Mine probaly trying to get the boat off the trailer couldnt get it off, scratching my head for 5 minutes before I noticed its still strapped down onto the trailer haha that was a good day

 mine was at tandabiddy in exmouth ,there was a good swell running and a wnw wind and a wave drove my boat straight up the trailer and scrached the cr@# out of the old girl ,it wasnt the best days fishing so that just topped it off ,was just one of those days

 it was the old ramp not the new

            jeff

 Left the lights on an after been fishing for 12 hours come back to flat batt. For jump started didn't leave car running and got another flat pulling her up the trailer haha jump started again

We were down at hillarys on a busy day and my mate who had never been on a boat before unhooked the whinch and the D shackel while i was in the boat waiting for it to be backed in. my friend started reversing the boat down the ramp and it rolled off the trailer on to the concrete. fortunatly it done more damage to my ego then my tough old chivers thunderbird

 Breaking a roller on the boat trailer at the Mosman Bay Keane St ramp in the middle of summer, middle of crab season, with a massive line up for the single lane ramp. Took me ages to get the boat on the trailer. If looks could kill! 

coming back to find the crew happily doing nothing while the outboard was nicely grinding up and down on a bolt hanging out from one of the ramp pilons.

My worst would have to be launching the new boat for the first time. First trailer with rollers, undid the strap and it flew off the back. with a crosswind, it was pushed right across onto the rocks with the winch cord still attached   Boat was ok, thats the main thing.

Gnaraloo beach launch

some muppet had dragged the steel tracks up to the carpark - we could not find them and decided to launch anyway - 60 seconds later cruiser was sitting on its diffs! - had to drag the spare out -bury it and winch the troopy's fat @ rse out of the water!

jeep self locked when door was shut with keys in the ignition,luckily I had left the window down a bit and it had door knobs

Launching at Brisbane Waters on the Central Coast of NSW.

Middle of winter, freezing cold, deckie hadnt turned up, light rain and dark as., it being 04.00 and all.

I was wearing trackie dacks. flannie, big wool jumper no shoes.

After untying the boat I had a quick check of the ramp, all good, bit slippery. As I started to reverse the troopy, pushing only a 4.2 Stessel, an old fellow comes over and starts to chat with me. I kept reversing and talking out the window moving about 3km/h but I sort of forgot I was moving back. Leason at this point was the trailer only goes straight when bad things are about to happen.

Boat gets onto the ramp and then the car starts to move down as well and I realise I am moving so I go to hit the brakes. Car just kept going, and then I noticed old mate had stopped moving and was looking on in awe. the whole rig just slid down the ramp on the slime. I dropped it into first and wacked it into H4 but she just kept going back.

Next thing the boat is floating off the trailer then the arse of troopy is floating up then the whole car is floating along. Then the whole rig came out from behind this little wharf beside the ramp, so the whole lot got caught in the current and off it went., the whole lot bobbing along. Look up and there is the deckie walking along the shore looking very worried and a whole host of punters standing on the wharf waiting for the ferry looked very interested in my antics.

First I tried to accelerate the car to get it to go forward. this worked for a moment or two but the boat swung the car around so I was driving it deeper into the channel. Decided now was as good a time as any to leave the rig and head to shore. Problem was every time i tried to exit the window I tipped the car over and was filing it with water (troopies are pretty water tight really) So I had to dive out and hope I didnt tip the thing on top of me or get stuck in something. Out I went and realised I had left wallet and phone in car, so I lent back in and grabbed them out, held the phone up, then PUT THE CAR OUT OF GEAR AND PULLED ON THE HANDBRAKe. go figure hey.

Kept the phone up and got to the boat, took the safety off and climbed in and motored back to the ramp, looking like a drowned rat. Car then sunk in the ferry channel, still running till the snoekel went under, then there was a bang. All you could see from the gloom was the headlights on and the flashers started too.

About 5 mins later the ferry came and put some lovely prop chops in the roof...

Mate took a video of the whole thing and sent it to mates at work who promptly showed the boss, lucky I hadnt called in sick hey..

Police and firies attended and had a good laugh, news came and had a good time, then the tow truck came. FIrst one, nearly tore the winch off it, the troopie was so heavy so they got a big semi trailer one, and had to move fast as the next ferry was due.

I had to swim out and drop the winch cable over the bull bar again: while the firies tried to run me over with my own boat,,, If we had waited half an hour I reackoned the tide would have dropped enough for me to just be up to my waist in water walking out, but no we had to do it then and there where I had to strip off again. getting into wet clothes is horrid let me tell you.

