5m attach the down rigger bomb to the line so it sits on the bottom in the shallow water.

WalrusLike
20-05-2012, 09:17 PM
Lovey... I hope you don't mind me calling you that.... :)

That's a good idea... I have never considered a floating anchor line before.... But I see your reasoning. Maybe I should stick with the one I have then.

In the old days all the ropes sunk.... Maybe the new way is better.

WalrusLike
20-05-2012, 09:19 PM
ML... Say three Heave Ho's and help the next person in strife at the ramp. Go and sin no more....

frawlz
20-05-2012, 09:28 PM
Watched a young bloke drown a ski boat once. Gotta undoe those tie downs before you back down the ramp and let it float off cowboy!

WalrusLike
20-05-2012, 09:55 PM
Wow... That's sad....

Only a ski boat would drown though eh? Most boats would just float low with the trailer still attached below....

Not a bad solution to the sandbank problem..... Drive across on your attached trailer wheels. :)

Lovey80
20-05-2012, 11:52 PM
Lovey... I hope you don't mind me calling you that.... :)

That's a good idea... I have never considered a floating anchor line before.... But I see your reasoning. Maybe I should stick with the one I have then.

In the old days all the ropes sunk.... Maybe the new way is better.

Yeh mate, most often we are always fishing in a rough same depth of water. That means certain sections of rope are always getting stressed on bow rollers and bollards when retrieving. When it finally fails it's usually long enough to reach the surface to retrieve the anchor a second go. Had to do it several times.

WalrusLike
21-05-2012, 07:20 AM
....... Had to do it several times.

:)

So now you can only anchor in 2 feet of water because you only have 8 feet left?

:)

theangryangler
21-05-2012, 03:20 PM
Forgotten bungs a few times, one time only realising after parked the car i still had 2 bungs in the drink holder!
Left on support leg with rubber occy strap attached and sliced finger to the bone trying to pull boat off.
Old anchor rope was a few diff ones tied together brother undid wrong knot, next time out threw anchor in
and wondered why i had floatd 100M on a 30 M rope. Boy was i peeved >:(made him buy
me a new rope and anchor ;D had to climb ashore and find a sutible rock as i was not headin home after an hour run to my spot.
Forgot to lock the hitch went all the way from crestmead to fishermans ramp without any dramas, when launching the boat got halfway off the trailer and the weight lifted it clear off the ball almost smackin me in the face but missed and busted up the boot on me car. ohhh the boss was not impressed!!

WalrusLike
21-05-2012, 03:43 PM
No wonder your angry! :)

Nah.... Thanks for sharing.... I am sure I can make some innovative mistakes that no else was dumb enough to do..... It's only a matter of time.

frawlz
21-05-2012, 04:06 PM
Wow... That's sad....

Only a ski boat would drown though eh? Most boats would just float low with the trailer still attached below....

Not a bad solution to the sandbank problem..... Drive across on your attached trailer wheels. :)

Yeah, would have been sad except he was a big noting wonker. He'd spent about 15 minutes before launching telling everyone how much he paid for it and all about the 427 hemi and all about how cool he was for designing the trailer himself and how hot his girlfriend was gonna look in it... blah blah blah.

I would have told him about the tie downs but another bloke who was there saw me looking at them and put his finger to his lips in a 'shh' gesture. Who are we to interfere wit karma?

Sheik
21-05-2012, 11:35 PM
That's a laugh. It's nice to know there is always someone around to take di*kheads down a peg or two. Don't know how many times I have forgotten to secure trailer to ball properly, Always flicks up when the boat goes off. Only forgottn bings once or twice.
The hardest part is using someone else's boat. In my own boats I have a mental checklist that I use... eg security chain, tie down, motor leg prop, bungs, etc but when you get into someone elses that all goes out the window.
I leave home and go to myself.. right, if all else fails, the least I need is rods, tackle, bait or cast net, and that's it. That's because I have forgotten rods or tackle more times than I can remember. In my emergency box in the boat I have a small box of hooks and swivels and sinkers that I have had to use more than once.
I also keep three or four handlines in there. At least if you're out there you can still use something. Believe me, it's better than nothing.
Once I launched from Pnkenba and only realised once the boat was in the water that I didn't have rods. Pulled out the old handlines on wooden reels. Went downstream. Three blokes in a sticker boat with shimanos, plastics, minn kotas, and I dropped a mullet down on on old handline just beside them...
Got two threadies 120 each while they didn't get a hit. Very strange day.
Keep a spare boat key on the boat in a wproof container. Also keep pipe with lanolin rag and shifter, multigrips and zippies in it, plus small bits of rope etc. All thos eother things you might forget, hats, cpas old sunnies just in case you leave before dawn and forget about the sun. Sun cream. etc etc etc

Refugee
22-05-2012, 01:33 PM
Here's one that caught me recently....Don't step out of the boat onto the "beach area" at Pinkemba boat ramp on a spring low tide.

He he he.. I've done that one! Yuck.

Dezzer
22-05-2012, 06:25 PM
One mistake is acceptable the same mistake twice, well what can I say.

You could probably say "you tottering beef-headed gudgeon" and be referring to me. Drove all the way to the ramp to have the trailer unhitch and jump off the ball when launching the tinny. Early morning head daze blamed for not hitching properly, never do that again. Did it again last week.


Just read "Angryangler" and "Sheiks" posts. Warm glowy feeling knowing I'm not 'Pat Malone'.

Tangles
22-05-2012, 08:13 PM
Mental Check, when reversing into driveway remember trailer reverse flap...

weekendfisher
22-05-2012, 08:17 PM
They do say with experience comes wisdom and i guess it shows..
The worst i have done was start the motor up and think to myself that's louder than usual then i realized the leg was still out of the water so i quickly lowered it in ... just made out like it was normal the boys were none the wiser lol.
These days i keep the the boat in the yard next to the garage before each trip rods come out from the garage and get put in the boat along with bait and buckets, then the car gets back down the drive and hooked up bungs are the one thing that gets triple checked haven't forgotten them yet but i did have a moment once where i was sure i had left them out but after checking it was all good i had put them in earlier than i would normally so it threw out the routine ...

WalrusLike
25-06-2012, 07:02 PM
Time to own up to another one.....

I badly screwed up on the weekend at the pontoon.... Singlehanded and with a bit of a following wind I managed to bump the nose nastily against a dock cleat and scrape the side.

The wind was roughly parallel to the pontoon but also had a quarter of 'towards the pontoon' in it. (did that make sense??). Try again. The pontoon ran south to north and the wind was south easterly. I was approaching from south but needed to be docked to my starboard side.

I had thought that by coming in away from the pontoon and turning about to port I would end up bow closer and stern being pushed by the wind to the pontoon. That was my mistake. Actually the bow gets pushed more than the stern.

I turned ok and was roughly stopped about three feet off the pontoon with the bow a little bit closer. Perfect. Uh oh....the bow is swinging on towards the cleat. Reverse! Crap... The motor was still turned so the bow swung faster and hit.

Now I am moving backwards towards the boats on the opposite pontoon. Crap... Forward and turn hard to port (south)... Uh oh... Not enough room and the wind 'assisted' with a push towards the pontoon.... Clip the cleat again in a different place on the side of the hull.

Rats... My shiny gel coat all marked. I haven't had time yet to try polishing it out but at least one mark is deep enough to remain.

A few recent 'beautifully done' dockings had fooled me into thinking I had its measure. Wrong again!

I wish there was somewhere I could practice windy dockings without risk.

Tangles
25-06-2012, 08:56 PM
Have you a Dremel?

WalrusLike
25-06-2012, 10:43 PM
Yeah.... How come you ask? Do you think I should grind that bloody cleat down? :)

benji64
26-06-2012, 02:14 AM
here is one i own up to . drifting down quiet creek castnetting with mate in front of tinny watching me use net from rear ,collected bait and pull started 25tohatsu in gear ,she fired and threw me straight over back into water then went ten metres into sandbar .mate was sh#%$$% himself and laughing at same time

Still_Dreamin
26-06-2012, 10:09 AM
After reading this post when it first started I became paranoid about forgetting the key so I have put spare on my car keys. My logic says I cant get the boat to the ramp without my car so I will always have a key. The biggest mistake I have made was to buy a boat! LOL. The weather has been s#@t since i bought it. Excpet for the two weeks I went on the family holiday to Straddie camping and it glassed out it everyday. TORTURE

PinHead
26-06-2012, 02:13 PM
Time to own up to another one.....

I badly screwed up on the weekend at the pontoon.... Singlehanded and with a bit of a following wind I managed to bump the nose nastily against a dock cleat and scrape the side.

The wind was roughly parallel to the pontoon but also had a quarter of 'towards the pontoon' in it. (did that make sense??). Try again. The pontoon ran south to north and the wind was south easterly. I was approaching from south but needed to be docked to my starboard side.

I had thought that by coming in away from the pontoon and turning about to port I would end up bow closer and stern being pushed by the wind to the pontoon. That was my mistake. Actually the bow gets pushed more than the stern.

I turned ok and was roughly stopped about three feet off the pontoon with the bow a little bit closer. Perfect. Uh oh....the bow is swinging on towards the cleat. Reverse! Crap... The motor was still turned so the bow swung faster and hit.

Now I am moving backwards towards the boats on the opposite pontoon. Crap... Forward and turn hard to port (south)... Uh oh... Not enough room and the wind 'assisted' with a push towards the pontoon.... Clip the cleat again in a different place on the side of the hull.

Rats... My shiny gel coat all marked. I haven't had time yet to try polishing it out but at least one mark is deep enough to remain.

A few recent 'beautifully done' dockings had fooled me into thinking I had its measure. Wrong again!

