Best Ramp Stories – names removed to protect the not-so-innocent.

I know that there are a million of these – what’s the funniest thing (lets stick with semi happy endings) you’ve witnessed at the ramp?

I was at the dock at Colville waiting for my partner who was parking the truck – watching two guys launch a very old boat. They had it backed in so far that the hitch was licking the water. Guy driving the truck yelled to his buddy to “unhook it!”

The buddy unhooked it alright: He uncoupled the trailer tongue from the hitch. The trailer had filled with water and immediately rolled down the rest of the ramp. They must have also forgot to unhook the transom straps, so the back end got pulled under. The trailer tongue popped straight up like a flag pole.

A couple of us hooked up a tow strap, pulled it back down and out.

Guess the directions of “unhook it” weren’t too clear

Oh, wow. That is funny!

Last weekend, It wasn’t quite at the boat launch but right next to it a couple on a pontoon boat were pulling into their dock and they must not have communicated who was getting off the pontoon and who was holding it. They both stepped off at the same time, the woman noticed first they had both stepped off and tried to grab the drifting pontoon all while falling in. Just as the man noticed he tried to grab the woman and both of them took a nasty digger into the water

After laughing a little we were nice enough to go grab their pontoon boat and bring it to them. But it was quite the sight….alcohol may or may not have been involved unfortunately.

I went out by myself one night late (like 11pm). Got the boat launched and was starting to motor away from the dock. I reached under the rear seat to get out the spot light and stuck my hand in about 4 inches of water. I quickly opened up the engine hatch and saw it nearly full. Obviously, I had forgotten to put in the plug. The boats a Bayliner with a full swim platform on the back so the only way to get at the plug is to go completely under the platform. It was a dark swim under there trying to get the plug in. Thankfully the water was warm. Wound up getting it plugged and the Bilge pump did its job, but I shudder to think what might have happened if i hadn’t have reached for the spotlight.

well cant say it was necessarily happy but we were fishing in a lake a few years back in a hole about 50 yards from the launch when a guy and his family pulled up in a pretty nice rig. Dad, Mom, and daughter. The dad removed the back straps and began to back the boat in. The boat slid right off the trailer and onto the landing. The guy was obviously furious, but he somehow managed to get it back on the trailer and his daughter was trying to convince him that they could still go fishing for the day. We could barely make out their voices from where we were when all of a sudden the guy yelled “WE’RE GOING HOME SANDY!!!” and they all jumped in and left. Now not so funny but my friends and I use that phrase all the time now for all sorts of scenarios- “we’re going home sandy!” It stuck

I have a few….

Watched a guy at de montreville unhook his boat and start backing down.. Problem was it was a roller trailer and we couldn’t catch him in time. Worst part was that it was his brother inlaws boat. Felt bad for the guy.

Rainy Lake. Guy backs into the water, gets out and almost gets ran over as his whole rig went in the water.. Felt bad for him also.

Hastings public boat launch on P3. The refinery had their big john boat down. They could not get it straight on the bunks. So the crew chief starts yelling at all the guys to pull the trailer up a bit and Crank it up by hand. They tore the ring right off the bow of the boat.. Had to drive away with it crooked and 12 inches from the winch post. Didn’t feel bad for him.

The Hastings public launch in high water is a TV show waiting to happen. I used to run into an old guy that would pack a few beers in a cooler and spend afternoons down there. He had a smile a mile wide every time you would talk to him.

We launched at Agate Bay on Mille Lacs one time. We thought we unhooked both trailer straps on the transom of the boat but didn’t!! Only one. His launch is one that you do not want to back too far in because it goes from 3 ft- 5 ft deep right at the end of the slab. So long story short we had the trailer sitting sideways in the water and had to cut the strap to get it out. We entertained a few guys at the resort that day.

Not exactly a boat ramp story but is a boating story told to me by my father and uncle.

My father and uncle were fishing and saw someone they knew. This guy had just recently purchased a used pontoon boat and was quite proud of himself on the purchase price. Complete with a Captains hat and a knee slapping “Stole it”. They noticed the pontoon was listing a bit and the realization came the pontoons were taking on water. The guy made a run for the shore and all the water rushed to the front of the pontoons when he cut the outboard, literally submarining the boat.

One night there was a boat sideways on the end of one of the docks. There was a large pale guy behind the boat in the water who was diving for his keys. It was getting dark and the water was cold enough that I wouldn’t want to get in. It was eary. He looked like a dead body floating there in between surfacings. Tried to help him out but he just kept trying for those keys.

I’ve also met about 20 guys who said they just got out of prison when I’m on the riverbank. Is that something people just say? or?

