C'mon I'm new

[madcow]

guys, tody I went out Amistad, My lady and I took the day off (called in sick) and I said lets go take my new used Tracker to the lake. We made it to Amistad about 10:30 am and the wind was crazy. So I back up the trailer, Then I correct , and then I back up again, and correct then I finally back up straight. I started the 75 and let it idle everything going well. This older gentleman let my lady know that the cove near blackbrush is a good place away from the wind an he was right. I caught me a bunch o fish about 9 feet deep with the sexy shad deep diver. then after we took a ride we decided to go back home. at that time a bass club was coming in for thier weigh in.OH BOY. they all load up and parked, well here comes mad cow the rookie trailer guy. I backed up and corrected and then again and again. Finally after a few minutes I put the trailer in right. then I couldn't get the boat in straight on the trailer. I finally got it on straight hooked it up. Guess what ... I forgot to trim the motor up man was I embarrassed.in front of all these bass guy guys with thier 200 motors and 300 yamadogs, 4x4 tucks and fishfinders that look like a flat screen from wal mart. I Just wanted to say y'know what with a little practice Ill be there too. No not the bass club I mean loading and un loading the trailer and not forgetting this and that. We all need to start somewhere so you other rookies hang in there, well do this thing together and be just as good as these guys.... then we can laugh at the rookies and ourselves.

[MississippiBoy]

Dude, we've all done it. I've been backing trailers for years now, and I still don't get it right every time. The more you practice, the better you'll get. Just don't wait till you're actually at the ramp to practice. Hook up the trailer, get somewhere open, mark off a space the size of a parking place, and put the trailer into it. Then pull up, turn the trailer some, and do it again. And again. And...you see my point. Better to learn there with no pressure than in front of God and everybody at the ramp.

Welcome to the forum, by the way. Feel free to jump in here anytime.

[madcow]

Brother Im still lauging about whay I musta looked like. My lady pulled her cap down low and laughed.

[carolina-rig-01]

man don't sweat it! we have all had our moments at a boat ramp, and anyone who says they haven't is lying to you. i have seen some amazing boat ramp shows at tournaments so believe me us tourney guys aren't amune to it either, but with experience these moments become further between each other.

on a side note, and i don't have any idea what the ramp was like or how you started backing down. but it will make it a lot easier on you if you get the trailer straight behind your truck before you start backing up. then just watch your side mirrors, when you start seeing too much trailer in one mirror then turn your hands that direction. shorter trailers take less of an adjustment but give you less recovery time. like mississippi boy said, find you an empty parking lot and practice, there is nothing the same as backing down a ramp but you can get an idea of what direction to turn, when, and how much. as for loading the boat on the trailer, that takes experience too and there really isn't any way to practice it. but a big part is getting the trailer the right distance in the water. good to see you are laughing about it and don't take it too hard we have all been there before, and probably will again someday. on holiday weekends i like going to busy boat ramps, sitting in a lawn chair and cracking open a beer and just watching the shows.....it's a lot more fun to watch from a chair than it is to watch from your boat while waiting to load up lol.

[carolina-rig-01]

almost forgot..........welcome to the site, glad to have ya

[robertmee]

It happens to us all. My funny trailer story (not funny at the time). Mind you, I'd been trailerin for 4 or 5 years, so this wasn't my first time out. But, it was my first time out with my wife and a new old boat we had purchased. I have a 2x4 F-150 that I use (no wussy 4 wheelin here - anybody can do that ). We're at the public launch with a line of people waiting to put in. Our turn up, I back the truck up (my wife is deathly afraid at this point to back up, although since that time she's gotten the hang of it), put the trailer in the water, set the emergency brake, and go to release the boat. I release the front clip, crank the engine and attempt to pull out. Boat won't budge. I figure the water is shallow and the boat is stuck on the bumpers (remember first launch with this boat), so I tell the wife to let the truck roll back a bit. No problem, but now the rear truck tires are in the water a bit. Boat still won't go nowhere. WTF?? Then I notice the d*** trailer is floating. I forgot that the previous owner had cinched the boat to the trailer! I yell to the wife, pull the truck forward. She panicks and lets the truck roll back another 4 feet! I'm screaming, the truck is sinking, my wife is crying, the trailer is really floating now and turning crooked. She floors the pedal and the wheels spin, the truck starts to fishtail and I have visions of my truck and boat sunk at the ramp. Fortunately, a guy that just happened to work at my wife's work and was bank fishing, ran over and pulled the truck back out as I goosed the boat. Quick release of the cinches and we were off, but it took my wife 2 years to recover before she would ever get in the driver's seat of my truck on the boat ramp.

[jasonfish320]

Carolina couldn't have said it better...whenever you need to move your trailer always start with the boat and trailer as straight as possible...another tip that worked well when i was learning, back up very very slowly and keep an eye on how your trailer reacts...soon you will have the "feel" for it..

Madcow- I bet you a lot of those guys at the ramp weren't laughing as much as you think...trust me, they've all been there before.

[lowrider]

here's a liitle tip from a pro backer-upper that can put a trailer where water won't run.

watch the drivers side fender through the side mirror. if you have a marker light there, great. now here's the saying to remember. IF YOU LOSE THE LIGHT, TURN THE WHEEL RIGHT. by losing it i mean it disappears from view in the mirror. this'll keep you straight.

there's no shame in a pull-up but alot in crashing into a big ranger next to ya

[Lilmoosecountry]

Well they really hate me. When i show up with the Canoe loaded on the roof at the boat ramp. Then after unloading off the roof i have to load the boat.

