embarrassing boating stories

[Sheamus Walsh]

what are your most embarrassing moments while either launching or loading your boats i had one on lake mississinewa in Peru Indiana i went to jump from the boat to the dock unfortunately for me I misjudged the gap between the dock and my boat  i jump and landed  in  the lake lost my glasses  in the process 

[Richard Rives]

Just recently I put my boat plug into the wrong spot on the boat and was taking on water fast as I was leaving the ramp area. Had to come back and jump in the water, pull the plug underwater and put it where it belonged. Started the evening soaking wet, but at least I"m in Texas and was dry in 20 minutes because it's still 100 d**n degrees at 6:30 at night.

[haggard]

A couple weekends ago launched the skiff just before sunrise, parked the truck, came back to the dock and saw all my stuff floating around in the boat in about 7 inches of water. Installed drain plug. Wasn't sure I should step into the boat as I might swamp it but did it anyway, motored out to the lake and pulled the plug at speed, and it drained quickly. Good to know that trick works and glad nobody was at the dock to witness my senior moment. Even though I just posted it on the forum ?

 

[kjfishman]

Brain fade today backing my budies trailer in to retrieve the boat. Like I forgot how to back up a trailer.

[DaubsNU1]

Not my story...but a mutual friend of mine...

 

Stopped to get gas in his Lund...pumping, pumping, pumping...filled up to 15 gallons...thought "gee, my fuel tank is only 10 gallons...."  Oops, he was pumping fuel in to the rod holder / bottom of the boat!!!

 

No problem...launched the boat, pulled in to the middle of the lake, and turned on the bilge(!)

 

Said it looked like the Exxon Valdeze was there...

 

(d**n fool could have killed himself!)  

 

 

[dickenscpa]

I was pulling out after sundown and my boat wasn’t on the trailer right so backed down to let it float and settle. Someone knocked on the window and kinda startled me, I hadn’t seen a soul in the parking lot. He was new to the area and was asking me questions and we talked about ten minutes. We said bye and I go to take off and forgot I was in reverse. I plowed the water backwards and slammed the brake a bit.

 

When I slammed the brake I must’ve had enough momentum my strap broke and my boat goes floating into the night. Luckily the guy hadn’t took off yet and when he quit laughing I got in his boat to get to my boat. 

[GreenPig]

Met my bud at the lake one morning to fish a tournament. He pulled up and I tossed my tackle in his boat and he backed me down. I secured the boat to the dock and passed him on the dock. I'd forgotten my sunglasses in my truck. It was still dark and he fired up his Lowrance and starts adjusting it wondering how it got so out of whack. There was about 25 or 30 boats already in the water and 10 or so tied up to the dock. As I arrived at my bud's boat he was nowhere to be seen, so I climb in and sit down. Then I hear somebody holler what the **** are you doing in my ****** *****, boat. My bud was sitting in a Bass Tracker just like his adjusting a Lowrance HDS 7 just like his. The guy about blew a fuse because he thought my bud was deleting or trying to steal his waypoints. It was a show for a couple minutes and my bud was some kinda embarrassed. It was great! The next day he ordered the green LED's I'd been trying to convince him to get for night fishing, mainly so he'd never mistake who's boat he was climbing in.

[Tracker22]

Met a buddy at the lake to take his new used boat out for the first time. I backed him down the ramp into the water and when I pulled out the back half of the trailer stayed in the water.

[dickenscpa]

10 hours ago, GreenPig said:

Met my bud at the lake one morning to fish a tournament. He pulled up and I tossed my tackle in his boat and he backed me down. I secured the boat to the dock and passed him on the dock. I'd forgotten my sunglasses in my truck. It was still dark and he fired up his Lowrance and starts adjusting it wondering how it got so out of whack. There was about 25 or 30 boats already in the water and 10 or so tied up to the dock. As I arrived at my bud's boat he was nowhere to be seen, so I climb in and sit down. Then I hear somebody holler what the **** are you doing in my ****** *****, boat. My bud was sitting in a Bass Tracker just like his adjusting a Lowrance HDS 7 just like his. The guy about blew a fuse because he thought my bud was deleting or trying to steal his waypoints. It was a show for a couple minutes and my bud was some kinda embarrassed. It was great! The next day he ordered the green LED's I'd been trying to convince him to get for night fishing, mainly so he'd never mistake who's boat he was climbing in.

