Hi everyone,
Sorry about being gone for so long but things have been going on in my life that took priority over my site and now that things are back to normal, I’m BACK!
Spring time is upon us and this is the time of the year that most anglers look forward to because we get to fish the fun baits, reaction baits, and the bass are known to cooperate but that is not my subject today.
Today I want to address a boating issue. Have you ever pulled up to a lake, prepped your boat in the parking lot and then got in line to launch only to find that the 3 people ahead of you in line have done nothing to their boat to prepare it for launching?
I have finally got to the point in life that I find it very entertaining. First off watching them back their rig down the long ramp to the water can be humorous, seeing them swerve the boat back and forth, backing down a couple feet only to pull forward several feet because they don’t have it straight or they have basically jack knifed the trailer. This is fine because we all have gone through this ordeal until someone taught us the trick on how to back your rig down to the water.
The quickest way to learn that I found is to place your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel, look into your rear view mirror. If your boat goes to the left turn your hand to the left and visa versa. After a little practice you can do it like second nature and launch your rig even in the tightest places with ease. I was able to practice this even more when I would arrive home. I had a long narrow drive way and kept my boat at the very end of it.
Back to the launch ramp. Then when they finally do get their rig down to the water they have not prepped their boat in any way shape or form. They proceed to take the tie down straps off and load the boat with all of the stuff from their tow rig, which takes another 15 minutes, all the while the bass are calling your name. They finally get their boat loaded up and mom realizes that she has to go to the restroom but instead of splashing the boat they leave it on the trailer as mom proceeds to take the long trek up to the restroom.
Finally they are ready to splash the boat in the water so they back it in and pull the trailer just barley out of the water while still blocking the access for anyone else and everyone proceeds to board the vessel. Next thing you know Junior starts to scream that the boat is sinking, yep, you guessed it, they forgot the plug! So once again the trailer goes back into the water, load the boat back up and wait until all the water drains before putting the plug back in.
OK, so you assume that all should be finally taken care of, the boat is floating, everyone is sitting inside of it and dad proceeds to pull the trailer back up to the parking lot, of course they left the boat tied up right in the middle of the dock instead of moving it to the rear so more people could launch but hey, they are almost done, right? Nope!
Dad hops into the boat and cannot get the boat to start. He is cussing and screaming about how well it worked the last time but as it turns out the last time was last year at the same time. Finally after about 15 minutes he decides that maybe it will start if he puts it back onto the trailer and leaves his whole rig blocking access to everyone. 15 minutes later he finally gives up and pulls out of the way.
So there you are, sitting for almost an hour watching this guy asking yourself, “Was I ever that bad?” I for on can honestly answer no to that question. Then someone that was waiting for only 10 minutes is so impatient that he figures he can sneak in and launch before you can. BACK THE TRUCK UP BUDDY! Yes you have every right to be upset but luckily for you it upset someone else even more and your not the one going to jail for pounding someone at the boat launch.
During the battle, as everyone else watches cheering the pounder on you see your chance to finally splash your boat so you take advantage of it. You back down, have your buddy hold onto the rope, splash the boat, pull up and park your rig, run down to the water, hop in, fire her up and take off all in a matter of 4 minutes and off you go fishing.
Can you guess who the above story recently happened to? Yep, twas me. But hey, it turned out to be a good day fishing and the opening act was pretty entertaining.
Thanks for visiting my site. Be sure to tell all of your fishing buddies and come back soon!
Until Next Time, Good Luck and Tight Lines To Ya!
[tags]Launching the Boat, Boat Launching, How to Launch a Boat[/tags]
