A couple of summers ago we were taking my dads new Lund out at a pond in Maine. My dad showed me where to put the drain plug in and we launched. We were heading over to pick up my cousins and wife up at the dock and trying to figure out why the boat was leaning to one side. Eventually the water came above the floor boards and his waterproof orange safety box was floating around in the boat. We spun around and sped back to the ramp to get the boat out. We got it all set and went back to get them. My cousins and wife had no idea why we took off and when explaining it my dad said “when you see the safety box float by your seat in the boat you know you have a problem” As a side note there is still debate on who is at fault for the plug in the wrong hole.
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Boat ramp failure stories
- Thread starter Obie1
- Start date
Wickedcoolname
NES Member
All of my boat ramp drama ended when I bought a Coleman Crawdad. I just slide it out of my truck bed, hook up the trolling motor and I'm done. I always hated dealing with a trailer while being crowded by others at the ramp.
deerdad
NES Member
Here's my contribution. Both of these were from 2017, both on the CT River just a few miles apart. The boat was at the slips next to the boat ramp in Gill during a very heavy rain storm and apparently the pump wasn't working. The golf cart was during a alumni weekend at the private school in town. Cart went down the ramp and they had a wheel slip off the edge and flipped the cart in. (no one hurt and responsible party came forward after a watch was found at the scene)
Greg
Greg
A buddy had an oDay 23 in Great Bay: not a fast boat. They went to Portsmouth on the tide, then sailed around for a while. They were a little early on the tide: which they figured out when even reaching, with motor, they were not making land! The Piscataqua tides are fierce! They made the most of it by stopping in Portsmouth for lunch!
Cape Cod canal is another one. I was helping deliver a Tartan 27, which had an atomic four inboard. We got to the eastern end just as the tide turned. Wind on the nose built some chop. We reached back and forth, with the prop coming out of the water every once in a while, making about 10 degrees to weather per pass.
A buddy was transiting CCC in a Pearson 34 when three navy gun boats passed home W-E going for glory. Apparently there is no speed limit for naval vessels transiting the canal.
Three wakes, plus reflections off the shoreline. He got pounded.
We were sailing in Boston Harbor with my 10yo daughter and two friends on the rail. A heavy jet went over us for a landing. About 30 seconds later, we got about a 90 degree wind shift, quickly auto-tacking the boat. All three of them were in the water almost to the waist, screaming their heads off! The boat popped back to the prevailing wind in a few seconds.
They were freaked out. I said, "Girls, in 10 minutes this is going to be the most fun you ever had sailing!" And they still talk about it, 8 years later!
BTW, remember Hunt For Red October?
I was in an overnight race in light air in Mass Bay, out towards Ptown. Light air, warm summer night, we were probably moving 4-5 knots. All the sudden, BAM! The boat just about stopped dead. But we couldn't see anything! If you hit a log, barrel, whatever, it's still around. Shined lights all around.
"I think it was a 'Biological.'"
"A what?"
"Whale, motherf***er." This boat weighed about 7 tons, so whatever we hit was big enough to stop 7 tons.
I was in an overnight race in light air in Mass Bay, out towards Ptown. Light air, warm summer night, we were probably moving 4-5 knots. All the sudden, BAM! The boat just about stopped dead. But we couldn't see anything! If you hit a log, barrel, whatever, it's still around. Shined lights all around.
"I think it was a 'Biological.'"
"A what?"
"Whale, motherf***er." This boat weighed about 7 tons, so whatever we hit was big enough to stop 7 tons.
AHM
NES Member
Been there,
done that,
been soaked to the skin by thunderstorms 3 out of 4 times,
got the Goslings Black Seal Rum hat.
We didn't hit any whales but the first year,
becalmed deep into Cape Cod Bay around 3 AM,
we were downwind of one that had apparently supped on beans and cabbage.
They have no sense of propriety or personal hygiene whatsoever.
smokey-seven
NES Member
Wait till you have one breach and flop on your foredeck!
Chevy 2 65
NES Member
MisterHappy
NES Member
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smokey-seven
NES Member
You sir will understand this.
On a 27'Oday with Genoa and main set on port tack in a nice breeze, we were probably making 7 knots heading into Beverly by Bakers Island. The tide was running heavily outgoing. Just past the bell buoy, the wind shifted but the sails still were set on port tack. Both sails in the upper third were on starboard tack and not luffing a bit. We still had the same over the water speed, but were making no headway, just sitting in the same place relative to the buoy. It took about 15 minutes so that the tide calmed down before we made headway.
