It pays to check your trailer

[bonka]

Shades of "How not to launch a boat"

This is written with some embarrasment.

Last week bought a brand new redco trailer. Spent Saturday pm on the hard at home winching the boat on and off while setting up the many rollers these rigs have.

On Sunday decided to take the family to the Tweed river for lunch and fish. On the way there and while cornering I heard a clanking sound as something hit the road...must have been one of my tools I thought... but too much traffic to stop.

Arrived at the ramp and with some excitement backed down the ramp. Stood astride the draw bar and began winching the boat down. As the boat was halfway off, the draw bar popped off the tow ball and sprang up whacking me in goolies. There I was, standing on tip toes waiting for the pain and for the next stage as I expected to get lifted higher. Luckily for me, the safety chain held the draw bar from going any higher. Hopped off my "horsy ride" and decided to continue launching the boat trying not to notice the several on-lookers gigling not too politely.

Wife was very concerned for me but I laughed it off while trying not to grimace too much. She took the boats bow line while I hobbled bow legged back into the car. While driving up the ramp with the trailer still on the safety chain...my brain wasn't working as well as it should have been...there was another clatter. Stopping clear half way up the ramp, a bystander who witnessed all this, came to me carrying the winch handle and a guide roller attached to its mounting bracket both of which had just fallen off. After a red faced thank you I parked the lot. On inspection I discovered the metallic noise I heard on the road was one of the roller guides falling off...forgot to tighten it properly. The draw bar came off was the bolt and nut holding the thumb locking lever had worked lose.

Sorry about the length of this post but thought someone may get a laugh from this or learn something from my experience?

[smiley=hammer.gif]

[land_based]

You poor bugger, isn't it funny one thing goes wrong and it all just falls to pieces from there.

[subzero]

Thank god for the safety chain or you would be elligible to join the Vienna Boy's choir [smiley=bigcry.gif]
Trust me, I am guaranteed to have learnt from the error of your ways.... good luck when the mood arises, hope all things being equal the little fellas survived their ordeal ;D ;D ;D
Cheers Lloyd

[bidkev]

Puts a whole new slant on "ball hitch" ;D I'm surprised you had the "balls" to post this ;D..........and with a name like "bonka" too :o ;D

Glad it wasn't any more serious mate.

kev

Challenges can be stepping stones or stumbling blocks. It's just a matter of how you view them.

[bonka]

;DHey, some of your comments are much funnier than the original demise.


Brent

[bonka]

"Or heck, there's more. Might as well come clean. Did I mention that after a great day out and on a nearly low tide while I was about to retrieve the boat, I walked down the side of the ramp and then slipped arse over turkey on the slime. Came down quite heavy too as I'm a bit of a lump. Hand out to stop the fall and sliced open the palm of my left hand on oyster shells. Tried to keep smiling as I grabbed the winch cable, dripping blood everywhere. Completely forgot about bruised knackers by then.

Next time should be great?

Do I love boating? ya bet!

[Freeeedom]

Been there, done that! Hasn't every boatie? How many times have you launched your boat with the bungs out? When will we ever learn?
Cheers Freeeedom

[fastmantis]

Crikey mate what an experience that must of been hope the tackle and your pride didn't get too damaged did u at least catch some fish

Mantis

[bonka]

Nah, Baited the kids up with chicken fillet pieces. Hooks too big I reckon, they were about this size...------------------- with a bend Tried whole pillies as well. Heaps of bait steelers but nothing landed. Should I have stayed at home?

Brent

[gone_phishin]

Talk about taking the shine off the family jewels ;D ;D ;D

Geeez that hurts even reading about it.

I remember years ago in Gove NT I was antifouling the yacht on the beach and tipped a roller tray full into me lap. Spent the next 4 hours under the showers (cold) at the yacht club. Poor little blighters never came out for a month :-[ and when they did they just peeled for 2 weeks!!!

Never got any crabs for ages though 8-) ::)

Geoff

[onerabbit]

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D.

Sorry to laugh, I was squirming in my seat just reading it.

After a day like that, can it get any worse????

Muzz

[Gbanger]

some days you are just in the wars.... i feel sorry for you mate, did you get that vomitous feeling after the knad knocking?

[blaze]

brought tears to my eyes, can't image what it done to yours
cheers
blaze

[tshort]

Bloody Hell, that was exactly the laugh I needed this morning. Cant wait for your next report. Well done.

[whiteman]

That's why I use a trailer lock. It stops the ball and hitch coming apart and hopefully deters tea leaves.

[Az]

Puts a whole new slant on "ball hitch" ;D I'm surprised you had the "balls" to post this ;D..........and with a name like "bonka" too :o ;D

Glad it wasn't any more serious mate.

kev

Challenges can be stepping stones or stumbling blocks. It's just a matter of how you view them.



;D ;D you're a crackup kev

Cheers for the laugh bonka, it's always good when it is at someone else's expense :P

[Fishin_Dan]

Shouldn't this be in the "Tackle Section" ;D ;D ;D he he he


This goes to show why you shouldn't stand behind the winch with a leg over the draw bar. Not only could this of happened, but if the winch cable snaps, it will come flying back at you! Better to put up with a broken back window of the car than trying to get surgery to put back on whatever the metal cable took off in it's flight!

Good to hear you are ok though mate!

[Mortalkombat]

i havent laughed so hard for a long time ;D Great story you have to have a boat to apperciate what you went through ;D that ramp is a dousie :'(
Nick

[Scalem]

Bonka,

Mate we all have our bad days, but I hope this is a rare event, or you better get your fathering duties over with quickly before you are rendered useless!! ;D

As a matter of interest, I will need to replace my trailer soon too, but I don't know if I can afford a new one. Don't know if you are the right man for advice though.. LOL PM some details of who got you the deal, I might check it out.

Scalem

[4x4frog]

;D Great post thanks. I had to stop reading or I'd wake up our 11yo who's sleeping now.
I haven't laughed so hard since I watched the Goodies DVD I got for x-mas. Hoping your tackle is still fishin'. I don't think even John Cleese could have written a better scritp though. ;)

Better luck with the next trip too mate.



Only 'bad' trip I ever hasd was when we got home and realized we had forgotten a whole drop of dillies, about 12 pots and went back to retrieve them after cleaning the boat >:(. We stopped to pick-up the first of the pots(yeah back when people were honest) and realized the bungs were at home.. :-[ :o.picked up all the post on the move ;D

[moondancer]

If we were all game enough to tell stories of our dopey experiences at the ramp I reckon we could all make a logie winning mini-series - everything ranging from your experience (ouch! you sure did it well!) to forgetting the bungs , to struggling to push the damn boat off for ages not noticing it is still tied down, etc.!! Maybe we should start a 'Truth" post!!

[Angla]

I feel your pain and hope you never have to do it that hard again.

Angla