Got the rig out and noted I had lost all the tools from the rear, the barn doors had popped because I only partly closed them while I launched so there goes a whole load of sidchrome  and makita gear...

Police officer offered to give me a fine for drive without due car, I offered to give him a blood nose, He desisted.

Firies helped me get the boat on the trailer and by 08.00 I was headed home in my wet clothes getting a lift off some old bloke who had no tow bar, we just tied the hitch to the rear of his car and drove the 15km of winding road to my house. No one offered me a cup of tea or a towel or blanket.

Got home and yep you guessed it, the keys to the house were half way to the insurance holding yard in the car.

Only thing insurance didnt pay for was the smashed laundry window....

Funny stuff, now, but not then

Chris

Its a floating pontoon and is excellent. But when the tide is low, only has room on the pontoon for 1 boat at a time Left asd right. My turn to launch Left lane. Got the boat in, parked the car, ran back with a few waiting. Jump in and drop the leg. Start - Nah. Try again - Nah. Was the old 2S Johno. Quich check. Prime everything, give it a go again - no Joy. Fn things stuffed. No fishing today.

Ran back, jump in car, but with all the boats departing the prep area is full and everyone is lined up. No room for me to get in to retrieve the boat. After some traffic organising managed to back down. In the haste stuffed this up.. Getting redder and redder by the moment - anger and embarrasment dont add up to a nice face.

Managed the retrieve fast with some eager waiting in line helping hands. Got the F out off there tail between legs, and bought a ETEC.

what a horror story!!!!

i would hate to be in the running to beat that, a real fugu guru award

Before the road to Withnel Bay wwas improved, it was a bumpy bitch of a track.

Was in a hurry to get to the bay and launch an assault on the squids.

Put the boat in, started her up.  Opened the esky to grab a coldie...... Bugger, the rough road had popped all of my beers. 

Years ago had been fishing offshore in Darwin.  On the way back to the ramp we went past an impressive Navy ship cruising the harbour on a glassy day.

We pulled up to the Ski Club ramp and the skipper goes to reverse the trailer down the ramp.  Myself and mate were standing in knee deep water, holding the boat when a set of freak waves break over the transom filling the tinnie with water and sinking it onto the concrete.  Camera, tackle, reels etc all now floating in a foot of salt water.

Must have been the wake from the Navy ship which caught up to us after we passed the ship 10 minutes earlier. 

wouldnt say its my worst, but probably a couple of others thought it might be theirs.

Prawning this year  in the swan. After a good night, head back to the ramp to retreive with 100 other boats. Me having a bigger boat had to tussle with all the smaller boats pushing in.

Finally got jacked with it, so dropped a deckie off to get the car and i would drive on through the middle. No probs, except i left the props in very little water tring to push her up the last metre of so.

Wasnt going anywhere so i gave it some stick....biggest rooster I've seen, and all those little boats behind who were pushing in had a nice shower..

Tried hard not to laugh but couldnt help it!

Some of the opther boats who had not yet pulled up to the ramps saw it all happen and could hear them laughing for 10 or minutes!

Would have been 16 years old when the older boys at work called me out for my first fishing trip with the lads. All I had to do was hold the rope while they reversed the boat off and make sure it didnt float away.

As the boat came off the trailer a loop of rope caught around a part of his trailer. He sreamed out to go and I clearly yelled NO.

Well he put his foot flat like a bogan at Mcdonalds on a Thursday night and we all watched gobsmacked as his glass boat was pulled some 15m past the ramp on its belly the whole way. That boat never saw water again and i never wet a line with those guys to this day

 some classics amongst them. looks like no one forgot to put the bung in except for me.

Launched the boat and drove the car back to the carpark. all was good until i get close to the ramp on foot with Sandy telling me to get the car quickly as the boat was filling with water fast. by the time i got back there would have to have been about 500ltrs of water flooding the deck and Sandy holding the rope tightly around the pylon to stop the boat sinking. took about a half hour for the water to drain. 

still went fishing tho

Nope i've done that and my deckie just stood on the dock watching me the whole time and didn't notice till i screamed at her. it was a 4.1m polycraft and they have big bung holes so she filled up quick. took 15 mins to drain out. I have also see someone drop a 25ft fibreglass jobbie at the top of the Dampier Public ramp after taking the safety chain off, just been re-firbed too.

Pretty new to Kcity boating at the time. Just joined the Club and had the stinker off a Johno 2S. Started her up with a puff of smoke and all hell broke out. Everyone was pissing themselves laughing. Now I though B#$stards are laughing at the tub and donk, but no not the case.

