Dumb Moves

TyBoo

TyBoo

Administrator
Staff member
I will probably be a frequent contributor to this thread.

Here's two:

A few minutes ago, I was down at the shed checking to see if I could use parts of an old winch to make a crab pot puller. I yarded the thing off a dark shelf and pulled a sledge hammer off with it it. Right onto my foot. It hurts. And the winch would be a lousy thing to make a pot puller out of.

The previous thing worthy of mention on a Dumb Moves thread happened the day after getting back from Sequim Bay. I was wanting to turn the boat trailer around and decided to just go around the block (OK - it's a long block) and pull back into the driveway. Good plan, but I forgot about the $90 Costco inflatable raft on the boat roof. It wasn't tied down. It blew off. It was gone when I went back to look for it. I thought about putting an ad in the paper to sell the oars to whomever was lucky enough to get the free boat. But I need to save my money to replace the kids' raft.

Hey - those are both boat related. I could have put this on the General Forum.
 
I was loading my boat at the marina with one of their nice dock carts. The weather was rainy and windy. After I finished loading the boat I thought it would be a good idea to tilt the cart up so it would not fill with water. I was just getting things arranged on the boat when I looked out the window and saw the dock cart go floating by, the wind of course. So off I go in the boat to fish the cart out of the water. :embarrased . I don't think anyone saw me, if Robbin was there I am sure she would have got a picture to post.

This truly is a C-Brat kind of thread. Thanks Mike.
 
After a long day of fishing and cruising around the Everett waterfront, I loaded the boat on the trailer and pulled up into the tiedown area. there I took down the antaneas,raised the motor and locked it , pulled the drain plug, and then proceded to drive 30 miles home on I-5 in the dark with rain.the next morning I went out to wash the boat and flush the engine and much to my dismay, I had forgotten to put the rear tiedown strap over the gunnels to tie the boat down to the trailer. :oops:
Luckily I got home without a incident, but I can safely say that I will never forget it again....lol...
 
Roger-

Nice trick!

Actually, there's not too much danger of losing the boat if you have a good strong set of guide-ons that really center the boat on the trailer and are substantial, unless, of course, you go off the road and tip over.

Probably another very good reason to have them beisdes their obvious convenience for loading and unloading in wind and current.

Thanks for all your work on the SBS/SBC> See ya' in January! Joe.
 
Sea Wolf":3peo0ag2 said:
Actually, there's not too much danger of losing the boat if you have a good strong set of guide-ons that really center the boat on the trailer and are substantial, unless, of course, you go off the road and tip over.
Joe.
Click to expand...

Wow, Joe, your confidence amazes me. Most guideons are one 3/4" sheared bolt away from disaster and mine are adjustable, so it's just the tightness of the bolt against the adjustment plate that keeps it around. With the slip-slidingness of wet bunkers, my '22 is uncomfortably loose at curving on/off ramps and corners as it is, even with transom straps tight. Transom straps are right up there with drain plugs in my book.

Don
 
Don-

Well, it must be the differences in design, as they've modified trailers over the years to keep the cost down, as my set up is made up of 4 x 4 and 2 x 4 steel box channels and welded joints, except for the double 1/2 " u-bolts that allow it them to slide in and out to adjust width at the bottom. The only weak link is the lag screws into the laminated top rails, but they're compresssed out against the metal frames. Not that I would knowingly run around w/o straps, but I don't think the thing would jump off at the first corner, either. This with a roller trailer, no less. Joe.
 
I know I can add to this discussion, how about the time I pulled the boat home without dropping down the antennas. One broke SS mount and two new antennas end result. Lesson almost learned few weeks later I pulled into my covered mmooragewith the new antennas up this time damage was only cosmetic and pride. Then there was the time I backed into my driveway with the light mast in place until a tree limb removed it for me.
Or how about forgetting to fill the 2-stroke oil tank until at the halibut grounds. Try pouring oil into a recessed tank in 4 foot seas not pretty.

Life is a learning experience right?

Joe I replaced my side bunker board lag bolts with 3/8 SS counter sunk alan head bolts and nylock nuts. Alan head on the inside and tightened down enough to sink the head into the side board. Had a couple of the lag bolts strip out while going down the road one day but thats another story.
 
I can tell you that the posts that hold the guides up on my EZ loader trailer are quite strong. One post guide wedged properly under the wheel well of a Ford Escort will support most of the weight of a Ford Escort and will prevent the Escort from coming in contact with the boat. :lol: I "learned" this a couple of years ago - in the first motor vehicle accident caused by me in 25 years.... :oops:
 
Roger: Yup, they don't build 'em like they used to! (re: EZ Loaders circa 1980's). The frame appears bulletproof (galvanized and robust). I have replaced the brakes a couple of times, and the wiring and lights of course. I used 3-wire 10 gauge 660 volt rated rubber jacketed extension cord for the main backbone wiring with stainless junction boxes and equivalent components the last time around. Should be good for more years than me.

Steve: I've broken an antenna, too. Screwing around with a big fat but reluctant bass while doing a tango with the CD-22 and a half submerged willow tree. I guess wood trees are stronger then fiberglass antennas, at least when they're over two feet in diameter. $120 lesson learned.

I put 76 antenna balls on the antennas since they lay at eye level when folded down. Scrape them off all the time when entering my covered slip when forgetting to lower the antennas to 45 degrees. Got a bag full o' them and some "Fix All" glue on the ready for quickie repairs. Boy Scout lesson learned: " Always be prepared for quickies".

