Boat launch protocol? 2024

jbmaine reply :

Hello, I know this subject comes up from time to time but I thought I'd put this in and see what you think. The lake my wife and I like to fish has a really nice public launch that is used by both fisherman and recreational boaters. Generally if there is a boat already at the dock we assume they are either putting in or getting ready to leave and wait until there is an opening for us to either put in or take out. The launch can be busy at times, but usually with a little bit of common sense and courtsey things go pretty smooth. The other day we were out on the lake fishing when a thunderstorm was starting to form and we thought it best to get off the lake, everyone else had the same idea and when we got to the launch we were in que with about a half a dozen boats. When our turn came, we put up at the dock. My wife stayed with the boat while I went up to get the trailer. When I drove down to the launch, (about two minutes later) there was a "gentleman" trying to put his boat in and was in a lively dicussion with my wife. He was insisting she had to pull our boat back to the end of the dock so he could put in. She was basically telling him she wasn't going to move and he could wait his turn. He instead went ahead and partially backed his trailer in, almost hitting our boat, and then pushed his boat at a 45 degree angle off his trailer, climbed over his trailer and got in his boat then drove it around ours and tied it off at the end of the dock. Meanwhile, I am sitting there waiting to back my trailer in and half a dozen boats were circling waiting to get out before the storm hit. The "gentleman" mentioned he was waiting for a while to put his boat in and figured it was his turn, even though nobody else there had seen him waiting. Normally, we are pretty easy going and will wait a bit longer rather than cause hard feelings, however in this instance, I would think commonsense would dictate giving the right of way to people trying to get their boats out to avoid a thunderstorm. My wife and I have been talking about this and feel we were right, but was wondering what you all thought. I'm sure some of you have been through something similar and we would really like your thoughts on if we were correct in our actions. Thanks. JB

Jig Man reply :

Both of you could be wrong. If he butted in line he was wrong. You keeping the boat moored when it could have been back off the loading dock was wrong. Why didn't your wife take the boat back out of the way while you were getting the trailer?

Catt reply :

When you pulled up to the ramp, you did not seeing any one in the act of backing down then you were right in what you did.

burleytog reply :

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When you pulled up to the ramp, you did not seeing any one in the act of backing down then you were right in what you did.

Exactly.

When my wife goes out with me, she holds the boat at the dock or launch. She doesn't know how to drive the boat or back up the trailer. She does what she knows that that is it.

People who cut in line tick me off to no end. Just yesterday, was launching for our tournament. Waited in line, went to put in and some dumb shirt waited until he got to the ramp to get his boat ready for launch. Waited for a couple of minutes, then cut around him and hit the winter ramp.

fish-fighting-illini reply :

If he is dumb enough to be putting his boat in during a thunderstorm that pretty much tells me who was paying attention and who wasn't.

I'd have been tempted to have backed my trailer down and blocked him in. I would have made him put his boat back on the trailer. But then everyone else would have been held up.

jbmaine reply :

Thanks for the replys. If he had been waiting where we could have seen him or infact been in the process of backing down we would have waited. On this launch you can't see the main parking area from the water. The launch site is a big loop. from the main parking area you drive around to the launch, back your boat in and pull strait up to park. If he had been waiting at the bottom of the loop ( where everyone usually waits) we would have seen him and waited to let him pull in. But he wasn't and we didn't see him. Anyway this episode bothered us enough to put this in and see what other people thought. My wife and I like to be good neighbors where ever we go and wanted to see if we should have acted differently.

Thanks

cart7t reply :

Technically speaking, if he pulls up to launch after you've gotten out and set off to get your tow vehicle he still has the right of way to launch and expect the launching area is clear of boats, regardless of the weather conditions approaching. Your wife should've moved the boat so he could launch then moved it back into position after he'd taken care of launching.

Since you can't see the parking area you have no idea if he was up there prepping his boat to launch, since he appears to have already had the boat ready to put in that's probably the case. Another point. Using you're scenario, what happens if you get up to your tow vehicle and it wont' start or there's a problem like a tire low on the trailer or some other problem? Is everyone supposed to just sit there and wait till you figure out what to do with your situation?