I had something similar happen at a restaurant a few years back. I can see fine 10' out - 10' in I can't see anything. I went to the bathroom on a rare occasion my wife and I didn't have kids with us and when I came back I sat at the wrong table with another man's wife. No glasses and she looked like a blonde headed blur. Neither were too happy with my conversation topic I thought I was having with my wife knowing we had a house with no kids waiting on us.

[camman]

Loading up the boat, buddy backs down and maybe put the trailer in a little deeper than normal.  No biggy...I put the boat on, reach under secure the front strap and give him the signal.  He slowly pulls out and the strap breaks with a loud rip/snap.  No damage as just had to tie the strap and go but learned a good lesson in periodically checking your straps.

 

Saw this when we were waiting to pull the boat out.  There was this guy with a huge speedboat launching.  He lines it up and hops in while his wife or girlfriends backs it down the last bit.  Boat/trailer is in the water and he fires up the engine to back it down and its not moving.  He tells her to back down a little further and still on the trailer.  After a few minutes of trying, he has her pull up and the back straps are still on.  He starts cussing her out that she should've taken it off and she's yelling back at him.  He gets out removes it and they launch.  She speeds out of there with the empty trailer drives through the parking lot and heads for the exit.  We got our boat out, cleaned it up and took off and she was nowhere to be seen

[roadwarrior]

Dude gets no sympathy from me.

 

 

[dickenscpa]

I'll tell this one on myself and I'll stop, LOL! I'm 100% opposite of claustrophobic. Closed spaces don't bother me at all, I could live in a cocoon. I think it's because as soon as I was able to walk my Dad had me doing electric and plumbing in attics and underneath houses he was too big to get into.

 

Anyways I MUCH prefer to be on my boat alone. I don't want to be on someone else's and no one on mine. I think this is why I have fell so in love with kayak fishing. My wife tells her friends ALL the time I have a boat and I'll take their husband fishing.

 

So I have this honey hole and there's no cell service. Makes it difficult to upload fish via TourneyX. I get stuck taking this guy fishing, that I don't know and he's asking a blue million questions. I ask him to stand "over there" so I can launch and please don't talk so much.

 

I swear it was unintentional but I forgot all about him. I took off leaving him at the ramp, fish two hours and come back and he's sitting on my tail gate. He rode with me and had no way to get in and no cell service.

 

Even though he got on my nerves I'd never do anyone like that on purpose. I felt so horrible. I bought his dinner where ever he wanted to go and bought myself a pass to take him fishing just about anytime I went out until they moved about a year ago.

 

I never felt like anything I could do made up for it. I felt so bad and always thought how I'd feel if it happened to me.

[Dirtyeggroll]

Backed in with the transom straps still attach and took ~15 minutes trying to get the boat to float off of the trailer before I realized.

 

Tinkered with the motor and things for about an hour because it wouldn’t start. Kill switch was flipped off.

[schplurg]

On 8/18/2020 at 7:03 PM, DaubsNU1 said:

Not my story...but a mutual friend of mine...

 

Stopped to get gas in his Lund...pumping, pumping, pumping...filled up to 15 gallons...thought "gee, my fuel tank is only 10 gallons...."  Oops, he was pumping fuel in to the rod holder / bottom of the boat!!!

 

No problem...launched the boat, pulled in to the middle of the lake, and turned on the bilge(!)

 

Said it looked like the Exxon Valdeze was there...

