posted 05-06-2011 11:51 AM ET (US)        

Here's the problem. The first commercial fisherman launched his boat and when to park his truck/trailer. He moved his boat to the end of the dock so the second commercial guy could launch. My first thought was these guys are commercial fisherman so they should be quick. Well, the second guy went to park his truck he came back started his boat warmed up for a bit and took off. Meanwhile, the first guy launched ten minutes prior was still blocking the dock and was no where to be found. I was circling around waiting for the guy to come out but after a few more minutes more boats started coming in so I decided to try to carefully squeeze by that Montauk and place my boat in front of his boat but not get in too shallow on the ramp.

Well, I almost made it by and pulled off my maneuver, but my rear port corner clipped the front starboard corner of his boat reasonably hard. Luckily for me the owner was then walking down from the parking lot (15 minutes after launching) and started yelling profanities. I felt bad as I had never hit someone's boat before but with strong winds and dummy blocking the dock it was an easy mistake to make. Usually I wait till the dock is clear but this guy took so long and I couldn't see him until after I hit his boat.

The guy was really pissed but when he came down to the dock but also realized I was twice his size so he calmed right down (didn't want to go swimming I guess :). I kept calm as well and apologized for hitting his boat because regardless of whether or not he was in the way I felt really bad, and embarrassed. We exchanged info, his boat had zero damage and I took a little chunk out of my rub rail :(

posted 05-06-2011 12:20 PM ET (US)            

Hey, I would have been yelling right back at him! Explaining what an inconsiderate ____ he was.
I think all in all you handled it as well as any of us could or should.

Scott

posted 05-06-2011 02:59 PM ET (US)            

If that's what happened, the guy probably had the right to be angry.

posted 05-06-2011 03:30 PM ET (US)            

Most of the ramps I launch at have ample room for someone to maneauver around a docked boat. If there was another lane available, I would have taken it. Fifteen minutes might seem like a long time to you, but if he had park far away, misplaced his keys, had engine trouble....you never know. There are a million reasons he could have taken additional time. His tardiness is no excuse for you hitting his boat.

posted 05-06-2011 07:22 PM ET (US)            

I'll drink to that!!

I'm w/ Frank and Len.

posted 05-07-2011 12:19 AM ET (US)            

I was really close to pulling off the maneuver but miscalculated how much the wind was pushing me sideways and just clipped his boat. Man, another 12" and I would have cleared it! The dock isn't very long so I didn't want to over shoot it and end up beaching on the ramp either.

posted 05-07-2011 07:25 AM ET (US)            

I find some folks don't give a crap about anyone else. It's all about THEM!!! Very often they are numb to what's occuring except in their own little vicinity bubble. Please give those self center ramp hogs a wide berth, because remember... It's all about THEM...

It was extremely inconsiderate for him to drive off and be gone so long. (next time he should use the head BEFORE launching his boat) He also needs to learn to not use the boat ramp as his own private dock. If he had trouble getting back to the ramp, he should have appologized for taking so long, inspected his boat for damage and counted his blessings that...

a) The damage was not worse and

b) Bass didn't throw his scrawny @$$ into the drink...

I'm sure if the shoe was on the other foot, he would have been ticked off that Bass had taken the dock for his own private use.

Well done Bass... Being by yourself, with the wind blowing 20, you did just fine. Keep the ding in the rub rail... it's a mild battle scar.

posted 05-07-2011 11:05 AM ET (US)            

Knocking on wood.
Ref; 25 years without a downtime incident.

WIth due respect, Im wondering if your first mistake was laying your fenders on the port side?
Gears and throttles aside, first thing I try to teach is avoiding pre concieved notions of how a job (landings) will go. Direction and wind velocity are always the #1 issue to deal with. Current, weight, draft, length, TIME, etc are secondary. Whatever it takes, DO NOT CRASH.

Whether they were slow packing and hogging the ramp is one thing... I agree with you this is frustrating.
Fact is...they were there, wind was clearly going to be a huge factor if you tried to make a landing between them.
You tried it and didnt make it.

The boats behind you were/are irrelevant.

Packed boat ramps are common. General rule of thumb around here is that the boat that goes onto the TRAILER backing down the ramp has right of way over all other boats in line. Tho it sounds like you were alone, I generally drop off crew to get the trailer in line asap and then back the boat away from the ramp, start cleaning things up while I drift around without regards for what order other boats are in. Power onto the trailer when it gets there. If I am alone, windy, I will patiently wait until the ramp has cleared. I know...easier to say than do but that is the proper ettiquite.

Sorry about your rub rail, glad it was resolved peacefully. Hope Ive helped. If not, shake it off and just go catch fish.

posted 05-07-2011 11:31 AM ET (US)            

If a boat launching site has plenty of parking spaces, ramps, and docks, there will be very little conflict. It is only when there are more boaters than there are ramps that conflict tends to occur.