This isn’t a ramp story, but started out there a ways back. I was heading for the river on a rainy mid-morning and noticed a black van heading the other way…noticed that smoke was coming from the rear end of the van…As it passed me I looked in my drivers side mirror and noticed that he was pulling a boat and the smoke was actually coming from the outboard that he forgot to shut down….we were about 5 miles from the nearest launch site.
jim

guthook1 wrote:

This isn’t a ramp story, but started out there a ways back. I was heading for the river on a rainy mid-morning and noticed a black van heading the other way…noticed that smoke was coming from the rear end of the van…As it passed me I looked in my drivers side mirror and noticed that he was pulling a boat and the smoke was actually coming from the outboard that he forgot to shut down….we were about 5 miles from the nearest launch site.
jim

How….how on earth?

The saddest and most upset I’ve seen a landing was on Rainy River. This was one of my first years going up there, and we were going in my buddies 14′ Lund. We got to the landing in front of the county backhoe and there was an ice shelf, so we slid the boat across and waited for the driver to go park the truck a couple miles away (or so it seemed). While waiting the back hoe cleared out the ice shelf. The next boat in line must have been overly anxious waiting for the backhoe, because they totally unhooked their boat and dropped it about half way down the landing. About the worst spot that could happen, HOWEVER everyone else was so motivated to get on the water a bunch of guys behind in line helped get it back on the trailer. You may have seen pics of this, as they were floating around for a while.

Lake Zumbro about 15 years ago…

It was about 430 on a Tuesday and there where about 10 boats (myself included) pulled up on the beach waiting to fish a tournament.

This old married couple pulls up to the dock in an old 14′ Lund and the woman gets out to get the truck. as she was attempting to back up this small trailer with this crappy old yellow pickup the husband in the boat starts to yell at her and cut her down. (this got all of our attention) the lady finally got the trailer backed in mostly straight despite the old mans heckling.. as the old man struggled to get the boat on he continued to swear and blame her for his failure. Once the old man was able to get the boat on the trailer he screamed “GO YOU DUMB C@#T” hahah and boy did she… she mashed that pedal to the floor! to this day I have no idea if it was on purpose or not but that truck was still in reverse! she swamped his boat and buried the truck up to the roof! his gas tank, life jackets floated away as he swam to shore.
to this day it was the funniest thing I have ever seen in my life, poetic justice!

I got to boat landing about 7 am and it has 4 spots to put in so I put in. When I was pulling out a local lady said that the the truck next to mine that had trailer in the water and truck running had been there for over hour. Looks like the guy launched his boat and was in a big hurry to fish. I parked the truck and trailer. I bet he never knew what he forgot to do.

I had a boat roll off a roller trailer, but only half-way. The bow stayed on the rollers. It was a 17′ glass boat; not a light hull. In any case, I cranked it back up on the trailer and went fishing. I did have to have the gel coat fixed where it landed on the pavement. Not my proudest moment.

i’m waiting to take out theirs a guy, and his wife going to take out first. She’s backin down and doing not so well, the guy is totally pissed, I sit back and watch, gal finally get’s trailer in the water after much verbal abuse.Man power loads boat, hooks up winch, and yells at poor wife ,go you blank blank. SHE GUNS TRUCK,the man has motor all the way down, and its digging a furrow in the blacktop, he’s yelling stop stop, she turns her head and hears him and guns it all the way up the ramp, I can still see that gal smiling as shes dragging that motor out. DK.

The wind shifted and dramatically increased on me up at Bigstone one year while fishing solo.. When I got to the dock I underestimated the power of the lake… I finally got it tied up only to have my bowmount take a 5 ft nose dive into the dock.. I cut her loose and it only took 1 wave to put me sideways on shore.. It was a long day that I wish upon noone.

One morning early I backed my BIL boat in at the landing. He is in the boat and I go park his truck and trailer. Put keys in my shirt pocket. Walked over to the dock and lean over to rinse my shoes off as it was a gravel/sand parking lot. Splash goes the keys into about 5 foot of water. I start talking in french and BIL says don’t worry he has a spare set. No way. I said guess I’m going swimming. Thank god it was summer. It was early and we were the only ones at the landing. Don’t think I was in the water more than 3 minutes and the remote still worked after storing in rice for a couple days. Keys ALWAYS go in a pocket with velcro or zipper closure now.

I must be lucky as I have never seen a horror story or anything funny at a boat ramp.

Saw a guide take a few good runs at getting his boat off the bunks while his clients were on the dock watching. A few teenagers on shore let him have it for forgetting that he still had it strapped up. Clients watching their guide getting heckled by some kids for not being able to launch their boat makes being backed up in line more tolerable.

Not at a ramp and missed seeing it happen but we could piece it together.

Wife and I were driving in Big Lake, the city, and came across a large fiberglass boat parked at the stop light. The truck and trailer were parked in the middle of the intersection.

Ruined their day. They had to do a few things wrong to make that happen. No strap. No tie downs. No safety chain. Then “punch it” when the light turned green leaving the boat laying in the middle of the road.