I wish there was somewhere I could practice windy dockings without risk.

I used to hate docking..was paranoid about gouging the gel coat.

Hossfish
26-06-2012, 04:33 PM
A good set of fenders can ease the pain considerably. They are not fool proof but they have saved my bacon a couple of times form "nasty incidents". Also they are relatively inexpensive compared to repairing your gelcoat.

Another good and cheap investment is an extendable boat hook. Dont know if this is consider "uncool" but still a handy tool when required.

Regards Greg

Hossfish
26-06-2012, 04:34 PM
P.S Can relate to a number of aforementioned sins.

Regards Greg

PinHead
26-06-2012, 04:57 PM
A good set of fenders can ease the pain considerably. They are not fool proof but they have saved my bacon a couple of times form "nasty incidents". Also they are relatively inexpensive compared to repairing your gelcoat.

Another good and cheap investment is an extendable boat hook. Dont know if this is consider "uncool" but still a handy tool when required.

Regards Greg

always had 2 fenders out..was still paranoid..too much glass and dock to come together.
if the wind was the wrong direction was even worse.

Dicktracey
26-06-2012, 05:11 PM
always had 2 fenders out..was still paranoid..too much glass and dock to come together.
if the wind was the wrong direction was even worse.
Come in hot in new Tub way too hot lined up cnr of pontoon to perfection slammed in reverse at last second to try and save the gel coat :( " Insert swear words here "

Looked over the side and the centre of 2 rego numbers gone " More swear words " Went home to find only damage was too stickers OMG :)

Used up get out of jail free card that day ;)

Hossfish
26-06-2012, 05:20 PM
Yep I don't know why but gelcoat and pontoons/jetties seem to have a magnetic attraction for each other no matter what we mere mortals try.

Regards Greg

WalrusLike
26-06-2012, 05:36 PM
always had 2 fenders out..was still paranoid..too much glass and dock to come together.
if the wind was the wrong direction was even worse.

Yep I had two fenders out... Stern and edge of bow flare..... But my contact was right forward...

:(

PinHead
26-06-2012, 05:41 PM
Yep I had two fenders out... Stern and edge of bow flare..... But my contact was right forward...

:(

I always had one on the stern and one midships but still had about 15' of boat in front of that.

Had one "funny" experience a few years back...westerly wind blowing. Untied ropes..already had motors running..strong gust of wind grabbed boat as I was getting on..spun the boat 90 degrees...amazingly it did not hit the other side..I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

PinHead
26-06-2012, 05:43 PM
I have also done the usual one..left bungs out..did not realise until I had put 90 litres of fuel in at the fuel wharf...very quick trip back to the ramp.

Another..a few years back..arranged a trip with gunna..met him at the ramp..loaded gear in the tinny..oopsies..somone (me) forgot to bring the bait..that was a special moment.

Andy H
07-09-2012, 07:30 PM
Mate of mine forgot to screw his bung back in but remembered not too long after he'd put the boat in. Pity he didn't remember to take the earmuff's off the outboard before he went screaming off down the river and cooked it...

WalrusLike
07-09-2012, 08:42 PM
The other day I went flying past the water police while they were heading in the opposite direction.

I wonder if they considered stopping me because a bloke silly enough to be obliviously flying along with his fenders skipping around probably is doing something else wrong too.... :)

But nah, they didn't, and straight after that I realized the fenders were still out. If they had of stopped me, all would have been in order I think.

Tangles
07-09-2012, 09:00 PM
lift up boarding ladder... seems to be a recurring issue with me.... always wonder why all that water is flying around inside the cockpit and hitting me on the back of the head halfway across the bay....

Swanie1975
07-09-2012, 09:19 PM
i havent done the bungs thing in my boat yet but a mate and i went fishing one night up the nerang river in his tinny chasing whiting. was a slow trip in the dark yakking away and didnt really notice anything out of the ordinary till the fuel tank floated up next to me oopsss:-[. long wet arm over the side and put the bung in, a bit of bailing to get the level down a bit then went fishing anyway - was only in the river lol.

i have asked a fellow boatie at the ramp for help early in the morning getting my boat unstuck off the trailer (i dont get my bearings wet) - lots of heaving, pushing and a little swearing:P then the little lightbulb went on in my head. pulled the trailer up the ramp a little, took the tie-downs off and away she went no probs at all;D. was all set in the water ready to go when my deckies turned up and i never said a word:-X

cheers ryan

TREVELLY
07-09-2012, 09:51 PM
Went to GBR had 20m of chain then 8m of chain then a sarca anchor attached to boat with one metre of rope over the front - three days of strong wind and rope wears through at bow-sprite bye bye $550 of anchor and chain. Spent hours looking where I thought it was for zero with snorkel in low viz then when we got home I realised exact spot was imprinted on sounder in the snail trail.

Did the bung thing - put in three out of four required and had to drive back from The Banks - bung was not screwed in so lost it in transit - so now have spare bungs and check twice before launching.

Plastic bag onto prop buggered prop.

When young took a girl on a date down the Hawksbury River and she wanted a nature call so let her off into water 30cm deep but she sank to her mid-drift in mud - she looked real nice too before she jumped with white hotpants and colourful hawian top - first and last date with Julie. I knew what was going to happen but she jumped before I could say anything - I said wait and she said I will be fine - oh well.

Towed boat with trailer brakes on.

Towed boat with hitch undone but okay with tow hitch helmet over it - thank goodness.

Unsecured favourite rod and reel overboard on return from Moreton bouncing on bay chop at speed.

Numerous knives over the side from careless people leaving them on cutting board not towards the gutter at the back.

Towing from 1770 to home had turn-buckle vibrate undone, then tow strap break and safety chain shackle bend and crack - nearly lost boat. Boat was one week old $80K. Now have rear tie downs, rated shackle, extra fixing and lock nut to turn buckle. Plus a boat catch now.

Apart from those few things I am faultless and a perfectly safe and competent fisho/boatie.

The-easyrider
07-09-2012, 10:04 PM
Pushed boat out from ramp jumped on board and trimmed motor down as current swept us towards the bridge pylons only to realize boat keys were in car. So quickly over the side with rope in hand to swim back to shore before boat hit pylons. Kids couldn't understand where I was going in such a hurry

barra71
07-09-2012, 11:35 PM
i went out all the to moreton island and found i had no knives in the boat. have you every tried to cut bait with a pair of snips not a lot of fun..
have gone out and forgot tackle box.
went out and forgot my smokes, was a short trip..
never done the bung thing yet,,,,

WalrusLike
08-09-2012, 06:53 AM
..........was all set in the water ready to go when my deckies turned up and i never said a word:-X

cheers ryan

Yeah but you feel better now with it off your chest eh?

:)

deckie
08-09-2012, 08:28 AM
In one night of mayhem i learnt about 50 things the hard way.

I used to regularly go up the river with the pooch for a few nights to get away from things, and never once had an issue tying the boat up overnight. Only access by water, hefty tidal run, oyster covered rocks and pier...never a problem for yrs and yrs. Until i decided on one trip i wanted a extra few nights and hired a houseboat, told the missus i'd pick her up the next day at a wharf and spend a cpl more days out. Tied the boat on the back, and me and the dog anchored this huge caravan on water in a small calm sheltered bay in Cowan in about 15-20ish ft of water from memory. Packed the dog in the boat and picked up some supplies and a bottle of hooch...made dinner, millpond, breathless dead calm. Couldnt be happier.
2.30 in the morning dog was barking and carrying on and in a bit of a half cut hungover half asleep haze i could hear seriously loud banging, then felt the houseboat jag violently on the anchor...went outside and was nearly blown overboard by the wind and took a bit for it to sink in...was seriously like a mini tornado had hit, not just a storm with no rain. Anyway the banging noise turned out to be the bow of the boat crashing down against the side of the houseboat and it was seriously banged up f/glass just above the tow eye and up under the whole front, and the knot holding it had already slipped and fender had slipped up inside the boat not over the side. As i tried to secure it i noticed it didnt seem like i was in the same place i anchored...dark with just enough moon to see i was out in about 60-80ft of water and anchor dragging...maybe 100-200m from where i anchored and heading for opposite shore rocks in about 5-10 minutes maybe. Let all the chain out, started both motors, full throttle and still going backward, farrrrrrrk me ..decided to hop in the boat coz i had to do something and the dog jumped onto the bow and slipped straight off and into the drink...geezus that'd be right. By this stage i'd woken up fully and was trying to figure out how i could somehow use the boat to drag/hold/tow the houseboat with its donks on full throttle and heap of chain out..i cut the bow line to the houseboat (why the F did i do that ?) and then searched liked an idiot for some sort of tow line..all while this bloody 50-70knts of howling wind was pushing everything. Hard to explain just what wind can do till you;re in it. Anyway, got it attached, dragged the dog out of the water and jogged hard into the wind using the motor for maybe 5 minutes until the wind started to drop really fast thank christ...within 15 mins it was virtually a millpond again. In the meantime i then had a boat and towline to the bow of a houseboat with both donks on full and an anchor chain out...houseboat was now going forward of course, and fast. Wont bore u with the rest but assume the next bit getting back on board the houseboat, was just as bad or worse than when the damn wind was up. Things sound easier than they are, especially in the dark.
Result was a badly mashed up bow on my boat, stuff bow rail, gunwhale rubber hanging off, one broken finger, hardly a scratch on the houseboat, reanchored and promised myself i;d never go boating by myself ever again...promise lasted maybe a week. Didnt tell the missus coz didnt want to look like an idiot.
Lessons learnt in 1 hour...about 50 i reckon.

sunnycoast62
08-09-2012, 10:46 AM
I think you have out done a lot of us but I seem to be able to a new scratch or dent on my boat every time I go out, latest was going along side og jetty and it scrapped all the way down left side of boat boat. And I won't even mention what using a gurney on a boat does to your registration numbers?

