Boat ramp manners.....

[Donziweasel]

I am not sure why this summer seems to be worse than others, but I guess one reason is that many of our western lakes are low, but Jackson is close to full. We are getting many people from Idaho, Utah and Montana coming to take advantage of our water, which is fine, because Jackson Lake is pretty big.

One thing that seems to be happening is a lack of consideration for those putting in and taking out. Instead of prepping the boats in the prep area, people are doing on the ramp. They are taking up to 30 minutes and to say I haven't had a confrontation or two is an understatement.

The worse was three weeks ago. After a weekend of camping, a thunderstorm started rolling in. All the sudden about 7 boats were floating off the ramp ready for thier trailers to back in and load up. First, this complete retard unloads a damn canoe off the top of his truck on the ramp. The he wouldn't move his truck while he waited for his wife. Many of us floating starting shouting to move the canoe to the beach and move his truck. He just sat there. Thunderstorm getting closer and now lightning is striking.

Then an old piece of crap cuddy is loaded next to him. The owners, instead of going to the prep area to secure the boat, started putting on covers, straps and the ultimate, wiping down the boat. Trucks and trailers stacking up, tempers running short, thunderstorm immenent. Then the dumb ass with the cuddy floors it forward and slams on his brakes, not because of pressure from other boaters, just because that is the way he thinks he should pull the boat out. The boat slides back on the trailer, then he backs into the water to get it back on. More mess and time wasted. It took 45 minutes to get out when I would have taken us 5. Both people were visitors from other states.

The moral to the story is have you s*&t together in the prep area, get you boat in fast, and get the hell out of the way. On taking out, get the trailer in the water, get the boat on, and move the the prep area to secure.

I'd like to hear some other stories of boat ramp messes on this thread as I am sure we have all been pushed to the limits of our patience before and can probably learn from others mistake.

[Last Tango]

Well, of the 9 Million powerboaters in this country. only a small handful have any skills or courtesy at the ramp. When I was a sailing guy, we used to say that all it takes to be a powerboater is a credit card and an IQ of 60. Then after a while we had to lower the IQ limit. Much lower.
I am frequently frustrated by the total lack of concern for others at the powerboat ramps. I am fortunate enough to have multiple ramps to pick from where I live, and I avoid all of the ones that the Sunday boaters use. I find that the ramps that cater to early morning fishermen tend to have a higher percentage of folks who can properly launch and retrieve a boat, often by themselves.
Still, no ramp seems to leave out the dumbies completely.

[BUIZILLA]

what LT said... :yes:

[VetteLT193]

There are a few things that should happen before being able to use a ramp.

1) Practice backing your trailer up in an empty parking lot somewhere. Don't practice in front of me, on Saturday, at the ramp.

2) Your first 5 times out need to be during the week. The weekends are reserved for people who have done this before.

3) After your first 5 times out during the week, and all your practice backing up a trailer, you better have come up with some sort of a plan. keep this plan in mind for trips 6-infinity, and freaking use the plan to make sure you are not in the way and things go semi smooth

4) It is at least 10x harder to back up your boat in front of other people. No one knows why, but it is. Even the most experienced boater has looked like a fool at some point backing his boat up, so you better concentrate so you don't make yourself out to be a total, complete, retarded, and idiotic moron.

5) If your boat and SUV are new, the dude with the old truck towing his 1988 Donzi is already expecting you to be a complete dumbass. At the very least try to only take up one side of the ramp while you struggle to figure out the difference between turning the wheel right and left.:boggled:

[Marlin275]

I was launching at an open two launch ramp and pulled right in to launch.
I took a few minutes to get it all ready.
Next thing a guy comes up to me and asks when I will be ready and
I have to point out to him he can use the space right next to me and he seemed all indignant!
He had to pull around me from the prep area.
Had a Mini and jet-ski trailer, so must have been a nube.
How do you win with these people?

[Donziweasel]

One of my favorites is when it is a two ramp space and a guy backs down the middle taking up both ramps. :mad::mad::mad:

[Marlin275]

I have seen more than once, a person park their car and trailer on the ramp and go boating leaving it right there for hours.
We have an unregulated ramp so it's like the wild west sometimes !
The wild west couldn't have been this bad?
Fire-Rescue department moved in last year so its getting better.

[Carl C]

Ah, another advantage to being a week-day boater! About all you can do is try to set a good example by launching quickly if others are waiting. This problem will always exist unless the ramps are policed. I know it can be hard, especially with thunder-boomers rolling in, but bite your tongue and try not to get "water rage".

