I pulled a very dumb one today. I took the boat to the lake. I didn�t want to fish, because it was too windy. I just wanted to test something I have been working on. I unhooked the strap, but left the safety chain connected. I backed it in, and next thing you know, there she went. The safety chain came off, I,suppose.

I called a couple of people to see if they were at home, and could come launch real quick so I didn�t have to drive to the other side of the lake to find my boat. I finally flagged someone down, and caught a ride.

I have helped several out that have done this, and always laughed at them. Karma, I guess. I�m dumb.

Dummy



Wawi launches his boat like this all the time

Wow

You should rethink the WAWI launch when no one else is around.

That�s just a detail. But, it�s an important detail. I purposely launched with the wind blowing out from the ramp and the dock. I don�t like for the wind to slam my boat against the dock if I can help it. Bad part is that means the boat blows away from the ramp if you�re dumb enough to do this.

This post blows me away

I thought it was only me who did this kind of stuff. I have an Encyclopedia sized set of journals of "Things to Never Do Again".

Yep, I don't do it with a howling wind or when nobody else is launching. I thought that was understood.

Stuff like that just happens sometimes to humans. Glad you got it before something worse happened

Never done that, but I have tried to launch the boat without the plug in. More than once.

Hahaha! I've done that, luckily it went straight back and I was able to put the truck in park and run down the dock just in time to jump on the bow.

Dumbdumb.

Forgot to tie up my boat one night camping. It happens.

Did you lose it in the woods?

I had a buddy on Fork that had a Krap Attack, ran his boat up on the bank and ran into the woods while shedding clothes. Finishes his business and starts gathering up his clothes and notices his boat is gone lol. Lost half a day of fishing waiting for someone to come by close enough to flag them down.

Lol. Sorry DD. That�s crazy

You should go home and boil some meat. Thant takes all your troubles away.

I unhooked my boat fishing solo at the dam ramp at Texoma with a south wind once. It almost made it to Oklahoma before another boat launched.

I was camped at mustang on BB and beached my boat, south wind picked up with a storm, off she went, had to drive to other side of lake, luckily it was only couple hundred feet from an old but usable ramp

I did the same thing on Grapevine. My boat was half way across the lake before another boat came to check it out. I launched at Katy Woods on a weekday. I parked the truck and waited at the end of the parking lot for either someone to show up to launch or a boat to stop on the lake. Luckily the same wind that blew it away carried the sound of me whistling to flag down the boater.

I had tied a rope to the strap and watched as the knot came undone when it pulled tight

That mecca of higher education failed to mention this assume...

Bet he had nightmares

I would have taken me 20 minutes to get my boat out of the garage, 20 minutes to get there and then 15 minutes to launch. Glad you were able to get someone to ferry you out. So is this the type of "Ferry" that you have always wanted to try out? If it's the other one, I'm still out!!!

This is how we learn.

I did that once at Freeport. Fortunately, there was a kindly old gentleman in a skiff who gave me a ride out to my boat.

My current practice is to tie a line (with lots of slack) from the bow cleat to one of the tiedowns in my truck bed. If the boat should float away with the wind, I have enough slack to slow the boat down and pull it back in by hand.

Not much worse than watching your lake ride float away and you ain't in it. I've experienced it twice!

It would have taken about ten minutes for that thing to make it across the lake as strong as that wind was. By the way, no leaks.

me too. lucky the wind blew it back to me

Broke my winch strap at a private lake launching by myself. Was lucky enough that the wind pushed it back to shore near the ramp.
Better it break at the ramp than driving home.

One night I left my boat on the banks of Brazos river above Lake Whitney, then went to camp and had some whiskey.
Went to check on it later and River had come up and it had floated away. Got in my buddies boat and drove down river about a 1 mile and could not find it. We decided to check upriver and wind had blown it against the current about 1/2 mile. Looked like ghost or phantom boat just drifting up the river. Lucky for me all my gear was still in it.
Drove back to camp and tied it up to a tree and set the anchor out.
Woke up with a hangover.