Re: New hobby, whole new set of problems.
 

Been there.

Last summer we took our two with us to our place in Hilton Head. Since no one on the island wants you to have them there, you have to launch at the causeway, behind the island. Not much of a ramp. So we go out one morning and the ramp is busy- a couple of old guys are dead center trying to get a 22' robalo on the trailer (ramp is about 2.5 boats wide). Next in line is some dirtbag with a couple of scroungy looking broads. Backs completely down the center and then starts uncovering/unstrapping/transferring cooler, jackets, etc. So, I'm not the most patient guy in the world so I squeeze down beide them. One wheel slips off the edge of the ramp. No problem- I just push the skis off and drive out. Well, I thought I would. Turns out there was an outcrop of concrete on the ramp that snagged the spring perch and tore the axle from its mount. This is a custom built trailer that holds 3 skis, 6 bikes and all our beach stuff in boxes. Anyway, It became apparent pretty quickly that there was no way I was going to fix the trailer. The frame was mangled, the axle was ruined, etc. So I'm off to a local marina to buy a new trailer- at least something close that would get my now-floating skis home. Ended up having to buy a bunch of hardware to bolt all the boxes from the old trailer onto the new one. While all this is going on, my son and niece run one of the skis on a sandbar- everything was OK but they somehow knocked the plug out un-beaching it so it semi-sank and filled the motor with water. I didn't find this out until later though. As I'm coming over the bridge, I see six or seven fire trucks/ambulances, etc. in the lot and on the ramp. Of course my heart stopped beating. Turns out some woman let her niece ride her brand new ski and the first thing she did was zoom under the big bridge. On the way back, she hit a piling and bounced off of it. Smashed face-first into an oyster-shell-covered bridge piling and went face-down into the water. My son took the non-sunk ski out and fished her out. So now I wait until EMS goes, fish out my waterlogged ski, transfer all my stuff to the new trailer, un-waterlog a ski with a motor full of saltwater, get everything back on the trailer and home. The first thing my two nepherws asked was "can we come back out again tomorrow?"

Oh, yeah. It was my birthday.

Re: New hobby, whole new set of problems.
 

you need a realality show on the discovery channel. Or you need to wite a book on how not to do things :rolleyes:

Re: New hobby, whole new set of problems.
 

Gino you should never play with, look at, shoot, clean or even know anyone with fire arms. Your dangerous enough with boats!

Re: New hobby, whole new set of problems.
 

Gino, If you didn't have bad luck you wouldn't have any luck. Sell everything and buy a big sport fishing boat with a captain and just get on the boat and point. :evilb:

Re: New hobby, whole new set of problems.
 

Noth'n personal Gino. I have always said 2 people, 4 a couple decades that U could go 2 a launch site w/ a six pack or whatever, chair,sunglasses, etc & get more entertainment than U need! Unfortunately it is usually at the expense of other peoples toys! :eek:

Re: New hobby, whole new set of problems.
 

This stuff has to be true because nobody could make up this stuff. I do not know Gino but I feel your pain. BZ

Re: New hobby, whole new set of problems.
 

And you drive a boat 100mph God help us

Re: New hobby, whole new set of problems.
 

just because i have been there, i laugh with you gino. i have told the story before, but we had a slip on a smaller lake in il for years. it was free entertainment every weekend because our slip was on the inside part of the marina facing the boat launch. every friday and saturday night was hilarious. the best was still when the wife was trying to back a tandem junk trailer down the ramp all the way from top of the hill(approx 200 yds) because she was scared to use the turn-around at the bottom while the husband screamed at her from their floating boat. you dumb bixxx, turn right, turn left, etc. until halfway down the ramp, in the middle of the ramp with 10+ trailers on sat night waiting to pull out, she gets out of the truck, says "cuck you, you are an xzzhozz" and walks up the ramp and leaves, truck sitting there. we had at least 50 people over on the docks laughing their butt off. it happens gino, remember, if boating was easy and cheap, everyone would do it and their would be no open water left.

Re: New hobby, whole new set of problems.
 

Glad to hear your new hobby is not sky-diving. :eek: :D

Re: New hobby, whole new set of problems.
 

LIVE COMES AT YOU FAST.
I,ve had days like that.