Two guys pull up to the 494 access on Pool 2 in a crusty old Chevy pickup with a 12 ft aluminum boat in the bed. They backed the truck in far enough to float the boat off. There were big bubbles coming up from the exhaust pipe.

Many years ago on Cedar Lake near Somerset, WI. Waiting to pull my boat out behind a guy trying to drive his Bass Tracker onto a bunk trailer. He hadn’t gotten the bunks wet, and was about half-way up the trailer and gunning the outboard for all he was worth. While I was standing there watching this, I said to his wife and daughter “Brand new boat, right”? The wife said yes and wondered how I knew. I told her I knew that , because her husband didn’t have any idea what he was doing. She glared at me and stomped off, just in time to see the outboard break off the transom and fall into the lake.

Back to 494 access on Pool 2. A guy is backing his 14 footer into the river and he hasn’t removed the strap off the back yet. His wife is standing on the dock holding the leash rope. Of course the boat won’t come off the trailer, and the wife is yelling “You’ll have to go back up”. He’s yelling “I am backing up”. Eventually he saw us laughing and yanked the rig back out of the water.

SR

i had a buddy throw my truck keys to me in the boat one time…i fumbled the catch, and in they went. never throw anything in a boat!
i’ve also forgot the plug a time or two, thank goodness for double bilge pumps. also tried to launch at 2am on opener one year without undoing my rear straps – thankfully no witnesses at that time of day!

and then there was this early-morning scene at the launch for a tournament…brand new boat, roller trailer, steep launch, can’t fight physics.
a bunch of us did our best to try and help him get it either in the water or back on the trailer but there was no chance and he had to call a tow truck to power winch it up. i still chuckle 5 years later when i see the scars in the cement at that landing. salt in the wound was when he got caught that night fishing the lake outside of tournament hours and he got DQ’ed. i suspect he was just happy to be floating and didn’t much care about the tournament anymore.

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I am not sure if this story is true or made up as I did not witness it. On Lake Antoine near Iron Mountain, MI an East Indian man launched his new boat. While driving around the lake he was informed by onlookers that his boat was sitting very low in the water. Maybe he forgot to put the plug in? When he would accelerate it was very doggy, and moving extremely slow. Upon returning to the ramp, onlookers reported that the trailer was still under the boat, winch rope attached and transom straps on too.

I think those bearings will need to be serviced.

Many, many years ago at the public landing on the back channel near Hagar City 2 guys showed up with a pretty Ranger, color coordinated with the trailer and Suburban pulling it all. One hops in the boat and signals for the other to back it down. The guy in the boat never turned around to see if the boat had come off the trailer and kept waving the driver further and further back until he got wet feet and then the current got hold of the whole nine yards and pulled it all in with the vehicle about half way under. New boat and trailer along with the pull which had a paper registration on the rear window. It too three pick-ups with straps to get the mess up the ramp. They never even took the transom straps off or un-leashed the bow of the boat. Probably a good thing it was all tethered together, but man a lot of money went south on that venture. Felt bad for those guys.

Was coming off Mille Lacs by myself a few years ago late on the sunday night of the 2nd weekend of the season at the Malmo ramp. As I pulled up to the dock there’s another boat on the other side with a gentlemen sitting at the wheel and holding on to the dock. I assume he’s waiting for someone to back in a vehicle. As I’m getting out of my boat he starts yelling for someone. I’m now standing up on the dock tying my boat to a cleat and here comes about an 8-10 year old running down the ramp and out onto the dock at full speed and he trips and throws the best cross body block you’ll ever see into me and knocks me into the 46 degree water. The waters barely 2′ deep but I was caught completely by surprise and wearing bibs and a parka that now weigh about 200 lbs it was a struggle getting back out of the water.
So it turns out the kid went to take a leak and the old man was a little impatient waiting for him to return and hold the boat while he went for the truck. Now he’s screaming at the kid, I’m scrambling to peal off the cold wet gear and the kids balling.
Dad finally settled down, apologizing over and over and I was OK telling the kid to relax, that everything was fine and they helped me load my boat. I really felt bad for the kid. It did cost me a truck remote but now days it’s just a comical memory.

Very Cool Thread!! Love the stories.

Anyone ever see any fights at a landing??

Almost a fight…Mid afternoon pulled into the Casino public launch on Mille Lacs after a morning of fishing and watched a guy get out of his boat and proceed to ‘whip it out’ and take a leek into the water right off the end of the dock. While 6 of us in different boats were screaming at the pig a CO was standing on shore with his arms crossed (and taking video w/ his phone!) waiting for the slob to walk his way. Completely hammered he got a ticket. Turns out he was a guy on the lake I have a cabin on that we turned in for double tripping a couple years ago. Glad to see him get 2 tickets that I got to witness…

Golf was invented for people that can not back up a boat trailer!

Just make sure it’s your boat your backing up AND it’s secured!

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Opps…that tractor photo wasn’t to be posted….

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