Boat Ramp stories – let’s hear them

Best one I saw was a Ford Tempo trying to pull a tri-toon out of the water at State Park landing on Lake Wissota. I would like to be his tire salesman. Lots of black marks all over the landing.

Here are a couple from the 2008 Opener at Fisher’s. Can’t see it in these pictures, but the trailer is still attached to the truck.

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I hate people who park in trailer spots when the lot is full or nearly full too. I don’t mind as much when it isn’t busy, obviously. But it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the lines in a launch ramp that are twice as long indicate a spot for a vehicle and trailer only.

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The good news is that asshats who do this often enough WILL pay the price.

I saw a car on Minnetonka a few years back that was parked right in the middle of a trailer parking place on a weekend. He had 4 flat tires and the note under his windshield wiper contained some pretty interesting ideas, most of which involved things that I previously believed to be anatomically impossible. The rest involved his mother.

On White Bear last summer, I was just pulling out and there was a line of guys launching and some bicyclists pulled in and parked right in the middle of a trailer spot and started to get their bikes off the racks to go ride the trail.

I went up to them and calmly explained that this was trailer parking and it’s very limited, could they please use the lot 100 feet to the south, etc. They looked like those kind of ex-hippie wannabies, driving a Volvo, Wellstone sticker still on the bumper, etc. And they guy starts giving me crap, I can park where I want to, etc.

I said whatever, just telling you that bad [censored] can happen, and then I hear this kind of tough looking character with lots of tattoos who was waiting to launch a wakeboard boat yells, “Hey! You with the Volvo!” And he and his equally tattooed buddy come charging over.

“Dude, you’re not even thinking about parking there in that trailer spot and going for a bike ride are you?”

From the way he said it, even Mr. Granola got the idea that the correct answer was, “Heck no, we were just leaving.” Luckily for him he said and did just that or he’d have found his Grocery Getter sitting on that now not-so-sunken island 100 yards off the boat ramp when he got back.

Grouse

I LOVE the kill switch boaters! Even though I’ve been caught trying to figure it out for myself from time to time I can completely understand why the boater cannot figure out why it’s not starting! We’ve all been there. Every time I approach that I ask “can I try to help with your problem?” and flip the switch and it starts. I kinda feel like a doctor that just instantly fixed a broken leg or something THat’s happed probly a half dozen times.

How about when you get to the launch and there is a truck or car parked in the ramp with their trailer still in the water. Nobody around. Thats where they parked.

Brian you must have ironed his new T-shirt as well! Glad to hear he was “ka&tn” on ya!

Well ,sometimes we get alittle excited about the water and forget about how to get boats in and out. I had a friend who was blind and loved to fish on Bald Eagle. His wife also loved to fish and had no problems with getting boat to lake and driving it, EXCEPT she couldn’t get hang of backing up trailer into lake. So he would do it. I had to watch it to believe it myself… He would look straight ahead and his wife would guide him back . Then he’d get out and open his cane and walk to boat. He told me one time a gentleman watched him and asked him to back up his boat because he couldn’t get hang of it. Well don’t forget to put drain plugs in before putting in water…. Be safe and leave some fish for meeee.

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Hanging out at the Lilydale ramp in your skivvies is not a good idea either.

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Guy unhooks boat from truck at Lillydale.

Pulls truck around to jump boat, boat finally starts.

Pulls truck back to rehook up trailer.

Gets in boat and has wife back boat in.

Must have been 5+ minutes boat running out of water.

Once wife is in boat they run downriver.

I have seen people on that ramp with a lot less on than that. Memorial day a couple years ago middle of the after noon the guy with the house boat that was parked there all summer was walking around on his boat with nothing but a smile. I had 3 kids at the launch and tried to ignore this which worked until one kid saw it and yelled to the other. That guy has no clothes!

Guy backs truck in so far water floods in front door. His buddy proceeds to try to power land the boat on the trailer with a front mounted trolling motor at full speed.

Lake City ramp by old scout camp .Low water, guy with 4-wheel drive backs boat into lake and has two ladys friend or what ever hold the rope .Then goes to pull the trailer out but it won’t come trys 4 or 5 times and still won’t come so puts it in 4-wheel and backs in as far as he can and gives her hell . Trailer comes this time BUT one wheel faceing North and the other faceing South . All he would have has to do is lift the trailer off the end of the apron .Oh well boats in the water lets go boating .

