Boat Ramp Newbies: What Ya Gonna Do?
 

Okay, so we became the proud owners of Shazaam!, our '94 182 Barchetta, just about this time last season. We had an offer of a free slip on a very large lake, so we splashed her and kept her in the water. The point to this part of the story is to explain why, after a year of ownership, we're still boat ramp n00bz.

This year we decided to keep her in the driveway, trailer her to where we wanted to boat, splash her when we wanted to go boating with her, keep her out of the water when not. We didn't want the scum, yellowing and potential for blistering, and we certainly didn't want bottom paint on her. Plus there are dozens of very nice lakes all around us.

So, this afternoon, our... third? Yes, our third launch of Shazaam!, at a new-to-us ramp. How did we (and by "we" I mean me) foul-up? Let me count the ways:

• Would've made sense to remove and stow the covers before leaving the driveway
• Don't forget to put the drain plug in before backing the trailer into the water
• Don't forget to remove the tie-down straps in the rear before backing the trailer into the water (the second time)
• Don't drive the tow vehicle & trailer all the way to the other end of the parking area, walk all the way back to the boat (tying up a ramp all this time) only to discover that you'd left the boat's ignition key in the tow vehicle

:rolling_laugh:

Luckily the ramp area wasn't real busy and we (okay, I) provided much amusement for the more experienced boaters there at the time :).

The drain plug thing was funny. Backed trailer into water. Got out to see positioning for myself. Looked, saw stream of water coming out of the aft starboard side of the boat. Train of thought: "What the hell? Oh yeah, bilge pump. Waitaminute... Where's all that water coming from? I drained all the water out of her when we hauled her yester... Oh!"

Jim

Re: Boat Ramp Newbies: What Ya Gonna Do?
 

:worry_to_laugh:

No need to worry...stuff like that happens to the best of us. I also kept my boat wet all summer until 3 years ago. The first time that I trailered her in to ramp I forgot to put the plug in all together. After parking the tow vehicle I got back to the ramp and thought...where in the heck is all that water coming from that my bilge pump is kicking out? Then I realized, oh yeah, plug! After running back to the truck to get the plug and jumping into mid March Maryland extremely cold water...I learned a valuable lesson. Luckily the bilge pump was working that day or I would have had a big problem on my hands.

Good times,

Rick

Re: Boat Ramp Newbies: What Ya Gonna Do?
 

Glad to hear you've got a sense of humor about it. Hope the rest of your weekend was better than the start of it!

Re: Boat Ramp Newbies: What Ya Gonna Do?
 

Actually, the time on the lake (only about two hours--the weather was turning) was great.

It'll get better/easier with practice :)

Jim

Re: Boat Ramp Newbies: What Ya Gonna Do?
 

Hey Jim, we all do things like that occasionally! Hell, I've had boats for almost 20 years and last year launched the 240 without taking the straps off. I think my wife is still laughing at me. One little trick for me is I keep the keys in a little bag with the plug so I can't forget to put it in (this gettin old is gettin old)
And don't worry, everybody likes a little entertainment at the ramp,:worry_to_laugh:

Re: Boat Ramp Newbies: What Ya Gonna Do?
 

Thanks for sharing. I keep a wrench and the plug in a ziplock in the rear deck cooler. Comes in handy and is right where I need it.

You should have seen the first launch I did. The guy I bought the boat from didn't tell me one of the board banks on the trailer was missing a nut. The board floated and went 90 degrees to the side. We got the boat back on it and I fixed that as soon as I got home. Wife still smiling.

Re: Boat Ramp Newbies: What Ya Gonna Do?
 

You think that's bad. The first time I launched (or tried to ) my 1994 Barchetta I was using a borrowed roller trailer. I had only ever used a bunk trailer before. Well guess who unlocked the winch prior to backing down the ramp. There were about 7 people in a boat fueling up when I dropped my boat onto the ground about 8 feet shy of the waters edge. The bow stayed up on the trailer so I winched it back onto the trailer and did not do any damage that I can see but it scared the crap out of my 2 kids and me who were in the boat as my wife backed it up. Talk about feeling stupid.

Had to pull the boat out the next day to fix a slight problem and while pulling onto the trailer I picked up some loser's old strap on the bottom of the lake. It was the ratchet style strap and when it wrapped around the prop it folded it in half. So a week without my new boat until I could get the prop repaired.
Shawn

Re: Boat Ramp Newbies: What Ya Gonna Do?
 

Well, you probably won't do some of that again!

I second the point about a spare drain plug and wrench.

Another point or question: Why not start the boat before you pull the trailer "out of the water" to the parking area? Sometimes you get bad batteries etc and you either need to jump from the tow vehicle or you need to go back home. This way, you have your boat keys before you leave the boat in the water. Maybe I missed something here.

Anyway.. Keep working on it, things will become second nature. I had to remind my son the other day to trip down the lower unit before starting.

Dave

Re: Boat Ramp Newbies: What Ya Gonna Do?
 

Hi Dave, IMHO dry starting a boat is a bad habit to get into. On an Alpha drive you're ok, but you can blow a water pump impeller on a bravo in seconds if it's dry.

Re: Boat Ramp Newbies: What Ya Gonna Do?
 

What!!!! Dude!

I did NOT say start the boat before putting it in the water! Maybe I misread what he wrote, but it sounded to me like he launched his boat without starting it, then pulled the trailer out, then went and got keys....

Just sayin.