Ramp Etiquette

[cprince]

**I hesitated posting this as it does not portray me in a good light... I am not a hot head... but I am human, and as such, am not perfect and am subject to poor judgment from time to time.**

I will start off by saying that I am still new to trailer-ing my own boat. I have been a wing man (some say wing-nut) for many years with a friend who has a boat.

What is the accepted etiquette in this situation:

I had been circling the ramp in my boat waiting for a person who is launching their boat for about 5 to 10 minutes (It was windy and they looked inexperienced) - giving them plenty of room to get this done. No one else is waiting to launch at this point. I see a truck with a boat coming down the lane.

I get to shore quickly to make certain that common sense will prevail and the guy would wait for me to trailer my boat and get out of his way quickly.

The new guy goes ahead and starts blocking the way - I figure that the guy just didn't notice... I motion to him that I am getting my boat out... and he starts giving me attitude - gesturing and shrugging his shoulders as though to say "So sad - Too bad" and waving his hands as if to dismiss me.

I snap and loose it. I let a tirade of experlatives go while approaching his vehicle on foot with speed and bugged out eyes. (I know... even if I am right... I am an wrong and an idiot for popping...). At that point I realized that there were two of them, and the guy I was fishing with was ducking for cover (no help there!). To my surprise (and relief), the two guys backed off. I suppose my bugged out eyes were enough, and they seemed to realize that they were not going to bully me into letting them put in first.

Am I wrong... (I know I am for my approach!! My head is hung low... I hate blowing a gasket... and you never know who you are going to pop on.. kung-fu master or gun packing crazy person...)

---------

Here is one I got from a co-worker today after I told him my story;

A launch/ramp/parking lot off the Rideau somewhere... 4 boat/truck combos where being blocked in by one trailer/truck combo parked in front of them. Apparently this these guys waited in the area of one hour for this guy to come back and remove his vehicle. They tried to lift the trailer out of the way but were not able (I don't know how big this trailer was)... so one of the guys pulls out a cordless grinder and saws off the trailer about a foot from the hitch. They then push the trailer into the water off to the side of the ramp.



Imagine coming back to the launch and seeing only a stump where your trailer was...?

Ouch!!

Craig

[Super]

Hi,
Etiquette says that you do not block the ramp until you are ready to unload the boat and also when loading, make sure the boat is ready to load when you back in
The fastest way would have been for you to dock and help out the guy who was having trouble.
I have even backed a guy's trailer in for him to speed up the process.
I also would say the next car/truck in line is the one who is next.
You should have backed up your trailer and then waited for the original guy to pull out.
However, for those 2 guys, usually it takes a while to get your boat ready, straps off etc. So if they were still doing that, then they should have been doing that out of the way and not blocking you anyway.
If they were ready to go, then let them launch first as it is usually faster to unload than load. And even offer to hold the boat if neccessary while they park their vehicle.
You could then even ask them to help you.
Cooperation is important at the launch ramp.
Super

[Bass Addict]

First off...

Congrats to the Dude who lopped the trailer of with the grinder , I mean waiting an hour for him to move was way way to long..


Now if someone is having difficulty launching / landing their boat , by all means give them a hand . A situation where Dumb and Dumber show up at
the ramp and begin unstrapping / loading gear / gibbering / .....


Then by all means pull a Cprince . ie blow a gasket / pop a fuse

[crankbait58]

See it all the time. Was at the busiest ramp on Quinte a couple of weeks ago. Buddy in a bassboat pulls in from the water with momma and baby on board and ties to the dock at the closest spot to the ramp - proceeds to walk off with the family and leave the boat there. Meanwhile there are 3 boats waiting to launch and 3 more waiting to pull into the pier. Half an hour later there was a line up half way to the 416 waiting to get in and another 10 or so waiting on the water to get out. Someone should have gone "bug eyed" on this numb nuts or cast his boat adrift but the SOB never did show up by the time I left. Some people don't know the meaning of etiquette or common sense without getting chewed or having their butts kicked - sad but true. This guy obviously thought everone else should wade out to the neck in 50 deg water until he decided it was convenient for him. You did right - they may remember next time (hopefully!!) I actually think the MNR should be at the busiest ramps directing traffic before some loser like that starts a riot!!

