www.iFourWinns.com

Now that the boating season is half over in many places, I am sure there has been some dumb things done this summer. What is the dumbest thing you have seen ?

I saw a guy this weekend on Boca Lake (a shallow area on the intercostal) bring a gas powered home generator on his boat (24ft) and stand in the water buffing is gelcoat with an electric buffer right along the water line. He wasn't sure what he was doing wrong but thought the ground fault would save him if he dropped it or lowered it mistakenly 1/2inch. He stopped after those people near him in the water, who also might get shocked told him to stop.

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07 Tiara Sovran 4300
07 338 Vista - SOLD

Pretty hard to top that one.

I haven't been out enough this year to see anything, but last year I saw a guy backing his dual jet ski trailer down a ramp at Table Rock. He couldn't get it to go straight down the ramp, which had a drop-off on both sides. After a couple of tries, he dropped the trailer off one side, leaving one ski hanging by the winch strap. Of course, then the only way to resolve the situation was to drag the whole mess back up over the edge...

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Two things, one, mother and child sitting on the swim platform of a 35 or so foot cruiser with the boat underway (rotating prop just a few feet below, I/O powertrain) and kids sitting up on the bow of a similar large crusier underway, they could have easily fallen out between the posts of the bow rail.
I don't get it, these are boats that take a whole lot of financial resources to acquire, where's the brains??!!

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

People that have money (or the resources) are not always intelligent, I know plenty of dumb management and above...

Like my former boss tells me... Common Sense, is not all that common!

I haven't seen anything particularly bad this year since I have not been out much yet. The best thing I've seen to date, would be the beat up old econoline van that backed into the water (well up past the rear wheels) to launch an early 90's jet ski (yes the real deal, jet ski) what a bunch of scrubs... I actually hailed the police since this intoxicated bunch of maroon's were holding up the ramp and it was getting dark and I wanted to retrieve the boat.

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Brett DiMichele

From my Memorial Weekend observations this year (see Mem weekend thread)....

I did witness a newbie owner slam into the dock at the restaurant. He hit it pretty hard, then backed up, and hit it even harder..... he backed up a third time and hit it once more. Finally convinced he could not get his brand new ~20' Sea Ray on the dock, he simply tied up in the slip next to mine. At which point I remotely activated my car alarm/panic flashers causing even more confusion. That alone was worth the $90 for the remote set-up!

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Walt B
"Debt-Charged"
Black '07 H210SS
6.2L Bravo One turning a 21P HIFive
Wakeboard Tower with Perfect Pass Stargazer version
Missouri River; Kansas City, Mo.

We saw a pretty good folley today at the fuel dock. Our slip is situated so we have front row seats for the dock. Well, we had a pretty Nice morning weather wise. There was a slight breeze of maybe 5-10 knots. In comes an older couple in what looked like a brand new Stingray Cruiser. The wind was blowing into the fuel dock. Captain approaches with no lines attached to boat and his wife was on the platform. Not sure what she was going to do. There was an attendant on the dock during all this. He approaches short of the dock and starts rounding the dock down my fairway. He was yelling to the dock hand to grab the bow rail. Smart she was and did not. He pulls back out and almost looses the wife of the back. Now he pulls out and has his wife attach a stern line and try to get a bow line on. That wasnt happening as the dink was on the bow. Starts his approach again. Short as the first. Dock hand grabs the bow rail and the wife throws the stern line on the dock. Not sure who was supposed to catch it, as there wasnt anyone available. The wind pulls a 180 and the stern blows off the dock now. The young dock hand had a line on the dock and attached it to the boat and instructed the captain to hard to port in reverse with a light throttle and the stern swung in. Finally they were in. Kinda scary when a 16 year old girl has to instruct the captain on how to drive his vessel.

248,

I'm sure you were there once upon a time. Docking is not something a book can teach you. You can learn "what do to" but practice makes perfect and gaining a feel for the boat is a must.

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Brett DiMichele

Here's my top 3:

1. Minivan attempting to pull H190 up launch ramp, requiring 6 people to push the van. Then coming back later in the week to do it all over again.