 

(d**n fool could have killed himself!)  

 

 

He launched the boat after pouring in all the fuel just so he could dump the gas in the lake? He should be in jail. He should sell the boat and take up origami. No wait...paper cuts. Definitely on the list for Dumbest Boater Ever.

 

Here's another:

 

My step-brother, who is about as mechanically inclined as a loaf of bread, took out the family boat one day, ran over a jet skier (high-five brah) and crashed into a dock. No injuries.

 

I'll have to remind him about that next time I see him. He did get to "live the dream" though of running over a jet skier.

[schplurg]

Okay now I remember a dumb thing I did. I heard this story the next morning when I asked my friends why I was sleeping on the couch instead of the bed.

 

I was about 21, partying on Lake Tulloch where my Dad lives. 30 years ago. Partying at a resort type of place, Poker Flat, with a bunch of my friends and a few hundred other people (now it's a rehab center).

 

I drove my Dad's boat, probably the same boat from the story above, and I was completely wasted. Very late at night. My friend said he was waiting for me to make a bad move and would have grabbed the wheel.

 

Instead, I stopped the boat to take a leak off the bow (no didn't fall in sorry). At that point he took over the captain's chair with apparently no complaint from me.

 

I created a little chaos riding in the bed of my own truck back to the house, yelling and having a great time, so I heard. Happy-drunk. I remember none of this. My first blackout of two in my life.

 

Anyways, not very exciting but definitely dumb. I have been in boats my whole life, my Dad had his own boat business in the 60s - 70s (started with a hull mold Schiada sold him), and I've driven them since I was probably 4. Couldn't reach the gas pedal probably though. 

 

V-drives with open headers and big blocks, baby! Went to boat drags every month or 2 weeks in Oakland(?) on the estuary, water skiing, all of it. Docking and trailering boats in high winds. But alcohol can negate all of that.

 

I do not bring alcohol on a boat (I'm older now). Alcohol and boats do not mix. I love beer, I'm having one now, but nah...ruins my fishing anyways. 

[DaubsNU1]

6 hours ago, schplurg said:

He launched the boat after pouring in all the fuel just so he could dump the gas in the lake? He should be in jail. He should sell the boat and take up origami. No wait...paper cuts. Definitely on the list for Dumbest Boater Ever.

 

 

Yep. He was quite the character. Friends of mine knew him better...there are many, many stories of his exploits and near brushes with death...most are funny and/or dumb. Some are downright frightening.  

 

He's still alive. 

[Captain Phil]

I could fill this forum with stupid things I did with boats.  Since you asked about ramp debacles, here are my "Greatest Hits".

 

Back in the nineties, I ordered a new 18' Ranger bass boat with a 175. My wife and I were launching this boat at a small ramp in South Florida.  The ramp was half sand and half concrete with a huge pot hole on one side. I had the trailer winch disconnected and the hold down straps removed.  As I backed the boat in the water, one trailer tire went in the hole.  To get it out, I decided to stab the gas on my truck thinking I could power my way out.  As the trailer tire came out of the hole, my new boat slid off the trailer and fell on the ramp.  Somehow we managed to winch the boat back on the trailer.  The bottom was scratched up, but nothing permanent.

 

Another time, I was at Slim's Fish Camp in Bell Glade. My buddy and I were loading my boat at the ramp.  The ramp was full of water hyacinths when I backed the trailer down. My buddy drove the boat on the trailer as I watched out the back window of the truck.  As I watched, I saw him jump out of the boat and run past my window at full speed. I got out of the truck to see what had happened.  He pointed to the boat and sitting on the deck behind the driver's seat was a huge black snake.  It must have washed into the boat when we came off plane.

 

Once when I was fishing in the Everglades late at night, I misplaced my truck keys at the ramp.  I looked for what seemed like an hour and couldn't find them.  My boat and truck were both stuck at the ramp. Around 2 AM, I called my wife to bring me another set of keys.  She had to get out of bed and drive 30 minutes to the ramp.  As soon as she pulled in the parking lot, I found my keys in the pocket of my rain suit.  It took a long time before that stunt was forgotten.