Mullows's big dog decided to have a rather large dump on the pontoon right next to my boat. Gentlemen that he is, got his Mrs to clean it up. Laughter all around!!!

Neels

I'll cut it short as its a whole days events.

Launched my boat, off to the FADs half way there alarms go off motor stops. Sea Rescue tows us in.

Still keen for a fish quickly race home grab the brothers boat, launch, off to the fads half way there alarms go off motor stops threw the drive belt on the OPTI. Sea rescue tows us in.

Grab the car back the trailer down load the boat on alarms go off car motor stops before I can pull the trailer out, thus blocking up the ramp.

By this time I have to say we were all feeling a little disapointed. No one at the ramp had a crack at us. It could of been the knives we were holding I'm not sure.

 Had to ring a mate to come down and he towed us off the ramp then all the way home.

It was the first time both boats had been in the water since their last service.

At a small ramp just near Freshwater bay YC i put a boat in to deep to retrieve. Anyway could get it out so hooked another car to mine (think my suzuki vitara was under gunned) only to find out the hard way that the ramp had a drop of and the trailer was hooked up on it. SO i had now proceed to tear the trailer frame of.

Worst part was it was a boat from work and we'd been out wake boarding after work..I enjoyed explaining that one to my boss.

this didn't happen to me but i watched in horror as it took place at the leeuwin boat ramp at east freo quite a few years ago.

Wife/girl friend on launching jetty holding onto launching rope secured to bow and stern of 20 ft + glass boat on trailer. Husband drives car back into water boat won't slide of trailer, husband drives car a little way forward then backs up with a little speed and jams on the brakes, boat stays stuck on trailer.

husband drives forward out of water approx 10 - 15 metres then comes back in reverse at a high rate of speed jumps on brakes, boat slides of trailer with such speed into the water that it slides past wife/girl friend and continues out into the swan with such momentum that wife/girl friend (who doesn't let go rope) is yanked off the jetty into the water.

With a lot of screaming and yelling she lets go the rope to the boat which then is caught by the out going tide and starts to head for Fremantle inner harbour, wife/girl friend swims to launching jetty.

husband/boy friend who has seen all this in the rear vision mirror starts yelling to wife/girl friend in the water to swim back to the boat and bring it back to the launching ramp.

all the onlookers were splitting their sides laughing at all this carry on. most hostile woman in the water then tell boat owner where he can stick the boat and swims to the jetty and walks off in a great huff.boat owner then swims out to get boat and pulls it back to the ramp

Don't worry Russ I've done the bung thing and I bet plenty of others are keeping quiet.

Something I swore I'd never do (so it was only a matter of time.)  Was in Streaky bay this April.  Had a day off and spent it with the wife in the town and had lunch at a cafe.  Of course the day was perfect and very calm.  Later decieded I would run out and set a cray pot to pull the following day.  Was aware a bit of wind was expected late afternoon so was in a rush to beat it.  whipped down to the ramp by myself and backed in, pushed the boat off and was walking it along the pontoon when I hear a gugling sound and the penny dropped.  SHIT!!, pulled it back to the trailer and winched it up, pulled the trailer forward and waited 5 min for all the water to drain out, bungs then went in and I went out to set the pot.   At least the carpet was now clean!!

P.S. Russ the thought did cross my mind that it was a good thing I was alone otherwise the trailer wouldn't have still been in the water, you'd be suprised how quick the water can come in through those holes hey!!

Just to top it off when I pulled the pot the next morning the baits were complete skeletons - sealice had eaten the lot and no crays. 

One thing I will bever do is drop the boat on the ramp like the old man did once.  I never unhook the saftey chain until its in the water.

I also never reverse down and hit the brakes to get the boat off - after seeing two boats go in still attached to the car (cars do float for a while) I won't risk this.  

Cheers
paul

A cray fisherman mate was launching his boat next to the Hamelin bay ramp off the beach , backed back in to the water and off goes the boat no worries, the decky goes to drive out and finds himself stuck and with no clutch, wheels turning in gear and waves breaking over the ute. [looked good with the headlight shining underwater]. They gave us a call to snatch them out---only about 40 feet of beach to cliff so not much room, demolish one snatch strap. Called salmon boys down with 2 more ute and a huge set of double/ treble winch blocks. Using 2 x utes as an anchor for the blocks and about 10 blokes on the big V8 cruiser ute with tyres down, off down the beach they go, whacking as much strain as they can on the rope until they bogged them self down. Now its the waitig game, took about 15-20 minutes for a big set to come through and out she came, like a cork from a bottle. I gave them my ute to use to bring their boat now loaded with crays in on to the main ramp while We took off to our boat in my dinghy.