2. Guy in a cuddy making direct, head on contact with the dock.

3. Bass boat driving into launch bay on plane when No Wake Zone starts 150' outside of the channel. (and the fisherman complain about the recreational boaters)

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-Rob.


Current boat: 2011 Yamaha AR210
Previous boat: 1998 Horizon RX 4.3GL SX

Brett
I was a newbee once too, but definatley new that you dont throw a line when nobody is there to catch it. I also do not let people on the platform while the boat is moving.

1. The "new to him" 30+ foot speed boat that missed his trailer while laoading and smashed the nose through the back glass of his new Hummer. Must've been a redneck lottery winner

2. The 20 year olds in a wakeboard boat that was running in 3+ foot rollers with full ballast. Every wave broke over the bow...pretty scary to watch actually

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2007 Four Winns 220SS (Sold!!)
2006 Toyota Tacoma

Dumbest thing I've seen this summer was the two girls on a wave runner that whipped around an island at WOT, and right by a lake police boat with only about 15' of separation (the law there is 200'). Saw them get a ticket too.

The next dumbest thing I saw was an overloaded 30' pontoon boat. I see a lot of those, but with this one, the 'toons were submerged, and I saw a guy walk from the back to the coolers at the front, and while underway, the deck goes underwater and all the ladies on board started screaming. Of course three more 'geniuses' run forward to help. Lucky for them the guy at the helm pulled the throttle back to neutral. There was enough water above the deck in front to float one of their numerous coolers.

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2007 Horizon 200
4.3L GXi/ SX 225 HP

Ughhh. Idiots. Bitter tradgedy that our over-protective scociety has imposed so many rules to protect the mindless from themselves. It's almost completely eliminated natural selection or survival of the fittest (survival of the thinking for the most part). It's a strange condition - used to notice it workiing offshore where every move needs a permit, obvious signage and roped off areas. People tend to rely on someone else removing every hazzard from thier environment. Have seen people walk right under heavy-lifts because someone else had neglected to place a sign. - Duhh I didn't see a sign saying not to step out in front of the bus . . .
Anyway, most stupid occurances so far - living on the water it's a loooong list but lets see what I can think of.
- Pair of parents (adults?) pulling thier pre-teen kid on a wakeboard through a narrow channel (probably 25' wide) through traffic with a jetski and no-one facing backwards nor did I see them check back to see if he was even still there. Then they continue under an old bridge (12' wide) around a blind corner where they were met with a toon on the other side! Morons.
- Four early teen girls ripping back and forth through the same area on jetskis at speed with the passengers trying to stand up on the seats and waving at people on the much larger boats they were cutting off.
- See a lot of large bowriders and small cruisers swamping and capsizing people in kayaks. Seriously - I don't think I would brave kayaking as fun as it appears - unless I was armed!
- Saw a truck and trailer left in the middle of a public launch ramp (usually only narrow side streets around here) no boat anywhere to be seen!? There were a couple of others parked waiting for this idiot to return. When I went by a couple of hours later the truck and trailer were still there but all the tires were flat. The waiters were gone
- I don't think I have ever passed under a bridge around here without seeing a kid standing on the railing waiting to jump as I am passing under him - What is the attraction with this? I don't get that one. But I guess it's better than the kids we had dropping rocks over the sides a couple of seasons ago. That was resolved when a nieghbor's wife was hit in the head and he beached the boat and caught two of them. As I understand it one of them was beaten pretty badly the other had to be taken to the hospital. Probably re-think doing that ever again.
In some aspects I like the idiots that walk among us. They make me look like a rocket scientist!

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2008 Four Winns 210 5.7 GI/SX
2007 GMC Sierra 2500 Crew
1966 Fed-Up Wife

running sticks @ 170 mph in the rain chasing after a card.

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I ran out of gas a few weekends ago literally within a few hundred yards of the marina. Stupid. I have no sympathy for anyone who runs out of gas, including myself on that day.

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Paul
2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI w/ Bravo III Drive
2004 Ford Explorer Limited (V8-AWD)
Pomme de Terre Lake (Southwest Missouri)

E is for enough Paul

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-Rob.


Current boat: 2011 Yamaha AR210
Previous boat: 1998 Horizon RX 4.3GL SX