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Isn't there a bonehead moments thread?


isellacuras

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Sorry to hear it, at least no one was hurt. I ran into a like issue with the same rack only the upper fork tine. After I saw the cost of a new rack I decided I could fix it good enough myself. With the rack still on the tower, I wrapped the bent tine to keep from scratching the aluminum and used a length of galvanized fence post and a buddy to bend it back into line. I managed to get it straight enough that you can't tell unless you are staring at it. I buffed it out, but you can still see some stress lines in it. Call Spectrum for the gel to fix the screw hole and it will all but be invisible after you fix it.

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Looks like a good reason to get some PTM clamping racks ?

At least your trip wasn't affected.  Stuff can be fixed, but losing a trip on the water with friends and family sucks.  

  • Like 2
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Yeah, luckily the rack that bent is the one that holds my foil. I only use the top slot so it wasn't affected at all for this trip. I'm pretty sure I can straighten the tine like wdr suggested but I haven't had good luck with bending aluminum back into shape. Was wondering if I should heat it or if I should just muscle it. As for the hole, should I fill the Fiberglas underneath it or just use spectrum to fill the hole?

Edited by isellacuras
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I have great respect for anyone that willingly admits their "bonehead moments". I will have to add a few, but mods will have to obtain more storage space by the time I'm done!

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I only posted it in the hopes it might help someone else avoid the foolish things I did.  Talk about humiliating. I like to think of myself as a fairly experienced boater. I grew up around boats and have owned one on an off for the last 20 years. I have had a few of these moments but NEVER in succession like this. i now officially demote myself to novice boater. 

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I had a friend forget the pin also. Similar results. 

Last year launching at the Hobbie ramp I got the boat really close to the dock. As the boat moved off the trailer the boards in the rack caught the hand rail on the dock and bent a couple forks. 

Stuff happens. 

Edited by teamerickson
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The screw hole should be small enough that you only need to fill it with a good marine adhesive 3M 5300?  then gel the surface.  I would shoot the adhesive in from the inside of the hull.  

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The bonehead moves are better stories anyway.  And now that we DO have a bonehead moves thread, I expect we'll get some good stories in this thread!

And @isellacuras I LOL'd at the trailer pic... half because your reaction was to take a picture of it.  

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I've left the tow straps on the transom and tried to unload the boat once.

This one not my fault, but learned to check:

Went on a demo last summer for a Nautique 230.  Rode with the salesman to the lake towing it. Almost to the launch, we got caught at a red light and the boat slams into the bumper. He had forgotten the pin too.  Me and my son stayed with the boat, while he drove back to the dealership to get a pin. Still did the demo though afterwards.

  • Like 2
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8 hours ago, isellacuras said:

Yeah, luckily the rack that bent is the one that holds my foil. I only use the top slot so it wasn't affected at all for this trip. I'm pretty sure I can straighten the tine like wdr suggested but I haven't had good luck with bending aluminum back into shape. Was wondering if I should heat it or if I should just muscle it. As for the hole, should I fill the Fiberglas underneath it or just use spectrum to fill the hole?

I didn't heat mine for 2 reasons. I was worried about discoloration and warping it in some other direction. For the hole, you could fill the back side then fill it or just use the Spectrum to fill it like I did.

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Plenty of boneheaded moves of my own...lol.  I am the other half of Ndawgs idiot!  I worry about the pin on my swing tongue.  I rarely remove it because I don't need to at the moment for storage.  I can just see some smart-ace at the boat ramp doing it for kicks though.  I probably need to pick up a spare or figure out how to vandal-proof it.

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Yep, I reckon we've all had a few bonehead moments, so don't feel bad.  Mine was earlier this year - hooked up the boat and was driving to the ramp.  Everything normal - except for the first time I had to hit the brakes hard coming up on a set of lights around a corner - which just happens to be the time I had forgotten to put the latch back down on the tow ball!!  Sure enough, the boat slams into the back of the Beamer :Doh:

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I got lucky once... I forgot the latch pin for the tongue of the trailer.  It was latched down and everything.  Took the boat from the dealer to the lake (15 miles) and then the trailer from the lake to my house (45 miles).  No exciting events happened thankfully but it certainly had my heart skipping a few beats when I realized how close to a cluster I could have been.

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I've only had 2 bonehead moments so far, one was Boxing Day a few years ago, only had my old 04 VLX for a few months and the fuel gauge had stopped working somewhere along the way, anyway forgot to fill it up that day, got halfway through my first set and ran out of gas. The worst part was getting towed back by a JetSki ?

Second time was Aussie day in January this year, the river was glass and I was in a rush and forgot to put both bungs in, saw them in the cup holder 5 minutes after I got here the water, pulled up on the beach and put them in, the front bung by the drivers seat wasn't a problem but what a ***** the back one was. 

No harm done from either bonehead moment, but these days I always fill up before we go out and put the bungs in before I leave home. 

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When I was a kid my dad and I put our boat in the water for a father-son outing.  We lived close to the lake and each had our own routine.  The plugs were never really anyone's responsibility...it was everyone's responsibility.  The theory was if everyone worries about it they won't get left out.  We each do our routine.  Dad drops me in the water.  Boat slides off the trailer.  Dad goes to park the truck.  I put over to the dock and pick him up.  We break the No Wake bouy.  Hammer down, music up.  This is when my father looks at me and says something...I have no idea...his mouth is moving but I don't hear a thing other than some sweet Pink Floyd.  We get to the spot to make the first run of the day.  When I throttle down to start gearing up my dad notices that there is standing water at the back of the boat at the floor.  He looks at me, with the music down, says "I thought you said you put the plugs in.".  I said, "I thought you put the plugs in.".  Panic ensues.  Luckily the plugs were in the boat.  We dove down put the plugs in and waited a VERY long time for the bilge to drain the water.  On a plus side, the wake for that first set....Slammin'.

 

The other one was my sister once grabbed the Kerosene cans instead of the gas cans to fill the boat up.  The boat didn't care for that much.  But it was a pretty easy fix...and we knew it right away.

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Dewinterizing my first boat (an IO) got most things right just put one of the engine plugs in a properly sized and threaded hole, was not the right place.  After a few minutes on the water we noticed the boat would not go very well, seemed a bit sluggish and made a really big wake for an 18'er.  Yep she was full of hot water from the engine block.   Learned to do a test run after the winter layup. 

 

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Most recent bonehead maneuver was a few weeks ago when I somehow forgot to attach the wiring harness to the truck.  Didn't notice until I was trying to push through the brakes at the ramp.

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I forgot to screw together my titan III tower (it sets together and then you screw it). Took two kids out tubing and the thing fell on my head. The speakers missed my 6 year old by about an inch in the back of the boat. It fell on the glass and only by the will of the flying spaghetti monster did the windshield hold. It bent the back of the tower enough when it hit the pylon that i now have to wrench it together every time I take it off the lift :(

Still have a mark on my forehead with no tan on it 4 weeks later.

Edit: I also left my suction cup surfgate on and floored it last week. I got it up to over 30 before noticing. No harm done thankfully

Edited by 95echelon
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Was starting to think I was the only one around here who did this stuff.

 

last fall I winched up the trailer jack stand, but didn't fold it...think you can figure out the rest. 

 

Also, last weekend I legit forgot how to attach the tow rope to the pylon (first time this season). I've been behind the boat a few times this year, but always had someone else attach the rope (I drove first). I just couldn't do it. I was trying to slip knot the surf rope on my buddy's nautique and had to ask for help. 

  • Like 1
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