WalrusLike
08-09-2012, 01:22 PM
Jeez thanks Deckie that's a good read.... dunno what we can learn from that apart from 'Dont tell the missus!' :)

I suppose the other two lessons are... leave plenty of anchor line out, and don't get caught in 70 knot squalls.

Not sure how to avoid unexpected squalls though. :)

Relaxedcamper
08-09-2012, 03:16 PM
always had 2 fenders out..was still paranoid..too much glass and dock to come together.
if the wind was the wrong direction was even worse.

We have a 5m Haines Signature Cuddy cab and I am the guy that has 1 fender for every meter of boat. So when docking we use 5. The boat is immaculate but it does make me look like a total unseasoned skipper.

PinHead
08-09-2012, 04:27 PM
Went to GBR had 20m of chain then 8m of chain then a sarca anchor attached to boat with one metre of rope over the front - three days of strong wind and rope wears through at bow-sprite bye bye $550 of anchor and chain. Spent hours looking where I thought it was for zero with snorkel in low viz then when we got home I realised exact spot was imprinted on sounder in the snail trail.

Did the bung thing - put in three out of four required and had to drive back from The Banks - bung was not screwed in so lost it in transit - so now have spare bungs and check twice before launching.

Plastic bag onto prop buggered prop.

When young took a girl on a date down the Hawksbury River and she wanted a nature call so let her off into water 30cm deep but she sank to her mid-drift in mud - she looked real nice too before she jumped with white hotpants and colourful hawian top - first and last date with Julie. I knew what was going to happen but she jumped before I could say anything - I said wait and she said I will be fine - oh well.

Towed boat with trailer brakes on.

Towed boat with hitch undone but okay with tow hitch helmet over it - thank goodness.

Unsecured favourite rod and reel overboard on return from Moreton bouncing on bay chop at speed.

Numerous knives over the side from careless people leaving them on cutting board not towards the gutter at the back.

Towing from 1770 to home had turn-buckle vibrate undone, then tow strap break and safety chain shackle bend and crack - nearly lost boat. Boat was one week old $80K. Now have rear tie downs, rated shackle, extra fixing and lock nut to turn buckle. Plus a boat catch now.

Apart from those few things I am faultless and a perfectly safe and competent fisho/boatie.


geeze Trev..do you have danger and keep clear signs around your boat when you are on the water???

PinHead
08-09-2012, 04:32 PM
then..way back in history..this lil episode: http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?110178-guess-who-ran-aground&highlight=trophee

Boat Hog
08-09-2012, 04:37 PM
I always have three fenders out - but then mostly use Coffs Harbour ramp - very surge affected.

Considering using four fenders, but then where does it stop? Might as well get a rib!

WalrusLike
07-10-2012, 05:18 PM
I had the luxury of a single handed launch, with tons of time available, at a not busy ramp.

I wanted to test the new singlehanded launch/retrieve system I have implemented which was invented by Top Bhouy. http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showpost.php?p=1206187

Many thanks Top Bhouy... Simple, ingenious and cheap.

So in the car park with no racing the clock, I leisurely went about putting up the Bimini, loading the boat, checking bungs undoing strapping etc. I wanted it to be the perfect unhurried but efficient launch using the new system.

Unfortunately I blotted the copy book by overlooking something. My cunning plan was after the boat is ready to launch only held in by TopBouy's restraint, I would climb from back of ute, to winch post top, to boat.... bugger forgot to unlatch and open the hatch.

Waded in to stern and clambered up ok, but it wasn't the perfect initial run I wanted.

I am mainly telling you to publicize Top Bhouy's simple system. Have a look at the above link and here's my version.....

84941

theoldlegend
08-10-2012, 05:45 AM
I had the luxury of a single handed launch, with tons of time available, at a not busy ramp.

I wanted to test the new singlehanded launch/retrieve system I have implemented which was invented by Top Bhouy. http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showpost.php?p=1206187

Many thanks Top Bhouy... Simple, ingenious and cheap.

So in the car park with no racing the clock, I leisurely went about putting up the Bimini, loading the boat, checking bungs undoing strapping etc. I wanted it to be the perfect unhurried but efficient launch using the new system.

Unfortunately I blotted the copy book by overlooking something. My cunning plan was after the boat is ready to launch only held in by TopBouy's restraint, I would climb from back of ute, to winch post top, to boat.... bugger forgot to unlatch and open the hatch.

Waded in to stern and clambered up ok, but it wasn't the perfect initial run I wanted.

I am mainly telling you to publicize Top Bhouy's simple system. Have a look at the above link and here's my version.....

84941

This might sound a bit strange, but then, so am I, according to some.

Why don't you type up a list of things that need to be done to ensure a perfect launch, get it laminated and keep it with you?

It wouldn't take to long to skim over it to ensure that everything's done before you launch. Then as time goes by, it should become second nature to you.

Just ensure the last item on the list reads "Family members to clean and wash boat under my supervision"

TOL

Zippidy
08-10-2012, 08:35 AM
I had to release the winch strap a bit yesterday to take the safety chain off because of the tight fit.

Stupidly took it out of gear so the ratchet wasn't on the winch.

Slowly rolled down the ramp and went to brake at the bottom only for the boat to roll off the trailer at the bottom of the ramp hitting the concrete!!!

What an absolute idiot.

WalrusLike
08-10-2012, 09:03 AM
TOL its a good idea.... But I would forget to read it! :)

I am generally ok with it all.... It's just this was a variation of normal procedure so I didn't have it down pat yet. The main reason I posted was to say thanks for the cunning singlehanded launch system.

Zippidy that's a bummer.... Easy for it to happen. At least by posting it here you might save someone else... that's some consolation. :)

Zippidy
08-10-2012, 09:11 AM
It was a very simple mistake that could have ended much worse. There were 2 people in the boat, so they went on a bit of a ride.

I had just got to the ramp after spending the previous hour and a half replacing a trailer bearing with no tools on the side of a road.

WalrusLike
08-10-2012, 09:29 AM
Jeez mate, when things go wrong for you they really stick it to you don't they!

It sounds like all ok in the end... yeah?

Zippidy
08-10-2012, 09:35 AM
Yes, bearing replaced and good as new.

A few bits of fibreglass out of the corner, but nothing major. It's an old boat, so another bit of resin isn't going to make any difference. Luckily the transducer didn't get damaged.

Steering cable all came undone when we were on the morning for a minute also, but I'm glad that it all went wrong when it did and I didn't have a few mates that were hopeful of a decent fish with me.

A weekend worth of repairs and the old girl will be good to go again for more fishing adventures, where no fish are actually caught :-)

brock13
08-10-2012, 09:54 AM
Decky - if u didnt tell the missus... How did you explain the broken finger???

mustang5
08-10-2012, 09:56 AM
Ohhhh Ive had a few... lol!!

1st lesson learn is TAKE A SPARE ANCHOR... Lets just say it was the difference between sinking my first boat at Moreton a few years ago. New years night on the beach, I do the quick torch check and look down to see the bow facing towards the beach, and the waves going over the back. So run down to inspect, and the anchor rope is snapped, and anchor nowhere to be seen.

First point of call is push the boat around (19ft not fun), next point of call hop in and get it out of the breaking waves. So the 140 WOT would not go above 1500rpm and when I look back, I see a wall of water coming over the back and its TIME TO JUMP! So, boat sinks 20m off the beach in 2m of water. All would have been prevented if I had better anchor rope, and a spare anchor to keep bow into the waves whilst I bailed out.

Next day, snatch strapped the boat at low tide out of the water. Removed about a tonne of sand.. Replaced batteries using zip tied wires to the battery terminals, changes spark plugs and drenched the inside of the Yammy 140 with WD40.. Cranked her up and drove her home as if nothing had every happened.

Other than that, lets just say DONT FORGET SPARE FUSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 110km offshore and your electrics go out including the GPS... Not fun when you cant see land. THANK CHRIST FOR AN IPHONE WITH NAVIONICS ON IT :)

And I suppose the last one, which still I am too stubborn to realise and my cravings for fishing always outweigh my sanity... ALWAYS TRUST THE WEATHER MAN WHEN THERE IS A STRONG WIND WARNING

::)

84953

deckie
08-10-2012, 08:09 PM
Decky - if u didnt tell the missus... How did you explain the broken finger???
Didnt tell her, and a few days later when i had it strapped with one of those ally splint jobs i just siad i crushed it in a rope and didnt think was serious...which is the truth anyway. I used to play a bit of aussie rules so she was used to finger issues and i;ve even crushed one betwen gunwhale and a flying gaff rope before. One of those things u just shake off at the time but starts to get worse a day or two after. Its when u get a blood clot from a fracture and it migrates down the bad finger, across and up the next, thats when u know its not too good.
Never been big on unnecessary info to the missus anyway...probably why i've had a cpl and might be working on a third ex mrs deckie :-X

I probably should have told her i got clipped by the bull bar of an 18 wheeler whilst saving 2 handicapped kiddies crossing a road... might have got me out of the doghouse at the time and a bit of sympathy luvvin as well 8-).
Tight ropes and fingers dont mix.

deckie
08-10-2012, 08:29 PM
Hey mustang, thats a damn good ad for the Yammie 140.
Not nice. I can only imagine. Shit happens.

I know a 28 bertie that ran over some stray shipping rope running back in, ripped the motor legs clean out and apparently was like hitting a brick wall at 25 knots. Its always when you least expect it...and seems if u prepare for crap to happen it never seems to.

