Never Too "Seasoned" to Make a Mistake

james 14

I've been pulling boats for over 20 years; made my share of mistakes. Yesterday might've been the worst. I went through all of the steps to get the boat out of the garage and hooked up. Changed out hitch on the truck, swing-tongue locked, power pole down to get out the door, etc.

I get about 3 miles down the road, hit a railroad track, and hear a loud bang as I look back to see the front of the boat much lower than it's supposed to be. ****?! I think, as I make sure not to panic and to slow down as easily as I can. I knew I closed and locked the latch, so seriously, what happened?

Turns out I somehow didn't get the hitch pin through the hole. There laid the tongue on the asphalt with the hitch still locked onto the trailer - pin locked in the receiver. I've swapped the hitch out with my bike rack countless times, but somehow, a mistake I never imagined I could make, was, in fact, made.

A few good samaritans helped me lift the trailer back up onto the ball after I properly secured it. Fortunately, the only damage ended up being a little road rash that is largely just superficial. I felt like a complete dolt, but also thankful it wasn't as bad as it could've been. My truck was somehow unscathed.

Except for cradling the tongue and keeping it off the ground, the chains did their job of preventing a catastrophe. And I have a new item to add to the checklist.

surfman

On my hitch reciever I can see how far to insert it due to the rust on the square shaft. It is either where it needs to be or close and needs to be moved slightly to align the hole.

snookaffinity

Almost been there and done that. My granddaughter made the observation just before I left the driveway and saved me.

Alex from GA

It seems like the older I get the more mistakes I make.  CRS.

gogittum

Sometimes you pull the silliest boo-boos.  Bass fishing with a friend the other day, I broke a lure off on a snag, so tied on a new setup.  Went to cast and realized I'd forgotten to thread the line thru the guides 1st.

Crkr23

My bone-head mistake was a little more expensive. I loaded the boat on the trailer in a hurry, jumped in the truck and took off. I got about about 5 miles down the road and looked in the rear view mirror and something did not look right. I pulled over on the shoulder of the road and took a look. I had forgotten to raise the motor. It ground off the skag and about half of a SS prop.

james 14

With the boat being in the garage now, I have what seems to be 15 extra steps to take just to get it ready compared to when I had a boat in the driveway. I love being able to keep it in the garage to keep it looking as new as possible if I can avoid missing one of those steps and screwing it up worse than leaving it outside.

madm002

OP stuff happens.  I had that happen dragging the boat back from the mechanics, scared the crap out of me.

Alex from GA

Yesterday while river fishing I had a fish on and the current carried me into a tree where I was stung by a hornet or wasp.  It's not the first time either.  The place is still swollen and itches.

ocala

We're all human. Mistakes will be made.
Mine was a cabled steering system Me and a buddy installed. Everything looked good until I backed it off the trailer into the water. Trying to steer the boat to tie it to the dock it wouldn't go in the right direction. Turns out we put the unit in backwards. When I turned the wheel to the right the boat went left. When I turned it to the left the boat went right. We had a good laugh and luckily it was an easy fix.  

Alex from GA

My buddy did the same thing with a lower station and a flybridge station.  When I backed the boat off from the bridge it didn't pull into the dock.  The lower station worked right.  I didn't tell him when he got back to drive.  We still laugh 40 years later.

swampdog

Worst thing was letting my boat sit until the old teleflex cable seized in the sleeve. What a pain. 

I also have installed the throttle backwards. It worked great just in reverse of normalcy. 

FloridaOD

Anderson’s Law:
” Murphy Was An Optimist”
Things Happen. 

As The Prop Turns.......
Checklist!......☑️

Wonderful to review and share on this Forum. 

TurtleTea

Thinking you are too seasoned is a mistake in itself I suppose. You sound lucky on this one. I have made mistakes that cost money but none where anyone got hurt so I feel like I have a good streak going.

diverrite

I did something close, 2" ball for my Proline 240 trailer and a 2 5/16 ball for a flat bed trailer I have. Backed up to hook the boat, let it down on the ball closed the latch and thought it didn't look correct. 
Sure enough wrong ball, lucky I didn't pull out.     We all live and learn.