Boat Landing Etiquette

[archer59]

Next time you see someone that's having a hard time loading their boat on their trailer straight, you might want to help and suggest they have the rollers adjusted. One of my bolts came loose on my Shorlander causing me grief. Once adjusted and tighened up, no problems. Of course conditions play a role also, but that can't be helped. The only other suggestion I have is give yourself plenty of time.( sometimes easier said than done )

Good luck at the ramps and may cooler heads prevail,

Nick

[cold one sd]

slotlimit,I have never fished Swan due to the crowds. Horseshoe is getting choked by weeds so bad that I had a heck of a time getting backed out from the dock and turned around without getting my prop full of weeds. I had to use my Minnkota to get into the channel. The only time I thought about fishing Swan you had to unload your boat and go find a place to park the rig and then walk about a mile back to the launch. I fish to enjoy myself and that wouldn't have been enjoyable.

[Shack]

Wow, this post has blown up quick! I read it the other day, after an occurrence out fishing with my kids for crappies at a north metro lake (Sat.). I was too hot at that time to reply. I would have had a couple of these “(Contact Us Please)” in my story. In the end, another boat hit my trailer light (crushed it), while my trailer was in water. A couple of choice words were said and the guy took off in boat. The guy was not loading a boat, but dropping people off at shore. He could not wait. I just had gotten done waiting over 30 minutes for my turn. It never fails, even if you wait until no one is around someone pulls up. I will always let another guy go in front if he is in a hurry. I love being on water, so I do not mind motoring around or fishing a little more until boat access is clear. I was with my kids and the oldest is 11 and can handle things very well. He helps me by holding boat at shore when I get truck (that was two block away) and straighten boat on trailer. Ah well, water under the bridge. I went home, popped on a new trailer light housing and rewired and was head’ in out to Chisago area lake for evening bite by 5:00 p.m… Kind of forgot about it until I started the reading the vast amount this thread has taken on. Just remember to take your time and do things right. It is not worth having something go wrong, like dragging lower unit on concrete when pulling out or not hooking front of boat to trailer.

Best regards,

SHACKBASH

And that’s I have to say about that!

[PERCHJR]

WOW a pontoon huh, coldone let me guess...... Well I have to throw my .02 in the mix. Like alot of other guys have posted......be ready either going in or out, by NICE and help other fellow Fisherman if they need help, if you are in a hurry leave earlier instead of 10 minutes before dark, and "WAIT" in line because if someone jumps in front of me while I am waiting to load, I can cuss like a sailor and I will, oh and if that doesn't prove a point to the gentleman my boat is not worth that much money!!! And last but not least didn't any of your MOMMA'S raise you better than that, from what I have seen at most of the NE SD lakes they didn't!!!

PERCHJR

[Daze Off]

My worst experience at landing was at Coon Lake a couple years ago. Our bass club was having a tournament - 6-7 boats only that day and a severe t-storm blew up incredibly quickly. Everyone on the lake headed for the landing only to find that there was a group of 5 or 6 people in a 14 ft aluminum boat with about a 10 hp that were trying to get their boat on their trailer. First, they had backed their vehicle in a jack-knife down the center of a two-lane ramp blocking anyone else from using it. Then, they had no clue how to load the boat on the trailer. One huge guy was sitting in the back of the boat and the others were trying to lift the front up onto the trailer which they did not put nearly far enough into the water. In the meantime, it was raining as hard as I have ever seen it rain, lightening all around, wind howling, and trees falling into the parking lot. Only thing missing was hail. At some point, the guy in the boat backs the boat into both the dock and into one of our guy's boats scratching the motor housing badly. Anyway, finally they get it on the trailer when someone figures out that the big guy out to get out and help (they could have just backed the trailer in deeper too). With the boat on the trailer they tie it down while still on the ramp and speed off. All in all this took easily 10-15 mins during which time no one else could use the ramp. The only thing that they forgot to do was raise the motor so when the sped off and hit that high speed bump as you come out of the parking lot the skeg slammed into it so hard that the motor cowling came off and crashed to the ground in one piece. They must not have noticed or were too afraid to stop but they just kept going.