[f_inscreenname]

Try using a public boat ramp in Baltimore City for the last 15 years. http://www.supernova19.com/forumcw/Smileys/classic/shooting.gif
This is typical.
http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/7436/noparkingmt6.jpg

Cant get around him without wiping the side of his car out. He is on the pier checking out how the fishing is.:bonk:

Bliss is on its way (I hope). We just put in a contract on a new house and it comes with a neighborhood ramp.
http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/8403/untitled4lw8.jpg

[fegettes]

This is an interesting subject. I have had many an aggravating and frustrating experiences at boat ramps. There is a difference between an inexperienced boater, and one that seems to have that bad attitude. There For the inexperienced boater, I have offered my experienced help, and most times it has been well received. And once I have their acceptance, I have provided some boat ramp knowledge and suggestions on boat ramp courtesies. I left feeling like it had been well received, I hope so anyway. For the bad attitudes, ...... well, I just leave them alone.

Steve

[goatee]

I have seen more than once, a person park their car and trailer on the ramp and go boating leaving it right there for hours.

.

id like to see them pull the boat out with two flat tires on the trailer.:yes:

[Marlin275]

id like to see them pull the boat out with two flat tires on the trailer.:yes:
Good idea!
One time it was a jerk
and second time it was a Fire -Rescue diesel pick up with the engine running the whole time,
I thought it must be an emergency but no, just jet skiing around on the city budget !
They have a video camera on the ramp so no lawsuits?

[RickSE]

A few years ago I was prepping my boat in the "Boat Prep Area" and two roll bar boats come down the road, pass the prep area and go right to the ramp. I finished up my prep and headed down the ramp, pulling in behind the roll bar boats. I then noticed that these guys are prepping their boats on the ramp and the line in front of them has moved up. It didn't take me long to say "screw you guys" and pull around them in the line. They were a little grumpy at the bottom of the ramp, but tough, do your prep where you're supposed to.

[Carl C]

Just please if you're going to flatten someones tires take the valve core out, don't cut the tires. My boat doesn't need any prep to launch. Just snap on the front dock line, turn on the blower and back her into the water. There's really nothing to it for an experienced boater. It's the week-end warriors that are clueless.:wink:(OK, now I know someone is going to bring up me getting grounded on muck at White Lake, Todd, why didn't you warn me?:rlol:)

[goatee]

it was just a thought...but no,,, i wouldnt cut the tire.

[Donziweasel]

So, I have enjoyed all the responses to this thread, keep the stories coming!

[TBroccoli]

When taking the boat out of the water, who has the right of way. The boat in front of the line or the truck and trailer in the front of the line?

We launch at a place that has a narrow entrance to the ramp from the water so the boats line up at the end of the weekend waiting for their turn to come out. The road to the ramp is also narrow.

Most people, when its their turn, have a passenger hold the boat at the ramp while the driver retrieves the trailer. Some people drop a trailer retriever off at the gas dock and then wait in line behind the rest of the boats. That screws up both lines. The trailer arrives at the ramp well before the boat. Who has the right of way? Should the other boats let the trailer ready boat cut in line?

Tom

[DonziFreak]

you know, all of this can be frustrating when you are launching your pleasure boat....but try launching a race boat!!!!!!! the racers know the "proper" rules of the ramp, its just you get the damn a**holes that come in with there pleasure boats IN THE MIDDLE OF A DAMN RACE PREP and SCREAM at the racers for using the ramps!!!!! god its so stupid!!!!

as for launching my donzi, i love it when half the ramps say "Launching" and the other half say "Loading" and you have that one dumbass with a jetski loading on the launching ramp and the other dumbass with a 40-something ft PoS gettin stuck in the MIDDLE of a 2 boat ramp and wondering why his 1986 toyota pick-up can't pull out 10,000 pounds.....

[DonziFreak]

one more thing....i love it when the idiots forget to use there parking brakes and the cars slowly start to dip ever and ever closer to the blue depths....hahaha! i saw a guy lose a brand-new F-150...man i've never felt so bad for laughin so hard before....haha, sorry stranger!

