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Lauch ramp making me contemplate selling


Sunscape fan

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Have you ever gone out on a nice evening, warm, sunny, calm water, only to return to an absolute gong show at the launch ramp which has led to giving you serious considerations to selling your boat??  This happened to me last night.  A Wednesday night of all days.  Came back to the launch ramp after being on the lake for a couple hours after work.  The ramp itself really wasn't too busy, but there were 6(yes 6!!) jet skis flying around the no wake zone, a guy in an aluminum skiff trying to start the outboard AFTER he pushed off from the dock literally sitting in the middle of the launch ramp, a little 10' dingy with 3 teenagers and an outboard motor that almost ran into me as I was trying to dock (apparently he wanted the same spot as me even though I was there first, larger than him, and only dropping someone off to get my truck) and an I/O who felt it was ok to just sit 15' from the launch ramp while he waited for his trailer!  The launch ramp really doesn't bother me too much as I am used it and can handle the stress.  But it REALLY bothers my wife.  She gets so anxious it pretty much ruins the whole outing.  This is the first time I have actually yelled at anyone at the launch ramp....and I had to do it TWICE in one night!!!  (yelled at the kids in the dinghy to back off and I yelled at the guy in the skiff trying to start his motor since at once point it fired up and he had it in gear so it shot forward and he was pointed right at my midship!!!  Thankfully his motor died again but I had to yell at  him to watch where he was going!) 

I dunno, this has seriously given me thought to selling the boat because honestly if it's that upsetting to my wife is it really worth it??  She enjoys the boat away from the launch ramp but not as much as me.  We try to go out when I think the launch ramp will be dead like first thing in the morning and then return early afternoon.  This has usually worked and we've able to avoid a lot of chaos.  But not last night!  Has this happened to anyone else and if so, did you sell then regret it?

Edited by Sunscape fan
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Wow, I've never been around a ramp quite that chaotic but I do under stand the nervous wife aspect.  We usually push the envelop on how late we can stay out and sometimes are the only ones at the ramp just after dark.  Luckily my wife is getting pretty good and getting the Bu on the trailer. 

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Just now, Gavin17 said:

Wow, I've never been around a ramp quite that chaotic but I do under stand the nervous wife aspect.  We usually push the envelop on how late we can stay out and sometimes are the only ones at the ramp just after dark.  Luckily my wife is getting pretty good and getting the Bu on the trailer. 

Two years ago my wife was actually getting fairly good at putting the boat on the trailer as well.  She can take it off no problem.  But then they redid the docks at my local lake and turned it from a 3-4 boat wide ramp to a 2 boat wide ramp.  They moved the docks closer together and put the pilings on the outside of the dock...so everyone likes to park on the inside of the dock now as there isn't a lot of room between the pilings anymore.  Well this makes it very tight and she is now nervous to even back the boat off the trailer since it of course backs to one side.  She was getting good at putting it on the trailer and then she made one mistake and got it very crossed up.  It really rattled her.   I was coaching her from the front of the trailer and just said let the boat settle on the trailer, which it did, but she came in really hot, hit a guide pole(I actually thought she was gonna break the pole) which then shot her to the starboard.  Thankfully she didn't hit the prop on the trailer.   We got the boat on the trailer, she got in the truck, looked at me and said "I'm NEVER doing that again!!"  And never has since.  It's too bad really cause she was getting good.  But she's just afraid of hitting something or someone and damaging the boat.  And with all the idiots at the launch ramp, it's hard to blame her. 