Greg P
08-10-2012, 08:43 PM
Took my brother inlaw for a fish to the Barwon banks in the old sportfish. Middle of June, 4am at mooloolaba coast guard ramp (cold). Explained what I needed bil to do when putting the boat in (simple - stay out of the way and don't get hurt). Boat off. Hand bow rope to bil and tell him hold while I park the car - simple??

I am walking back after a km hike from park, pass bil on the mobile to his mrs at the top of the ramp? WTF?
There goes my boat drifting out to the berths about to hit a moored boat. Do the midnight strip down to jocks to swim out but ouch - oysters on those rocks at the side of the ramp ahh well keep going. Make it to boat and get it back to ramp. Feet are cut to shreds - blood everywhere but decide to press out.

Day didn't get better, feet are still buggered, BIL never been back on boat. Never make the same mistake twice :o

ozscott
08-10-2012, 09:11 PM
Hey Walruslike I adopted topbough s idea also but I welded a bit of 3/4 inch steel bar onto my heavy duty guards. The Vag will hold on a steep ramp on it even though I add the safety chain before driving out. Are you worried that the plastic won't take the load of the boat. I don't know how heavy yours is but the photo looks like a sizeable glassjobbie

Great system and easier than those expensive latches

Cheers

WalrusLike
08-10-2012, 10:14 PM
OZ I am not worried about the cleat. It's got two bolts holding it on to guard and the force is directed against the central strong section rather than pulling sideways on the 'finger'.

I will admit to being slightly concerned about the strength of my boats stern cleat though... It's on of those pull up push down flush types so its strength is only that of the two rods it rides up and down on. ( if that makes any sense...)

Thing is though that the winch rope is on until the strain is taken up so you know if it will hold before you unhook the winch rope.

Great idea that works well so far and cost bugger all.

ozynorts
13-10-2012, 07:03 PM
I have so far been pretty lucky. I am on my 4 winch handle though. I had a near miss today though. I was getting the boat ready for a trip out to Musgrave tomorrow and was cleaning the side pockets out and glanced at my oil box. HOLY CRAP........ It was lower than I had realised. Note to self, check oil level EVERY time you fill up.....

deckie
14-10-2012, 05:34 AM
Those winch handles are a donation to the ramp gods, like leaving an umbrella on the train. If there was a lost and found box at a ramp it'd be full of them.
Last week on a VERY quiet day came back into the ramp and there was a bloke with a jetski taking up both lanes of the ramp with his cute diagonal backing ...told him "no hurry at all mate" on the way to grab the trailer, then 5mins later started backing down and no room, so waited assuming he would spot me and move his rig off, still nothing so wandered down and politely asked him if he was ready to move off yet and he seemed a bit shirty about it, next thing i know i;m telling him to move the f'ken thing or i'd move it (and him) for him..u get the picture. Another minute or two later and he gets in his car (with an evil eye on me) and takes off so i back down thinking "Why the hell do so many take so long", "i;ll have this done in 1 minute and off i go"...so i hook up and go back to the winch and find NO WINCH HANDLE...took me bloody 10 minutes of searching the carpark and finally found it in the dirt but in the meantime i was taking up space on the ramp when someone else had came in. Felt like an absolute tossa of course.
Must be some sort of winch handle fairy that knows just when to strike.
No idea why winch handles suddenly grow legs and jump out of peoples tow rigs, or decide it'd be nicer just to stay at home today.

WalrusLike
14-10-2012, 10:08 PM
I haven't lost the winch handle yet..... but probably will now I've said that. I try and keep it in only two places: drivers side floor after putting boat in water and anchor well after the retrieve.

Works so far....

Also my handle has a latch so it can't fall off unless deliberately removed... are they all like that?

ozynorts
15-10-2012, 07:52 AM
no they are not all like that. I have lost them driving off the ramp and not realising until getting home. I have lost one after launching and had a lot of fun winching back on without it. A tip for those who may do this, supercheap have them quite cheap.:)

The-easyrider
15-10-2012, 12:50 PM
A process i got into the habit of is as I store my whinch handle in the back of the patrol when it comes out I leave the door open until the handle goes back in

justlovefishing
24-10-2012, 06:07 AM
we have heaps of winch handles under the counter at the yeppoon coast gaurd from the ramp. I have done the dreaded leaving the bungs out a couple of times over the years also. Best I have seen was at townsville. 24ft boat behind a holden commodore being launched with tide moving fast. Never removed the strap from the stern of the boat. Advised him and were told to piss off I know what I am doing. Next thing boat and car disapearing in to water.

Fed
24-10-2012, 09:24 AM
You guys are beginners.

Can you imagine standing at the ramp on a dark cold night, wringing wet and looking at your new Fairlane, all you can see it the very tip of the aerial and a feint glow from the interior light?

WalrusLike
24-10-2012, 09:28 AM
Fed that's our terrible nightmare. Bummer mate...

Long time ago? How did it happen?

Fed
24-10-2012, 09:43 AM
A very long time ago Wal.
It was a fatal mix of stupidity, beer, reversing lights because it was dark and automatic choke because it was cold. The perfect storm.
I did manage to get back into the car though but by then it was bobbing & sinking.
Lesson learned, there is no way you can open a car door when it's half submerged and getting out of a window when there's a waterfall coming in is pretty hard too.

WalrusLike
24-10-2012, 12:36 PM
Live and learn eh Fed!

The fact it can happen is what is useful to know for us all, if we are aware of the risks we can use care in the spots it's needed, thanks for sharing.

Someone I know who is not on this forum had a incident recently....

A while ago he had made a live tank under floor. Gate-valve through transom to fill it. Water level should stop it overfilling. Unfortunately some of the glassed timber frame had swollen and cracked away from supports. He opened the valve, got distracted, then forgot to close it.

When the carpet floor stated squelching he knew he had a problem....

The water was entering the live tank reaching the cracks then flowing in to the bilge. The wet carpet also alerted him to the fact that the autobilge pump wasn't functional.

Hundreds of gallons of water takes a long time to empty via a 12 volt shower pump. :)

juggernaut
24-10-2012, 02:36 PM
Going back quite a few years now I was on my younger brothers boat with the missus and older brother. Younger brother was driving at WOT back to the boat ramp on the Swan River here in Perth in a ski area and wasn't paying attention to the lateral markers (neither were any of us for that matter). Next minute the boat is airborne, lands again and gets airborne again and we finally come to a halt in the water. Missus face planted the windscreen and my older brother and I who were standing up down the back of the boat nearly ended up through ther windscreen.

For a moment I thought we hit a bloody ski ramp or two! When we had come to a stop in the water and picked ourselves up off the deck and it came clear we'd all missed lateral marker and hit some underlying rocks - which I later discovered the local birds use as an island at low tide.

After complaining of spilt beer, we assessed the damage - the outboard had kicked up twice during the ordeal and over extended and smashed fibreglass transom cowling around the outboard that doubled as armrests where my older brother and I had been sitting moments before my younger brother had attempted to fly his fibreglass 18 footer.

Remarkably the old Chrysler outboard fired up and as expected there was a horrible vibration when in gear - yet we still had forward motion and headed back to the nearby boat ramp at low rpm. When we got it on the trailer only superficial damage had been done to the hull and the vibration was caused by some weed that had been picked off the rocks whilst the prop was doing an impersonation of a whipper snipper.

Still reflect how lucky my older brother and I were that we'd stood up moments before the unintended "attempted flight" as the outboard motor would have surely caused serious damage to our arms if they'd still been on the smashed armrest.

Crunchy
24-10-2012, 02:54 PM
Going back quite a few years now I was on my younger brothers boat with the missus and older brother. Younger brother was driving at WOT back to the boat ramp on the Swan River here in Perth in a ski area and wasn't paying attention to the lateral markers (neither were any of us for that matter). Next minute the boat is airborne, lands again and gets airborne again and we finally come to a halt in the water. Missus face planted the windscreen and my older brother and I who were standing up down the back of the boat nearly ended up through ther windscreen.

For a moment I thought we hit a bloody ski ramp or two! When we had come to a stop in the water and picked ourselves up off the deck and it came clear we'd all missed lateral marker and hit some underlying rocks - which I later discovered the local birds use as an island at low tide.

After complaining of spilt beer, we assessed the damage - the outboard had kicked up twice during the ordeal and over extended and smashed fibreglass transom cowling around the outboard that doubled as armrests where my older brother and I had been sitting moments before my younger brother had attempted to fly his fibreglass 18 footer.

Remarkably the old Chrysler outboard fired up and as expected there was a horrible vibration when in gear - yet we still had forward motion and headed back to the nearby boat ramp at low rpm. When we got it on the trailer only superficial damage had been done to the hull and the vibration was caused by some weed that had been picked off the rocks whilst the prop was doing an impersonation of a whipper snipper.

Still reflect how lucky my older brother and I were that we'd stood up moments before the unintended "attempted flight" as the outboard motor would have surely caused serious damage to our arms if they'd still been on the smashed armrest.

You don't mentioned how the missus fared after all this...

juggernaut
24-10-2012, 03:05 PM
You don't mentioned how the missus fared after all this...

Haha...she lived.....I'm onto missus version 2.0 she was old version 1.0.....so being an ex I didn't think to mention it. ::)

And before you ask......... the "upgrade" wasn't caused by the incident. 8-)

Relaxedcamper
12-11-2012, 12:50 PM
Yesterday was a great day. The sun was shining and the wind was about 4 knots. Packed up the family 'nice and early' and arrived at the ramp only to be greeted by an entire car park full with trailers also being parked on the approach and departure road from the ramp.

Holy crap look at all these people.

Drove into one of the rigging lanes and was thrown then wondering where we were going to park if we launched the boat. The suddenly I saw someone coming in so I decided to 'GO FOR IT' and get it into the water and nab the car park.