Storm was so bad that we never bothered to get back on the water after it. Took my bilge pump a good 10 minutes to pump out the boat by the time I did get it on the trailer.

Between the storm raging and them not speaking English it was useless to try and talk to/help them.

Daze Off

[StCroixNewB]

wow... this is a hot topic! I'm a relative new-bee at the launching/landing thing so I can empathize with the guys that feel worried about doing things right and doing them quickly. I've gotten to the point now where I can launch my boat and get my boat on the trailer pretty quickly, whether it be under power or by winch. I look to see if there are signs saying power-loading is forbidden. If the signs are there, I crank the boat up by hand! It never ceases to amaze me how many guys will still drive their boats up and give 'er that last shot of power to get it all the way to the stopper! What's most interesting is that these appear to be the 'most experienced' boat owners - I guess wisdom doesn't always go with experience...

I always get my boat ready to launch while waiting on the side and do my 'take-down' after I've pulled clear of the ramp. There will always be the a-holes that think that they're the only ones that don't need to follow the rules or be considerate or be patient....

Oh well, for me - I always look to help out others while I'm waiting my turn - whether it be helping hold the boat on the dock while the owner parks the truck, help line it up when trailering, help guide the trailer down the ramp, etc. If everyone at the launch took the approach of 'how can help the other guys', we'd all be getting on and out of the water a lot faster and with a lot less anger and frustration...

On the other hand, if I guys is being a real jerk, I have no problem taking my 265lbs, 6'4" frame right to their face and giving them a good tongue lashing. The way I see it, I'm very kind and considerate to those that are also kind and considerate so I can rip apart the rude, manner-less, egotistical a-holes too!

[LipRipper49]

There is a HSOforum called "Boat Minnesota - A Course on Responsible Boating" by the Minnesota DNR. They say the line is formed by vehicles with trailers, not by vessels in the water. Here is the text in its entirety on boat ramp courtesy:

Courtesy on the Boat Ramp

Boat ramp traffic jams can be prevented if everyone practices common courtesy at the ramp. Be sure you observe these simple courtesies.

Prepare your vessel for launching or for the drive home well away from the ramp. Use at least two experienced people to launch and retrieve the vessel—one to drive the towing vehicle and one to operate the vessel.

Never block a ramp with an unattended vessel or vehicle. Move the vessel away from the launch lane immediately after removing it from the trailer. Return briefly to pick up the vehicle driver once he or she has parked the vehicle and is back at the ramp. When retrieving, do not pull your vessel into a launch lane until the towing vehicle is at the ramp. The line is formed by vehicles with trailers, not by vessels in the water. Drop off the vehicle driver, and wait offshore and clear of the ramp until he or she arrives with the trailer.

[slipperybob]

I know of one place that power-loading is forbidden, Big Marine Lake. Haven't been there in a couple of years, probably still in effect. It's simply to prevent sand/silt from being washed and piled up elsewhere.

[cold one sd]

I watched a guy power load his boat and when he got it on up to the roller on the winch he put it in neutral and let it idle while he tightened the winch. Then he got in his pickup and drove up the ramp and around the corner to the parking lot and the motor was still idling. When I got into the parking lot and tied the stern of my boat down, some guys were talking about a boat that had gome through the parking lot and headed down the road with the engine still running. This one really made no sense to me.

[Daze Off]

Big Marine? Really? I have never seen anyone do anything but power on to their trailers there....hmmm.

Is there a sign?

Daze Off

[LundExplorer]

I watched a guy power load his Pro V onto his roller trailer at the garrison ramp on Mille Lacs & forget to strap bothe bow and stern to the trailer. He pulled the trailer out and tha-wunk-wunk-wunk, his boat is now on the ramp, motor about 6' from the waters edge.

I said 'now that's something you don't see every day' and then helped him get the back rollers under the bow. Surprisingly enough, it was not all that big of a deal to get it back on the trailer. Just unhook the trailer, get the rollers down close to the pavement, and crank her up onto the trailer. It did a number on his motor though and the V-bottom boat was flat by about 4" wide at the stern. Not pretty.

