Avoiding Boat "Ramp Rage"

[texanron]

Its that time of the year that boaters start heading to the lakes and rivers all over the state. There is some really good information in this article that could help some of us stay clear of "ramp rage".

http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/outdoor ... 20902.html

[Keith B]

Years ago I was at a boat ramp early one morning to go fishing with my Father-In-Law and another friend. There was a bass tournament (amateur) going on. Each person was waiting their turn in line for the ramp. As one was unloading, the next person would pull forward and stage their boat (unstrap, etc), then back into the ramp after the previous trailer would pull out.

I had pulled up and removed the straps and got ready to back in. The previous boat pulled out and the yahoo behind us cuts me off and backs down the ramp.

He gets his boat in the water, and is by himself, so has to jump out and get the boat off the trailer. He gets the boat started and backs away from the trailer and pulls over to the bank close to the ramp and jumps out to go back and move his truck. It is then that he realizes he didn't have his plugs in and his high $$$ bass boat is sinking. He jumps back in the boat and starts trying to circle around to get the water out all the while blocking the ramp.

A COE ranger has been watching the whole time. He yells at the guy and asks if he can move his truck and the guy says yes. The ranger pulls the truck up from the ramp, parks it in one of the spots, and then walks back down the ramp area. We go ahead and back down and start unloading. By this time the guy has enough water out and the plug in his boat that it is still afloat and the bilge pump can do the rest. The Ranger waves him over with the truck keys in his hand. When the guy gets to the bank to retrieve his keys, the ranger has him step out of the boat and then proceeds to pull his ticket book out and start writing. I talked to the ranger later that day. The guy got a ticket for blocking the ramp, one for creating a wake in a no-wake area, one for no fire extinguisher and one for no sound device (whistle or horn) on board.

[PUCKER]

Our boat slip at the marina is right across from the marina's courtesy ramp...and there's a public ramp not to far away....it's GREAT comedy!!

I've got waaaaay too many boat ramp stories to tell...

[Piney]

*chuckling* Boat Ramps Gone Wild....

We spend a good bit of time around boat ramps duing the season. It's a hoot to watch folks. If it wasnt so much fun to ride our PWC's, we'd both just pull up a lounge chair, umbrella, ice chest and sit all day.

I havent seen any serious rage take place-- just a little hollering to get outta the day and do that off the ramp comments. There's sometimes a large group (20 or more) of us. We'll frequently let a boat cut in the launch line with that many of us there to keep the goodwill flowing.

[PappaGun]

Years ago I was at a boat ramp early one morning to go fishing with my Father-In-Law and another friend. There was a bass tournament (amateur) going on. Each person was waiting their turn in line for the ramp. As one was unloading, the next person would pull forward and stage their boat (unstrap, etc), then back into the ramp after the previous trailer would pull out.

I had pulled up and removed the straps and got ready to back in. The previous boat pulled out and the yahoo behind us cuts me off and backs down the ramp.

He gets his boat in the water, and is by himself, so has to jump out and get the boat off the trailer. He gets the boat started and backs away from the trailer and pulls over to the bank close to the ramp and jumps out to go back and move his truck. It is then that he realizes he didn't have his plugs in and his high $$$ bass boat is sinking. He jumps back in the boat and starts trying to circle around to get the water out all the while blocking the ramp.

A COE ranger has been watching the whole time. He yells at the guy and asks if he can move his truck and the guy says yes. The ranger pulls the truck up from the ramp, parks it in one of the spots, and then walks back down the ramp area. We go ahead and back down and start unloading. By this time the guy has enough water out and the plug in his boat that it is still afloat and the bilge pump can do the rest. The Ranger waves him over with the truck keys in his hand. When the guy gets to the bank to retrieve his keys, the ranger has him step out of the boat and then proceeds to pull his ticket book out and start writing. I talked to the ranger later that day. The guy got a ticket for blocking the ramp, one for creating a wake in a no-wake area, one for no fire extinguisher and one for no sound device (whistle or horn) on board.

I was sure that you were going to say that there was an open beer in the cup holder.

Darn!

[pbwalker]

Whoop!

[Thomas]

Whoop!

Fixed it for ya!

[PappaGun]

Whoop!

Fixed it for ya!

That's awesome.

[RoyGBiv]

The guy got a ticket for blocking the ramp, one for creating a wake in a no-wake area, one for no fire extinguisher and one for no sound device (whistle or horn) on board.

Karma. It's a beautiful thing.

[OldCurlyWolf]

Years ago I was at a boat ramp early one morning to go fishing with my Father-In-Law and another friend. There was a bass tournament (amateur) going on. Each person was waiting their turn in line for the ramp. As one was unloading, the next person would pull forward and stage their boat (unstrap, etc), then back into the ramp after the previous trailer would pull out.

I had pulled up and removed the straps and got ready to back in. The previous boat pulled out and the yahoo behind us cuts me off and backs down the ramp.

He gets his boat in the water, and is by himself, so has to jump out and get the boat off the trailer. He gets the boat started and backs away from the trailer and pulls over to the bank close to the ramp and jumps out to go back and move his truck. It is then that he realizes he didn't have his plugs in and his high $$$ bass boat is sinking. He jumps back in the boat and starts trying to circle around to get the water out all the while blocking the ramp.

A COE ranger has been watching the whole time. He yells at the guy and asks if he can move his truck and the guy says yes. The ranger pulls the truck up from the ramp, parks it in one of the spots, and then walks back down the ramp area. We go ahead and back down and start unloading. By this time the guy has enough water out and the plug in his boat that it is still afloat and the bilge pump can do the rest. The Ranger waves him over with the truck keys in his hand. When the guy gets to the bank to retrieve his keys, the ranger has him step out of the boat and then proceeds to pull his ticket book out and start writing. I talked to the ranger later that day. The guy got a ticket for blocking the ramp, one for creating a wake in a no-wake area, one for no fire extinguisher and one for no sound device (whistle or horn) on board.

Don't you just LOVE it when things like that happen?

[chasfm11]

Our boat slip at the marina is right across from the marina's courtesy ramp...and there's a public ramp not to far away....it's GREAT comedy!!

I've got waaaaay too many boat ramp stories to tell...

Our sailboat slip in NJ (Greenwood Lake) was just off the marina's ramp, too. We used to put a bottle of wine on ice, cut up a little cheese, lean back in our cockpit and just watch the show. They should have charged us admission! We had to send the kids off to play on the other side of the marina, however. Their vocabularies would definitely have become more "spicey" if they had stuck around.

[Dave2]

Whoop!

Are you the guy in the picture, taking the picture, or was it your truck?

[RPB]

Thar's one great thing about kayaks :)

Kinda fun watching the line of trailers while I walk past them with my kayak and equipment on my little cart.

[pbwalker]

Are you the guy in the picture, taking the picture, or was it your truck?

Neither...