When they had taken their dinghy out to pick the crays up and pump the diesel in to the big boat the fuel transfer pump shat itself leaving about 400 litres still in the fuel compartment and when they got near the ramp it all sloshed to one side and over it went.

Looked quite funny, about 6-7 blokes swimming trying to grab crates of crays as the floated off, upturned dinghy and a good swell running at about 0530 and 8-9 degrees. They lost about 60kg of crays and drowned a 40hp outboard as well as running out of clutch on the ute.

Mine wasn't as bad,

getting dumped on the ramp at Canal rocks with 400kg of cleaned shark  in the boat. Wave picked us up and drove us in to the ramp, poor little 10-hp merc wasn't enough to pull us up, next wave dumped on top washing me and about 100 kg of fish over the stern.

Managed to get a rope on to the ute and drag the dinghy up the ramp and out of harms way then went swimming for our catch before it disappeared completely, still lost about 50-60kg.

Goodbye little merc and fitted a 20hp on the same day, it only happens once.

For those from down Dunsborough way who know Smithy the fisherman, ask him about when we sank his boat at the Quindalup ramp when his dog Munro jumped from one side to the other and down we went. This is in a 19 foot ali and full of skippy  that we caught trying to catch bluebait, again it all happens when in at night , in the dark and freezing cold.

 Had a few to many the night before thought it would be a good idea to go crabbing out of back beach in karratha so read the tides no worries put the boat in the water bout 7 the next morning after about 5 hours sleep went out got our limit checking the time was sweet according to the tides got 100 m from the ramp and hit bottom had to jump out and drag it waist deep in water and knee deep in mud got  the boat on the trailer after about 45 mins in our severely hung over state by the time we got home was about midday wondering where we went wrong as we had do e it numerous times without problems before checked the tides and realized we had read the port headland ones in our tipsy state the night before and to top it off after washing the boat and getting all the mud off it and flushing the motor left me 3 hours sleep before a Healthy busy 12 hour night shift

Luckily not nearly as bad as a lot of these horror stories..... 

Had only had my boat a few weeks. Got back to the ramp just after dark to find that some a$$hole had stolen my winch handle off my trailer (shouldnt have left it there I suppose).  Only two other trailers left in the carpark.  One of them happened to have the same winch but was smart enough to lock the handle in the car. After considering waiting around for the other guy to get back in and borrow his, we thought we'd try a few other measures.

After trying to winch it up using spanners etc and busting the pins off the shaft of the winch (rendering it useless) we decided to try driving it onto the trailer - which I hadnt ever done before as I'd only owned the boat a few weeks, it was dark, I was packing it.  Surprising went up very easily onto the trailer but we struggled to keep it there as I had no tention on the winch cable.  We ended up having to use the bow rope to hold it up on the trailer.

After about an hour of buggerising around we got it up out of the water.  The following afternoon I thought I'd shoot down to the ramp to hunt for the handle in case I had actually dropped it or something silly.  Wasnt there.  The car/trailer with the same winch however, was still there.  Lucky I didnt wait for him :)

one i seen not that long ago as i was waiting for my friend to back the trailer in. I looked over and there was a guy and a mrs trying to get the boat off the trailer. he was goin foward about 10 metres then back ten but the boat wouldnt come off. by this stage the guy in the car was getting pretty angry and started swearing at his mrs, I was trying to hard to hide the smile on my face thinking the whinch was still connected. Then the bloke in car just gave it to it and BANG! turns out his mrs had tied the rope off to the jetty as he was backing in and ripped quite a large piece of fibreglass out of the boat where the rope  was tied to. There was alot more swearing and im still trying hard not to laugh then the guy told me it was his first boat that he had just purchased on the weekend.

This is prob the best thread going, havent stopped laughing!! haha

I was on my own , tied the boat up against the 2 Rocks jetty, reversed the traler down, backed the boat out then drove it up on the trailer, leaving it idling in gear, I tied a rope from the boat to the post along side , hopped on to the jetty, connected the safety chain and winch rope to the boat, hopped back on board and turned the motor off and lifted up the leg.

No problems, hopped on to the jetty, in to the car and drove off  ---BANG !!! What the fook was that? Climbed out and  noticed the post I'd tied up to was on the road behind the boat still attached to the boat but not the jetty any more.

The worst thing was a mate was the only one who saw me do it and was cracking up laughing.

