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This is the second summer of owning the 18 but a broken leg from a skydiving accident last year severely shortened my boating season, and my truly getting accquainted with the new boat. So I almost consider this year the inaugural year in the new Whaler.
My wife and I had taken the boat for a couple of shake down runs this year. It was time for a "real" fishing trip, so I called up one of my old fishing buddies to see if he wanted to try and hunt down some reds, despite the high tides from the full moon, which I knew would scatter the fish.
My buddy's a good guy, but sometimes he gets a little over anxious in wanting to help; like, he wanted to drive the boat off the trailer while I parked the car and the trailer. Not a good idea, since there is only a long, narrow, and shallow channel with no room to drift or manuver, and besides, he doesn't know anything about piloting my boat. The best procedure at this ramp is to just float the boat off the trailer and hold it next to the dock till I can return from parking the car and trailer. That and a couple of other random things he wanted to do, just threw me off my routine, I guess.
Because when I backed the trailer down the ramp, I couldn't undrstand why the boat wouldn't float off. I had disconnected the bow strap. Finally I jumped out of the car to what the heck was going on.
What I saw had me confused. It appeared that the ramp was extrememly "uneven". One wheel seemed to be on top of a "hump" and the other trailer wheel was much lower, like it was in a deep hole.
Then it hit me: I had forgotten to remove the rear tie-down ratchet! I only tie down the starboard side because some boarding steps on the port side get in the way of tying that side down. The Whaler was floating the trailer on the attached side! To complicate matters, with the starboard rear raised, the bow had been pushed off to the port side nearly 30 degrees and wouldn't come back into allignment. So simply pulling the trailer back out of the water was not an option.
I climbed into the boat to try and release the ratchet, but it was under too much stress. Finally we both got into the water and stood on the trailer frame on the floating side, which was enough to sink that side back down, which enabled us to align the boat back on the trailer. A good samaritan atached the bow strap and I was able to pull the trailer back out without damaging the boat. But it sure was tenuous there for a while, till we figured out what was going on!
I guess the morale of the story is don't get thrown off your game. Always check make sure everything is correct before heading out.
And yes, in case anyone was wondering, your Whaler will float your trailer! LOL
In several instances I've experienced the same as you with over zealous helpers. Though greatly appreciated, sometimes they can influence you enough to fall out of the normal and well practiced routine of boat launching and recovery.
I also agree that a whaler will float a trailer. In fact on an episode of Myth busters, they demonstrated just that same feat.
Cliff
1966 13' Sport with a 1993 40hp Yamaha 2 Smoker
I too have a few storys of "too much help. It always leads to an embarrassing situation and possible damage.
Rule #
1. It's my boat and I am the Captain.
2. Everyone wears a PDF. No vest, no ride.
3. Do not help me launch or retrievie the boat.
4. Do not move in the boat before asking.