Back the boat down the lane and trailer into the water.

Shit can't undo the d shackle on the safety chain. Why didn't put some spray on the thread over winter.

Used all my super powers and some help from the man above after uttering my request for help and finally got it undone.!!!

The boat is now in the water and docked and the wife swings her leg over the side to get in and drops her car keys in the water. You know the sort that have the expensive blippers on them.

Shorts rolled right up. shirt off. "Yeah mate, she did drop the keys.......How long will I be?.....Sorry about the wait I just need to get the keys.....Yeah thanks for your patience mate?!?!?!"

Got them Yeah!!!!

Ummm.....well you all know where this story is going.

15min out on the water my wife says 'You did put the bung in?'

Oh......Um.......NO!!!!!.

Stop the boat, drop the dacks, lose the shirt and out the back we go. The bung was just hanging there and I was able to screw it in. Sweet.

Bilge pump on........A minute or two of pumping and were off.

Arrived at our destination just off from the edge of a shipping channel, fished a while and decided to try something different.

Turn the key....Dead. What the!!!!! I have had both batteries on a ctec charger on and off over winter and they both were charged when we left.

Now turn the battery isolating switch to 2 and off we go.

The little feller catches the biggest flat head on the smallest rod. 46cm fish on his much loved canoe rod. Nice job.

Oldest boy feels the need to go to the toilet. No worries we have a small chemical on on board. He opens the lid and is greeted by 'floral smelling water with masses of black specks in it'. The toilet seals had broken down and all the top tank flushing water had leaked into the bowl and mixed with it the decayed rubber seals. Needless to say he didn't need to go after that.

Return to the boat ramp. Docked beautifully. Ran up to get the car and on my return the two boys are both crying. The oldest one had knocked the little fellers rod into the drink. This time the extendable gaff came out and I fished it off the bottom the ramp now all covered in slime.

Did I mention that the ramp was as busy coming in as it was going out.

Got home and rinsed the car keys in fresh water, dried them off and opened them up. A tribute to Toyota, both blippers were totally dry inside, and they both work perfectly.

We are getting a new chemical toilet, I have ordered new battery from my marine mechanic and he is going to load test the other one to see if it is also on the way out. I am now keeping a spare bung or two in the boat in a highly obvious place somewhere and finally the best lesson learnt.

Don't get your routine rattled otherwise mistakes will happen.

Cheers.

WalrusLike
12-11-2012, 03:19 PM
Porta loos.... I have had three. First was a reliable Thetford Portaloo that lasted many many years.

Next was a unknown brand that came with the boat. Not as quality a feeling on its handles and latches etc but worked ok till one trip where the toilet footwell area had foul water sloshing. A seal had gone...

Last one is a new Thetford Portaloo and it is even better than the original. Best you can buy I reckon.

Magneto
06-12-2012, 05:41 PM
Went fishing with friends, chappy at the transom dropped his snapper sinker into the engine well. It happens, anyway time to come back in and motor will not start, visually checked fuel lines and primer pump but still no go so got towed back in , onto trailer at home trying to work out what happened, grabbed fuel line and it separated without any pressure on the fuel line clip so the snapper sinker had hit the fuel line clip and due to the line pressure just pulled apart a faction. It looked OK but was not clipped together.
Lesson learned is to physically touch/handle this sort of stuff instead of just looking...

WalrusLike
09-12-2012, 09:41 PM
Jeez the boat seems a bit sluggish.

Hey that wake looks weird.

What's that odd hissing noise?

Oops.... Left the ladder down. :)

I knew I hadn't finished posting into this thread. I am sure there's plenty more goofs left in me....

darkside
10-12-2012, 09:29 AM
Great thread, and as theoldlegend (http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/member.php?40016-theoldlegend) pointed out, a list can save a multitude of sins. I had a laminated list that I used for a while, but now with the advent of smartphones this is the best way to go. Have your list on the phone, and as you do each item tick it off , that includes,
1: Before leaving
2: At the ramp
3: Return to ramp
4: Back home.
It is simplistic and works a treat, and as things change you can add and edit it, also you see your items ticked off as you prepare. I am considering writing this checklist as an APP as well, if I do it will be a freebie for anyone wanting it. I may also include things like fishing log, boat log and other things into it.
The best android (free App) to use at present for your list is "colornote" free available at the App store.


Darkside. !!!

WalrusLike
10-12-2012, 11:27 AM
Good idea Darkside.

A tick able list that is easily added or changed... for iPhone have a look at ShopShop

Very simple and slick.

darkside
10-12-2012, 12:35 PM
Walruslike cheers. So Iphone "ShopShop" and Android "Colornote". I will write an APP that will do the checklist and have a fishing and boat log as well. As soon as I do it I will make it available for free. If anyone can think of a must have on the APP , please I am open to ideas. !!

WalrusLike
10-12-2012, 06:58 PM
If the app is location aware you could have it remind you to check the hub temps at the ramp.

Maybe you should start a thread about boat ramp app? It is an interesting idea.

Good luck with it. But I would recommend you charge 1.99 for it because people will pay that and work should be rewarded.

Owen
10-12-2012, 07:04 PM
An app for launching check list.
Great idea!
Number 1 should be... "Don't drop the phone in the...... Ahhhh shit!!!!"

darkside
10-12-2012, 09:05 PM
WalrusLike, yes, check hub temps, at both ramp and home. Every 12 months or whenever you set it, repack or replace them, Comes up as a reminder. The checklist will be one that you add all your own things and tick them off as you do them. That way it is personalised to your boat and the way you do things. Will be easy to edit it, and as most APPs you will constantly check and play with it because it is with you all the time.

Humdinger
10-12-2012, 10:08 PM
on friday telling the outboard dealer that i know what i want . just change the prop .
on monday . can i have my old prop back .

that really sucked

deckie
29-12-2012, 09:33 PM
Chalked up another one :thumbsup:

Respooled my favorite stump puller i drag thru the moorings, a godzilla+thunnus with some nice new 24kg high vis mono, tied on a nice long fresh piece of 80lb leader, put a rubber band on the end and tied back to the reel, all ready to whack a lure on. Sweet.
Hook the boat up, throw all the gear in. Off i go for a just a quick relaxing time dragging a few lures.
Any clue yet to the absolute stupidity that could possibly follow within 5 minutes ?

Humdinger
29-12-2012, 09:47 PM
\
Chalked up another one :thumbsup:

Respooled my favorite stump puller i drag thru the moorings, a godzilla+thunnus with some nice new 24kg high vis mono, tied on a nice long fresh piece of 80lb leader, put a rubber band on the end and tied back to the reel, all ready to whack a lure on. Sweet.
Hook the boat up, throw all the gear in. Off i go for a just a quick relaxing time dragging a few lures.
Any clue yet to the absolute stupidity that could possibly follow within 5 minutes ?

i reckon all that new line is on the road or around an axle

Jarrah Jack
29-12-2012, 09:49 PM
Chalked up another one :thumbsup:

Respooled my favorite stump puller i drag thru the moorings, a godzilla+thunnus with some nice new 24kg high vis mono, tied on a nice long fresh piece of 80lb leader, put a rubber band on the end and tied back to the reel, all ready to whack a lure on. Sweet.
Hook the boat up, throw all the gear in. Off i go for a just a quick relaxing time dragging a few lures.
Any clue yet to the absolute stupidity that could possibly follow within 5 minutes ?

Your ex went past in another boat with her new swoon and decided that the rod should be hers in order to show her young beau her extra talents. She grabbed the wheel of her young tarzans extra large cruiser in order to come along side her old but slightly worn out flame.

Unfortunately she didn't realize that little boats are no match for big boats and proceeded to put some ugly gouges in her ex's boat while handily grabbing his favourite rod in the way she'd been taught only to find it no match for her new lovers tackle.

deckie
29-12-2012, 10:07 PM
Well here i am on a six lane major arterial road on the way to the ramp in amongst a fair bit of traffic...elbow on the window, enjoying the day...happy as a clam. Bit of a toot toot way back behind me and i glance in the side morror...nnnnope cant see any issue, ignore it...toot, look again and assume some dumbarse a few cars back has the shits with somone else. TOOT...TOOT TOOOOOOT TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTT. Now i;m waking up out of my autopilot daze having a good look and someone pulls up next to me and yells something i cant makeout...ummm shit better have a look. I turn right at a set of lights thats kind of going my way anyway and pull over about 20m from the intersection. Get out....for christsake i;ve been spooled and havent even got on the water yet.

Yepp there's a good 200-250m of 24kg mono strung out around the traffic lights and back down the road being run over constantly by cars and trucks.

I grabbed the rig out of the holder and loosened the drag right off coz still maybe 30m or so left and i was expecting at any stage a massive strike from maybe an 18 wheeler or even a number 9 bus. Then this woman pulls in behind me as i start to wind the line back in, still expecting at any second to hookup...she gets out and starts hurling abuse at me. "Are you an idiot ? i could have been killed" "what if it caught around my wheel ?"

So i simply said..."shut up and gimme a bloody hand will you". Apparently that didnt calm her nerves and i could see she wasnt too keen on helping as i wound furiously on this reel. I didnt want to lose my favorite rod and had visions of suddenly getting tight onto someones axle so in my stupor i stuck a foot up on the trailer mudguard leant over and grabbed a filleting knife i had sitting in a side pocket and put it next to me on the gunwhale, ready to cut the line...and started winding furiously again. Next thing i know this woman is driving off.
Anyway i couldnt believe my luck as the last of the line came around the corner, aound the traffic lights and under more cars doing 70 odd k's oblivious to all the fun thats going on. Some bloke pulled up on the side street side of the lights and kind of laughed and by now i'd relaxed and just shook my head at him and smiled like a classic dumbarse would after doing something stupid. Tied the leader up good and solid and threw the rig into the boat and took off fast like nothing had happened.

