Stupid Things You've Done (or not done)

[houstonshark]

I've yet to make a real critical error but I have done some stupid things.

1. I've tried to launch the boat with the transom straps attached. I think the boat barely even touched the water when I remembered so no harm there. I only put on the transom straps when traveling long distance now. Our ramp is only a couple hundred yards away.

2. I've tried to launch the boat without the plug once. I always pull the plug on the ramp as soon as I get the boat out of the water and don't put it back in until I'm on the ramp about to launch the boat (in order to drain any remaining water). This is probably a practice I should discontinue. I either need to move the current bilge or add a 2nd. A drain underneath the V Drive would also be helpful.

Again, no harm done here. The boat barely got in the water when I remembered that I forgot to put the plug in.

3. Here's the latest and probably the worst. I'm embarrassed to even say that I did this. We drove down to the river pretty late on Sat. I had a couple things to do on the boat and our friends got there early so I was feeling a little rushed in getting the boat prepped.

In order to get the boat in and out of the garage, I have to lower the tower. This means that once I pull the boat out of the garage, I have to raise the tower and put in the hand tensioners to secure the tower. Somehow, while doing this, I got sidetracked and only managed to put the port side tensioner in...

We rode for almost 2 hours before I noticed. What's crazy is that the tower stayed solid and didn't really make any noises. I still can't believe I did that.


Let's hear your stories.

[bryce2320]

I busted the transom straps Friday night trying to hurry and get in the water. I thought I had the boat plenty deep and about the time I realized it, she had managed to back the boat off. I unhook the bow strap before we leave our camper about a half mile from the ramp. So when it didn't immediately slide off the trailer I knew what it was. Now we don't use them any more

[gcsuper]

I bought my first boat in 1986. A VIP runabout. Bought it during the winter boat show so I had time to fiddle with it. After some pondering, I decided the two front seats needed to be spaced farther apart for more elbow room, so I removed the four screws on each one and moved them slightly farther apart. Problem solved right ? First time we took the boat to the launch, I couldn't get it to come off the trailer. Several good samaritans tried to help, but to no avail. So back to the dealer I go. They put it in their pit and couldn't get it to come off either. They calmly asked me if I had done anything to the boat, and I replied NO, not realy, I only moved the seats out a little. Hummmmmmm. Apparently I moved the seats far enough that I ran the screws thru the boat in into the trailer running boards. But they were very nice about it. They patched my holes and I returned to pick up the boat with a red face and a good story to tell and no doubt the dealer had a good story to tell as well.

[WakerideN]

one thing I have not figured out... why is it.. .that when it comes to boats and things related to getting ready on or off the lake we find ourselves in a rush... given that it seems 99% of the mistakes are made because we are in a hurry. like I see guys drag thier I/O props up the ramp all the time.

I used to pull my plug.. made the same mistake.... now i just pump out the water that is left...

once or twice in my last boat i forgot to drain the ballast.. .was towing it home.. and was like man this thing is a tank...(oh S$$%^)

[houstonshark]

Damn. Reva don't play around with the throttle does she?

[WakerideN]

I bought my first boat in 1986. A VIP runabout. Bought it during the winter boat show so I had time to fiddle with it. After some pondering, I decided the two front seats needed to be spaced farther apart for more elbow room, so I removed the four screws on each one and moved them slightly farther apart. Problem solved right ? First time we took the boat to the launch, I couldn't get it to come off the trailer. Several good samaritans tried to help, but to no avail. So back to the dealer I go. They put it in their pit and couldn't get it to come off either. They calmly asked me if I had done anything to the boat, and I replied NO, not realy, I only moved the seats out a little. Hummmmmmm. Apparently I moved the seats far enough that I ran the screws thru the boat in into the trailer running boards. But they were very nice about it. They patched my holes and I returned to pick up the boat with a red face and a good story to tell and no doubt the dealer had a good story to tell as well.

ahahah this might be one of the best I have heard to date... thanks for sharing.

[houstonshark]

Nice.

[Duncan]

First time our 2009 RZ2 was on the water. Pulling back into the slip, forgot to pull the board racks in. The racks and the boards nailed the side supports of the slip. Hobbled one board rack, destroyed one wakeboard, and gouged another.

Same season, first family vacation at Lake Norfolk. Arrived in the evening and towed the RZ2 down a goat trail (Corps lake) to the ramp at the rental resort. Backed in around a hideous curve. Went to start the boat before unhooking. Nothing. Checked everything I could think of, still nothing. So, we pulled the boat out of the water and drug it back up the goat trail (Armada transmission kept overheating and shutting down; a$$ behind me was in a hurry and gave us not an ounce of empathy). Finally got the boat up the hill and parked for the night. I downed quite a bit of Capt Morgan's to ease the anxiety. Posted on TO of course. Middle of the night, I sat up in bed and thought "battery isolator switch". Went out with a flashlight and, sure enough, "OFF". Before morning Zad0030 replied to my TO thread suggesting to check the isolator. Rest of the vacation went fine.