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Just now, Sunscape fan said:

Two years ago my wife was actually getting fairly good at putting the boat on the trailer as well.  She can take it off no problem.  But then they redid the docks at my local lake and turned it from a 3-4 boat wide ramp to a 2 boat wide ramp.  They moved the docks closer together and put the pilings on the outside of the dock...so everyone likes to park on the inside of the dock now as there isn't a lot of room between the pilings anymore.  Well this makes it very tight and she is now nervous to even back the boat off the trailer since it of course backs to one side.  She was getting good at putting it on the trailer and then she made one mistake and got it very crossed up.  It really rattled her.   I was coaching her from the front of the trailer and just said let the boat settle on the trailer, which it did, but she came in really hot, hit a guide pole(I actually thought she was gonna break the pole) which then shot her to the starboard.  Thankfully she didn't hit the prop on the trailer.   We got the boat on the trailer, she got in the truck, looked at me and said "I'm NEVER doing that again!!"  And never has since.  It's too bad really cause she was getting good.  But she's just afraid of hitting something or someone and damaging the boat.  And with all the idiots at the launch ramp, it's hard to blame her. 

I stand on the fender of the trailer so that I can slow/redirect the boat in the case of a too hot entry or the boat getting crossed up.  Once she yells neutral right before she gets to the trailer the boat is my problem ;) The guys who insist on tubing and surfing past the ramp can cause some surprise rollers that push the boat around.

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Just now, Sunscape fan said:

She was getting good at putting it on the trailer and then she made one mistake and got it very crossed up.  It really rattled her.   I was coaching her from the front of the trailer and just said let the boat settle on the trailer, which it did, but she came in really hot, hit a guide pole(I actually thought she was gonna break the pole) which then shot her to the starboard.  Thankfully she didn't hit the prop on the trailer.   

My wife did a similar thing a few weeks ago.  Banged on one of the bunks, all wide eyed, hard reverse, I yell to her to "STOP!!  Take your hand off the throttle.  Look around....it's no big deal.....easy on, and easy off.  You're almost there, let's just push you out aways and come back in...".

That was pulling it out when we left the lake house, and when we got back home to put it on the lift at the slip she insisted on backing in the trailer.  Didn't do too bad!  I think she will feel better behind the wheel of the car than the boat, so that's what we will work on.

1 minute ago, oldjeep said:

I stand on the fender of the trailer so that I can slow/redirect the boat in the case of a too hot entry or the boat getting crossed up.  Once she yells neutral right before she gets to the trailer the boat is my problem ;) The guys who insist on tubing and surfing past the ramp can cause some surprise rollers that push the boat around.

Same here.

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Just now, Michigan boarder said:

My wife did a similar thing a few weeks ago.  Banged on one of the bunks, all wide eyed, hard reverse, I yell to her to "STOP!!  Take your hand off the throttle.  Look around....it's no big deal.....easy on, and easy off.  You're almost there, let's just push you out aways and come back in...".

That was pulling it out when we left the lake house, and when we got back home to put it on the lift at the slip she insisted on backing in the trailer.  Didn't do too bad!  I think she will feel better behind the wheel of the car than the boat, so that's what we will work on.

Same here.

I've thought about this: her doing the trailer and me the boat.   However the parking lot can be pretty tight at busy times and if she panics and can't park it, I won't know cause there's no cell reception so I won't be able to help her.   

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It would take a lot for me to sell the boat, but after launching and loading hundreds of times, I still get a little nerous when I see the dock and there are others there.

We were launching on a busy and hot Sunday afternoon as others were coming in. As I quickly launched the boat, I had a husband and wife flip me off for nothing and another guy followed me through the no wake zone yelling profanities. I realize many of them are jealous of the BU, but the dock often brings us anxiety as well.

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Oh I hear you!   I've seen collisions at the launch ramp!  An older guy in an I/O at idle speed rammed the side of an aluminum fish boat style boat, pushed him outa the way and kept on going!!!  Didnt stop, didnt say anything, just drove away!!   The guy in the aluminum I/O yelled at him but his boat wasn't that nice and there was really no damage so he didn't care.   

The ramp doesn't make me nervous at all.  I'm confident and handle the boat quite well.  But it makes me nervous for my wife and maybe a little nervous when she's operating the boat.   I feel bad for her and am at the point where I don't want to put her through that anymore.  So my option is to back it off and have her come back and pick me up after I put the trailer away and then do the reverse cause often there is no where to tie up at the dock.   Plus honestly with the idiots at and around the dock, I don't want my boat anywhere near the dock/ramp for any longer than necessary.  Unfortunately though, this takes time and I tie up a spot on the ramp with my truck/trailer.  I've had some dirty looks but I don't care cause I have no choice. 