I was so wrapped i hadnt hooked up or even broken the rod that i was on the water before i realised why the woman would have taken off.

Anyway...just another pleasant day out on the water.

deckie
29-12-2012, 10:08 PM
\

i reckon all that new line is on the road or around an axle
lol bingo...very close

deckie
29-12-2012, 10:23 PM
Your ex went past in another boat with her new swoon and decided that the rod should be hers in order to show her young beau her extra talents. She grabbed the wheel of her young tarzans extra large cruiser in order to come along side her old but slightly worn out flame.

Unfortunately she didn't realize that little boats are no match for big boats and proceeded to put some ugly gouges in her ex's boat while handily grabbing his favourite rod in the way she'd been taught only to find it no match for her new lovers tackle.
lol nnoooope. Nothing that exciting i;m afraid.
10/10 for imagination tho jack.

Do ex wives date young tarzans ?...arnt they meant to have minor fun for 2 yrs after the divorce, then spend their time pining for you when they finally realise how good they had it ? :cool3:

WalrusLike
03-03-2013, 10:31 AM
Another example of stoooopidity for you all...

Its nearly a year now I've had my boat and I've religiously been running it on the muffs after every trip. I've asked on here about drums and bags to avoid using the muffs.... I looked in the beginning and a few times since for a hose fitting to direct flush it but my motor didn't have a hose attachment point.

What a goose I felt when the helpful bloke at the dealer the other day explained that the rubber hose dangling at the base of the motor is actually just connected to a blanking plug... You unscrew it and then plug it into your garden hose. I thought it was a breather hose or something.

Hiding in plain sight. Hope this helps some other idiot out there..,, or maybe I am the only one who would be so dumb. :)


(Using Tapatalk on iPhone so can't easily 'thank' or 'like'.)

LittleSkipper
03-03-2013, 11:53 AM
Another example of stoooopidity for you all...

Its nearly a year now I've had my boat and I've religiously been running it on the muffs after every trip. I've asked on here about drums and bags to avoid using the muffs.... I looked in the beginning and a few times since for a hose fitting to direct flush it but my motor didn't have a hose attachment point.

What a goose I felt when the helpful bloke at the dealer the other day explained that the rubber hose dangling at the base of the motor is actually just connected to a blanking plug... You unscrew it and then plug it into your garden hose. I thought it was a breather hose or something.

Hiding in plain sight. Hope this helps some other idiot out there..,, or maybe I am the only one who would be so dumb. :)


(Using Tapatalk on iPhone so can't easily 'thank' or 'like'.)

Keep in mind that the hose (assuming it's dangling down in front of your outboard in the splashwell) is only for flushing when the motor IS NOT running.

The hose attachment will only circulate water around your engine block running/not running but not your lower unit (impeller pump)

And I think you already know what will happen to your impeller if it receives no water?

It's best to use muffs, tank/drum. I use a cut down plastic drum.

There are no dumbies.

There are not stupid people.

Only stupid salespeople...boats that is.

Who don't explain before BMT leaves their yard.

We are all still learning. Me included.

midcoast learner
03-03-2013, 12:05 PM
Don't worry WalrustLike . Just found the same hose the other day after a month of using muffs . Went from 2 stroke to 4 stroke . However as LittleSkipper says . I was informed to keep using the muffs so the impeller also gets the fresh water flush . Also as i think most have done . I have left bungs out a couple of times .

LittleSkipper
03-03-2013, 12:25 PM
On a much lighter note the funniest mistake I have made is launching the boat, climbing aboard said vessel, attempting to place outboard in trim down position and.....it doesn't move????? Hah!

I forgot to remove the outboard brace!!! Doh!

jhmtaylor
19-03-2013, 03:37 PM
The dumbest thing I have done. I was working on my boat and had removed the chain holding the bow to the trailer but left the winch connected. Anyhow I needed to run up to the servo about 1Km away and as it was a short trip I did not bother to re-connect the chain. When I took off at the lights the boat slid off the trailer and landed on the highway. Fortunately it was a bullet proof tinny and there was no damage. Fortunately it was a quiet afternoon and there weren't many people around. With the help of a bystander I was able to quickly get it back on the trailer before someone I knew recognised me turned up. A valuable lesson Don't trust boat winches.

WalrusLike
24-03-2013, 07:02 PM
Aw crap.... Done two today.

First up I used the Coast Guard SafeTrx app for the first time today and then forgot to end trip. My apologies to any Coast Guard on here. Luckily the app showed me traveling up the highway so I doubt they really thought I was sunk.... Good app that... Good for them and good for us.

Second up I put hose on hose fitting to flush the motor with fresh water. Motor not running just flushing. Then I put the muffs on and start the motor so bottom of leg and impeller get flushed also. Previously I used to run motor for 15 mins annoying the neighbors but now using the hose fitting first at top of motor I only later connect the muffs and run the motor for a minute or two.

About 50 seconds in I realized that on the far side of the motor the flush hose was dangling off and water peeing out it. The tell tale still ran so no real harm but stupid error.

Still, it was a lovely day on the water and both mistakes were no harm done. Apologies again to the Coast Guard.


(Using Tapatalk on iPhone so can't easily 'thank' or 'like'.)

Moonlighter
24-03-2013, 07:19 PM
Hi Walrus

Heres the procedure that I use for flushing, as recommended by my mechanic Jon Eadie.

Run on muffs for a good 8 or 10 minutes. Long enough to get it properly warm and for the thermostat to open. Takes less time if run on muffs soon after running on water.

Turn engine off. Disconnect muffs.

Then attach hose to flush connector and let run for another 10 minutes.

Done!

sharkcat one
24-03-2013, 08:10 PM
Hi Guy's,

Just wanted to share my experience with flushing my outboard. I bought a 115 opti-max in early 2007 and have never flushed my engine ever. Although my boat is run in the water 1 to 3 times a week ( saltwater ) , mostly only once a week.
Had my mechanic check over the engine on my last service and he said it is as good as new.
He also said ( on the quiet) if you run your engine in water once a week ( even salt) their is really no need to flush your motor. The problems only occur when the motor is left sitting for a couple of weeks.
He also said even if you flush your motor after your trip and leave your boat sitting around for a couple of weeks you still should flush the motor each week or two.

The longest that I have not driven my boat is about 3 weeks.

Don't get me wrong , I am not saying everybody should stop flushing their motors , but it is interesting that I have never flushed the outboard in 6 years and there is no damage.

Cheers
Scott

Back In Black
31-03-2013, 06:14 AM
Did a beauty on Friday. Anchored on Sunshine Reef, & decided to shift . Using the winch, started to pull up, but once I got tension on the rope, the anchor winch was slipping & I was losing rope.
Mate gets up front & has a look. Pass him a screwdriver & he takes the cover off. He can see there is a problem, but can't work out how to fix it.
We start to hand haul it in, when I looked down & see I still had it in free fall mode!!!!!!!!!!!
He will never let me forget that & I will never do it again (I hope)

Tony

boboncc
11-05-2013, 01:05 PM
I took the wife out yesterday for her first time in the boat with a bottle of bubbly (for her not me :()
The weather was perfect and we had a great time!

After a big day and being tired then the mistake ...........I forgot to remove the trailer lock and managed to stuff it when I had to park the trailer in a tight spot back home.
Oh well I won't do that again and at $50 for a new lock, I think I came out of my first boating mistake cheaply, and I haven't told her! ;D

Cheers
Bob

Back In Black
11-05-2013, 02:03 PM
Need to know basis Bob, & the missus doesn't need to know that one!

boboncc
11-05-2013, 04:02 PM
Need to know basis Bob, & the missus doesn't need to know that one!

100% correct!

stevemid
11-05-2013, 04:22 PM
Hi Walrus

Heres the procedure that I use for flushing, as recommended by my mechanic Jon Eadie.

Run on muffs for a good 8 or 10 minutes. Long enough to get it properly warm and for the thermostat to open. Takes less time if run on muffs soon after running on water.

Turn engine off. Disconnect muffs.

Then attach hose to flush connector and let run for another 10 minutes.

Done!
I was always told not to put cold water into a radiator (or into a motor) unless the motor is running as there is a chance of cracking the block due to the sudden temperature change.

Since I haven't launched my boat yet, I'm very interested in this subject. Added complication: I'm going to be on a mooring. I've been thinking of making up some heavy plastic boots that I can put over the legs. These would go on with the motors trimmed up and be long enough to be above the water line with the motors trimmed down. When flushing, I plan to fill these with water from the tanks, then flush the motors. If I do it this way, what added benefit would I get from pushing water through the flusher fitting?
Steve

Justin Rossiter
11-05-2013, 05:42 PM
Why just yesterday I came home minus one winch handle :(

paullee
11-05-2013, 06:30 PM
Ok so i havent read all 10 pages of stuff ups but after years of boating and especially in the days when we would be out on the town most of the night then go fishing a few ones that might not have appeared yet are: mistaking a rod holder for the fuel filler and literally pumping litres and litres of super into the boat!! My mate made it 5 miles off syd heads to catch up with us where he put it in reverse to keep talking to us, We took off as he was going to stay where we were and fish. He had to stay there as he had lost his prop. 3 hours later we went back there to find him anchored with a v sheet out> No mobile phones in those days......I must have seen at least 6 boats hit the deck on ramps cos dudes take winch straps off at the top of the ramp.. Had the trailer come off the ball while launching recently due to the catch not being latched correctly....seen a dude do it a week or 2 later so thats not new either....oh well happy boating...

tigermullet
11-05-2013, 07:40 PM
I was always told not to put cold water into a radiator (or into a motor) unless the motor is running as there is a chance of cracking the block due to the sudden temperature change.

