SS Rocky II is launched

[RockyRaab2]

Took the Tracker Classic to Willard today for its maiden launch. I did not break a bottle of champagne on the bow, though.

Larry was there with SS Rocky I when I arrived and he helped me launch, during which I almost broke the brand new prop by getting sideways on the ramp. The Wiper Twins were watching from the marina, and I'm sure I provided laughs. Not the last ones, however.

It was about then that I noticed the lock to my storage unit sitting there in my Highlander, and realized that I had left my storage unit wide open when I pulled out with the boat in tow. Well, heck. I took a big circle with the boat and then - worried that Claudia would kill me when I found all our other stuff stolen - I decided to cut the break-in short and get back to the storage unit pronto.

That's when I discovered that maneuvering a boat at no speed is not as easy as it looks on YouTube. The Wipers guys had more laughs. Belly laughs. I finally got it on the trailer, wondering if I would soon be on a Dumb Boaters video.

I may go back tomorrow to refine my skills in storage unit locking and boat maneuvering. I am sure more hilarity will ensue. 

Happy note: the management at the storage unit saw me leave and then saw my open unti, which they closed and put on a temporary lock. Those are some seriously nice people at Hi-Tech Storage on 12th St Ogden. Kudos and thanks to them. If you need a really clean, secure, and helpful storage unit, check them out.

[MSM1970]

Took the Tracker Classic to Willard today for its maiden launch. I did not break a bottle of champagne on the bow, though.

Larry was there with SS Rocky I when I arrived and he helped me launch, during which I almost broke the brand new prop by getting sideways on the ramp. The Wiper Twins were watching from the marina, and I'm sure I provided laughs. Not the last ones, however.

It was about then that I noticed the lock to my storage unit sitting there in my Highlander, and realized that I had left my storage unit wide open when I pulled out with the boat in tow. Well, heck. I took a big circle with the boat and then - worried that Claudia would kill me when I found all our other stuff stolen - I decided to cut the break-in short and get back to the storage unit pronto.

That's when I discovered that maneuvering a boat at no speed is not as easy as it looks on YouTube. The Wipers guys had more laughs. Belly laughs. I finally got it on the trailer, wondering if I would soon be on a Dumb Boaters video.

I may go back tomorrow to refine my skills in storage unit locking and boat maneuvering. I am sure more hilarity will ensue. 

Happy note: the management at the storage unit saw me leave and then saw my open unti, which they closed and put on a temporary lock. Those are some seriously nice people at Hi-Tech Storage on 12th St Ogden. Kudos and thanks to them. If you need a really clean, secure, and helpful storage unit, check them out.

One thing to remember for sure, the only reason why people are laughing is because they know now what they looked like when they done it.  youll get soon enough and it will be a piece of cake,  then the wind will blow and screw that up. oh ya done the storage door open too.

[wiperhunter2]

Took the Tracker Classic to Willard today for its maiden launch. I did not break a bottle of champagne on the bow, though.

Larry was there with SS Rocky I when I arrived and he helped me launch, during which I almost broke the brand new prop by getting sideways on the ramp. The Wiper Twins were watching from the marina, and I'm sure I provided laughs. Not the last ones, however.

It was about then that I noticed the lock to my storage unit sitting there in my Highlander, and realized that I had left my storage unit wide open when I pulled out with the boat in tow. Well, heck. I took a big circle with the boat and then - worried that Claudia would kill me when I found all our other stuff stolen - I decided to cut the break-in short and get back to the storage unit pronto.

That's when I discovered that maneuvering a boat at no speed is not as easy as it looks on YouTube. The Wipers guys had more laughs. Belly laughs. I finally got it on the trailer, wondering if I would soon be on a Dumb Boaters video.

I may go back tomorrow to refine my skills in storage unit locking and boat maneuvering. I am sure more hilarity will ensue. 

Happy note: the management at the storage unit saw me leave and then saw my open unti, which they closed and put on a temporary lock. Those are some seriously nice people at Hi-Tech Storage on 12th St Ogden. Kudos and thanks to them. If you need a really clean, secure, and helpful storage unit, check them out.