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6 minutes ago, Sunscape fan said:

Unfortunately though, this takes time and I tie up a spot on the ramp with my truck/trailer.  I've had some dirty looks but I don't care cause I have no choice. 

Ha!!  Somewhere on a Bayliner forum there's a guy complaining about you right now!!!

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Just now, Michigan boarder said:

Ha!!  Somewhere on a Bayliner forum there's a guy complaining about you right now!!!

HAHAHA...I never thought of that.   You're prob right!  Lol

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3 minutes ago, Rednucleus said:

Any local law enforcement patrol the lake? Talk with them about lack of ramp etiquette, especially the jet skis in the no wake zone

Nope.   None.  The local detachment has to share a boat with a neighbouring town and as such is NEVER on the lake.  Unless of course someone dies cause that seems to be the only time they're out there.   

Just now, asp13 said:

Buy a house on the lake with a nice lift or place to park your boat. Problem solved!

I would love this option...however I can't afford it.  And my local lake is in a provincial park where there are no residences.   The next closest lake is too small and I would never wanna live there.   But I would definitely love this option.  

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1 hour ago, Sunscape fan said:

Have you ever gone out on a nice evening, warm, sunny, calm water, only to return to an absolute gong show at the launch ramp which has led to giving you serious considerations to selling your boat??  This happened to me last night.  A Wednesday night of all days.  Came back to the launch ramp after being on the lake for a couple hours after work.  The ramp itself really wasn't too busy, but there were 6(yes 6!!) jet skis flying around the no wake zone, a guy in an aluminum skiff trying to start the outboard AFTER he pushed off from the dock literally sitting in the middle of the launch ramp, a little 10' dingy with 3 teenagers and an outboard motor that almost ran into me as I was trying to dock (apparently he wanted the same spot as me even though I was there first, larger than him, and only dropping someone off to get my truck) and an I/O who felt it was ok to just sit 15' from the launch ramp while he waited for his trailer!  The launch ramp really doesn't bother me too much as I am used it and can handle the stress.  But it REALLY bothers my wife.  She gets so anxious it pretty much ruins the whole outing.  This is the first time I have actually yelled at anyone at the launch ramp....and I had to do it TWICE in one night!!!  (yelled at the kids in the dinghy to back off and I yelled at the guy in the skiff trying to start his motor since at once point it fired up and he had it in gear so it shot forward and he was pointed right at my midship!!!  Thankfully his motor died again but I had to yell at  him to watch where he was going!) 

I dunno, this has seriously given me thought to selling the boat because honestly if it's that upsetting to my wife is it really worth it??  She enjoys the boat away from the launch ramp but not as much as me.  We try to go out when I think the launch ramp will be dead like first thing in the morning and then return early afternoon.  This has usually worked and we've able to avoid a lot of chaos.  But not last night!  Has this happened to anyone else and if so, did you sell then regret it?

Does she drive the boat on or back the truck? 

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1 hour ago, Sunscape fan said:

So my option is to back it off and have her come back and pick me up after I put the trailer away and then do the reverse cause often there is no where to tie up at the dock.  Unfortunately though, this takes time and I tie up a spot on the ramp with my truck/trailer.  I've had some dirty looks but I don't care cause I have no choice. 

I don't get what you're saying. This sounds like the ideal setup. You're in the truck. She's in the boat. The minute the boat hits water she starts then engine and backs off, takes a drive into the lake. As soon as you park the truck she shoots back to the dock and you jump on. Your total time in the boat ramp is like 30 seconds. That's how it's done while the typical guy with a bayliner takes 5 minutes. What am I missing in this story?

By the way, before we bought our lake house I found it easier for me to back up the truck until a few feet before the water and let my wife handle the final distance while I handled the boat. She seemed more comfortable with that.

