Confession time... Lets hear the stories

[DenverBu]

Yup. I read somebody on here saying the best way to do it is to get the person one-on-one so you dont emabarass them in front of others. When they dont lose face, they dont get as mad and might even heed the advice.

[oneramirez]

Had a 1991 Sunsetter inboard and loved to do Bat Turns. So I'm out with some college buddies and had just launched. Me and one guy in the passenger seat. His first time out with us. We head straight out onto the lake full speed and I tell him to hang on tight. Of course, he doesn't hear me well, nor have any idea just what I'm planning. So I turn 90 degrees, hard left, full speed. Not a full Bat turn, but still a VERY hard turn. Poor guy flies over the engine cover and "bites" the gunnel rail just behind me. Somehow I manage to reach back with my arm and keep him from flying out of the boat (although that too has happened before - whole other story). I stop and look back and his mouth is dripping blood everywhere. Of course I'm initially more worried about the blood on the interior of Dad's boat than the poor guy. Ends up his top two teeth were broken in half and two of his bottom teeth were gone.

Did we turn around and head home? Nope, we sent him to the ER, drugged him up, and he chilled on the beach while we skied and boarded all day. He did get a brand new perfect smile on our insurance dime afterwards, but I still feel bad to this day for what we put him through.

[jk13]

^^^^Nearly sent someone into the pylon doing the same thing at our family reunion. Had a high level men's amateur skier behind the boat freeskiing a week before Nationals. We took off one direction and did our turn and headed back. He motioned to go again so we went 90 degrees the other direction away from the dock. On our final return trip I should have swung him out and throttled back but I didn't know for sure so I waited a bit too long to see if he would let go or ski to the beach. By the time he did let go I was less than 100 yards from the dock and I knew if I killed it quick the bow was going under (had two on the observer seat and two in the bow plus me driving). So I cranked it over and gave the people on shore a show. Didn't know the guy nearest me on the observer seat had leaned forward and was almost standing to grab the rope. Ooops.

Good news is the skier got himself relaxed a bit free skiing out of the course and won his division the next weekend in IL. I like to think I played some tiny part in that.

[Durty_Curt]

I was at the lake that day and saw this happen. I believe everyone was ok, right?

i have no clue. i believe this was the day after the incident. what do you know?

[Arizona247]

i have no clue. i believe this was the day after the incident. what do you know?

So two things...I heard that they had too many people and that they hit the drive on something that broke the seal. I guess water came rushing in... Again, at least everyone was ok.

Did you see the boat on fire at the dock on Sunday. Crazy...I will post a picture as soon as I can get it to my laptop.

[Durty_Curt]

Say What?! This Sunday?? No I Did not See This but now i Gotta see it! we were out there wakeboarding and thought we saw a tent floating by the reeds. we realized it was this boat and it was stuck straight down in the mud. couldn't resist taking a picture of it

[PeteOOXXOO]

Ok, two stories. We usually ski on a river with a pretty fast tide. Came nose-in to a jetty to drop off some friends - all good. Hit reverse and backed away some, then swung the wheel and dropped it into drive to head off. Didn't factor in the the speed of the tide and when I spun I thought the rear platform would hit the jetty so I gunned it. Missed the jetty - but the old jetty's pylon stuck out past the front corner of the new jetty - and as the tide was going the same way we were I clipped it and ripped all the racks off the tower . At least it was on my old stern drive - bought the new Malibu soon after . Which leads to the second story. New to the inboard and had only taken it out a few times before we had a long break. Checked it "all" out before we hit the water then launched her. While idling around waiting for the wife to park the trailer I heard what I thought was the ballast pumps emptying. Initially thought that was weird - then realised I forgot to put the centre t-handle bung in and was taking on water. Pretty embarrassing!!! . Gotta love the auto bilge pumps

[saskicker32]

^^ I pulled off fogetting the center T-handle as well. My bilge turned on but as I was conversing with friends and music on I didn't hear the water. The only reason I realized it was we were in a 5 MPH zone as as I got out of it I tried to power up and it was super sluggish so i immediately knew something was wrong, I go to check out what it is, open the ski locker, the water is up to the floor, probably 2k pounds of water or so. T-handle was in the glovebox, immediately threw it in, and waiting a few minutes for bilge to do the job I had given it.

