Boat Launch fail!!

[502GTX]

Since the CT river has been flooded for the past few weeks, we decided to drop the Convincor into Congamond Lake in Southwick Ma.this past Sunday. It's a little pee hole but it's better than nothing and it gave me a chance to put the boat thru it's paces before heading out on the river

Anyhow, the launch there is real nice, has two narrow but steep ramps with docks parallel on either side, leaving about two feet on either side of the boat between the docks, to back in between.
We were waiting our turn to load up when we saw a young couple with an older ford pickup and a Bayliner cuddy backing down one of the ramps, wife and kid in the boat, dad in the truck. I think this was their first launch, the boat was untied, not running and on a roller trailer. It slid off before it was half in the water and off it went, wife yelling at husband the she didn't know how to start the boat. He jumped out of the truck, left the door open and apparently left the brake off too. The truck rolled into the lake but not completely. The door he left open went up on top of the dock with a horrendous racket and stopped the truck, but not before bending like a pretzel. Meanwhile, wife and kid are drifting in a strong wind, luckily back to shore about 100 feet away. I offered to help if he needed it but he politely declined and parked the truck, door hanging open. He pushed the boat off and away they went.

 

[keith4216]

How hard did you laugh when they couldn't see you?

 

[502GTX]

How hard did you laugh when they couldn't see you?

Pretty hard I must admit, especially when we drove out and saw his truck sitting there with the crumbled door hanging wide open. I gotta say though, for a young guy, with what he was going through, he held it together amazingly well.

 

[karzrus]

Poor guy

I can't laugh at this stuff anymore unless the guy is a jerk. I hope the guy does not give up on boating all together after he figures out what the day cost him. Maybe he can get a truck door cheap?

I remember the day I forgot to put the leg up on my boat when taking it out at the end of the day. Dragged the skeg up the ramp 30 feet before I heard my wife yelling to stop.

 

[JW]

Love stories like that, especially when the people involved go ahead and go boating! Good for them

 

[RNGRDVE]

Is your camera broken?

 

[502GTX]

Is your camera broken?

It was sitting in my cupholder right next to me. I was feeling real bad for him at first so I didn't want to go there right in front of him. I really only laughed after we drove past the truck in the parking lot. I should have taken a picture of that, must have been an interesting drive home.

 

[ajexpress]

Thank you for not taking a pic....in a time when so many whip out the camera and take pics as opposed to helping. (Although a pic of the pretzel door after he left would have been cool... ). Awesome the guy sucked it up and still went boating, many would have called it a day. This all makes me want to start a new thread for people to tell their own ramp stories.

 

[RNGRDVE]

(Although a pic of the pretzel door after he left would have been cool... ).

That's what I wanted a pic of. I agree always help first, but once that's done photograph's are always enjoyable.

 

[ajexpress]

That's what I wanted a pic of. I agree always help first, but once that's done photograph's are always enjoyable.

Agreed