So, I was at Sommerville this weekend to take the jet ski out to the lake for a nice sunday afternoon. When I pulled up to the ramp, one of the game wardens had just launched his boat and the other warden was prepping her jet ski to launch. When a spot came open the GW backed her ski in. As I'm prepping my ski to launch, I hear a ski rev up right at the ramp and then a crunching noise. I look down to see an idiot on a seadoo with a nice jet shooting out the back running into the back of the GW jet ski.

How dumb do you have to be to manage to run into the GW without having even left the ramp?! I'm not sure what ticket they ended up with (probably something along the lines of reckless operation and a no wake violation, plus whatever else they could pile on), but the game wardens where not happy at all. When I was putting in, the GW was putting her ski back in and was absolutley livid. No apparent serious damage, but you could tell where it hit.

All you need for a great day of fun:

Shady spot to sit
Beer
Boat Ramp

^ That and a camera next time!

haha, we saw some dude back too far at lake bryan and got his trailor stuck on the edge of the concrete

Heard about a lady at Elephant Butte lake that was trying to back up the trailer for her husband who was constantly berating her for taking too long. A crowd had started to gather due to his constant verbal barrage towards his wife. She apparently had had enough of this and put the truck in neutral, jumped out and let it go. There was 6'' of radio antennae sticking out of the water with a standing ovation.It took a couple of wreckers and a scuba guy to get his truck out. Dunno if it's true or not, but I let Crocker Mom take her time gettin the trailer backed up.

My office is pretty close to a boat ramp. Some times when I've had a hohum morning, I'll wander over near the boat ramp during lunch. This time of year, at least once a week or so I will get to see something that makes me laugh.

*Usually this involves a Ford Ranger or older S-10 getting in trouble in some manner.

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All you need for a great day of fun:

Shady spot to sit
Beer
Boat Ramp

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About 10 years ago, I used to put the boat in pretty regularly at the Bird Island boat ramp in the evening on my way out to the cabin. I got to be friends with a couple that would do just that... sit on the tailgate, drink a glass of tea, and watch the comedy at the boat ramp.

On one of the boards I read somebody had this as their sig line for a while

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Nothing lowers a man's IQ like boat ramps and wasps.

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Heh.

I love this guy's ingenuity at my local ramp:



Everyone has got to learn at some point, Memorial Weekend and the 4th of July should not be that time though.

My Dad has the perfect set up for this. He has a house in Sargent right next to a public boat ramp, and on the other side used to be Linda's Bait Camp/Bar. It is quite entertaining when the fish aren't biting.





Think. Feel. Be.

A few times, I've seen some idiot back his boat in, think it's off the trailer and then pull out, which pulls the boat out of the water and dumps it onto the ramp itself.

Anybody here ever seen the guy that thinks the boat ramp is the perfect spot to tune on his 1960's Johnson Seahorse or better yet - CHARGE HIS BATTERY on Memorial day or July 4?

I have a friend that used to work the Arizona side of Lake Powell during the summer. He worked for a marina that would get boats ready for people coming in from Phoenix and S. California. The stories he has of the dumb things people would do, are great.

The boat ramps there are very long and wide to get down the vertical canyon walls. Some people try to back down the entire way (some ramps are 100's of yards long). My buddy had just put in a boat a guy when he hears this guy yelling at his wife. He is just screaming at his wife because every 15-20 feet, she would jackknife the trailer. This goes on for 10 minutes until finally they are down near the water. She jackknifes again and he starts yelling. The car slams its breaks, she spins out and without saying a word, hurls the keys into the lake and starts walking up the ramp.

On the weekends, there's always a crowd watching the boats load on the trailers at the fishing center in Port O in the evenings.

think i heard about that one Crocker. i must add that's a smart move on your part with mom even if the story turns out to be an urban legend.

Lake Bryan. 2002.

We were out on our waverunners one day during, I mean after class, and saw a Ranger (not 4x4, with a 4 banger I imagine) towing a ~26 foot Malibu. All I could think was that I needed to go get my truck warmed up to help him tow that bad boy out of there when he is done.

Sure enough, when the end of the day was done, that Ranger could not get the boat out of the ramp. Instead of asking for help or accepting our help, the moron spins his tires so much, that he ends up blowing one out. To top it off, the truck and boat roll into the lake and water gets over the bed, thus making his day go from bad to worse to terrible.

We watched the whole ordeal from my truck after I offered to tow the boat out for him. We were there till at least 9pm getting his truck out with a wrecker.

Guy I was in the band with had the clutch in his F350 go out on the boat ramp at Lake Bryan in either '02 or '03, can't remember.

Let's just say that F350s aren't exactly amphibious...