[TrickyNicky]

Had a 1991 Sunsetter inboard and loved to do Bat Turns. So I'm out with some college buddies and had just launched. Me and one guy in the passenger seat. His first time out with us. We head straight out onto the lake full speed and I tell him to hang on tight. Of course, he doesn't hear me well, nor have any idea just what I'm planning. So I turn 90 degrees, hard left, full speed. Not a full Bat turn, but still a VERY hard turn. Poor guy flies over the engine cover and "bites" the gunnel rail just behind me. Somehow I manage to reach back with my arm and keep him from flying out of the boat (although that too has happened before - whole other story). I stop and look back and his mouth is dripping blood everywhere. Of course I'm initially more worried about the blood on the interior of Dad's boat than the poor guy. Ends up his top two teeth were broken in half and two of his bottom teeth were gone.

Did we turn around and head home? Nope, we sent him to the ER, drugged him up, and he chilled on the beach while we skied and boarded all day. He did get a brand new perfect smile on our insurance dime afterwards, but I still feel bad to this day for what we put him through.

^^^^Nearly sent someone into the pylon doing the same thing at our family reunion. Had a high level men's amateur skier behind the boat freeskiing a week before Nationals. We took off one direction and did our turn and headed back. He motioned to go again so we went 90 degrees the other direction away from the dock. On our final return trip I should have swung him out and throttled back but I didn't know for sure so I waited a bit too long to see if he would let go or ski to the beach. By the time he did let go I was less than 100 yards from the dock and I knew if I killed it quick the bow was going under (had two on the observer seat and two in the bow plus me driving). So I cranked it over and gave the people on shore a show. Didn't know the guy nearest me on the observer seat had leaned forward and was almost standing to grab the rope. Ooops.

Good news is the skier got himself relaxed a bit free skiing out of the course and won his division the next weekend in IL. I like to think I played some tiny part in that.

Oh thank gosh you guys make me feel so much better/less alone.

1st year with the bu, late season and I have a bunch of friends/co-workers up surfing skiing etc. I'm a bucrew newb and had picked up some pointers reading at work that week about boat rules. As a result, I explain before loading the boat the rules of the boat. Of which rule #1 is what the driver says goes. He does not need a reason, just if he says something you listen.

I'm still in the stage of "look how impressive this boat handles." We finish off a great friday afternoon of riding and are heading back to the dock. Probably moving a good 30+ mph. I tell everyone to hang on and check things out. Most people are "hanging on." I say "No hang on tight" everyone gives more effort but still I'm unsatisfied. I give them one more and glance around and everyone seems to have taken the hint. I crank port and spin the boat a full 180+. One guy falls off the port side seating and pushes his gf across the boat straight into the side of the illusion tower. I instantly feel regret and start grabbing towels to cope with the moderate amount of blood. We get back to the dock, a couple people take her inside and get her all cleaned up. She comes out a bit woozey and quiet but all together okay. I apologize for the 100th time. and we get on with our night. We have a camp fire and keep her awake and singing tunes as we don't want her sleeping in case she is (likely) concussed. A good 4-5 hours later she goes to the washroom, and comes back in a panic. I guess she looked in the mirror and saw the bruising on her head/face and just went into a panic mode. We all relive the tragedy and call her an ambulance etc and get her on her way. We later found out she had internal bleeding on/of her brain, similar effects as a concussion. All in all she is fine today and both her and her bf at the time are now married.

This was a great afternoon where the mood turned bad in an instant. It is something I have always felt bad about and really taught me a LOT about safety on boats. Growing up around boats there is a lot I already know especially about ropes and towing people and having people in the water, but experiences like this can really put it in perspective. I'm just glad it's over and I keep that memory with me every-time I'm on the boat. It keeps me and my passengers safer knowing how quickly a great day on the water can go bad.

[jk13]

WOW the injuries. I was very fortunate that the guy in my story wasn't hurt. His buddy grabbed his belt and pulled him back down onto the seat.

When I was a teenager I took my girlfriend for a row boat ride around the lake. She was in the back of the boat, of course. When we got back to shore I said "hold on" and climbed out the front of the boat onto the beach. Without looking back at her I grabbed the bow and pulled it up the beach so it would be more stable for her to climb out. Well, she had already stood up and started climbing over the bench seats so I effectively pulled the rug out from under her feet and she tumbled backwards into the stern. Luckily (again) she didn't hit her head or worse. But she was a bit upset to say the least.

My son gets pissed at me every time I remind him to check his surroundings. When he asks "why" I usually list about three or four things that could potentially go wrong. I guess until you've actually lived it (or caused it ) it doesn't sink in as much.