Good seeing you out there today Rocky, glad you did not suffer any damage to your motor as you tried to leave the ramp. I thought for sure you were going to tear up your prop when you started your motor while you were sideways on the ramp, good thing you did not put it in gear. Just so you know, it's not a good idea to start your motor when it is that far out of the water. Without the motor being deep enough in the water you could burn up your impeller. Not trying to stir up trouble, just hoping I might keep you from hurting your motor. All in all you did a good job with your first launch and retrieval of your boat

[Tin-Can]

Rocky, see now if you had made it out on Wednesday I would have made sure you avoided all those boo-boos.    .

I would have passed on some advice from one old aircraft ground mechanic to and old pilot.   Remember when you were flying F4's, you did everything by a checklist. Pre-flight, post flight and everything in between.  Well launching and recovering a boat isn't quite as complicated. 
Best advice, figure out what you need to do each time, and do it the SAME way every time.    

[RockyRaab2]

I didn't realize at first that the lower unit was out of the water when I started it. I do know that's a bad idea. It's such a light boat that even the little wind yesterday pushed it sideways on the ramp. Next time, I'm going to walk it over to the dock and tie up while I park. There's a learning curve, and I'll get there quickly.

[wiperhunter2]

I didn't realize at first that the lower unit was out of the water when I started it. I do know that's a bad idea. It's such a light boat that even the little wind yesterday pushed it sideways on the ramp. Next time, I'm going to walk it over to the dock and tie up while I park. There's a learning curve, and I'll get there quickly.

LOL, we were wondering why you left the boat on the ramp but figured it was because Larry was right by the dock. Try taking along a 50 to 100 ft rope, that way you can easily get the boat around someone and to the dock, with little to no problem. When I launch by myself, I tie a rope to the nose tie down eye, coil up the rope in the back of the vehicle, then tie it to something so it doesn't follow the boat out into the water. Then back the boat into the water deep enough so it float free of the trailer. After the boat is off the trailer, I pull up the vehicle up enough to get the rope untied and walk it over to the dock, then tie it off.

[RockyRaab2]

That's exactly what I did - except that with Larry there, I didn't walk it over to the dock. Dumb mistake, even for a rookie.

I just bought boots so I don't have to worry about getting my shoes wet, too.

[wiperhunter2]

That's exactly what I did - except that with Larry there, I didn't walk it over to the dock. Dumb mistake, even for a rookie.

I just bought boots so I don't have to worry about getting my shoes wet, too.

Live and learn, it could have been worse, those boots will help.

[Tin-Can]

That's exactly what I did - except that with Larry there, I didn't walk it over to the dock. Dumb mistake, even for a rookie.

I just bought boots so I don't have to worry about getting my shoes wet, too.

  Like Curt said, an extra 100 ft of rope is a good thing. My opinion: you can never have too much rope on a boat. 

  Since I launch my boat about 90% of the time by myself, I leave the bow ring connected to the crank, I get all the other pre launch prep done, back the trailer down just til I see the stern float.  Pre-set my 4 wheel drive in 4 wheel high so I don't slip and slide pulling back up the ramp. Set my brakes, vehicle in park, shut off engine. Get out along the running board on the drivers side, walk back to the truck bed, climb into the bed, with tailgate down I can step off the tail gate onto the trailer , climb over the bow onto the deck.  Power up my sonar, make sure motor is down far enough in water, but up off the bottom enough to not smack the prop when put in gear. At that point I can visually confirm my plug is in . Get the motor started and idling smooth, then walk back up to the bow and unhook the bow crank. 
From there I can back off the trailer and get to the dock to tie up. Go back and park rig while motor is idling and warming up.  
Never have to get more than the bottom of my shoes wet. 

Don't know if you thought of it, but you want to be sure your trailer electrical plug is disconnected before you put the trailer in the water.
Hot bulbs, and electricity at the bulb sockets when they hit the water can do unkind things to your electrical system. 
Just remember to plug back in as one of your recovery tasks before you depart the lake.

