I'm an idiot...

SteveV

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I gained a lot of "experience" this weekend. After a very long day on Lake Ouachita, AR, the sun was rapidly going down and the ramp was busy. Trying to get all the gremlins loaded up and out of the way, I went through my mental checklist before pulling out of the parking lot. Tie downs secure, motor trimmed up, battery off, Super Mable tied down, blah, blah, blah. I had a friend helping me get everything sorted and secured.

When I backed the boat into the driveway of our rental house, I did my standard walk around inspection and I noticed the bimini was collapsed but the outer sheath cover was not on the bimini. I then went through the mental DVR of the boat load and I could not remember taking the bimini down. Long story short, WIND-1 bimini-0. Torn zipper and bent frame. In case anyone has been curious, you cannot leave the bimini up and trailer at speeds in excess of 60 MPH. Complete brain fart on my part.

I wish I could blame it on something (adult beverages, sun in my eyes, etc.) else, but none of those were contributing factors :(

I have been looking for an excuse to add a double bimini to my boat, I guess it's as good a time as any... I am in the process of developing a laminated "pre-flight" check list that should prevent future brain farts. Does anyone have one?

Sheepishly,

Steve
 
Hey Steve,

Don't be too hard on yourself. You really aren't a boater until you've done something kind of, um, dumb, when launching, loading or trailering. You know, maybe launch a fiberglass boat without the drain plug or lose a prop because the cotter pin wasn't bent. Losing gear or damaging the rig due to a towing mis-step is not uncommon.

As a reminder to all, always trailer your boat with the bimini top in the "trailering" position by using the shorter trailering struts on the bimini frame, and always tow with the boot completely installed around the canvas.

We're betting one of the Club members has a great checklist to share. They seem to be on top of everything else!

p.s. We sell bimini frames! Perhaps you can call your insurance agent for guidance with the cost! :D TB
 
Steve,

It happens to us all. At least it's really hard to sink us (no drain plug) !!!

We all do something like you sometime during ownership, just some of us don't admit it in a public forum !! :D

I'm sure your dealer can help you out with the parts you need to get you back to normal. TB Rocks !!!!
 
Welcome to the club. When you boat, something is going to happen. First thought is "did I hurt somebody", when the answer is no then everything else is fixable. The one thing that we will all guarantee you is that you will never do that again. Remember the answer to why are old people so smart - "Been there, done that and learned from it"
 
Hey Steve,

I gained a lot of "experience" a few years ago when I determined that the anchor works best when attached to the boat. Yep, nice anchor and line at the bottom of lake gaston.
 
Hey Steve,

I gained a lot of "experience" a few years ago when I determined that the anchor works best when attached to the boat. Yep, nice anchor and line at the bottom of lake gaston.
Been there, done that. I also sank a used bass boat I bought when I was a teenager. Refurbed interior and forgot to reinstall bilge hose. 2 minutes after launch, I was swimming in alligator infested swamp!
 
When you say you left the bimini up, do you mean open, as you would use it on the lake? Or do you mean it was closed, but "up" on the long support arms without the boot on? Doesn't really matter. Just curious. I could see either way catching enough wind to damage it.

I do have a "laminated check list", but it only has 5 or 6 items on it, since we have a valet service and don't trailer it often. Actually, its just a piece of paper covered with clear packing tape to keep it dry. Its in the cup holder of the boat right now. It just says basic stuff much like you mentioned. Ladder up, motor trimmed, switches off, key off, bimini stowed. Yes, I actually do have "bimini stowed" on the list, but I only added it to the list AFTER seeing the dock hands nearly rip it off when backing it into the garage and the garage door wasn't all the way up. The bimini had the boot on, but it was up on the long arms instead of the short arms. One of the guys saw it just in time and yelled "stop!" just as it touched the garage door. I would have had the same damage you did, only in reverse. So, that's when it made my list.

I have "motor trimmed" on the list once I saw the motor was only about 4 inches from the back of the garage while stored. They have a large curb anchored into the ground, so there is no way they can back the trailer in too far, but if the motor was trimmed out, it would punch right through the sheet metal of the back of the garage.

So, a couple close calls made the list.
 
Been there, done that. I also sank a used bass boat I bought when I was a teenager. Refurbed interior and forgot to reinstall bilge hose. 2 minutes after launch, I was swimming in alligator infested swamp!
Hey Spinzone, just noticed on your profile pix...did you add the side harness lights on your boat, looks great
 
Link, I did a little while ago. They look great at night!
 
Anyone who has boated for any length of time has done a bonehead thing before.

One of my many ones was trailering my boat in high winds. As I approached the trailer, a large wave picked up my boat, moved me over the trailer just the left of my truck and parked my boat at the top of the ramp.

Thank God there was only about a thousand people watching.
 
Spinzone, our boat came with the side harness and underwater LED's. I think the side harness is much more the impressive of the two. We generally do a sunset cruise [usually till 11pm] and I cannot tell you how many boats, especially pontoons that come up alongside of us and ask how did you do that and say how sharp it looks
 
I was 17 and had borrowed the family boat for the weekend. Towed 250 miles to the Lake and boated with friends. Got home late on Sunday night, left the trailer hooked up to take to work and clean up the boat before bringing back home. Got three blocks from the house and made a left hand turn around a circle median at 10 mph. Wheel on trailer kissed the curb and the boat with trailer flipped. The rush kicked in and I righted the boat, hooked the trailer back up and loaded the boat before anybody came by. Now I drive to work and have 8 hours to figure out what I tell my Dad. This time I tell the truth because I was not screwing around. He is pissed - understandable - I found out what insurance deductable really means. To this day, I can describe everything I saw in the rearwiew mirrors. It happened in super slow mo as I watched the boat flip.
 
A laminated pre-float checklist is a good one. The backside could be the pre-tow checklist. When I create one I will post it. I need one to prevent my wife from starting the engine before running the blower for 4 minutes. She has just started to take on driving duties. I wish there was a safety feature that would prevent starting without the blower on.
 
A check list is a good idea! As said above, a two sided laminate, one side for pre-towing, followed by pre-launch. The other side, preloading, followed by pre-towing. More than one available check list encourages crew participation, even shared accountability.

Though a different application, aircraft pilots support the written check list with something mental, like; "Can I go first tonight Peter Rabbit". for taxi/departure and "GUMP" for arrival.

Taxi/Departure

C---Controls

I---Instruments

G---Gyros

F---Fuel

T---Throttles

P---Props or Turbine Power

R---Radios

Arrival

G or JP-Fuel

U-------Under-carriage

M-------Mixture

P-------Props/Power
 
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A check list is a good idea! As said above, a two sided laminate, one side for pre-towing, followed by pre-launch. The other side, preloading, followed by pre-towing. More than one available check list encourages crew participation, even shared accountability.

Though a different application, aircraft pilots support the written check list with something mental, like; "Can I go first tonight Peter Rabbit". for taxi/departure and "GUMP" for arrival.

Taxi/Departure

C---Controls

I---Instruments

G---Gyros

F---Fuel

T---Throttles

P---Props or Turbine Power

R---Radios

Arrival

G or JP-Fuel

U-------Under-carriage

M-------Mixture

P-------Props/Power
Reminds me of my resistor color code thing from high school! Bad Boys Run Over Yellow Grass But Violets Grow Wildly,

Black,brown,red,orange,yellow,green,blue,violet,grey,white
 
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