I learned long ago that if you're going to take you're significant other fishing it's best to teach them normal ramp manners, how to operate the boat in an idle condition around docks and to operate the trolling motor.

I'm afraid I'll have to side with the other boater this time regardless of the fact that a storm was approaching. It was a pretty stupid time to be heading out though.

kybassangler reply :

Could have been worse. could have sent the wife for the trailer. Mine still hasn't forgive me for that. ;D

HPBB reply :

I have to agree with Cart7. If tere is no truck/trailer in line or backing down the ramp, and the ramp is open, and your boat is ready to launch. You back down to launch.

if it was me , my wife holds the boat at the end of the dock so the ramp is open its open till I get there.

I get my boat ready in the parking lot so when I pull to the ramp all I have to do is dump it. If there is no truck on the ramp I am backing down even if there is a boat on the dock.

On the same type of thought. when a ramp is two lane and people only use it one at a time. I always back down the second lane. some get mad at me, but that is why there are two or more lanes.

Jig Man reply :

Teach your wife how to operate the boat and you won't have this problem ever again. She can drop you at the courtesy dock and load the boat when you have the trailer in the water. That way you won't hold anyone up more than 30 seconds. I have been doing this for years and it is by far and away the easiest on everybody concerned.

Catt reply :

If I'm already at the launch and you are not in the actual act of backing your trailer down, you are the one who should wait. Just because you're in the parking lot doesn't give you the right to be next in line to launch, the person at the launch first is next.

cart7t reply :

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If I'm already at the launch and you are not in the actual act of backing your trailer down, you are the one who should wait. Just because you're in the parking lot doesn't give you the right to be next in line to launch, the person at the launch first is next.

A launch ramp is for launching and loading boats. You don't block it with a boat unless you're about to back you're trailer into the water. In this case, the guy hadn't even gotten to his truck yet.

Seems the boat loader wants to penalize the guy who followed proper etiquette.

He got his boat ready on the parking lot for launching so as not to hold anyone up. He pulls down to the ramp to launch. He's ready to launch, the guy wanting to pull his boat out isn't ready, he probably hasn't even gotten to his truck yet.

In the time she spent arguing with this guy, she could've moved the boat, let him launch and the whole process wouldn't have cost the boat loader in this scenario anymore than a minute.

If most public boat ramps operated like this poster thinks is the right way to launch or load a boat you'd never get any boats launched.

bassbob08 reply :

the wife should have moved the boat for 30-40 seconds let the lightning dodger out and be done with it.

jbmaine reply :

Thanks for all the replys. It seems there are valid points on either side of this. The next time it happens my wife will move our boat back. My over riding thought at the time was, because he insisted on launching his boat, we had to wait for him to drive up and park his truck, walk back down, start his boat and take off before I could pull ours up and every one in que waiting to get off the water was stuck in a t-storm. My wife does everything she can to help me but because of hand and wrist issues she can neither drive a boat or a car. She can only fish for a short time before resting her hands and anything of any size she hooks I have to bring in for her. I did not mean to generate hard feelings by posting this, only to get opinions on if we did or did not do the right thing, and if not, to learn so we could do the right thing next time.

Thanks

Catt reply :

Proper etiquette at a public boat ramp is first come first served, since jbmaine was already at the ramp why should he move aside to satisfy a person who is with out a doubt trying to bully his way in line.

This is what you consider proper etiquette? Proper etiquette would have been to wait his turn because the way I see it if he was in that big of a hurry he should have left home earlier.

And on top of that the guy is being that rude to a lady! Etiquette my rear

5bass reply :

I'm with cart7 on this one. jbmaine's wife should've pulled/pushed/trolled the boat to the end of the dock until jbmaine's trailer was backed into the water.

At a busy ramp you should expect someone to try to launch while you're going for your trailer and prepare for that accordingly.(train the wife or just tie the boat to the end of the dock, out of the way to begin with.)

cart7t reply :

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I'm with cart7 on this one. jbmaine's wife should've pulled/pushed/trolled the boat to the end of the dock until jbmaine's trailer was backed into the water.
At a busy ramp you should expect someone to try to launch while you're going for your trailer and prepare for that accordingly.(train the wife or just tie the boat to the end of the dock, out of the way to begin with.)

Yep.