 

I left the plug out of my boats so many times I can't remember them all.  Most of the time, I had to go for a swim to put it back in.  I've watched tournament pros launch their boats with the straps still on. I once watched Doug Gilley and John Fox pull off this stunt to the delight of all onlookers. I once had a fire on one of my boats because I didn't properly fuse a wash down pump.  What made this extra scary was I was 30 miles offshore in the Gulf Stream.  If you want to see some things that will make your day, watch the Bill Dance videos on YouTube.  They are hilarious. 

 

 

[12poundbass]

My son was about 5, I had him hold the rope while I launched the boat. It was his first time and wasn’t watching the rest of the rope, I ran it over and it snapped, I didn’t realize this. The boat launches and proceeds to float away! This is a tiny lake so we’re the only ones on it. I strip down to my skibbies and make my way out to my boat which is now about 50 yards away! I’m in waste deep water with knee deep muck, then swam (I hadn’t swam in probably 10 years) to the boat and finally was able to bring it in. Thankfully it was a warm summer morning so I didn’t freeze. While swimming I was quickly reminded how out of shape I was. Lol

[Captain Phil]

1 hour ago, 12poundbass said:

The boat launches and proceeds to float away! This is a tiny lake so we’re the only ones on it. I strip down to my skibbies and make my way out to my boat which is now about 50 yards away! 

Déjà vu?  Years ago I was fishing with a friend in Canada.  It was early September.  It was a windy day with temperatures in the 40s.  We were 40 miles down Lac Seul when we decided to stop for lunch. We beached the boat on a large rock and both got out.  My friend immediately found an Indian arrowhead in the sand.  After looking at for a few minutes, I turned around and saw the boat drifting off into the bay we were in.  I was stunned. 

 

My buddy knew exactly what to do. He immediately stripped off all his clothing, dove in and swam after the boat.  He caught up with the boat and brought it back to shore.  As he stood there totally naked, I asked him if he was cold?   My buddy was a bear of a man, about 5' 9" and 250 pounds.  He was from Omaha and white as a new born baby seal.  He said the water was warmer than the air temperature.  He seemed fine as he put his clothes and shoes back on.  I asked him why he took off his clothes?   He said if his clothes got wet in that weather, he would have froze to death.  Over the years my friend and I had many other adventures.  We never forgot the Canadian skinny dip.

[TnRiver46]

On 8/21/2020 at 9:51 AM, Captain Phil said:

I could fill this forum with stupid things I did with boats.  Since you asked about ramp debacles, here are my "Greatest Hits".

 

Back in the nineties, I ordered a new 18' Ranger bass boat with a 175. My wife and I were launching this boat at a small ramp in South Florida.  The ramp was half sand and half concrete with a huge pot hole on one side. I had the trailer winch disconnected and the hold down straps removed.  As I backed the boat in the water, one trailer tire went in the hole.  To get it out, I decided to stab the gas on my truck thinking I could power my way out.  As the trailer tire came out of the hole, my new boat slid off the trailer and fell on the ramp.  Somehow we managed to winch the boat back on the trailer.  The bottom was scratched up, but nothing permanent.

 

Another time, I was at Slim's Fish Camp in Bell Glade. My buddy and I were loading my boat at the ramp.  The ramp was full of water hyacinths when I backed the trailer down. My buddy drove the boat on the trailer as I watched out the back window of the truck.  As I watched, I saw him jump out of the boat and run past my window at full speed. I got out of the truck to see what had happened.  He pointed to the boat and sitting on the deck behind the driver's seat was a huge black snake.  It must have washed into the boat when we came off plane.