Was at PK years back and this poor fella gets his truck and boat jack-knifed at the bottom of the ramp (steep)witht he nose of the trailer and the rear of the truck in the water. Picture driving up to the top of the ramp and looking down to the Boat motor and the grill of the truck pointing back up at you. THe driver's side rear of the truck was submersed and he was in a panic. I eased down to the 1/2 ton 2wd chevy truck, tie a chain to the front and back up the ramp while pulling him and his boat back up the ramp.

4wd Low is a wonderful thing in a Diesel Truck. Apparently he was pullin gout of the water when he started spinning and he hit the breaks, his trailer breaks sort of hold and he slides back into the water. Crazy day to say the least.

I don't even try anymore. I go fishing with my step-dad a lot and have no problem backing the trailer down with the boat on the trailer because I can see everything with the rearview and by turning around.

When backing down an empty trailer, the box on the truck bed is so high (07 Ford) that I can't see the trailer at all, and by the time I see it in the rearviews, it's already going bad.

It makes me appreciate the guys that keep a couple of bicycle flags in their truck to throw on the back of the trailer just for that purpose.

The last time we went to Joe Pool for a tournament, we pulled up to the crowded ramp at the end of the day and I just said, you go get the trailer, by the time I get the damn thing damn there, somebody would have gotten their ass kicked.

On that same day, we saw several weekend warriors pulling giant ski-boats with their Z-71 Tahoes back their trailers into someone else's rig. Granted the parking situation at the Loyd Park ramp isn't the best, but if you actually know what you are doing with a trailer, this shouldn't be an issue. (note, I don't claim to have this ability)

Something I'll never forget. I was preparing to launch at the old KOA Cold Pass. A couple of guys back the boat down the ramp into the water, take the battery out of the truck (while its still on the ramp), hook it up to the boat, start and move the boat, take the battery out of the boat, hook the battery back up the truck, move and park the truck, hook the battery back up in the boat and ride off. This should be added to the you might be a redneck thread.

just go to Conn Brown harbor any weekend...I've seen several trucks that thought they were submarines until they actually were totally submergered. It cost you thousands in fines from the TNRCC, Coast Guard, etc when its all said and done. I am guiding from my airboat now so I dont have to jack with all that crap until the tourist time is over.

I once saw a guy and a lady with foreign accents back a brand new Trailblazer with a ski-doo jet boat on the trailer down the mid-dike Texas City boat ramp to launch, just as a series of 6 or 7 HUGE bow waves from a distant tanker in the ship channel came rolling in.

They had the rear hatch open so the guy could see the short trailer better, and they'd just got the boat all the way down into the water, and hadn't unhooked it from the trailer when the waves came in..big breakers, right into the ramp, partially swamping the ski-doo with the lady screaming inside, and breaking right up into the open back of the trailblazer, smashing into the back seat, soaking the insides. My bro-in law got the best view..he was at the end of the pier looking back at the ramp. Doh!

Oh, forgot this classic: When I was about 14, my dad and I managed to lock the keys inside the running van on the boat ramp with the boat in the water at Scotts Ridge on Conroe, with about 7 boats waiting to launch. Took us about 10 minutes to break into our own vehicle with a screw driver...

With that same van and boat a few months later, the bow hook on the trailer broke when we were pulling the boat out of Gibbons Creek, and my cousin and I rode the boat back off the slick bunks until the outboard skeg hit the ramp and stopped the boat, teetering back and forth on the edge of the trailer. Fortunately, my dad was watching and stopped the van before the boat slid all the way off onto the ramp, and we were able to winch it back onto the trailer.

[This message has been edited by MouthBQ98 (edited 6/29/2009 10:30a).]

Several years ago, we were at PK and had just pulled our boat out of the water. As we were tying it down and getting it ready for a road trip, a truck from a marina pulling a large cabin cruiser pulled up and commenced to putting the boat in the water. We sat there watching him for a minute because he appeared to have a hard time backing the trailer in straight. About the time he had the boat in deep enough to launch, the trailer came unhooked from the truck and the boat and trailer kept going. He had already unhooked the winch line from the boat. The trailer finally quit moving in about 20' of water. The guy did not get out of the truck for several minutes. Once he finally got out, we offered to give him a hand but he said that someone from the marina was already on there way. Lucky for him, there was no wind that day and the boat just drifted off shore about 100 yards and more or less just stayed in that spot. Never did find out if he was the one responsible for hooking up the trailer.

Stories like these are why Lakeside Icehouse on Lake Bryan is such a great place. After a great day at the lake, sit on the deck, drink some beer, eat some food, listen to live music and watch the boat ramp drama.

