Wally’s at the landing

I have mentioned in another thread that I was at a wood boat show on Saturday At the show, I ended up having a real close call at the landing. Yes even wood boat owners who you would think should be up on their boatmanship can be real Wally's!! This taught me a real big lesson. When I got to the Marina next door to the show, the owner of a 22' Chris Craft had just launched, pulled his boat by hand out to the end of the pier and left plenty of room for me to launch my little Atom. I launched and tied off the Atom to the pier but then noticed that the Chris wasn't starting. I of coarse offered my help but the owner informed me that he had just rebuilt the entire engine including the carb and ignition system and that he was a "mechanic". Feeling the problem was in good hands, I pulled the trailer next door into the parking area (I was by myself at this show) and walked back to get the Atom. Just as I got around the marinas fence I looked over to the landing and watched the Chris's engine come to life throttle open and the trans in forward!! (regrettably old boats do not have neutral safety switches) My heart skipped several beats as I watched the boat run forward fairly fast.I was in luck because he had the helm hard to starboard so the Chris glanced off the metal rub rail on the rear spray rail of the Atom and then proceeded to hit the dock on the other side of the landing. The owner was then able to shut down the engine. He hadn't even tied off the boat properly - just a few wraps of his lines around the posts with no knots! Well the bottom line is all I have is some varnish and wood under one of the rub rail screws and have been reminded to never launch with a boat still at the landing pier. I could have ended up with a Chris Craft interior on a Correct Craft hull!!

Pete, that makes me sick. especially after he says, "I don't need your help." Yikes.

p.s. I hate those wave runners. It's probably the biggest test of my maturity when something like that happens.

You should put a disclaimer on that post pete, it should be rated R for extreme horror content, not to be read lightly... if your heart might only skipped a couple beats your a stronger man that I, mine skips a couple beats when theres dirt on the bottom of the cooler someone is about to put in/on the boat.

yes I have those days, if it were not for my wife there would be a few less wallys on our lake. I have not quite reached that maturity level that Allan spoke of. But when your pulling a skier and someone cuts right across the bow, and I mean right across the bow. They should be shot. Going to hurt someone one day.

I wont even start on waverunners.

Pressurize the tubes and launch a torpedo.

I was on the lake once and there was only a couple of boats on an 8 mile lake. My friend was on the platform putting on his ski. I spotted a boat in the distance coming towards us on the same side of the lake. I said to my friends, 'that boat has to see us'. As he was getting closer, I saw his head looking right at us, I said again, 'he has to see us right?'. Since my friend was on the platform, the engine was off. He kept coming at us closer and closer, we started yelling. My other friend and I were considering which side of the boat we should bail out of, he had a barefoot boom coming off the side so we were afraid that we would get creamed by that. Finally about 20' off of our bow another head pops up from behind the one we were watching with a look of panic. He turned off and as he passed we noticed his kid was sitting in the open bow right in front of him and he was chatting with his wife who was laying on the engine cover. He never saw us, the only boat in the area until 20' off our bow. He looked scared but didn't say a word as he passed. No apology. Maybe because we were screaming and looked like we and ready to run across the water to rip his head off. We did find out where he lives on the lake and haven't run across him yet.

Moral of the story, even ski boats can have wallys driving them.

Years ago I was in the boat with my dad while pulling a skier. This guy turned and went in between our boat and the skier.

My dad collected the skier and then went after the other boat, now stalled. He denied even coming close to our boat. When my dad asked him to raise his motor there was our rope wrapped around his prop.

And, yes waverunners are always a problem! In Missouri they are the number one cause of boating accidents. Who was it on this site that called them "water mosquitoes" or some such thing. No offense to those of you who operate them responsibly, but they can sure mess up a ski course in a hurry.

Chuck

We are on a private lake so you pretty much know everyone or at least who they are, with that as situations occur I always maintain my composure be it very difficult at times, the last time my rope was run over was by my very good friends wife in a Bu, although not exactly happy about it I was the one diving under their boat unwinding the mess, the very best kick ski I ever owned was completely obliterated by my neighbor the attorney who I now refer to as Mr. Magoo, we were the only 2 boats on the lake and he managed to hit it square on, neither of us said a word to the other, not even sure if he ever knew he hit it??

As Mojo said, be safe and have fun!!

I remember when I was a little kid, the same guy ran our ski rope over 3 times in one day. Fortunately no one was on the other end, but that was how little he was paying attention to how and where he was driving his boat. I learned a very good response that day, and it has stuck with me ever since then. Much to my wife's dissaproval

quinner wrote: the last time my rope was run over was by my very good friends wife in a Bu, although not exactly happy about it I was the one diving under their boat unwinding the mess,

Chris, I read your post again after remembering you stating that you were the one who ended up having to dive and remove your OWN rope. I had thought to myself that there must have been a female involved!! Yup!! Thank god this time it wasn't a dog!!

skibum, I am sure how ever it happened he deserved especially after swearing at you trying to make it your fault. Hard to believe some people can be that dumb.

The sad thing is that these are probably the same people we see doing stupid things behind the wheel of a car!

quinner wrote: Let's all remember to "Drive Fast and Take Chances" this weekend!!

Make sure you are pulling a overloaded trailer with no tongue weight, bad cross winds gusting, no trailer brakes, wheel bearings having a melt down and at least going 80MPH.

SkiBum wrote: I cannot recall what happened but somehow that guy got the &#*$ beat out of him and nearly drowned. Slight flare up of PTSD.

Absolutely awesome!!... not soo much on the guy cutting in front of you, but more towards the end of the story hahaha...

Nate