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Proper etiquette at a public boat ramp is first come first served, since jbmaine was already at the ramp why should he move aside to satisfy a person who is with out a doubt trying to bully his way in line.

His boat was at the ramp, not his tow vehicle. Big difference.

senile1 reply :

I always park my boat on the outside of the floating walkways and leave the inside trailering lanes free. This allows people to launch boats while I, or my wife, go and get the trailer. I always thought this was the polite thing to do.

As an aside, I like to powerload my boat on the trailer. My wife prefers to back the trailer down the ramp rather than driving the boat up on the trailer, so she is more than capable of maneuvering a trailer down a boat ramp.

surfer reply :

You should have let the other guy go first

Tow vehicle position in line determines who is next not boat position.

The fact that he got his trailer into the water without you two bumping into each other in the parking lot shows he was in a better position to make use of the ramp. Never tie up a boat in the way of the ramp. In a less crowded situation it probably wouldn't have mattered. In crowded situations every body needs to do everything possible to speed up there launch time. Within safe limits of coarse. A boat occupying a ramp and waiting for a tow vehicle is a time waster. There are not two sides to this argument.

You say that you had to wait for him to park then get his boat out of the way? Sounds like he was blocking the ramp when he shouldn't have also.

cart7t reply :

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...
You say that you had to wait for him to park then get his boat out of the way? Sounds like he was blocking the ramp when he shouldn't have also.

Which makes no sense. He stated he went around their boat and tied off to the end of the dock. That leaves the ramp open for him to put his trailer in as soon as the other guy moves his truck.

-hydrillagorilla- reply :

Not to beat a dead horse, but you never block a ramp with anything but your truck and trailer and you should be loading or unloading. If you are by yourself (which you basically were) you tie off in a location so others can A: get to the dock to get off their boat and get their trailer to get in line to use the ramp and B: so somone else can load or unload while you go about getting your trailer and then you get back in line with the rest; if you are now behind 3 more trailers loading or unloading it doesn't matter, first come first serve. The lane should be clear of your boat, so if someone shows up ready to launch when you are walking up then they can, cause they were in line before you were.

You do not pull into a ramp /lane, tie your boat off so no body else can load or unload, walk up get your vehicle, drive it around and back in making everyone else wait.

No worries, but I think you were in the wrong on this one. I am with Cart, five bass, senile, surfer and HPBB on this one.

Small, common infraction. Remember to turn you headlights off if loading or unloading in the dark on a multi ramp. Hope you caught some good bass before the storm!

paleo reply :

i was at the lake yesterday and waited on someone to get there boat off the ramp after30min they never appered so i pushed that 18 ft tracker out in to the lake and loaded up then watched for an hour till they showed up and tried to figure out how to get there boat at the time i thought they should not of parked boat on the ramp but now i feel bad i only stuck around to see how long it take them then when they showed i watched and left man i feel bad we both learned a lesson i guess :'(

cajun1977. reply :

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i was at the lake yesterday and waited on someone to get there boat off the ramp after30min they never appered so i pushed that 18 ft tracker out in to the lake and loaded up then watched for an hour till they showed up and tried to figure out how to get there boat at the time i thought they should not of parked boat on the ramp but now i feel bad i only stuck around to see how long it take them then when they showed i watched and left man i feel bad we both learned a lesson i guess :'(

man you never know what kind of a situation coulda come up for them to have to leave the boat there. i will tell you one thing had you done that to me , i woulda dragged you out to that boat beating you the whole way. that was one of the stupidest things ive ever heard someone say they did to someone else >

surfer reply :

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i was at the lake yesterday and waited on someone to get there boat off the ramp after30min they never appered so i pushed that 18 ft tracker out in to the lake and loaded up then watched for an hour till they showed up and tried to figure out how to get there boat at the time i thought they should not of parked boat on the ramp but now i feel bad i only stuck around to see how long it take them then when they showed i watched and left man i feel bad we both learned a lesson i guess :'(

That's funny.... but you should feel bad.

So you pushed his boat out to sea then spent an extra hour at the ramp just to see the look on his face. That's vindictive . But I hope you got a picture.