 

Once when I was fishing in the Everglades late at night, I misplaced my truck keys at the ramp.  I looked for what seemed like an hour and couldn't find them.  My boat and truck were both stuck at the ramp. Around 2 AM, I called my wife to bring me another set of keys.  She had to get out of bed and drive 30 minutes to the ramp.  As soon as she pulled in the parking lot, I found my keys in the pocket of my rain suit.  It took a long time before that stunt was forgotten.

 

I left the plug out of my boats so many times I can't remember them all.  Most of the time, I had to go for a swim to put it back in.  I've watched tournament pros launch their boats with the straps still on. I once watched Doug Gilley and John Fox pull off this stunt to the delight of all onlookers. I once had a fire on one of my boats because I didn't properly fuse a wash down pump.  What made this extra scary was I was 30 miles offshore in the Gulf Stream.  If you want to see some things that will make your day, watch the Bill Dance videos on YouTube.  They are hilarious. 

 

 

Fire on board 30 miles into the ocean? Holy cow that’s scary 

[Captain Phil]

  

13 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Fire on board 30 miles into the ocean? Holy cow that’s scary 

 

One of the most frightening things that ever happened to me.  The wash down pump shorted out.  Without being properly fused, the wire from the battery to the pump started burning.  I smelled the electrical fire from the bridge when the instruments shut down. When I opened the engine hatch, smoke pored out.  I shut off the battery switches manually.  Thankfully the boat had twin diesels and kept running.  The smoke quit, but I had no instruments or radio.  The only thing I was thinking about was what it was going to be like floating in a cooler 30 miles out in the Gulf Stream.  When we made it back, I got on my knees and thanked God for looking after us.   Never ever install any electrical device on a boat without a fuse. 

[Guitarfish]

Was half way across SF Bay once before I realized I was standing in water.  A week earlier while remounting seats,  my bud that was helping apparently didn't stop drilling once he was thru the deck.  He drilled eight holes all the way thru the hull.  It was funny later after all the work to repair was done.

 

I hit a sand bar at about 30mph once, threw everyone forward pretty good.  Had to get out and push the boat off in 12" of water while sunk to my knees.

 

 

[Junk Fisherman]

On 8/21/2020 at 8:10 AM, DaubsNU1 said:

 

Yep. He was quite the character. Friends of mine knew him better...there are many, many stories of his exploits and near brushes with death...most are funny and/or dumb. Some are downright frightening.  

 

He's still alive. 

Was there an air vent or something that he thought was the gas intake?  Where was the gas nozzle?

On 8/22/2020 at 11:33 AM, 12poundbass said:

My son was about 5, I had him hold the rope while I launched the boat. It was his first time and wasn’t watching the rest of the rope, I ran it over and it snapped, I didn’t realize this. The boat launches and proceeds to float away! This is a tiny lake so we’re the only ones on it. I strip down to my skibbies and make my way out to my boat which is now about 50 yards away! I’m in waste deep water with knee deep muck, then swam (I hadn’t swam in probably 10 years) to the boat and finally was able to bring it in. Thankfully it was a warm summer morning so I didn’t freeze. While swimming I was quickly reminded how out of shape I was. Lol

Did the same thing a couple years ago.  Thankfully it was at daylight and no one was around.  

[DaubsNU1]

4 hours ago, Junk Fisherman said:

Was there an air vent or something that he thought was the gas intake?  Where was the gas nozzle?

Did the same thing a couple years ago.  Thankfully it was at daylight and no one was around.  

Old Lund...he was pumping gas in to a rod holder hole...

 

Was not paying attention...

[Krux5506]

Not really a launching or loading story but the first season with my Lund, I went out on a very cold October morning where everything on my boat felt near frozen including myself. Got to the first spot, jumped up to deploy the trolling motor, and the whole thing just somehow fell into the water minus the cord that I was holding it all up by. 

Not all that embarrassing but I figure for anyone watching, it must have looked pretty funny. Especially how I almost went in the water myself, trying to keep a hold of it.