Next time I replace the carpeted covering on the guide-ons, I'm planning on through bolting them with carriage bolts, as those heads will be locked down in place and level with the wood.

Looked back once to see my 12 ft Gregor aluminum boat hanging back about half way off the trailer. Seems the winch ratchet had come loose. Added a positive retainer chain to back up winch and have added it to every boat since. Live, learn, and try not to get caught looking stupid again!!! Joe.
 
I launch from a concrete ramp with no dock. I also am a 25 year volunteer firefighter and carry a pager with me while I am on island. About two summers ago while launching my 22 I had to walk out onto the trailer to get the boat lined up. Walked the frame out and got about half way before I lost concentration and ended up falling feet first into the center area in 3 feet of salt water. As I went down to my waist the first thing I heard was my fire page making a definite electronic dying sound as the salt shorted out all the circuits. The last thing I heard was my cell phone voicing the same complaint.

I leave them on the boat or in the truck now.
 
David,

Know the feeling - I've put two cel phones in the water. The first one went in while I was leaning over the stern of a canoe to remove someone else's fishing line from a prop on my trolling motor (pre-CD days, during a sockeye opening on Lake Washington). Had it in my shirt pocket.

You think I would have learned from that, but about a year later (post CD purchase) dropped one in while leaning over the bow to apply the new license sticker. Again, I had it in my shirt pocket. The second time, it was harder to explain to my wife. I told her the fish who got the first phone had no one to talk to so I felt obliged to drop a 2nd one in. One more, and I'll pay for the friends and family plan.... :lol:

Roger on the SeaDNA
 
Joe and I were returning to the Everett ramp with our limit of Dungeness crabs. When we saw the nice lady with the Fish and Game uniform and the big gun we realized we had forgotten our licenses. We agonized over our next move and then threw the crabs overboard. When we tied up the agent asked us if we had any fish. We said no we were crabbing. She replied that she was only checking fish today!
 
David - as soon as I got to the part about you carrying a pager I guessed that the thing activated and you jumped off the boat. I used to carry one of the things at work, set on vibrate in my shirt pocket, and it caused my several near crashes on the electric scooter when the thing went off. Now they make me carry a radio which I despise, and I am apt to wreck the cart on purpose when it goes off.

So then, I take it if you did an honest accounting, the ramp you devised to walk down the trailer cost a lot more than just the price for it alone?
 
2 yrs ago at seafair I was diving from my buddies Alaskan Trader mini tug. We had tied a loop of line from the top cabin rail to use as a handhold when climbing up the ladder. I was climbing up the ladder and spotted the rope out of the corner of my eye (reduced periferal vision with a mask on). As soon as I grabbed it, me and the fifty pounds of gear on my back went backwards off the ladder. We had hung an extra hunk of line on one of those little suction cup hooks on the aft bulkhead. There I was with a fully inflated boyancy compensator and no fins trying to catch the hook and line before they sank. My wife is still laughing at the sight a yr and a half later.
 
Are there any prizes being given out for the best dumb move? Because if there are, I think I could win.

The year after we bought our boat, we had a metal barn built to facilitate winter storage. But pulling down the overhead door from the rope on the side was a pain, so I hung a loop of webbing from the center pull. Initially, this seemed to work fine.

But as most of you know, as a form of expression, we mounted a set of antlers on the visor of the MOOSE. Well, don't you suppose those babies hooked the loop once while exiting the barn! The collision tore the first panel off the door, darned near ripped my radar off, and bent two stout stainless steel bolts used for mounting the antlers. Why it didn't rip the top off the cabin, I have no idea.

I guess now it's been long enough I can laugh about it, but it wasn't so funny at the time.
 
Now, I thought this was a humorous thread so, after nearly a year, I thought I'd resurrect it. Surely after this amount of time there have been some other dumb moves made such that mine won't have to be the last one reported. Come on youse guys, fess up.
Al
 
The first time I launched my new (to me) CD-22, I forgot to undo the tie-down straps on the back. I could not figure out why the boat would not come off the trailer, no matter how much pushing I did from the front end and pulling my wife did from the rear!

Perhaps, I thought, the rollers were rusted and not rolling. I backed deeper into the water, and still....

My dream of having a boat big enough for L. Ontario but small enough to launch with relative(!) ease was the only thing sliding into the drink!

Finally, I decided I would have to pull the boat and trailer back up the launch and see if I could figure out what was going on, or give up altogether (at least, for the day). Imagine my chagrin, to see I had forgotten one (important!) thing: the two bright red tie-downs were still at the rear of the boat, doing their thing!
 
How about a dumb comment?

Marcia and I were cruising on Spirit, our sailboat, and when the propane ran out half-way through cooking dinner, I commented, "Why do we always have to run out when we're cooking?"

Her retort, "Maybe because it's the only thing on the boat that runs on propane."

Duh!

Nick
"Valkyrie"
 
The salesman who sold me my previous boat (a 22' Hewescraft aluminum fishing boat) told me everyone forgets to put in the drain plug at least once. I launched into a lake and couldn't understand why the boat was so sluggish. Then I saw the water rising from the bilge and light dawned. Drove the boat into shore and went overboard to put the plug in. Never forgot to put it in again!

I don't think any of the C-Dorys have drain plugs, do they? My Tom Cat doesn't.

Warren
 
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