One thing I'll say though is that the Lake Bryan boat ramp is too steep. I have a 4x4 diesel that usually gets my 22.5' out just fine, but I have had to put it in 4wd before to avoid spinning my tires too much.

Another thing that bugs the crap out of me is jackasses who pull up to a boat dock at a public ramp and stop and wait there. It's especially annoying when it's clear that my boat or other boats are needing to use the dock to get someone on or let someone off. But the idiots just sit there tied off or the occupants holding the boat to the dock making everyone else wait. This happened at Lake Bryan last week when a boat full of people held the boat so one guy could go up to the port-o-potties at the top of the ramp to use the bathroom. It also happened one Memorial Day weekend at Lake Travis at the Mansfield Dam boat ramp dock. That time it was so crowded, I just pulled up next to one of the boats tied off to the dock and walked across their boat to get to the dock.

Huge peeve of mine, too: People that tie off their boat AT THE RAMP, blocking the use of it for the next guy in line, instead of motoring around to the OTHER SIDE of the docks and tying off out of the way while they go park.

Only slightly less annoying than the jackass that comes back from boating, pulls right up to the ramp, ties off at it, blocking it while they go get their vehicle, TOTALLY ignoring the line of people that have properly tied off or beached somewhere nearby, and have gone and gotten their truck and trailer IN LINE to use the ramp.

Ramp rule #1: It is NEVER first boat to the ramp, it is ALWAYS first TRAILER to the ramp that goes first.

Right after that is the jackass that waits in line for 20 minutes, then gets their turn, backs down to the water, then STOPS, GETS OUT, and STARTS loading their boat, and prepping it for launch right at the ramp. What the hell were they doing for the last 20 minutes in line?!?

To me nothing beats watching someone at the ramp that forgot the plugs. When all hell starts breaking loose and they have to floor it to keep the water out. Arguments ensue, waves are made, people are pissed, and I laugh.

I've been guilty of this, but its a lot more fun to watch it happen.

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Right after that is the jackass that waits in line for 20 minutes, then gets their turn, backs down to the water, then STOPS, GETS OUT, and STARTS loading their boat, and prepping it for launch right at the ramp. What the hell were they doing for the last 20 minutes in line?!?

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The people who do this win the world championship of dumb.

I didn't realize that there were so many cool people on this board. From the jack asses who can't afford a boat and entertain themselves by watching people who can, to the big dickud tough guys with the bad arse trucks who can pull vehicles and boats out of ramps, ya'll are awesome!

It's good to know that there are people who can do everything perfectly without having to practice. You make me safe, warm and hopeful for the human condition.

You idiots act like trailering a boat is some kind of marketable skill that impresses people. Or, that it increases your social standing - maybe buying a house before buying a boat would make more sense than having a 300 HP bass boat and a mobile home.

I can trailer a boat like a champ now, but there was a time when I couldn't - and it took some practice. If some idiot was laughing at me when I was practicing, I would have definitely had words with him.


"I dunno Jaydub, I'm kinda bored watchin people at the boat ramp - lets go get some beers and head downtown to watch people try to parallel park - then we can go beat my wife."

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Ramp rule #1: It is NEVER first boat to the ramp, it is ALWAYS first TRAILER to the ramp that goes first.

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I'm thinking that if you have to remind people of the rule, its probably your rule.

p_bubel - Is that at Medina lake?

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On the weekends, there's always a crowd watching the boats load on the trailers at the fishing center in Port O in the evenings.

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This. Was down there this weekend, nothing over the top, but there was definitely some good chuckles.

How long was your ban Amber?

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On the weekends, there's always a crowd watching the boats load on the trailers at the fishing center in Port O in the evenings.

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That's funny this is how I would spot the drunks coming off the water there!

MArtellus, it's not my rule. It is common sense and has been a common, standard practice of experienced boaters for decades. Its the most efficient way to get the most boats through the ramp in the shortest time possible. Anyone with half a brain can see that, so virtually everyone watches the process and catches on without having to be "reminded". Then there are the morons that have to rudely try to buck the system.

Yes, we're dogging on stupid people. That's what smart or experienced people do for entertainment: watch idiots fail. Some of us try to help them nicely, but usually we get dirty looks for our trouble. Yes, humor is the gladdness that you are able to take advantage of someone else's misfortune to avoid making the same mistake yourself. (We're just glad it wasn't us.)

Sometimes you're the jackass getting laughed at a couple of times, before you catch on. That's just the way life is. Deal with it, and learn from your mistakes, or go cry and wet your pants somewhere. The consequences of mistakes and failure is embarrassment, and such things are good motivation for people to learn quickly from mistakes.

[This message has been edited by MouthBQ98 (edited 6/29/2009 12:01p).]