If a scarcity of resources exists, a little management can prevent a lot of conflict. At very busy ramps the presence of someone directing traffic can avoid many arguments. Even without a person present, something as simple as a sign can help to prevent conflict. For example, a sign directing boaters to use one particular ramp for launching and another for loading can help avoid problems of who's next to use an open ramp.

posted 05-08-2011 07:03 PM ET (US)            

Anyhow, hands down, THE most irritating thing EVER, is when kayakers and standup paddle boarders drive up and lay their boards/boats perpendicularly across the launch lane adjacent to the dock, thereby shutting down all launching and recovery. The problem with such idiotic and inconsiderate action is that it is unneccessary. Because they can lay their toys on the part of the ramp that is coned off to vehicles, while they go park and put on their wetsuits or what have you. And the thing is, they ALL do it. It's like those sanctimonious road cyclists that delight in hogging up a whole lane on a 50 mile per hour rural 2-lane because, "I have as much right to it as you people in your cars, by damn!" Thankfully, not all cyclists are those militant types.

posted 05-09-2011 06:57 AM ET (US)         

Or people don't seem to realize that the 40 foot long parking spaces are for vehicles with boats and/or boat trailers attached to them, not their stupid little 2 door Honda civic. That parking lot is imagine this, farther away from the boat ramp, but God forbid people in Fast Food America have to walk an extra 100 yards.

Or how about the ever classic guy who pulls in, hops out, and throws the bow line to his wife and leaves to go get the truck, meanwhile the stern of the boat is coming ever closer to your boat while she stands there having no clue what to do. So now you have to stop what your doing and fend their boat off of yours. And that's counting on her not dropping the line in the water. Haha.

posted 05-09-2011 01:02 PM ET (US)            

Launch ramp etiquette is all about thinking AT ALL TIMES,
"what is my impact on everybody else?"

posted 05-09-2011 01:10 PM ET (US)            

Funny story about the Rainier Oregon ramp;
After years of planning and jumping thru hoops to aquire funding they selected a location perpendicular to the Columbia River current and shipping channel. Sigh.

The gangway (dock) runs parallel to the ramp into the river then makes a 90' turn for the dock downstream about 120 ft.
Nice big heavy duty dock protects the boats that are between it, the shore and the ramp.
Huge 24" steel piles and steel collars, cement deck.
Its HD, well made.

THe bad news is that they didnt go out far enough before making the 90. At low tide, the largest boat you can launch clear of the trailer is 20 ft or you will back into the dock before the boat clears the trailer. This is a big problem for guys who fish alone in big boats.
Two man operation needs to back the trailer under the boat or hold the boat while you drive out from under it.
Low tide windows are fairly brief, vary daily. Mid tide and above you gain 15-20 ft of room.

They say they didnt have enough money to run the gangway out another 15-20 ft before making the turn for the dock. During fall salmon run, 100 boats use this ramp daily...its a mess. Count your blessings.

posted 05-09-2011 03:15 PM ET (US)            

quote:

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I will tip my hat to tournament bass fishermen and their prowess on the launch and loading ramp.

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It was under this situation that I was introduced to boating, not quite 3 years ago by my wife's two dads who are/were pro bass fishermen, and professionalism, polish and courtesy at the launch ramp are MANDATORY in my world. I have known no other way.

Before I go boating on the lake with my old carbureted "bubblebacks", I warm them up and make sure the start, on the muffs in the driveway before we even leave for the lake, 20 minutes away. Then the wife backs me down the ramp with me in the boat and as soon as it's deep enough to wet the leg, I start up and back the boat off the trailer under power.

posted 05-10-2011 09:04 AM ET (US)            

quote:

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forced me to make a riskier approach which could have been avoided if the guy wasn't a "ramp hog"

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I'm sorry. Bottom line is that you are responsible for your own actions and you made a bad choice, and then feel like you are justified in blaming someone else. The other guy was inconsiderate, but he didn't force you to do anything. You, and you alone made the choice to try to go into a spot that wasn't big enough, and you hit his boat. Fortunately, no one got hurt, and damage was minimal.

As others have pointed out, there was one entire side of the dock open. Sure, landing on the upwind side is easier, but you need to be able to pilot your own boat safely. If you can't tie up you boat to the downwind side of a pier, you either need to be willing to wait until the upwind side is clear, or rethink going out alone.

posted 05-10-2011 09:31 PM ET (US)            

The tide was very low (-1'), and the ramp flattens out to a point the mud starts. The mud started covering the ramp ~6" uphill from the waters edge. I was poking around trying to find the edge of the ramp, but with +1' of mud on top of concrete, a little hard to do. Somewhere the ramp goes to all mud, but I didn't want to find out the hard way.

I did my customary, last check with the rear truck axle about 2' from the water. I only had ~4'-5' more feet to go back to launch the boat (bunks of course). I rolled back, the minimal amount to see if I could push off, no luck. At the same time I looked at the tires, and noticed a lot of mud.

So I pulled forward to do a more aggressive sliding launch. I got out to check really quick and noticed the rear trailer axle was covered in mud.

At that point I realized, launching was going to have to wait for the incoming tide. (So I pulled out, unhitched in the lot, locked everything down.)

I went back to the ramp and checked my tracks, and sure enough truck tire, trailer tire and axle marks all in the mud. I pulled out a gaff and poked around, my rear trailer axle was still on concrete, but had +1' of mud, the front trailer axle was marginally better, and the rear truck axle was in 3" of mud.