Watch out for deep holes at the end of Boat Ramps

dannyleininger

Well-Known Member
Messages
290
Reaction score
397
Location
Lake Wales Florida
Last weekend we took two couples out for a day on the Chain of Lakes near Winter Haven FL. We met at the Boat Ramp and prepped the boat. A friend backed me down the ramp so I could back the Benny off the trailer. Perfectly performed!

THEN, disaster. As we attempted to drive out from of the ramp...BAM! The trailer hit something very solid. We tried again and ended up spinning all tires on our 4x4 Expedition...still nothing. Now it was my turn. I tied up the benny and tried again. NOPE, two failed attempts. Finally I started to pull off to the right after backing the trailer further down the ramp. Second attempt was successful...kinda. The trailer came out with both fenders torn off and the left axle chassis mount bent.

Apparently, there was a VERY deep hole at the end of the ramp that the tires fell into. When we attempted to pull out the concrete caught the fenders and bent them down onto the tires. So the tires could not rotate and the concrete was unforgiving. One regret was no one took a picture of the trailer.

After a wonderful day of boating and a successfully getting the benny back on the damaged trailer, we drove directly to our dealer...who’s first comment was “wow.”

Moral of the story. Know your ramps. This one kicked my butt.
 
Pics.......................or it didn't happen. :)
 
:mad::mad::mad::confused::confused::confused:

I wish it didn’t happen.
 
Wow! Sorry to hear it Dan. Crazy situation right there.
 
It come from people power loading boats at the ramp. Lots of ramps have them people get to the trailer and go full throttle to zoom on or full as the line up,on the trailer blowing out stuff under the prop. A few time a year when the wind is right and water is low you can see a drop of where I launch
 
I don't think i could have had any fun boating knowing i had a damaged trailer to deal with when i got back to the dock. That really sucks. Great reminder for us though.

Check Google Earth. You can look at satellite images from different years. If you're lucky, you might find one when the water was down and you can see what your favorite ramp looks like. Good for checking out new ones too.
 
That stinks. And I agree that it would be hard to have a good time knowing about the damaged trailer. In my brief experience trailering a big pontoon boat, we've already found that being nomadic is risky. Two weeks ago we were launching at a small boat ramp at the State Park on Lake Livingston, and backed the port side pontoon into what we think was a leftover post for an old extension of the pier. They removed the extension, but not the post! It broke off the transducer and bent the bracket. The only good part is that I get to replace the 11 year old Garmin with a new Helix 5 DI GPS.

In South Texas, I would bet that 90% of the boats being launched off of trailers are bass boats, which are small and maneuverable, and the ramps are designed for them. Also, I see a lot of them launching and recovering solo, so they all power load.
 
The boat ramp in our subdivision has a sign at the end of the ramp to, hopefully, keep that from happening. Sorry for your misfortune.
 
I'm with bugsbunny........either the ground deteriorated from the people powering their boats and there was a hole or the ramp just ended. At my old marina in Virginia they marked the end of the concrete ramps........then it just literally dropped off. That's probably what happened to you especially if there was damage to both fenders on both wheels about 9 feet apart.......
 
You could see about 10” above the bottom edge of the fender where the top of the concrete hit. Interesting thing was that the marks were nearly identical on both fenders. This leads me to believe this dropoff was created during construction. There were signs identifing the end of the ramp. :confused:
 
Ouch. There was a neighboring lake in MI and they had curbs installed at the end of the concrete so the tires would hit that and not just roll off. At our lake though I backed up further due to low water levels and busted out both of my trailer lights in the mound of rock etc from power loaders. I can't stand when people do that in areas specifically marked with signs.
 
"At our lake though I backed up further due to low water levels and busted out both of my trailer lights in the mound of rock etc from power loaders. I can't stand when people do that"

When you see someone "powering" their boat onto trailer, pull them from the vehicle and proceed to beat them. Then place their vehicle in neutral so it can roll back into the water.
He'll thank you later.
OK, maybe he wont.
 
I power everytime. I've never been to a lake that prohibited it. Perhaps the state engineers need to learn how to pour proper ramps.
 
Sure sorry that happened to you.
 
I power everytime. I've never been to a lake that prohibited it. Perhaps the state engineers need to learn how to pour proper ramps.

Perhaps we need to teach people how to properly load their boats.
 
You have no choice at our lake but to drive your boat on the trailer. The Ramps are long and steep and busy. You just take your time and drive it up.
 
I’m sure it depends on the water you’re boating in. In Michigan the water levels don’t fluctuate so the ramps aren’t concrete and 1/4 mile long. You get 25’ and after that it’s natural lake bottom, thus the mess from powerloading.
 
Last edited:
I think boat ramps are one of those places where there is plenty of entertainment, drama and of course no shortage of controversy.
 
Itinerant boaters who trailer everywhere are at risk of this kind of problem. Where the ramps are bordered by a dock, I've walked the dock with my boat pole on full extension and tested the depth and extent of the concrete. Its pretty imprecise, but its all I've got. I'm also searching for a good ramp at each of the lakes that we hope to regularly visit in TX.

Somebody recently posted a really great write-up about how to use the boat and the winch to lift the trailer up. You'll get wet, but it sounds do-able...
 
I think boat ramps are one of those places where there is plenty of entertainment, drama and of course no shortage of controversy.
You've hit it on the nail! We used to tie up next to the ramps at our old marina and have lunch and watch the show! First some people had no clue how to back their trailer down the ramp. Always fun to watch. Then when they finally got their boat in the water they wouldn't tie up properly and the boat would turn sideways or they would take their sweet time loading the boat when they should have already done it. I've seen people almost fight for that. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people get their boat back on the trailer and pull up the ramp. Then they stop and start to unload their stuff or whip those towels out and start wiping it down........While other people are waiting to use the ramp!
 
Back
Top