Flatfish reply :

Do yourself a big favor and go to a couple of tournaments and watch just how efficiently they launch and retrieve their boats. No kidding it will amaze you how they can launch 50 boats in about 10 to 15 minutes. That is Ramp Courtesy at it's Best.

paleo reply :

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i was at the lake yesterday and waited on someone to get there boat off the ramp after30min they never appered so i pushed that 18 ft tracker out in to the lake and loaded up then watched for an hour till they showed up and tried to figure out how to get there boat at the time i thought they should not of parked boat on the ramp but now i feel bad i only stuck around to see how long it take them then when they showed i watched and left man i feel bad we both learned a lesson i guess :'(

man you never know what kind of a situation coulda come up for them to have to leave the boat there. i will tell you one thing had you done that to me , i woulda dragged you out to that boat beating you the whole way. that was one of the stupidest things ive ever heard someone say they did to someone else >

it turns out that i ran in to someone who knows the person and he said they were in the bathroom hanky pankyin i geuss if they want to to do that they should have not put the boat right on the ramp they also got a ticket that was on the boat before i pushed it off and got caught in the batroom but that is no excuse for my actions me and god will have to talk about that sunday mornin but i will tell you this i feel horrible bad enough i wont ever show my face here again you guys dont need someone around like me it was nice knowing you :'( :'(

cajun1977. reply :

paleo you dont need to leave the site you realized your actions were wrong and that is being a man about it. but im not sure why you would even post that?

cart7t reply :

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i was at the lake yesterday and waited on someone to get there boat off the ramp after30min they never appered so i pushed that 18 ft tracker out in to the lake and loaded up then watched for an hour till they showed up and tried to figure out how to get there boat at the time i thought they should not of parked boat on the ramp but now i feel bad i only stuck around to see how long it take them then when they showed i watched and left man i feel bad we both learned a lesson i guess :'(

Wow, for all you knew, that boat could've been in that spot because someone had had a medical emergency on it. And you just shoved it out into the lake?

What was wrong with just moving it to one side of the ramp or the other?

dickenscpa reply :

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I always park my boat on the outside of the floating walkways and leave the inside trailering lanes free. This allows people to launch boats while I, or my wife, go and get the trailer. I always thought this was the polite thing to do.

I'm usually by myself, but this is the way I do it too. I park my boat completely on the far side of the courtesy dock and leave the "boat lane" open. There's a lot of experienced people who can get in and out and be out of my way before I can even get to my truck. If I see two people together and ready to launch, you can usually tell by looking if both know what they're doing, I'll verbally give them the heads up to go ahead and launch while I get my truck. If I don't say anything and they go ahead and it keeps the flow going, I'm happy.

I did get to the dock at the same time as two guys and a lady the other evening. Give them the go ahead to load up first. I thought I made a wise decision since 1 guy stayed in the boat idling and the other went to get the trailer. Thought to myself this would go smooth. Guy #1 backs down, guy #2 drives boat onto trailer. #2 tells #1 to pull up to get out of the way. I was thinking alright this worked out good. He pulled up just far enough to get the boat out of the water and they started buttoning every thing up right there on the ramp pad. There's a space in this particular parking lot just for that, no need to block ramp. I politely notified them of this spot and after being nice enough to let them go first, this is the response I got, "Hold your horses! You shoulda went ahead if ya didn't want to wait!" Well, he was right I guess. I shoulda just bulldozed ahead of him.

I got him back though. He got in the truck and got back out 3 separate times, reached into his cooler in the back of the truck and got a beer for each one. I watched them open them up and start drinking and take off. First off, I'm not even sure they were all 21, but drinking and driving is illegal no matter what age. I called their tags and description of the vehicle in. Wasn't too long down the road I passed them and the nice officer who responded. ;D

kybassangler reply :

I'm patient about this stuff but, if it come to lightning get out of my way. My wife goes with me at times and for me not to get into trouble she don't back the trailer and she don't operate the boat. keeps my head from getting knots on it. I always load and unload solo. Most folks are nice enough around here but, occasionally you run into for thereself people usually pleasure boaters that lack courtesy. I dock it and if they want to use the dock they will let me get my boat on the trailer. I think the most important thing I see is speed in getting off docks and ramps. Get it done do the minimum and get out of the way to do the rest. I don't stay in the way long and I hope others will do the same.

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