Since I haven't launched my boat yet, I'm very interested in this subject. Added complication: I'm going to be on a mooring. I've been thinking of making up some heavy plastic boots that I can put over the legs. These would go on with the motors trimmed up and be long enough to be above the water line with the motors trimmed down. When flushing, I plan to fill these with water from the tanks, then flush the motors. If I do it this way, what added benefit would I get from pushing water through the flusher fitting?
Steve

Not flushing used to worry me too! After 12 years on a mooring and never flushing the outboard - too difficult and fresh water was scarce - I stopped worrying. There was never a hint of a problem. Modern outboards are great. I hope you have the same outcome.

Xtreme
11-05-2013, 07:50 PM
Walrus like,

Great initiative to create this post, well done. A slight distraction but a common mistake I used to make was having the headlights on when backing down the ramp at night / first light. Switching the main beam off makes it so much easier for others in that first light. Backing down Raby Bay last Sat with 3 cars all with headlights on was impossible. Not an obvious one but makes life much easier for others.

tunaticer
11-05-2013, 07:59 PM
Biggest mistake I ever made was telling the mrs I was going to buy her a new car this yr......every week she reminds me of it. I should have bit my tongue and just handed her the keys to the new car in two months time.

Still_Dreamin
11-05-2013, 09:53 PM
Tunaticer I made a similar mistake last year when bought my boat. Promised the misses a car "next year" to seal the deal. Since Jan 1st i have been reminded every bloody day

Justin Rossiter
12-05-2013, 05:38 AM
Tunaticer and Still Dreamin, a closed mouth gathers no foot !!!

I promised my wife a ride, in the boat that is.


J

Fed
12-05-2013, 09:02 AM
We were out last week, the Missus was driving and I reached across, gave her underarm a pat & said, "Hey Chicken Arms... Bawk, Bawk, Bawk!"

Probably my biggest mistake for the year....

tunaticer
12-05-2013, 12:34 PM
We were out last week, the Missus was driving and I reached across, gave her underarm a pat & said, "Hey Chicken Arms... Bawk, Bawk, Bawk!"

Probably my biggest mistake for the year....

I bet you are fed giblets for a yr now!!

Hossfish
16-05-2013, 01:20 PM
The Brittany Spears song "whoops i did it again" is so appropriate for boaties.
Decided to take the boat for a run as it hadn't been used for a while.
Long story short boat is a 6.4m Stejcraft and as i was by myself it need a bit of extra planning. Got to the ramp and into the riggijng bay at the Moreton Bay boat club, boat launched ok and tied up the the jetty (time to pat self on the back NOT) i was just starting back up the ramp when i got that horrible niggling feeling that i am sure a lot of us have experienced." F..." forgot the bung, car into park, handbrake on and sprint to the boat.

Sure as shit there was the bung just wafting around in the current and i am sure i heard it laughing at me. Shirt off, cap off, sunnies off and into the water (forgot about the sandels.) and bung in.
Fortunately when the boat slid back into the water the bung had partially lodged in the hole so not to much water in and the bilge pump handled the rest.

I will never ceased to be amazed at my own stupidity.

But wait there's more. I made the fatal mistake of telling my wife and kids about the incident and they proceded to roll about on the floor in fits of uncontrolable laughter.

Yep whoops I did it again.

Safe boating to all

Cheers Greg

Hossfish
16-05-2013, 02:45 PM
PS

In my defence it's been about 14 years since i made that particular mistake

Safe boating to all

Cheers Greg

jmwarner
20-05-2013, 01:01 PM
I've had my boat for near a year now and there's a few thing I've learnt coming up from little tinny and rubber duckies.

1. Don't take mates out that don't know what they're doing. Went out with some mates off Mud and towards the end of the day one says I don't know what it is the fish just keep biting my hooks off. We had been catching nothing but under size snapper so I knew something was wrong so I had a look at his line and from the curls and bends the knot had come undone. What type of knot are you doing? I've been doing 3 they can't be coming undone. Yea but what knot? he replies, just a normal one. My hands over my face I paused and asked him already knowing the answer have you been doing F$%^ing granny knots all day and of course he had and had also been through an entire packet of hooks. So one lesson, never trust an aerospace engineer with a knot!
2. Like many others I forgot the bungs one day with the missus. I put the boat in parked the car came down to the ramp and looked in the back of the boat to see a few things floating and straight away realised I had forgotten the bungs. I threw the keys to the missus and told her to go get the car thinking if I can at least get it half up the trailer if something goes wrong it'll be saveable. So I jump in and flick the bilge on hoping it still works grabbed the bungs and in I went. First one in and the boat is drifting a bit so I ask the guy at the ramp next to me if he could hold the boat for a sec as I go to put the second bung in it slips out of my hand and is donated to the creek. Now I'm in a bit of trouble, I figure I'll just plug it up with my hand and get it up on the trailer. Luckily the guy next to me at the ramp had a spare he gave me so with the water pumping out and everything restored we headed out as I politely explained to the missus that water stays outside the boat and if its inside something's wrong. So always carry a spare couple of bungs and don't forget them.
3. I had to get the springs and axles replaced on the trailer because they were literally falling apart and it was just a matter of luck it hadn't collapsed yet. They needed it over night so the plan was to launch from cabbage tree and fish the Brisbane river cause the weather was due to be a bit unpleasant. Heading out into the bay early morning we all knew it was not going to be a comfortable so I told the 2 hungover guys to head down the back cause it won't be as bad. Not far outside the mouth I cut the usual path I take and end up getting a bit rougher so I checked the depth and holy shit I'm in 1m of water. I turn to head further out into the bay greeted with some peaking and breaking waves it was the first time I've been scared of sinking a boat. growing up with a mini thunder cat if it flipped I could just pull it back over but not with a glass half cab. So I pointed the nose straight and started to push through the waves. the nose o the boat is flying up and down but I had the motor completely down and couldn't work out what the hell was happening. I turned around and all 4 mates looking like a puppy in trouble are huddled down the back. I told the heaviest 2 don't ask just get as far up in the cab as you can right now and just hang on. After a few minutes of ploughing through it eased up and I was able to head into the channel. Hands shaking we got into the river and within an hour I get a call saying the parts weren't ready from the galvanisers so after all that nothing got fixed. So I learnt very quickly to stay aware of your surroundings and stay well clear of any shallow water when there's a bit of swell.

And the old not locking the trailer onto the tow ball I haven't done but my old man has with a 50k caravan for a lap around the block to park it. Thank god he didn't take the hill route.

Funchy
20-05-2013, 05:13 PM
Out by myself on saturday cruising around with the Ipilot at the end of my track when I thought hmmmm.... Might move......hang on what's that??? Big bust up about 200 meters away, yank the cord on the yammy, WOT, nose goes up in the air as I get up on the plane, hit full speed as the nose slowly comes down as I tear arse over to the greatest fish hauling session you've ever seen when I come to a screaming halt and get covered in cold water on a brisk dawn....... Ummmmmm.... Forgot to put the leccy back up.....


No harm done to the Minnkota but I froze my arse off for the next hour or so :)

Lesson learnt

WalrusLike
30-05-2013, 06:20 AM
Here's a newie for me.,.

Tired after a big weekend, I was careful to check all secure before heading home. It's a long trip but amazingly I didn't need to brake firmly even once.....

If I had braked firmly I probably would've noticed a reluctance to slow, because the reversing latch was still down. No trailer cable brake assist happening....

I didn't think it could be done without noticing, but apparently it can. Lucky I didn't need to stop suddenly.

Now that's actually a dangerous mistake that I never want to do again. Normally I do at least one nudge of brakes at start of trip to confirm all is well but I must have forgotten this time.

I can always feel the lurch release as I accelerate too, but this time i didn't notice it wasn't happening.



(Using Tapatalk on iPhone so can't easily 'thank' or 'like')

lbger
30-05-2013, 11:38 AM
dropping the boat in... a mate takes the car back and parks it while i take the boat to the pontoon.. go out fishing for the day get back and old mate has left the lights on in the car and the battery is dead...my favourite!!

gpz1991
30-05-2013, 08:34 PM
Had and done a few things over the years,

1: launch boat drive off mate parks car, hot day get back after 8 hrs on water, the clown locked the car no worries with the windows down, very lucky nothing stolen.

2: launch current boat when I first got it same mate parks car, get back after day out trailer gard hanging off, mate has forgotten 6.5 m trailer traks differently to his tinny trailer and hit post, " just forgot to tell me"

3: went out in mates ski boat, said this sits low it the water, reply yep and handles great, should have seen his face when the water hit his feet, WOT back to the ramp to put the bungs in.

4: driving off with burley bag still out took 5 min to get the cord out of prop

5: Never left bungs out yet, have a routine bungs go in as I load boat at home, then checked as rear tie downs are removed

6: never use Chinese seals or bearings again , replaced all my bearing and seals one year, drove Melb to bermagui Bearing failed 20 min outside of bermagui, slept in car till shop opened next morn, second bearing failed on way home, drove 400 K on 3 wheels, now carry spare bearings grease and tools even for local trips and only use SKF or timkin bearings

7: did the Good Samaritan thing in the old boat 15 ft runabout 40 hrs yamand towed a guy 20 ft haines who had broken down, with little thanks, anchored up fished for a few hrs, kicked fuel tank and realised it was empty, lucky always have 10 lt as back up

8: drive 4.5 hrs to Portland to go tuna fishing, kids had been playing in boat and left lights on, had to take battery out of car, always check now before I leave home

grumpysmurf
04-06-2013, 11:46 PM
After years of big boat and never beach anchoring or taking the kids on a biscuit, I got a signature with a stress free anchor. First time beach anchored (stern in) nicely I was quite proud.