[TrickyNicky]

WOW the injuries. I was very fortunate that the guy in my story wasn't hurt. His buddy grabbed his belt and pulled him back down onto the seat.

When I was a teenager I took my girlfriend for a row boat ride around the lake. She was in the back of the boat, of course. When we got back to shore I said "hold on" and climbed out the front of the boat onto the beach. Without looking back at her I grabbed the bow and pulled it up the beach so it would be more stable for her to climb out. Well, she had already stood up and started climbing over the bench seats so I effectively pulled the rug out from under her feet and she tumbled backwards into the stern. Luckily (again) she didn't hit her head or worse. But she was a bit upset to say the least.

My son gets pissed at me every time I remind him to check his surroundings. When he asks "why" I usually list about three or four things that could potentially go wrong. I guess until you've actually lived it (or caused it ) it doesn't sink in as much.

You can still learn a lot from being told. I know I have learned infinite things from older boaters by being told or shown. I have also passed a lot of information on to less experienced boaters regardless of age. You can learn in many ways, just become easier to remember (harder to forget) when the lesson is a full experience.

[wakedncsu]

I too can remember my dad and I putting our first boat (87 Malibu Skier) in the water. I backed it off the trailer. He parked the truck. I hung out and waited to pick him up. He go in the boat and we idled our way out of the "No Wake". I put the hammer down and the boat stood almost straight up in the water. Went to neutral and looked at dad. He looked at me. At the exact same time we both said "Did you put the plug in? I thought you put the plug in!!" and both went to work to get the plug in. Luckily we always put the plug in the same place and knew where to look. He was closes to the cup holder we put it in, so I lifted the motor cover and moved stuff out of his way, he grabbed the plug and screwed away. Then we just swam while the water was bilged out.

Another story came from the same time in my life. I was around 14. Dad was in the boat, and I was shuttling the boards, vests, and ropes to him from the garage. I would set gear on the back of the boat or on the platform, and he would take it form there and place it where it belonged in the boat. I got all the gear out and he got done putting everything in the boat. While he was finishing all the gear storage I would put the two plugs in the stern of the boat and then corral whoever else was going to the lake. We get everyone and everything loaded up and take of out of the driveway. First turn is a left turn at a stop sign, all is well. Second turn left turn at a stop sign, all is well. Third turn is a right turn at about 30mph. On that turn we hear a loud clunk and scratchy sound. We both look at each other and go "What was that?" He stops the truck. I get out and run to the back of the boat. About 40 feet behind us, on the other side of the road, I see my wakeboard. Turns out when dad was loading all the gear he missed my wakeboard still sitting on the platform. Ended up slingshotting it across the road. The speed kept it pretty flat for its journey to the ground I guess because it ended up landing and sliding on the bottom the whole way. I still skied it that day. Dad felt terrible.

[ahopkins22LSV]

Well this actually wasn't my fault in the end but here's the story.

Early July we picked up our new boat on a Friday afternoon, took it straight to the lake and of course invited friends over. We were out on the water having a great time, not skiing or anything but I'm still flying high on cloud nine! We were idling and I went to punch it hard to see what had. I hit the throttle hard, not all the way or anything but pretty hard. Now we had been running the boat at different speeds for almost an hour so it was warmed up and running fine. Boat accelerated just fine, after about 50 feet or so I lost all torque instantly. The engine wound rpms through the roof and then it died, sending white smoke out the back. I went from cloud nine to the absolute bottom of all bottoms of barrels.

I tried to crank it over and it would try and then not move at all. We opened the engine cover I tried to crank it over again and you could see the engine rotate about half an inch then stop and then move back to the original position when I let go of the key. We checked the oil that was good. Took off and reconnected the battery cables, those were good. Called the owner of the dealer he is bewildered too.

We ended getting towed back to the launch with me thinking I just blew up a brand new engine with 1.7 hours on it. We took it back in that evening. I went in on Saturday and they discovered it was a seized transmission. Engine was fine.

They shipped the tranny out on Monday and had a new one back in by Thursday afternoon and they had it installed and ready for me to pick up Saturday morning. I have to give major props to Skiers Pier in Waterford Michigan for how they handled the situation and took care of everything. Boat runs and drives great now and we have zero issues with 25 hours on it now.

One of the craziest days I have had on the water with the highs and lows of boating for sure!

In my years of skiing we have wrapped and few ropes on props but the worst was my friend wrapped the main line able of the course around his prop on our portable course. That was a disaster.