Well, it's my first post and embarassing myself is as good a way to start as any.... It happened in Townsville, Nth Qld about 10yrs ago. I was posted to Ross Island Army base and they had a few 4.2m tinnies there, that were available for use to us soldiers. Three of us booked one out for the day and headed down to the ramp at O-dark-hundred in anticipation of a good day out. We backed the boat in and then turned around to organise some gear on the back of the ute. The ramp was on the army base itself and is near the mouth of the Ross River and with noone else around, we took our time getting the gear ready. A short while later I felt something touch me on the back of the calf. Ross River being full of crocs and sharks, I was a little concerned. But when I looked down, I could see it was just one of my thongs floating there. These had been in the bottom of the boat and it took a couple of seconds for what this meant to sink in. The tinnie was sunk ... completely - along with my new phone and my new $1000 camera. This however, was the highlight of the trip.

We managed to get the boat up, drain it, put the bungs in and stupidly still decided to head out - figuring the day could only get better..... could not have been more incorrect! We headed out around Cape Cleveland  - around 4 kms or so and the fishing was woeful all morning, with nothing worth mentioning being caught. It turned into a stinking hot, humid day - as most are up there in summer and we decided to head home around 1pm for a few well needed refreshments. The boat however - more than likely as a result of it's earlier dunking, decided not to start. So with 3 guys - all around the 100kg mark; the temperature close to 40 degrees and humid as hell and a boat full of gear and eskies, we had to row the 4+kms back to the mouth of the river.... against the tide. We ran out of water after about an hour and from then on it was down to sucking bait covered pieces of ice out of the eskie and drinking the blood and muck filled water in the bottom of it.

We took turns, with 2 rowing and one trailing a lure out the back for a while and actually managed to hook up on the way. The sea snake that was pulled in however, was not welcome and that finally put an end to the fishing for the day. The tides up that way can be pretty big - with swings of 4-5m being common and at times it felt like we were getting no closer. But eventually at a bit after 5pm, we made it to the mouth of the river and pulled up on the sand there to rest. We pretty much just fell out of the boat and collapsed on the sand.

This was not the end of our troubles though and yet again fate  - or more accurately stupidity, #*@!ed us over and we looked up to see the boat floating out into the river. As I said earlier, the river is full of crocs and sharks and none of us was keen to head out to fetch it. But two of us decided that as the 3rd one outranked us, he should be the one to go. He had had a shoulder reconstruction a couple of months earlier, but that was not really our concern. So off he went, trying to freestyle his way out into the river with one arm. He got about 30m out, when it became apparent that the boat was just going to head the 50-60m or so, straight across the river and hit the other bank - which it did.

A guy passing on a jet ski retrieved it for him and bought it to him in the middle of the river. He grabbed onto the side of it and was towed back to us. The final indignation for us, was being towed the 400m or so back up the river to the boat ramp by the guy on his jetski - past many laughing locals out fishing for the day. But at that stage we way past caring and just smiled and waved - wanting only to get the hell out of there.

There are many popular fisho sayings, that go along the lines of  "the worst day fishing, is better than the best day at work". It is my experience however, that this is not strictly true....

my signature

That however is an interesting day out!

 all ive had is a flat battery at the ramp *touch wood*

actually i do have a story to add.

first boat : savage scamp 10ft i think it was, little fibre glass thing- old 20hp tohatsu on the back, near the raffles- had a few started to show off and do some circlework, showing off to some kids fishing.. engine wasnt as secure as i had thought. fell off. not much fun pushing an outboard to the surface, especially a heavy solid 1970s engine...   not much fun swimming the boat back to salters point where we had launched from either... 

swapped that hull for a swag. best thing i ever did :P

years ago fishing out from Broome with a mate, returned to the boat ramp to find no trailer behind the car!, luckily my mate was able to borrow one from the boat shop and  get his boat home, would have never of thought someone would steal a trailer at that ramp!

The old boy and myself were out fishing the Islands of Carnarvon, Got back to the ramp after a great day out...I drove the boat on the trailer and dad connected the safety chain...next mintue a very loud BANG! Dad what the F was that????? Dad.....???

few seconds later recognised it was Dad's head hitting the side of the 4WD Tray...and he was out cold, and in the water...started First aid and he came too...got him into the car ,hooked up the boat, ...Boom fisheries want to search the boat...and I quote, "Mate you can search the boat, but as I'm driving to the hospital" NOW! - never seen fisheries Jump off so quick :)

Dad spent the next day or so resting up...Dad even Won an award at the presentation night "the pissed and fell over award" presented by Mr Wally Dale himself!