Edited by gobble
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My wife perfers to drive the truck and me the boat, says she is way less nervous in the truck, the looks she gets when I drop her off are great, all 5'2 of her has to jump in to a lifted crew cab long bed, then she slings it right down the ramp like a pro, and all you hear is crickets.

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5 minutes ago, gobble said:

I don't get what you're saying. This sounds like the ideal setup. You're in the truck. She's in the boat. The minute the boat hits water she starts then engine and backs off, takes a drive into the lake. As soon as you park the truck she shoots back to the dock and you jump on. Your total time in the boat ramp is like 30 seconds. That's how it's done while the typical guy with a bayliner takes 5 minutes. What am I missing in this story?

By the way, before we bought our lake house I found it easier for me to back up the truck until a few feet before the water and let my wife handle the final distance while I handled the boat. She seemed more comfortable with that.

I think he is saying that he backs truck in, gets into boat, drives it to the dock, gets out and lets Mrs pull away from dock and putter around while he parks truck and then she comes back to dock to pick him up.

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Never thought about selling because of the ramp, and I've seen some interesting stuff. My wife usually backs the boat off and goes out 'til I park and come back. Sometimes there are a bunch of skis running around and that freaks her out. A couple of times there were kids swimming on the launch, parents standing by watching. In fact during a retrieve, I backed the truck in and before I could get out a couple of little kids ran past the truck and trailer and start splashing around the end of the trailer. I look out as my wife is coming in and I see her face go dead. Luckily she was still out a little ways and went neutral. I looked over at the mother of the kids and said "She's coming in here with a 400hp blender." I have no idea if they understood the words or if it was my inflection but they yelled at their little cherubs and they got out of the way. I hate this "It's all about me" world...

Anyway, it can be stressful but we always go in knowing it is going to probably be a goat show. 

Edited by Falko
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6 minutes ago, oldjeep said:

I think he is saying that he backs truck in, gets into boat, drives it to the dock, gets out and lets Mrs pull away from dock and putter around while he parks truck and then she comes back to dock to pick him up.

Yes exactly.   And then the opposite happens when we come back to the ramp.  She's very comfortable with dropping me off and coming back to get me, but not taking the boat off or on the trailer.   Part of the problem is my own fault in that we just don't practice enough.   We've never gone out and launched/retrieved for an hour or so and let her practice cause honestly, the ramp is either too busy to do that or we just don't get out enough that we wanna waste part of an outing doing that.   But we really should.   

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1 hour ago, Rednucleus said:

 

1 minute ago, Sunscape fan said:

Yes exactly.   And then the opposite happens when we come back to the ramp.  She's very comfortable with dropping me off and coming back to get me, but not taking the boat off or on the trailer.   Part of the problem is my own fault in that we just don't practice enough.   We've never gone out and launched/retrieved for an hour or so and let her practice cause honestly, the ramp is either too busy to do that or we just don't get out enough that we wanna waste part of an outing doing that.   But we really should.   

Practice, practice, practice that's right we talkin about practice. You either drive the boat or drive the truck. My wife or son drives the boat on/off and I back the truck. 

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Just now, malibu2004 said:

Practice, practice, practice that's right we talkin about practice. You either drive the boat or drive the truck. My wife or son drives the boat on/off and I back the truck. 

Yes.  I agree.  We were getting there but that mishap occurred and she won't retrieve the boat anymore and if it's busy, she won't launch it either.   I'm not going to force her cause how much fun would that be?

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7 minutes ago, Sunscape fan said:

Yes exactly.   And then the opposite happens when we come back to the ramp.  She's very comfortable with dropping me off and coming back to get me, but not taking the boat off or on the trailer.   Part of the problem is my own fault in that we just don't practice enough.   We've never gone out and launched/retrieved for an hour or so and let her practice cause honestly, the ramp is either too busy to do that or we just don't get out enough that we wanna waste part of an outing doing that.   But we really should.   

Weekdays after work really helped my wife, no stress or presure.

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