Such an amateur move…..

[paulswagelock]

Been pulling boats and winterizing for decades. Decided today was the day to pull mine from the water and get it ready for winter. Took my truck to the field, hooked up the trailer, double checked all chains, wires, verified lights, …. Ready to go. Pulled out and headed down the hill to the boat. After about 100 yards, I could tell the trailer was not pulling quite right. Pulled over, damn, forgot to take anti-theft lock cable off the front right tire. It dragged the 100 yards. Ruined the tire. It probably has 1000 miles on it total. Such an amateur…. I never forgot that cable in decades. Ordered a new tire and should be here tomorrow.
On the plus side, boat systems are winterized, supercharger belt changed, spark plugs changed, oil and filter changed, lower unit oil changed, anodes changed, bottom paint touched up, motor winterized. Did I mention how much I prefer working on outboards….. everything is so easily accessible.

 

[boatman37]

yikes.

Not my screw up but a guy at our marina recently bought a 1994 Wellcraft Excel 260. He had about an 18'er before. Problem is he has no tow vehicle. Nice people but clueless and won't take advice. Example...he bought the boat almost sight unseen. Seller delivers it and instead of being there to ask questions he decides to go for 1 last ride on his old boat so he isn't there when the new boat arrives. Another guy backs it down the ramp and the new owner has no idea where the battery switch is. So right after he bought the boat he tells me his toilet is filling up. I tell him he needs a new joker valve. told him where to get it, showed him how to change it. So he buys a new stereo and speakers. A few weeks later he tells me his toilet now will not flush at all now. I ask if he changed the valve...nope. So the other day he asks me if I can pull his boat for him. Told him probably not cause I'm busy getting ours ready. He was scheduled to have triple bypass this past Tuesday and wants to pull the boat Monday. So I text him Monday morning telling him I can pull it. Ask him if he has wheel chocks...he has no idea. So I grab some. So I head down to the marina. About a 20-25 minute drive. I get a couple of miles away and get a text that he ran out of gas??? Here they again decide to go out for one last cruise. Runs out of fuel on a Monday when nobody else is around. I tell him I can't do anything cause our boat isn't in. He finds a guy to tow him in. We get the boat loaded up. He asked me that morning what I want for payment. I tell him to just fill my truck up. So we take the boat to a local shop about 10 miles away. Oops...he forgot his insulin at home. So his wife has to go home and get it. He goes with me to the shop and we unhook the boat. He says well let's go to the gas station down the road. Get there and he realizes he doesn't have his good card. So he grabs another card. Gets to 17 gallons and shuts off. I have a 31 gallon tank and my low fuel light was on. So he said his card ran out. So he pays cash for the rest. Point being...when someone offers to do you a favor don't purposely make them sit around and wait. I'm sure he will call me when the shop is done winterizing and ask me to tow it to storage. Like I said, nice people and I don't mind helping them out but they need to at least try to help themselves too

But his wife said his surgery went good.

 

[Nater Potater]

...forgot to take anti-theft lock cable off the front right tire.

Well, like they say about airplanes, "There's those that have, and those that will." Land gear-up, that is. Don't beat yourself up too much. I can't believe how many times I left my outdrive down when pulling my first boat. Of course, it makes that special sound that gets everybody's attention...

 

[JHornsby3]

Well, like they say about airplanes, "There's those that have, and those that will." Land gear-up, that is. Don't beat yourself up too much. I can't believe how many times I left my outdrive down when pulling my first boat. Of course, it makes that special sound that gets everybody's attention...

LOL

I followed the PO of ours for a sea trail about 15 miles to the ramp. The whole time the drives were down. There is about a foot of clearance to the ground. I keep them parked in the down and have red straps that hold them up while traveling. I store them wrapped around the hitch just for a reminder.

As for the tire, run it. About every SWIFT trailer going down the highway has flat spotted tires on them. At the right speed, they have a great beat to them.

 

[Carpediem44DB]

yikes.

Not my screw up but a guy at our marina recently bought a 1994 Wellcraft Excel 260. He had about an 18'er before. Problem is he has no tow vehicle. Nice people but clueless and won't take advice. Example...he bought the boat almost sight unseen. Seller delivers it and instead of being there to ask questions he decides to go for 1 last ride on his old boat so he isn't there when the new boat arrives. Another guy backs it down the ramp and the new owner has no idea where the battery switch is. So right after he bought the boat he tells me his toilet is filling up. I tell him he needs a new joker valve. told him where to get it, showed him how to change it. So he buys a new stereo and speakers. A few weeks later he tells me his toilet now will not flush at all now. I ask if he changed the valve...nope. So the other day he asks me if I can pull his boat for him. Told him probably not cause I'm busy getting ours ready. He was scheduled to have triple bypass this past Tuesday and wants to pull the boat Monday. So I text him Monday morning telling him I can pull it. Ask him if he has wheel chocks...he has no idea. So I grab some. So I head down to the marina. About a 20-25 minute drive. I get a couple of miles away and get a text that he ran out of gas??? Here they again decide to go out for one last cruise. Runs out of fuel on a Monday when nobody else is around. I tell him I can't do anything cause our boat isn't in. He finds a guy to tow him in. We get the boat loaded up. He asked me that morning what I want for payment. I tell him to just fill my truck up. So we take the boat to a local shop about 10 miles away. Oops...he forgot his insulin at home. So his wife has to go home and get it. He goes with me to the shop and we unhook the boat. He says well let's go to the gas station down the road. Get there and he realizes he doesn't have his good card. So he grabs another card. Gets to 17 gallons and shuts off. I have a 31 gallon tank and my low fuel light was on. So he said his card ran out. So he pays cash for the rest. Point being...when someone offers to do you a favor don't purposely make them sit around and wait. I'm sure he will call me when the shop is done winterizing and ask me to tow it to storage. Like I said, nice people and I don't mind helping them out but they need to at least try to help themselves too

But his wife said his surgery went good.

Perfect example of "no good deed goes unpunished". It is a virtue to be a good neighbor and pay it forward now and again but sometimes you just have to say enough is enough. I don't have any patience for stupidity of this level, you are a good man to be willing to help as much as you did @boatman. Sometimes your kind of stuck when you end up helping a close neighbor because if you don't, it can make for uncomfortable awkwardness at the dock. Hopefully the guy grows a clue and you can avoid involvement in his BS.
Carpe Diem

 

[Carpediem44DB]

Been pulling boats and winterizing for decades. Decided today was the day to pull mine from the water and get it ready for winter. Took my truck to the field, hooked up the trailer, double checked all chains, wires, verified lights, …. Ready to go. Pulled out and headed down the hill to the boat. After about 100 yards, I could tell the trailer was not pulling quite right. Pulled over, damn, forgot to take anti-theft lock cable off the front right tire. It dragged the 100 yards. Ruined the tire. It probably has 1000 miles on it total. Such an amateur…. I never forgot that cable in decades. Ordered a new tire and should be here tomorrow.
On the plus side, boat systems are winterized, supercharger belt changed, spark plugs changed, oil and filter changed, lower unit oil changed, anodes changed, bottom paint touched up, motor winterized. Did I mention how much I prefer working on outboards….. everything is so easily accessible.

I wish I could claim that I never forgot a step in trailer prep. I consider myself a pretty careful boater, driver, Pilot .... but if I had a dime for every time I left out a step and narrowly escaped catastrophe, well lets just say I would have a nice jar full of dimes
Carpe Diem