[MLR]

I would be really disappointed with my fishing buddy if he run for cover instead of backing me up. Hope he enjoyed his walk home.

But, I struggle with why people think they need to wait until they have backed into launch before putting the drain plug in, undoing straps etc and general pre trip inspection. This can all be done in the parking lot, or along the side of the road near the launch. Same goes for comming out of the water.

And since we are into sharing similar stories. We have a guy who regularly backs his trailer into the double wide launch and just leaves the trailer in the water. But he might have learned that from one of the local Marina's, as their mehanics leave the truck and trailer in the launch while they perform test drives. (several times per week) What is more fun is the mechanics usually leave the truck running. Last year I think they were curred from doing this again, as I know a guy who jumped in the truck and drove it back to the marina and dropped it off, advising that he just found this brand new ford 4X4 idling with the door wide open in the boat launch. (do you think the mechanic got in trouble?)

Back to your actions........ not really the ideal way to deal with it. But the only place that there seems to be any boat launch etiquite is if you pay to use a managed boat launch.

[DropShotr]

Sorry Craig......I'm gonna go with "wrong" here. The in/out line at the ramp forms behind the last vehicle. In this case the newbie. The guy you vented on was really the next guy in line....not you.
I would have docked my boat, went my truck and got in line. Then helped the newbie.

I'd opt to cut the drawbar, not the trailer................

See it all the time. Was at the busiest ramp on Quinte a couple of weeks ago. Buddy in a bassboat pulls in from the water with momma and baby on board and ties to the dock at the closest spot to the ramp - proceeds to walk off with the family and leave the boat there. Meanwhile there are 3 boats waiting to launch and 3 more waiting to pull into the pier. Half an hour later there was a line up half way to the 416 waiting to get in and another 10 or so waiting on the water to get out. Someone should have gone "bug eyed" on this numb nuts or cast his boat adrift but the SOB never did show up by the time I left.

I would have moved that boat to the windy end of the pier.....if he had bumpers out I'd toss them back in the boat.


DropShot'r

[beachburger]

What DropShot'r said.....

[Bobby Shimano]

No two situations are the same...
Be kind and help others...
It is worse in church, than at the launch...

Bobby

[Geos]

Im going to point the finger at your "buddy"

a) for not getting the trailer ready (all your problems solved)
or
b) not dropping you off and putting the boat in a holding pattern
and
c) not backing you up

If time permits letting a newbie figure it out helps sometimes

And what did he plug the grinder into? not alot of plugings in a parking lot of 5 trucks with trailers.

Most times a cresent wrench will do the job or the pin on the hitch "so I hear"

[cprince]

Sorry Craig......I'm gonna go with "wrong" here. The in/out line at the ramp forms behind the last vehicle. In this case the newbie. The guy you vented on was really the next guy in line....not you.
I would have docked my boat, went my truck and got in line. Then helped the newbie.

I'd opt to cut the drawbar, not the trailer................

DropShot'r

No need to apologize DropShot'r! I appreciate and vale all (Ok... well *most*) opinions. I am not closed minded and I am always open to the possibility that there are better or different ways to look and react to any given situation.

This is how I have always learned. Trial and error.

That being said... In my defense... there was no room to "get in line". There were many vehicles parked on either side of the lane way that leads to the launch. I was not going to back up until the other people were clear otherwise they would not be able to leave the ramp.

@ Geos
My buddy is now my "Bitch" (please pardon the expression). He did something similar two weeks ago at Tim Hortons. We were in the parking lot at T-Ho's sucking back a couple of coffees at about 4am on a Sunday morning when a drunken fellow weaved his way to us. He actually hic-uped and said " *hic* How you dooin?". There was something a little "snaky" and unsettling about how he was carrying him self... he was not tall... but he was barrel chested looked rough. I am quite certain that he was First Nations.. I don't mean to sound culturally insensitive or anything... but I find many of them hard to read. I would not want to play poker against them!!