Loaded the kids in the boat and another in the biscuit. Removed the stern anchor and slowly pulled the biscuit off the shore.

With 3 other boatful if people watching, I went forward and could not work out why I couldn't pull the biscuit off the beach. The main anchor was still firmly holding ground !

JulianDeMarchi
05-06-2013, 07:50 AM
Took my boat out Saturday. Drove the trailer off the gutter at home then I herd a big bang! My trailer was not locked onto the tow bar correctly....

solemandownunder
05-06-2013, 12:51 PM
Took my boat out Saturday. Drove the trailer off the gutter at home then I herd a big bang! My trailer was not locked onto the tow bar correctly....

THAT is one of the things I check about 20 times before I leave...that & the safety chain hook-up.8-)

I always have this morbid feeling of doing JUST that....but @ 80 klms an hour.....on the way to the ramp.:o

Funchy
10-06-2013, 06:22 PM
Another ID 10 T error today :(

Launched and slowly motored out past the 6knot zone, twitsted the grip to go WOT and heard a god almighty grinding and gnashing sound. Initial thoughts were i had stripped gears and chunked all sorts of internals. Lifted the motor and there was this thick 3mm thick rod type apparatus wrapped around my prop..... Geez, wonder where that came from. Lean over the transom, twist and unwrap said obstruction....... Hmmmmm..... Its in good knick. Looks very similar gauge rod to my ear muffs.............. DOH!!!!!!


Flushed the motor in an old garbage bin today :(

WalrusLike
10-06-2013, 09:09 PM
Aw crap Funchy.... That's one I never even thought off.... I am bound to do it sometime soon now that you've mentioned it.... :)

Thanks for adding to the exciting range of ways I might screw up. :)


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

gpz1991
11-06-2013, 10:19 PM
[/B]

THAT is one of the things I check about 20 times before I leave...that & the safety chain hook-up.8-)

I always have this morbid feeling of doing JUST that....but @ 80 klms an hour.....on the way to the ramp.:o

Stopped at the local boat shop to grab some bits with boat on, down drive on way out front crossmember bottomed out, thought that feels strange as I drove up the road, realised that trailer had come off the ball, Monday morning had to explain to the boss what the anchor shaped dint was in the back of my work ute, lucky he's a boater took it very well, always check the clip is locked in now, don't think he'd take it as well with the new ute

solemandownunder
12-06-2013, 06:24 AM
Another ID 10 T error today :(

Launched and slowly motored out past the 6knot zone, twitsted the grip to go WOT and heard a god almighty grinding and gnashing sound. Initial thoughts were i had stripped gears and chunked all sorts of internals. Lifted the motor and there was this thick 3mm thick rod type apparatus wrapped around my prop..... Geez, wonder where that came from. Lean over the transom, twist and unwrap said obstruction....... Hmmmmm..... Its in good knick. Looks very similar gauge rod to my ear muffs.............. DOH!!!!!!


Flushed the motor in an old garbage bin today :(

Dont feel too bad Funchy...we have driven off in the morn with the earmuffs still attached on 2 occasions now.

I always run the motor the night before going out...

The only saving grace was that the HOSE was still attached and Kerri spotted it both times while I was bringing the ute up to the front gate ;D

Cheers, R & K.

ozscott
12-06-2013, 08:31 AM
Having crap in the fuel bowls and engine stalling coming off the throttle...coming home before cleaning them and coming off the back of a wave and she stops...big wave and I was thrown sideways a little. Bugger but this time she wouldn't re-start. Vmr towed me back. Sling shotted into the beach. Went to grab my car keys...what's that in the side pocket...its the laynard for the engine kill switch. ..bit embarrassing. I hadnt been wearing it but must.have caught it as I fell. I always wear it now...

Cheers

Chanlo
12-06-2013, 07:36 PM
I'm glad im not the only one!

in the 5 years I have owned three boats and done all of the below at one time or another!

- I have left the bungs out on multiple occasions including a 24kms trip out to sea and until the auto bilge kicked in and we could see water on deck
- Left the live bait tank going on until i got home and burnt the motor out
- Left the winch handle on a few times until I lost it
- left the side cushions on until I lost it out at sea
- left the trailer brakes on for the trip to the ramp
- havent put the tow ball down properly and it came off at the end of my street into the back of my car!
- left the electrics going and flatten the battery a few times
- forgot the sounder after a 30 minute drive
- forgot the boat keys after a 30 minute drive
- forgot the keys to open the console after a 5 hour drive to camp for a week. In the console was the sounder, minn kota remote and all my lures.
- Same trip didnt lift anchor up when taking off to tow a tube... clunk... engine stops and anchor chain is wrapped around the prop... it took chunks out of the prop!

I may be the most useless on this site!

and I still never make a list! I remember everything these days after learning the hardway!

Crunchy
12-06-2013, 07:55 PM
Crickey mate, think I'll send you a copy of my "things to do before heading off boating" list!

MrNanks
12-06-2013, 08:21 PM
This will be just the start of my many entries here I would think.
I had my new second hand boat on the driveway and I checked everything over before I headed out to Peel Island including the 120 lt fuel tank full to the fill lip. At the time I thought it was a bonus. Anyway after a great day at Peel Island with the kids and I headed home to the Redland Bay boat ramp. Then that horrible feeling of " oh crap" we ran out of fuel. Luckily enough a fellow fisherman towed me in.
I was staggered that we had used 120 lt of fuel in a few hours of running around. When I got home lifted the floor covers up to double check the tanks dimensions. Yep definitely holds 120. The only problem was that the tank was 180 mm deep and the driveway is slightly down hill so of course the tank looked full you idiot.

Chanlo
12-06-2013, 08:35 PM
Haha most happen when i'm running late, over excited about fishing or someone is rushing me (missus). Also when I go with anyone but my brother in law because we have the boat preparation down pat and when go with someone else things get missed

JulianDeMarchi
24-06-2013, 06:50 AM
Two more to my list.

The other night I;

- forgot the drift alarm and my anchor lifted up in a quick tide and we came with a bee's dick of a beacon
- got back to boat ramp and decide to drop my motor on my finger while placing the engine support on

boboncc
03-12-2013, 05:00 PM
I did a dumb thing today. Whilst checking and loading the boat at home before heading off, I noticed the muffs were still on from when I last flushed. no probs I'll get that in a minute and then forgot!
How I didn't see them when I took the tie downs off I don't know, must have slipped rearwards when I started moving as I had a tell tail and later were still attached when I loaded the boat on the trailer.
Mental note: don't tell the wife and slow down when checking the boat ....... I think I was lucky to get away with it!!!!!!! :)

Cheers
Bob

robfish 1
03-12-2013, 06:12 PM
Oh Boy! After 30 yrs of boating, I have plenty of tales to tell, but the funniest, (looking back after 30 yrs anyway), is the first. Not long after we took possession of our first boat, a Quintrex Breezeabout, we decided to launch in Westernport Bay at Hastings ramp. Not aware that I needed to religiously follow the channel markers, I ran aground on the falling tide, halfway out the 2km channel.

Ah - easy fix! I'll just throw out the anchor until it snags, and pull us through the 6 ins of water. Ever tried to snag a danforth anchor in slippery mud? Doesn't work at all - and after 8-10 throws, that 10lb danforth felt like it weighed 50lbs!

Oh well - I'll get over the side and push us off. Whoosh! Straight up to the privates in thick, gooey mud, and still no sign of the bottom! Dragged myself out by hanging onto the gunnels, fighting the suction all the way, and as soon as the mud started to dry in the 35 degree heat, this awful pong started. No water to wash me or the boat off, so the missus had to put up with the stench, almost gagging it was so foul. Tried the same stunt again, only using the lid of a fish box to stand on to spread the load - gee I miss that fishbox lid!
I thought then - since we're so close to the channel, we may as well fish until the tide turns. Hot under the collar, and everywhere else due to the heat, I grabbed a mussel and tore it open using brute force, rather than a knife. Sure enough, the mussel shattered, deeply slashing both thumbs in the process. I was now bleeding like a stuck pig, and stinking to high heaven, so my wife did the only sensible thing a good wife would do, and took shelter from my anger and ravings under the bow!

Growing angrier every minute with other boats passing us and waving at the d@#khead stuck on the mud, when the CG finally came past and offered us assistance, I was so angry with myself and everyone else, I was about to tell them to f@#k off - when the missus hailed them and politely asked them to tow us back into the channel.
After doing so, and thanking them profusely, I accidentally flooded the motor, and couldn't get it started!
With the tide now turned and pushing in quite fast, it was up to the missus to fend us off from all the moored boats we were drifting through, whilst I tried to start the motor - which finally caught, so I roared back into the ramp, determined to get away from this hellhole, only to cop a fine for exceeding the speed limit in the channel!
It took a long time to convince my wife to come boating again, and for me to fish Westernport again!

robfish 1
03-12-2013, 06:24 PM
Another Westernport adventure had me way up a channel hooking into some great KG Whiting. I called a mate over on the radio, and he was soon planing over at a good turn of speed. Shame he didn't see the mud bank just under water between us!
My mate's son was standing on his seat waving when they hit the mudbank at high speed. I swear, their halfcab decelerated to 0 knots within 5 ft!
My mate's teenage son was catapulted clear over the windscreen and hit the mud like a surfboard! He must have travelled 100ft before coming to a stop. Bloody funny, and lucky that the only thing hurt was his pride. At least they caught some Whiting after the event!

WalrusLike
03-12-2013, 08:17 PM
Wow. Some classics there. :)

Thanks for sharing.