[kayakwv]

THE ROOKIE MISTAKE

As you may already know from a previous thread, the wife wanted Black Eyed Peas tickets; I wanted a Malibu. Seemed like a fair trade, so I took her to the concert, then bought the boat the next weekend. I didn't know much about inboards, so I turned to my buddy Shawn for advice. He'd owned a few boats and was very knowledgable. After my first outing I called him, and he asks if I've made "THE ROOKIE MISTAKE" yet? He was referring to leaving the plug out. I told him that I wasn't going to let that happen because I had invented a clever acronym, "P-A-R-K", to remember the 4 things I must always do when launching. I explained that "P-A-R-K" stood for : Plug, Aerate (the engine), Remove straps, and Keys. I felt quite clever.

The very next weekend, I took the wife and kids to meet up with Shawn and some buddies for my first real weekend boating and camping at the lake. Only my second week with the boat so I was a little nervous to get everything right. More importantly, I didn't want to screw up and get an "I told you so" by the wife, on how we shouldn't have got a boat.

At the Launch, Shawn was backing me down the ramp, and I remembered my little acronym, was P-A-R-K, but I couldn't for the life of me remember what the "P" stood for. I kept thinking to myself...."what was so important about to remember that I made it the first letter??? Hmmmm??

As I pondered that issue, the boat was launched, and I waited for him to Park. I thought it was strange that I heard running water, since I wasn't draining any ballast; and even more strange that the bilge light came on. Only then did it hit me...AH Haaaa!!! I remember that "P" stands for "Plug"!!!! I had made the Rookie Mistake, I had left the center drain plug out.

So by the time I check the bilge, its like 6+ inches. Bigger problem: I had left the plug laying in the bilge, and as we backed down the steep ramp, it had slid under the gas tank. I quickly reached under, but only knocked it further back under the gas tank.

Here's the scene: Shawn is parking the truck, my friends, wife and 3 kids are watching and wondering why I am laying on the floor with both arms in the bilge. I had one thumb acting as a makeshift plug; while I reached down so far into bilge that I think my shoulder got wet. Finally, I could just barely wiggle the plug back into my fingers, and got it back I place! Took 15minutes to drain all the water out. I felt like an idiot, but must've looked cool under pressure, because the wife and friends never knew what happened. But when he jumped in the boat and saw the bilge running, Shawn knew right away that I'd made the Rookie Mistake. At least I got it out of the way early... And hopefully learned my lesson.

Now what did that "P" stand for again....lol.

[Soon2BV]

My best experience was the week after I graduated from High School. My parents had a cabin and let me and some buddies go for the day and take the boat out (a powerful 16 foot Larson with a 70 HP Mercury Outboard). Everything was good for the day, then it was my turn to ski. I decided to show off a little, and so I asked my driver to take me "near" the idle zone buoy. So as he go close and made the turn, I whipped out and around, like I was in the course, and skied around the buoy. This was a weekday, and there was only one other boat on the lake. Just so happens that one other boat was the game warden, and the newest recruit had been itching to pull someone over. Somehow we ended up with just a warning because everything else was in order. One of the best parts was that while the "new" warden was lecturing us and giving me the warning, the two veterans were standing behind her with a smirk on their faces. Made it tough to stay serious.

[TallRedRider]

This isn't all that great of a story...but I just finished changing my oil. Sort of. I only have 2 quarts of oil in the garage. I used to have a case of it, but guess that I used most of it. Just having my boat sitting in the garage without oil in the engine is going to nag at me all night long. Whenever my boat is not able to be used at a moment's notice, I get irritable.

I've done the bilge plug thing.

One time, when I was about 8 years old, my dad and I went fishing with a canoe at Utah Lake. I love my Dad, but we usually didn't catch anything. But this day, we had a great time and I remember it as one of my favorite fishing days. We could see a storm coming and we headed for the ramp. The storm came up with 60 MPH winds after we had pulled the canoe up on the shore (anyone who has been to Utah Lake knows what I am talking about here). I remember the canoe barrel rolling across the parking lot for about 75 yards before we could catch up to it. It narrowly missed 2 people and finally wedged itself under someone's truck. Luckily, the owner didn't care as it was an old pickup anyway. Those storms can be fast and furious, and we were able to pretty quickly get the boat on its trailer (not sure why my dad always used a trailer for the canoe?) and we were on our way. There were quite a few dents in it and we discovered a pinhole leak on our next trip. But we enjoyed that canoe for a few more years.