Dock Ramp Ediquitte

Learn how to use your mirrors and how to back up a trailer some where besides a Saturday afternoon at the ramps. If you have people with you in a second car do not park it in the parking lot for tow vehicle most the time there is a parking lot for just cars near by.When you do get your boat to the parking lot pull to the farthest end from the ramp to prep your boat for the trip home.
 
I had to exercise my screaming voice last weekend. As I walked on the dock some dude was pulling his 24 is Bayliner out at the other dock.. He stopped on the ramp and I watched his boat slowly start to roll backwards on his roller trailer. It took him a minute to understand I was yelling BACK UP NOW!. He got it back in the water in time but I wasn't sure he would. I always put the chain on.
 
X2 - Just this weekend I waited 15 minutes for a guy to drain the water out of his boat on the ramp - I'm guessing he had a leak of some sort. :)
 
Maybe it was a ski boat with ballasts. Saw one last weekend being pulled out by an x5. After they got it on the ramp out of the water they realized why it was sitting very offside on the trailer and it took everything that bimmer had to get it on the dry part. They backed it in and drained the tanks. They were there when we docked and they were still there after I walked 5 blocks to my trailer came back and loaded and left with them still trying do whatever they were trying to do. We do see a lot of first time with the new boat boaters here so I don't stress it when it's on the other dock.
 
No, not a ski boat - I'm guessing a 80's something carver if I remember right.
 
I know us English are famous for our politeness, but I don’t understand all these stories that start with ‘and then I watched the Guy start applying 3 coats of machine wax while still on the ramp, it took 5 hours’ I’m afraid I would simply ask the owner to shift his boat before it got to the 2nd minute of delay. Or am I missing something ?
 
I always start and warmup my boat at home on muffs before leaving so I know it will start at the ramp. No dead battery or flooded engine or first time out issue.
 
Concrete rams DO end somewhere. It is at that point that there is a dropoff now due to people powerloading.

If you try to powerload at 800 rpm the boat will not, no way, get on the trailer. Thus, you must back in so the back of the car is in the water, and worse than that, your trailer wheels just fell off into oblivion and now you'll end up ripping the axle off trying to get the trailer out.

I simply use the winch. I think they were put on for a reason. Yes, it takes me 2 or 3 minutes to do the cranking, but my feet don't get wet and all is done safely. On a past boat, it was too hard to crank, so i put on a power winch. Problem solved.

I always had keel rollers, but sometimes ez-slided bunks in combination. Our current ride is 100% rollers. 30 slippery little buggers spinning around, PLUS 2 self centering keel rollers. Life has never been so quick and easy.
 
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Show some deliberate hustle! It's incredibly frustrating watching someone look like they could care less that there's a line of boaters waiting on you. A leisurely stroll to the truck and trailer, shooting the $hit with the fisherman or organizing gear is a no, no at the ramp. I try to work quickly, but not so fast mistakes are made and always delegate tasks prior to getting to the dock to the most qualified passengers.
 
Also don’t forget to have your small children play in the water on the ramp while other people are trying to back up! Happened to me twice this last week while trying to back up and get off the lake.
 
Here is my issue. At the end of a long day on the water we might have 7-8 boats in line waiting for 1 of 2 exit ramps to open up. 99% of the boats will wait their turn in line and pull into the next available slip when it is their turn. A driver jumps out and retrieves the vehicle. They load the boat pull out and the next boat in line takes their turn.

Every now and then (usually a bass boat jockey) will take their boat past the line of waiting boats and will find a spot on a pier to drop off a driver. Then they retreat off to the side. When a boat on a trailer pulls out the bass boat's vehicle driver will take the open spot even if it is not their turn. The boat who's turn it may be will pull in and now we have a stand off. Most of the time the boat will give up and pull back out. The bass boat will once again pass all the boats in line load up and go.

My question besides shooting the guy is what can be done? Very frustrating to watch and feel so helpless to do anything about it. I know there are more horses azzes than horses. I just hate to see it when boating.
 
Stingrayaxe said:
Here is my issue. At the end of a long day on the water we might have 7-8 boats in line waiting for 1 of 2 exit ramps to open up. 99% of the boats will wait their turn in line and pull into the next available slip when it is their turn. A driver jumps out and retrieves the vehicle. They load the boat pull out and the next boat in line takes their turn.

Every now and then (usually a bass boat jockey) will take their boat past the line of waiting boats and will find a spot on a pier to drop off a driver. Then they retreat off to the side. When a boat on a trailer pulls out the bass boat's vehicle driver will take the open spot even if it is not their turn. The boat who's turn it may be will pull in and now we have a stand off. Most of the time the boat will give up and pull back out. The bass boat will once again pass all the boats in line load up and go.

My question besides shooting the guy is what can be done? Very frustrating to watch and feel so helpless to do anything about it. I know there are more horses azzes than horses. I just hate to see it when boating.
Click to expand...

What you put up with, is what you will have...
 
Stingrayaxe said:
Here is my issue. At the end of a long day on the water we might have 7-8 boats in line waiting for 1 of 2 exit ramps to open up. 99% of the boats will wait their turn in line and pull into the next available slip when it is their turn. A driver jumps out and retrieves the vehicle. They load the boat pull out and the next boat in line takes their turn.

Every now and then (usually a bass boat jockey) will take their boat past the line of waiting boats and will find a spot on a pier to drop off a driver. Then they retreat off to the side. When a boat on a trailer pulls out the bass boat's vehicle driver will take the open spot even if it is not their turn. The boat who's turn it may be will pull in and now we have a stand off. Most of the time the boat will give up and pull back out. The bass boat will once again pass all the boats in line load up and go.

My question besides shooting the guy is what can be done? Very frustrating to watch and feel so helpless to do anything about it. I know there are more horses azzes than horses. I just hate to see it when boating.
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'to phrase it another way...
What we allow, we ultimately teach.

Why not talk to the guys involved and very gently and politely remind them of the rules of dock etiquette.
 
Gofirstclass said:
'to phrase it another way...
What we allow, we ultimately teach.

Why not talk to the guys involved and very gently and politely remind them of the rules of dock etiquette.
Click to expand...

That's the problem. I'm 3-4 back in line. By the time I can pull my boat they are long gone. Or if I choose to run up to the pier while they are still loading I risk a confrontation in front of my wife and family further delaying the retrieval process. I can only hope that some day they try to cut directly in front of me. I won't be so easy to move from the pier. Then I can have a teaching session. Oh yea and these guys know exactly what they are doing. They just don't care.
 
Stingrayaxe said:
That's the problem. I'm 3-4 back in line. By the time I can pull my boat they are long gone. Or if I choose to run up to the pier while they are still loading I risk a confrontation in front of my wife and family further delaying the retrieval process. I can only hope that some day they try to cut directly in front of me. I won't be so easy to move from the pier. Then I can have a teaching session. Oh yea and these guys know exactly what they are doing. They just don't care.
Click to expand...
Is it the same guy all the time? Maybe its time to introduce your wire cutters to his tire valve stems!
 
Or better yet, the next time you see him do it, call whatever agency is in charge of the ramp and explain the situation and the frequency of it happening and let them take care of it.

I'm assuming Espos4 is joking, but keep in mind that EVERYBODY has a cell phone camera attached firmly to their hand and if step outa line you will be in social media in minutes and in jail in a day or two.
 
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