Boat Ramp Blues.

[BadMoon]

I thought I was see things.....



Photo was a taken at 50 Point Marina double boat ramp on Lake Onatario, I had a chuckle when I saw the name on the Main Sail cover.
I left after 30min. the mob started to get ugly, there was talk of having a good hanging.

 

[Tom Hoffman]

Had a similar thing happen to me yesterday. Got the boat in the water, pulled the rope, the motor kicked over and ran rough. I started to back away and got clear of the dock and shifted to forward and the motor died. I was about 25 feet of the shore and drifting away down wind. My wife waded in and I tossed her a rope and she manually pulled the boat along the shore back to the lee side of the dock. Needles to say that put me across the ramp just like the picture and there was no hope of getting the boat around the end of the pier and onto the windward side. she managed to pull the boat toward the ramp and get up the ramp and onto the dock and tie off the bow line and I tossed her the stern line and she pulled the stern in. We sat at the dock for an hour and a half before the Vallet tractor could bring our trailer so we could pull the boat out. An hour later, we were on the way home with the motor in the trunk of the car.

3 hour drive to the lake, 2 hours screwing around and 3 hours home.

Is this what sailing is all about???

Cheers,

Tom...

 

[fstbttms]

I thought I was see things.....

View attachment 43534

Photo was a taken at 50 Point Marina double boat ramp on Lake Onatario, I had a chuckle when I saw the name on the Main Sail cover.
I left after 30min. the mob started to get ugly, there was talk of having a good hanging.

Are you saying this guy was blocking the ramp while people were waiting to use it?

 

[scrubs]

Great pic of of Scrubs

Sandpiper. Nice picture of Scrubs It was our, Pre Race Regatta Bottom wash. Works well I can stand on the upper slope and get the whole bottom.

And yes we won.

No issues at the ramp. I always pick a quiet morning time and move for the boats launching. Been doing it for 25 years.

This is a very quiet and friendly basin.

Captain Scrubs

I thought I was see things.....

View attachment 43534

Photo was a taken at 50 Point Marina double boat ramp on Lake Onatario, I had a chuckle when I saw the name on the Main Sail cover.
I left after 30min. the mob started to get ugly, there was talk of having a good hanging.

 

[BadMoon]

Had a similar thing happen to me yesterday. Got the boat in the water, pulled the rope, the motor kicked over and ran rough. I started to back away and got clear of the dock and shifted to forward and the motor died. I was about 25 feet of the shore and drifting away down wind. My wife waded in and I tossed her a rope and she manually pulled the boat along the shore back to the lee side of the dock. Needles to say that put me across the ramp just like the picture and there was no hope of getting the boat around the end of the pier and onto the windward side. she managed to pull the boat toward the ramp and get up the ramp and onto the dock and tie off the bow line and I tossed her the stern line and she pulled the stern in. We sat at the dock for an hour and a half before the Vallet tractor could bring our trailer so we could pull the boat out. An hour later, we were on the way home with the motor in the trunk of the car.

3 hour drive to the lake, 2 hours screwing around and 3 hours home.

Is this what sailing is all about???

Cheers,

Tom...

Geeeeez Tom, they say that any time spent on the water is worth it.
BTW great little woman you have there......

 

[fstbttms]

I left after 30min. the mob started to get ugly, there was talk of having a good hanging.

No issues at the ramp. I always pick a quiet morning time and move for the boats launching. Been doing it for 25 years.

This is a very quiet and friendly basin.

Hmm... whom to believe?

 

[Joe]

Hmm... whom to believe?

I think "BadMoon" doesn't like "Scrubs" using his boat ramp for maintenance.

 

[fstbttms]

I think "BadMoon" doesn't like "Scrubs" using his boat ramp for maintenance.

Quite frankly, neither would I. I launch my work boat every day at a public boat ramp, and nothing pisses me off more than somebody rigging their boat on it, or letting their dog swim at it or scraping the bottom while it's on a trailer or other activities that the boat ramp was not intended for.

 

[sinnettc]

Dang, that's a lot of crud!

When we pull the boat I'll scrub down the bottom of Verboten at the ramp if there's nobody waiting. If there is we'll pull up, get out of the way, and use a bucket. I found out the hard way that waiting until I get home is a bad choice. Either way, retrieval takes a good 20 minutes or more as I strap launch and have to winch the boat forward about 6 inches on the trailer with a come along once it's out of the water.

 

[Joe]

Quite frankly, neither would I. I launch my work boat every day at a public boat ramp, and nothing pisses me off more than somebody rigging their boat on it, or letting their dog swim at it or scraping the bottom while it's on a trailer or other activities that the boat ramp was not intended for.

Sandpiper. Nice picture of Scrubs It was our, Pre Race Regatta Bottom wash. Works well I can stand on the upper slope and get the whole bottom.

And yes we won.

But he won....... doesn't that justify a non trailerable using the space? Why would anyone make a comment like that ... "and yes, we won" geez.

No issues at the ramp. I always pick a quiet morning time and move for the boats launching. Been doing it for 25 years.

This is a very quiet and friendly basin.

Captain Scrubs

Apparently, Not.... cap'n.... If someone took their 30 footer over to the local boat ramp here, ...... the fishermen and PWC guys would be throwing wrenches... They hate sailboats anyway because the sailors always want to rig up on the dock after launching. A lot of them haven't figured out they can rig or de rig in the parking lot or on the other side of the dock instead of in the ramp causeway. That's for unloading and loading passengers only.

 

[Merlin Clark]

Quite frankly, neither would I. I launch my work boat every day at a public boat ramp, and nothing pisses me off more than somebody rigging their boat on it, or letting their dog swim at it or scraping the bottom while it's on a trailer or other activities that the boat ramp was not intended for.

As one of the owners of our public ramps (taxpayer), I'd feel entitled to use the ramp as needed as long as I wasn't in the way, didn't leave a mess or abuse public property.
If a boater has simple engine troubles and needs to sit at the ramp while he checks it out or is adjusting his/her trailer and isn't putting anyone out I see no problem with these either.
If there is a problem with people tying up the ramp, the county/city/whatever can establish and post ramp rules.
I think ramp etiquette really depends on the traffic at your ramp, I could probably tie up a ramp for a few mid week days and not bother anyone down here.

 

[fokker416]

I look at a boat ramp as both a road and a channel. Would you tie your boat off to a red and a green channel marker to clean your boat? Would you pull your car across both lanes of your street so you can wash it?

It all comes down to discretion. In the first photo the boat is pulled across the only boat ramp for that marina. I don't agree with that at all. I would agree with the owner taking up one lane, cleaning the forward hull, turning around, then cleaning the back as long as it wasn't a busy time. At least the ramp can be used for its primary purpose at any time. If it gets busy then scrubs can move out of the way until things slow down. If the marina you pay to use has a ramp and you get permission to do that it's a totally different story.

The second photo. He has absolutely no way to move the boat out of the way. What plans does the owner have for removing all of that crud he just dropped on the ramp? What's he going to do? Stay there until the tide comes in then leave when no one can see what he did? Gives us all a bad name. We generally like to think of ourselves as more of a responsible boater from both a skill and environmental standpoint. We should live up to that.

 

[Merlin Clark]

I'd hope guy#2 has an idea of when the ramp will be busy and has planned accordingly. The amount of debris looks like it could be cleaned up in a few minutes and maybe 2- 5 gallon buckets and a flat shovel.
I don't think we have quite enough information to lynch him, so let's not light the torches just yet.

 

[Squidd]

Kind of a scarey balancing act...

Think he planed that on purpose.. or just taking advantage of an awkward situation...?