[Nitro911]

We had a couple at the Diablo East ramp last season who has been fishing tournaments forever drop the boat off of the trailer when pulling out of the water. Fiberglass hitting concrete is not a pleasant sound.

Good thing you found someplace safe at Amistad this past weekend. It was ugly. Our tournament had one boat swamped and having to be towed in by the NPS. Another couple speared some waves, tearing the brand new LCX-28 from the boat as well as cracking the windscreens and doing other damage (mild compared to the loss of that fish finder).

It was not a safe weekend out there...glad you made it back, even if it was a little less smooth that you would have liked.

[madcow]

Whoo, thanks guys that makes me fell a whole lot better. Belive me I was starting to panic, besides I can only say "almost got it!' loud enough for everybody to hear so many times.( Im Lauging to my self)

[carolina-rig-01]

NEVER PANIC!!! no matter who or many people are watching just go about your business and don't get flustered, you will be fine. my wife had been asking for a while for me to let her back the trailer down, but i never let her because it was too crowded. one day last summer we got back to the ramp and there was only one car there so i made her do it then ( this is the best part.......did i mention this car was a sherrif?). she was all shook up about the cop car being there and the sherrif watching (she even put her seatbelt on hahaha how funny is that). point being, if she can get her head around backing a trailer down with johnny law dog watching her then a few boats waiting for the ramp shouldn't bother her any. she pulled foward several times to get the trailer straight and i had to signal from the boat a few times to tell her which direction to turn the wheels but she got it. now she just loads the boat on the trailer but she doesn't get flustered by other boats being there. you'll get it buddy, just hang in there.

[bamabassman]

madcow...buddy everyone here has gone through exactly what you are going through. WELCOME TO THE HOUSE OF BAIT MONKEY FODDER PAL. and trust me, you'll get the hang of it sooner than you think. heck my wife is almost a pro now. and this is her first year backing in a boat. i love it. now i don't have everyone rolling their eyes and breathing heavy at me cause i am doing it all while she is waiting at the dock. some of them are amazed at the fact that she does it so well. one fella even asked if she would back his in ,lmao. hang in there buddy. now have ya got any tips for us? lol.

[zooker]

good thing madness it is nearly winter. less activity on the boat ramps means more practicing at launching/loading. with less witness present..

you will learn the "sweet spot" where the boat unloads from the trailer and the boat loads best at...

zooker

[BigBassin144]

Originally Posted by bamabassman

madcow...buddy everyone here has gone through exactly what you are going through. WELCOME TO THE HOUSE OF BAIT MONKEY FODDER PAL. and trust me, you'll get the hang of it sooner than you think. heck my wife is almost a pro now. and this is her first year backing in a boat. i love it. now i don't have everyone rolling their eyes and breathing heavy at me cause i am doing it all while she is waiting at the dock. some of them are amazed at the fact that she does it so well. one fella even asked if she would back his in ,lmao. hang in there buddy. now have ya got any tips for us? lol.

From what I've heard, she's better at fishing than you too buddy.

I've yet to back the boat in, my dad does that, I just sit in it and throw the rope over the dock post. We've yet to put the boat in without pulling up once. Don't worry, you'll get it. And I might even back the boat in eventually. :P

BB

[bassinbob]

The easiest way I found is to put the tail gate down when you back up. Makes seeing the boat a whole lot easier. I practice every year in the spring before I go out.

[carolina-rig-01]

Originally Posted by bassinbob

The easiest way I found is to put the tail gate down when you back up. Makes seeing the boat a whole lot easier. I practice every year in the spring before I go out.

make sure that the tongue of the trailer is long enough or you will crush your tailgate when you turn.

[madcow]

We were laughing about "the boat ramp incident" at work today. you guys are the best , yall made me feel a whole heck of a lot better. Hey BigBassin144, you are correct there pal. My lady threw the Rat l trap all day and had a good ol time.

[Raul]

Don´t forget to put in the plug !

Been there done that , or when you put in the plug be shure to plug it in the right hole ( am I right Rebbasser ? ).

It ain´t pretty when you find out something´s missing.

[vabassman]

Welcome to the site.

[woody]

Hey Madcow,
Don't swet it! All of us boatowners have been Initiated one way or another.
I'll say it again check on that Drain plug, Make sure all your batteries are fully charged.
I find myself getting in trouble when I get in a hurry, so just take your time and have fun!!!

Now we have a madcow, I like the sound of that, WELCOME!!!

[Rebbasser]

Welcome to the forum!

Always glad to see a fellow Texan join!

Fear not, buddy-all of us that have boats have been there. After a while it gets to be second nature. After backing mine up so much I now have trouble backing up my truck WITHOUT the trailer!

It is a learning curve. You will get to a point where from the time you stop at the ramp until you park the trailer will be 5 minutes. As to mistakes, I've left the plug out, put the plug in the livewell drain and tried to back off with the straps still on just to mention a few. Done the "forgot to trim it up" thing, too!

[zooker]

[quote=Rebbasser;206542] After a while it gets to be second nature. After backing mine up so much I now have trouble backing up my truck WITHOUT the trailer!

quote]

heard about the tailgate porch incendent..lol...

ok i have been there too..


zooker

[bcklash]

C-rig is right about the tailgate down and I bet he knows for the same reason I do--yep dunit--hang in there Madcow it gets easier and WELCOME.

[Mac2]

Take your tow vehicle out of gear when backing down.....makes things go easier and not so likely to over correct trying to catch a hurried swing. Helps me a lot.

Welcome.....and Good Fishing, Mac