[youngie22]

must have happened more than once there at that landing, or alot of FM's there that day. I saw it & I know another guy has mentioned that scenario before.

[slipperybob]

Quote:

---

Big Marine? Really? I have never seen anyone do anything but power on to their trailers there....hmmm.

Is there a sign?

Daze Off

---

It's been too long, maybe I remember wrong...Maybe it's a please do not power load or something. Kind of like the please do not fish on boat lauch/load deck sign.

[united jigsticker]

The guy drove away with his motor running?

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

He probably read this thread and got so scared of being too slow that he figured a new engine and water pump was worth less then someone giving him a dirty look and getting mad.

I can't quit laughing. That's just stupid funny.

[StCroixNewB]

Wow UJ... so what's it like leading a perfect life, never making any mistakes???

[cold one sd]

Years ago in South Dakota we used to drop someone off and hang on to the dock while they brought the trailer down to load. I know that when we started getting a lot of people comming from other states this must have caused some problems as they would drop someone off to get their rig and when they got to the launch someone from SD would be hanging onto the dock. I believe it took a while to learn that dropping someone off and then getting away from the dock was a better idea. What has always been hard for me is people that back down the launch, stop short of backing their trailer in the water and then take everything out of the back of their pickup and load it into the boat. I can remember a day when some people had backed their trailer into the water and gone fishing while their pickup was left sitting on the ramp with the trailer in the water. This has a tendancy to really tee some people off.

[archer59]

Wouldn't it be great to just lower the boat lift?

[LoonASea]

Cold One,,,the trailer parked on the ramp has happened to me too ,,,I now carry a tube of bright red lipstick in my tackle box and write a few words on the violators windshield ,,,I should have stuck around for the one where i wrote "You got me pregnant You ba$tard"

Randoid

[wayne123]

Boat lifts are great. I think some people need to take a deep breath, relax and help out if you can. At busy launches you are going see things that are wrong almost every time. Try to enjoy the view of the lake, clean up your boat or the landing a little, anything but waste energy on being angry about something that is out of your control.

[youngie22]

UJ was just trying to find something good about that mans misfurtune... a good laugh. I hope nobody can find something "good" about me @ the launch this season!!!

[CrappieAttitude]

There is always someone doing something at a landing that will make an impatient person angry. From unloading the pickup while the boat is tied to the launch side of the dock, to people not moving fast enough while returning to their boat after parking their truck.

I feel that if anyone should happen to get a little impatient, it should be the people who are in line waiting to launch their boat, not the people who are "hovering" out away from the dock. These people returning have probably spent the last 4+ hours relaxing and spending time on the water, while the guys launching their boats "just want to get in."

I don't feel that getting confrontational with someone for being a little sub-par at their landing skills does anything good for the situation. The only thing that it will do is create a more nervous state for the inexperienced, (which would probably turn into an even longer wait) And for those who want to be jerks about it, they will more than likely "putz" a little more because they know your blood-pressure is boiling.

Be patient guys, not everyone is as good as you!

CA

[Shack]

Crappie,

Are you sure?

Just kidding, good post.

[cold one sd]

When I feel pushed or rushed, I have a tendancy to screw everything up right on down the line. It can make a simple task into something complex. I have tried to launch my boat with the transom tie downs still in place and I have launched my boat without the plug in place because I felt that I was holding others up. I'm getting to the point where folks will just have to wait for me to make sure that everything is right before I launch, but I do it in the parking lot where they can pass me. Someone on here was rihgt when they said to do it yurself and not depend on someone else.

[slipperybob]

I've seen people driving their boat with the anchor down... coming in to load their boat.

[McGurk]

I will say I had my best catch of the year last year while trolling in my Father-in-laws boat with the anchor down. After pulling all of the muck and weeds off the rope; lo and behold there was a Christmas Tree with a cinderblock roped to it on the anchor. I CPR'd it so someone else can have the chance to catch it, too. Unfortunately we didn't mark the spot.

Let's just say my duties as first mate were discussed in great detail after we got back to the rest of the party.