Anyway... he had a menacing swagger... and before I knew it, by "Bitch" of a buddy hid behind the trailer.

Nothing came of it... I tried to make small talk with the guy... but all he could say was "*Hic* how you doooin'"?

We ended up leaving.. but my buddy was visibly shaken.

[WallyPro]

"Am I wrong... (I know I am for my approach!! My head is hung low... I hate blowing a gasket... and you never know who you are going to pop on.. kung-fu master or gun packing crazy person...) "

The Kung-Fu Master is trained to avoid using his skills... he may laugh at your anger though... You've already met a bunch of gun-packing people and never knew it. Yeah, people can get pee pee and crazy though... trying to argue with people so obviously in the wrong can be fun, a waste of time or a danger.

At the launch I kind of think its a mix of who is ready/who got there first. Mostly who is ready...

Ideally, i think everyone should get there straps off, etc. before they approach the ramp. So get to the launch area, get ready... then we'll see about the order.

I had the same thing happen to me last year taking my boat out of the water. Buddy trailered his boat then pulled forward just enough to clear the ramp then started straps, cover etc.
Best thing is to go and move their rig yourself... take a sec and see if its doable then just do it. Blocking the ramp is an insult...

[Billy Dee]

Etiquette is dead my friends. I cannot fault the OP for snapping. Even if the OP was mistaken about the order of ramp operations, the guy on the ramp needed reeducation about common human decency. The human thing to do would have been for the ramp hog to talk politely to the OP about what he thought the order was and not act like a self-important dick.

As sad as I am to say it, people like the ramp hog and his buddy are growing in numbers. Because society frowns on altercations and self-importance is becoming the rule, norms of human interaction are being lost. Unfortunately the only thing lift to do is to confront. Personally I believe that snapping on him probably did the ramp hog (and the rest of us) a favour. The OP’s social sanction of the ramp hog’s dick-headedness may have embarrassed him and he’ll think twice next time and be cool about it. One can only hope.

[jim_c]

I am now making a note to hit the store for a cordless grinder and a cattle prodd..........lol.That ought to prepare me for the worst.

[fordson]

Regardless of who's in line next (I agree w/ truck line idea) I humbly suggest that getting pee pee at where about this stuff is not what any of us want when we fish. I get angry too much according to my wife and kids but still. We're brothers of the fishing clan. If a guy needs help help him. If someone imposes try and advise them kindly and if they're not so inclined let them wallow in ignorance unless safety is at risk.

Lastly, don't cut a dudes trailer at all. A nasty note will do or worse situation go to another launch and leave the nasty note. If I screwed up and someone sabotaged my rig...man I'd never get over it.

Thanks to the guy who a few years ago helped tow my truck and trailer out of the river on Blair after I, being a novice and in too much of a hurry stepped out of my truck to while still in reverse and almost lost everything.

That is the type of fisherbuddy we all need in this field.

See you on the water!

[creeky]

wuz in belleville. some guy blocked the "good ramp" parking his camper, with chocks behind the wheels, so his boat trailer could stay in the water. then went off in his $50k bass boat without a care in the world.

the ramp he left open was concrete and the current had eaten the gravel away from the back of the ramp. just enough concrete to get your trailer in and then drop her into the hole.

I had to patch out to get the momentum to get my trailer wheels to sort of bounce up out of the hole and onto the ramp. tg that old front wheel drive car of mine had some serious pullin' power. or I would have been likely to pull that guys chocks. another fella took two trucks to get his boat out.

some peoples kids.

sorry dropshot'r. if i'm in my boat waitin' to get out I think I'm next in line.

for much hilarity. try the ramp in Orleans (I think it is) on a busy sat.