[2knots]

Glad you were able to get it wet, I would have gone totally crazy waiting as long as you did. The lessons learned at the ramp are all good, everybody has been there and just when you think you’ve got it some other thing happens. I recall 1 time a Pyramid lake coming in to the dock after fishing and it was really crowded so you would nose up to the open area and send someone up to get the truck. As I was pulling up to the dock with a slight wind my control cable broke and I had no reverse luckily people on the dock and my buddy was able to stop the boat before the bumper boats started

[wiperhunter2]

Don't know if you thought of it, but you want to be sure your trailer electrical plug is disconnected before you put the trailer in the water.
Hot bulbs, and electricity at the bulb sockets when they hit the water can do unkind things to your electrical system. 

Forest, not sure what kind of lights you have on your trailer but a few years back, I was having problems with my trailer lights, instead of getting the old style lights, I went with the newer LED lights. I found out with them, you don't have to unplug your trailer wire harness when you put the trailer in the water. It has been years now and I still have not had to replace a trailer light.

[RockyRaab2]

Yup. This one has sealed LEDS.

I finished my two-hour break-in on the motor today with one complete circuit of Willard at varying speeds. Ended up with the motor's first full throttle run for one minute. Got better at the ramp and loading up, too.

I saw TubeDude near the south marina - with his usual "Basket o'cats" and got my ticture pook. It was a highlight of my day.

[Tin-Can]

L.E.D. lights are great.  You shouldn't have any trouble.  
My trailer is almost 14 years old (purchased with boat new in 2007)  I've had to replace bulbs, and light assemblies a few times due to socket corrosion.  But last year I finally found a good set of LED lights for both rear lights and the front side marker lights so I did a complete light replacement and wire harness replacement. 

[catchinon]

Rocky, I had a lot of fun doing what you are a couple of years ago. After a lot of experimenting, with many a goof, I now do exactly what Forest does as far as I can tell. Oh the stories I could tell on myself. My worst nightmare: trying to load while a gale keeps blowing the boat sideways as a dozen other boaters wait and watch. Go out when there won't be many others around and don't be concerned about how many times you have to abort and start all over again.

One of my worst goofs: I left my pickup with trailer in the water all the while I was out all day fishing. Imagine my surprise when it waiting there for me to load up when I got back.

One other thing I did: I put a note card in my instrument cluster that has DRAIN PLUG in big red letters inked on it. Should put another one on the boat. I'm happy to say that I have never launched without putting the plug in.  I have a Tracker too and am glad I can reach down over the transom to see if by any chance my perfection has slipped. 

One other thing I learned is that a boat won't steer worth a dam if the motor isn't under power. Just wish mine had a "low and under" so I could ease it up on the trailer or next to the dock.

Good luck and have fun. Oh, another thing. You might find that you do just fine by yourself. Seems that when other people try to "help" is when I do the worst job of it.

[RockyRaab2]

This last time, I used the dock - BUT a light wind was blowing and even though I could nudge up to the dock, by the time I put it in neutral, stood up, and got to the bow or stern tie ropes, I had drifted away again. Took me a few tries to not be "Gone With The Wind" LOL!

I think I'm being a little too cautious and slow. Less maneuvering power and too much wind effect when just idling along. A bit more throttle may help me next time.

Thanks for the encouragement.

[2knots]

Hang bumpers while on the main body just before you go in and use the wind to push you into the dock. Then you can be under power on the way in and away from the dock a couple of feet , put it in reverse to stop your forward motion and it will drift right to the dock. Just don’t go in to close to the ramp

[RockyRaab2]

Except that the wind was pushing me away from the dock, and the other side looked too shallow.

[Tin-Can]

"This last time, I used the dock - BUT a light wind was blowing and even though I could nudge up to the dock, by the time I put it in neutral, stood up, and got to the bow or stern tie ropes, I had drifted away again. "  

Rocky, having a bass boat is a little bit of a divantage, i.e.  you are sitting down in a "well" at the control station and have to get up to the deck level to get to a tie rope you might be using at bow or stern. 
Suggestion: Somewhere within arms reach of where you sit at throttle, attach a dock rope. Then all you have to do is get up close, side ways to a dock cleat, and grab hold.