Not a boat launch story but just as funny. Had a call from a neighbor asking if I could go to their house and get spare key for the car. Thinking oh they locked themselves out. Nope better yet. Could I go to the Rochester airport and park the car for them in the lot. They had pulled up to the airport entrance, got on the plane and left with the car out front. Called me from Mpls. This was before the 9/11 high security days. Guy at the airport laughed when I pulled up to move it. He said they wondered what was up with it.

This is going to fall into the “you had to be there” category, but I have to tell it anyway. One Memorial Day weekend at a small lake north of Grand Rapids, my brother in law and I went to launch the boat on Friday morning. It’s a very small access with only roadside parking. We get there behind a middle aged couple with a small boat. The guy gets out of his truck. He’s big. Like 6’5″ and 280-300 big. His wife gets out. She’s 5’3″ and 120 wringing wet. She puts on the waders, and he reaches in and puts on white gloves. No shizzle. 25 mph crosswind at the access. He backs in and hands her the rope. The 16 ft lund with 25 hp motor hits the water and takes off in the wind and literally drags her behind it. All the while Mr. White Gloves is on shore telling her what to do. Unreal.
We were at the lake all weekend.
Fast forward to Monday morning. It’s pouring rain and we have to go load the boat. I take the boat, and B-I-L takes the truck. I get across the small lake to the access only to find that Mr. White Gloves has beaten us to the punch. Once again, he is at the winch, this time holding an umbrella and Momma is in the water with the boat. Did I mention it was pouring??
I’m reasonably certain that he’s dead and she’s in prison now…

here’s from last summer, Francis Case in South Dakota, the boat ramp actually starts five feet to the left of that light post. This was an interesting boat launch to say the least.

Prescott has looked like that a time or two.

I watched a woman back a boat in as her husband sat in the boat. She got out and he hollered for her to unhook the boat… all of a sudden I see the tounge of the trail tip up, roll back, and the guy catches himself on the motor before he fell out the back. I ran over and she had unhooked the trailer… Sure glad they had the safety chains on! There is nothing better than sitting at the launch with a six pack on the fourth of July…. it’s better than the fire works!

I pulled up to the landing early one morning to see a John Deere tractor sitting in the landing right up to the drivers seat… The owner was standing on the dock scratching his head. I thought maybe he assumed it was a road and couldn’t tell he was driving in the water (tractor had one dim light). I unhooked the boat, chained up to the 3pt and pulled him out. After it was out of the way, I figured out what he was doing… He had live trapped a skunk and was trying to drown it! A 22 short would have been much easier!

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I watched a woman back a boat in as her husband sat in the boat. She got out and he hollered for her to unhook the boat… all of a sudden I see the tounge of the trail tip up, roll back, and the guy catches himself on the motor before he fell out the back. I ran over and she had unhooked the trailer… Sure glad they had the safety chains on!

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Something tells me that may not have been an accident. I know that if I sat in the boat and told my wife to back it in and unhook it while I sat there on my duff, I could expect the same or worse.

as we pulled up to the landing for a tournament last year we see a small commotion. we hop out of the truck and see this beauty, followed by “We need help!” yes, yes you do.

the boat owner may or may not have been the father of a certain well known “Lucky” muskie fisherwoman.

the boat owner may or may not have been the father of a certain well known “Lucky” muskie fisherwoman.

If you’ve ever talked to him you’d be really surprised if this was his first time doing this.

One time at a landing on Castle Rock Flowage 3 guys were putting in a sailboat. A 24 footer. 1 guy on each side of the boat and the driver inside a full size van backing it in. Here’s the kicker, all 3 guys had handheld walkie talkies and all 3 were talking at once in some language I couldn’t understand and didn’t want to know. All a guy can do sometimes is shake his head and laugh.

Lake city. Sunday august 7.

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We were at a landing at Waubay lake in SD several years ago when I witnessed not one but two boats Start their outboards to warmup when the 3 and 5 cars back at the launch. We asked one guy what he was doing and he said he likes the motor to warmup so he can leave the dock at full speed. I wouldn’t of believed if someone told me about. But seeing 2 guys do it at the same launch was crazy.

Mwal