[Sweet little 16]

in a well run ramp and marina there are 2 dump slips one for singles launching and one for singles loading then there are the ramps you don't pull your boat in until your trailer is at the ramp you wait in line loading or launching and if the ramp has a dock master you will be surprised how many boats can be handled in a short time some places can launch load 25 boats in about 45 minutes

[Carl C]

you know, all of this can be frustrating when you are launching your pleasure boat....but try launching a race boat!!!!!!! the racers know the "proper" rules of the ramp, its just you get the damn a**holes that come in with there pleasure boats IN THE MIDDLE OF A DAMN RACE PREP and SCREAM at the racers for using the ramps!!!!! god its so stupid!!!!
Ditto for the bass tournaments. I'm not too happy when I go to launch at my usually deserted launch ramp on a week-day and find 30 bass boats there but at least they are efficient. They really get 'em in and out fast and that's what I try to do even if no one is waiting. I like to amaze folks at how fast a 22' boat can be launched or retrieved alone when so many folks make a major deal out of launching an 18' Bayliner. It comes with experience. It's the part time boaters and newbies that screw it up. Sometimes on a holiday there will be a sheriff's deputy helping at the dock. That really speeds things up. Maybe more launch sites should use the fees collected to keep a ramp attendant on duty week-ends. I rarely go out on week-ends until evening and I feel bad for you guys caught up in the rat race. Then again it looks like I miss out on a lot of laughs too!

[show-n-go h2o]

This has been a huge issue this year at lake cumberland, i've lost my cool a few times with people loading and such on the ramp for 30 min., it's takes us about 3 min. to launch my 28. i dont understand what the hell people are doing or thinking when they hold up a ramp like that, they wouldnt park on a main road would they??????

[22billyzx]

i live in ne ohio,and the boat ramps are live entertainment!

[DonziFreak]

i live in ne ohio,and the boat ramps are live entertainment!


half my family lives up in ohio and i find half the things ya guys do entertaining :lookaroun:

[steven s]

for an experienced boater. It's the week-end warriors that are clueless.:wink:(OK, now I know someone is going to bring up me getting grounded on muck at White Lake, Todd, why didn't you warn me?:rlol:)

Can you define a experienced boater.

I can say that I have put in and out upward of 300 times.Probibly 100 or more times dirving the boat.But since I couldn't drive my dad backs the donzi in and people look at me as if I will do something really stupid.:crossfing:I have not had the chance to go solo,and do everything by myself.I just recently got my permit and I am starting to grasb the concept of backing up the trailer.

But for morons...A guy in a 340 searay tried to put the boat on a tandom axle
trailer.Once he thought every thing was ok.He proceded to pull out with a F 350 attached to the trailer with a F 150 attached with a strap.When the finally pulled it out to the prep area I suddenly heard a something snap
and I looked over to see the springs snapped on the left rear:eek!: .The boat was then blocking the exit with only a 9 foot wide gap.

[DonziFreak]

my father trained me to back up trailers when i was 13 at a boat race site with about 30+ people starring at me....talk about pressure for the first time! i just hate it when the fans walk RIGHT behind your trailer while your backing into your pit area or down the ramp.....

[Carl C]

Steven, it sounds like you have a lot of boating experience but not a lot of ramp experience. Using fuzzy math I've launched and retrieved a boat about 1,500 times. That's experience. I still have to stop and think: OK, I want the trailer to go right so I turn the truck left. I don't think that will ever come naturally. Today's chuckle at the ramp: boater on dock: "you got a V-8 in that thing?" Me: "Yeah, a great big one.":eek!:

[BUIZILLA]

some people can't quite grasp the basic theory.....

which ever way you want the boat to go when backing up, turn the BOTTOM of the steering wheel in that direction.... works EVERY time.. :yes:

[DonziFreak]

haha, i never thought about that!

[jahfool]

At what point does ones driving ability become a burden ... I know I have miss aligned myself for a launch once or twice, but I can always re align myself with one correction. Personally I have don't get too pissed when someone makes a driving mistake. I know that when backing down the ramp no one is trying to take for ever to get lined up.

However, I do take serious offense to those who don't do the prep work ahead of time. The only thing I have to do once the boat is in the water is unclip it and float it out of theway so I can go park ... that is it.

Another thing that gets me is when I have guests that don't understand the urgency of moving quickly when launching/retrieving. If you don't know what is going on stay out of the way ... Let's just say that the day gets off to a bad start after you have to let your friend know how you feel about them talking on their cell phone and standing between the truck and the trailer when pulling back out ...

[Last Tango]

Boat Ramp Manners. For most, it appears, this phrase is an oxymoron.

[DonziFreak]

Boat Ramp Manners. For most, it appears, this phrase is an oxymoron.

:yes::smash:

[Magicallbill]

All it takes to own/operate a vessel is money.
You do not have to be educated.
If it is not a requirement, people in general will not take the time to educate themselves.They are too busy with hectic lifestyles.
The result is all the stories in this thread.

Start one about people docking, and you'll get similar anecdotes.
I'm scared to leave my Ski Sporter to go get lunch in the dockside eatery anymore..People miss already docked boats by inches..Sometimes they don't miss them at all.....
You would think that they'd have a rudimentary knowledge of basic boat-handling, but few do.....