Sealegs Amphibious Vehicle Test Drive - Boat Car 2010 Sealegs Review
Saw one of these in Plymouth, while hanging out at the ramp, after a great day fishing with some friends. We were watching the circus at the very crowded ramp and a guy with one of these just cuts everyone that was waiting their turn. People were yelling every obscenity at him they could think of, til he just drove right up the ramp to his trailer in the parking lot. Priceless!
Saw one of these in Plymouth, while hanging out at the ramp, after a great day fishing with some friends. We were watching the circus at the very crowded ramp and a guy with one of these just cuts everyone that was waiting their turn. People were yelling every obscenity at him they could think of, til he just drove right up the ramp to his trailer in the parking lot. Priceless!
Last summer, a group of friends planned a day hanging out at a small beach on Webster Lake next to a public boat ramp (not the main boat ramp near the beach). I spent about 8 hours on a float there. It was the greatest entertainment ever.
I'm not sure if it was the angle of the ramp itself, but I watched 3 different boats forget to put the prop up and drag it as the were pulling out. 2 completely ruining the prop.
Another guy had his throttle stick as he was bringing his boat in, he ended up smashing the concrete ramp to slow down.
Pretty entertaining day.
I'm not sure if it was the angle of the ramp itself, but I watched 3 different boats forget to put the prop up and drag it as the were pulling out. 2 completely ruining the prop.
Another guy had his throttle stick as he was bringing his boat in, he ended up smashing the concrete ramp to slow down.
Pretty entertaining day.
smokey-seven
NES Member
Amazing how many people forget that they can shut the motor off.
smokey-seven
NES Member
I just went shopping and could not get a price unless the USED one that they were selling for 138,000 Euros was a real price!??
Yup real numbers : Sealegs boats for sale - YachtWorld
AHM
NES Member
So sads.
And tow vehicle owners love their trucks so much more than car owners...
But it's somehow fulfilling to see the trailer (and sometimes the boat)
dutifully trail the truck that's getting winched out of the drink.
Gives me a real sense of closure.
Note that there is no passenger compartment so immersed,
that the same clowns who sunk the truck can't resist
putting the cherry on the fail by opening the doors while still in the water
and having the contents cascade into the water.
Because it's not enough that their wife's pocketbook
went down with the ship.
They're not satisfied until it dumps into the bay
and her wallet gets lost.
They cost Texas. We saw one launch from the beach in Dot, but I believe it was a dealer-owned boat, not private.
Everyone else just buys a 10' inflatable dinghy.....
They are really popular in the Med/Caribbean where there dock service isn't available to tie up a tender to and to offload guests they have to beach the RIB. With the Sealegs they stay high and dry. Remember, if RIB costs $200k, you can bet that the boat is in the hundreds of millions range with yearly operating cost well in excess of $5 million.
Here’s the bow of that sailboat to give you some scale.
And the mast.
All these boats have AIS. So if you have an app like MarineTraffic, you can look up the stats and even the owner. The owner of that one was an English insurance executive.
And the mast.
All these boats have AIS. So if you have an app like MarineTraffic, you can look up the stats and even the owner. The owner of that one was an English insurance executive.
1. I'm guessing California.
2. Can't believe the size of the boat that Jeep pulled out. I hope they don't try pulling that on the highway with that Jeep.
3. The van thing with the integrated boat/trailer, how long is that boat ramp? Most I have been on are not long enough for my small trailer. The back tires of the tow vehicle would be dropped off the end of the pavement for sure anywhere in New England that I've been. Plus, the front tires are in the water also. That is a recipe for some of the mistakes we saw earlier in this thread. Boat rams are usually VERY slimy.
AHM
NES Member
With all the cliffs in the background, it's one of those desert southwest reservoirs
impounded by Hoover-class dams. Which means
if you want to build a boat ramp, you wait until the water level is wicked low,
and go to town on it. And every time there's a drought,
you extend the ramp lower (and do maintenance on this higher parts).
AHM
NES Member
I was aboard a 30' 1965 ketch during Constitution's turnaround cruise to Marblehead on 21-Jul-97. There was a rectangular boat-free zone around her maintained by (IIRC) a destroyer, frigate, and two USCG cutters at the corners.
From a sailboat, the Navy ships look like this:
I shudder to think of what a carrier looks like from the water.
namedpipes
NES Member
I have a wee bit of oakum removed from the hull of the USS Constitution. But it was in drydock at the time, not a boat ramp.
AHM
NES Member
namedpipes
NES Member