Few seasons later, I snapped the bow winch strap on a pretty steep ramp at Norris Lake, TN. Had to run to Wal Mart to buy some straps to get the boat up the ramp. Now I replace the winch strap every other season (I need to carry an extra).

[Ewok]

I have forgotten to put the plug in once. It was on my old Bayliner Classic which has the red and blue pinstripe graphics, so after I parked the trailer I was looking at the boat in the water and thought its sitting a little low, then it hit me. So I rushed back, got the trailer in the water and slowly pulled the boat out and let it drain slowly as I pulled it out. Luckily it was a semi-private launch in Canada so there was no one else using the launch.

I'll always remember the plug after that, and driving from WA to ID they check at the invasive species stations to make sure your plug is pulled and the bilge is dry. I also keep a plastic orange plug atatched to the boat keys so I always have a reminder at the helm and if I need to in a pinch I can jump in the water an install the temp plastic plug.

[Duncan]

On the subject of plugs, I have not (yet) forgotten to put it in. But with three bilge pumps with a total of 3600 gph capacity, I think I could leisurely make my way back to the ramp in time

[dingleberry]

I used to pull my plug.. made the same mistake.... now i just pump out the water that is left...

I would rather forget the plug when launching (easy fix) than leave it in at all times and risk this (thread in here in which it was covered but stored outside during a rainy season):

[Ewok]

I would rather forget the plug when launching (easy fix) than leave it in at all times and risk this (thread in here in which it was covered but stored outside during a rainy season):

X2, but then we wouldn't have fodder for future versions of this thread

[Ewok]

Another stupid thing I did, when changing my impeller, I was using a 1/2" drive socket wrench to loosen the tension pully to get a new serpentine belt back on the engine. It was getting tough to hold the wrench with one hand and pull the belt on the bell pully, so I secured the wrench with my forearm so I could use 2 hands on the belt. Well, my arm slipped and I lost track of the wrench and the tension pully spring launched the butt end of the wrench into my forehead. The funny part is my 4yo was there, being a "helper" and I asked her how bad the cut was on my head. She gave me the deer in the headlights look and told me it wasnt bad. 30 min later my wife comes home and informs me I've got a huge track of blood from my 4head, arond my eye and down to my chin. My 4yo was being "brave for me" so I wouldn't be scared with all the blood. Luckily I didn't get any blood on the interior of the boat.

[dingleberry]

The maiden voyage of our brand new RZ4 - windy weather but we just had to take it for a spin after picking it up from the dealer. It was only my wife, our two boys (5 years old at the time), and me. She backed in the trailer and I backed the boat off as she went to park the truck. I was new to inboard steering, and even though the dealer had shown us on a test drive, I just wasn't thinking enough ahead. With the direction of the wind, the boat was quickly headed toward the launch ramp dock and other boats. Without another adult on board to help, I didn't want to leave the helm and I panicked. I shifted to forward and steered away from the dock and boats, but just got too shallow in the process. TING TING TING TING TING as the prop hit the concrete ramp. So, I managed to ding the prop literally within one minute of launching on the maiden voyage of our brand new boat.

[hopps1945]

I'll always remember the plug after that, and driving from WA to ID they check at the invasive species stations to make sure your plug is pulled and the bilge is dry. I also keep a plastic orange plug atatched to the boat keys so I always have a reminder at the helm and if I need to in a pinch I can jump in the water an install the temp plastic plug.

Good idea Ewok. I might do that too. The wife and I have a system in place, we each have specific jobs to getting ready to launch and when we get out of the water. Knock on wood, haven't forgot the plug, yet....

So my oops so far this year. Had my dad in town so we had spent the day trouble shooting all my little problems on the boat and we wired in a plug in the back compartment to run our pump to fill and drain our fat sacks. One problem I could not figure out was the cabin heater. The original owner decided to redo most of the wiring. I had no power to the heater switch. We had the seats pulled, trying to trace the wiring from the helm area to the rear. We had unplugged a few of the harness connectors checking for continuity from the switch through these. After some work, finally got it figured out and put the boat back together. The next day, we took the parents out on the boat. It was the weekend and the launch at the local lake can get a bit busy. Got the boat in the water, parked the truck and jumped in. Went to start the boat, nothing. No cranking, nothing. The wife is thinking we have a dead battery. We clear out the rear locker to get to the battery and I happen to open the engine compartment too. Then it hits me, forgot to reconnect the connector between the main wiring harness and the motor. Plugged it back in and we were good.
Being our first season as boat owners, we will probably have more stories as the time goes on.