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Boating mishaps OFF the water ....

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DonMan

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Mkos1980`s thread prompted me to start this one.

What kinds of problems or bad luck have you had with your boat BEFORE you even got on the water ?

This should be good.


I`ll go first and I`ve got plenty more to add. :rolleyes:


We trailered the boat 75 miles to the lake, backed it down the ramp only to realize that somehow I left the boat keys at home .... :angry1:



NEXT ....
 
#3 · (Edited)
2004 , going from So. Jersey to Lake Winnipesaukee NH , 2 hours into an 8 hour drive I broke a trailer spring on the Cross Bronx Expressway just off the George Washington Bridge :eek:
After removing the tire and tieing up the axle , we limped off on three tires and managed to bend the (now single) overloaded spindle on the right side. Gotta new spring , put it on and drove 125 mile home rather than the other 275 to are destination and 400 home again with a bent axle. Lost $500 deposit on the cottage we had rented , new spring , new axle and ruined vacation all in one :(
 

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#4 ·
First hook up of the season,all excited and in a rush. didnt notice the the trailer was'nt latched on the ball all the way. Go to pull out the driveway Ca Clunk the boat comes off . the winch stand caves in my tailgate. Thank god for good chains.
 
#5 ·
Thursday before the 4th of July several years ago I was backing my dually out of the drive way to go hook up the boat and backed over the maids Nissan truck and totaled it. Not a scratch on the dually. On the way back from the lake I was hauling a 28 Sonic on a Rocket tandem trailer. Lost both right side tires in the middle lane of a five lane interstate. Managed to damage two other cars. My insurance agent could't belive it.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Driving 400+ miles to Long Island to pick-up a new to me 312 Formula......trailer didn't quite make it the whole way, still bought the boat but had to come back for it.

44 ft trailer...the tongue is acutally outside of the wheels. Towed nearly entirely in the next lane until we could leave it in a shopping center.

took the Insurance Co 5 days to go inspect the trailer since I couldn't take it home...it was gone, IT WAS STOLEN!!!!!

I had to go back up there a 3rd time to file a stolen vehicle report in person!!!!!
 

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#7 ·
Mopower said:
2004 , going from So. Jersey to Lake Winnipesaukee NH , 2 hours into an 8 hour drive I broke a trailer spring on the Cross Bronx Expressway just off the George Washington Bridge :eek:
After removing the tire and tieing up the axle , we limped off on three tires and managed to bend the (now single) overloaded spindle on the right side. Gotta new spring , put it on and drove 125 mile home rather than the other 275 to are destination and 400 home again with a bent axle. Lost $500 deposit on the cottage we had rented , new spring , new axle and ruined vacation all in one :(
Click to expand...
You think thats bad, we were going on day on I-90 hit a tractor trailer spare tire on the road. Whole side of the trailer bounced up and down blowing out both tires and cracking the rear axle. We moved one tire from the other side to the front axle and had to limp like you off to the next exit with the whole rear axle tire free and held up by chains.
 
#9 ·
Worst thing that has happened to me is I lost a wheel on my tandem axle trailer. Never noticed it until a guy was flashing his headlights behind me. I dropped it about 5 miles back. It was only about 2 miles home so I opted to pull it the rest of the way. Went back the next day to look for the wheel and found it on the other side of an electric fence...yes I got zapped recovering it :dead1:
 
#11 ·
After about 10 years away from boating I bought my new to me Top Gun . First long weekend towing it up north to Georgian Bay where I planned on leaving it for the season . I decided to fuel up the boat on the highway to save some money . After spending almost $1000 .We pulled out onto HWY 400N . 2 minutes up the road an OPP pulls me over and asks me to pull into the weigh scales up the road . Overweight , under licenced .Then over $3K in fines I had to hire a towing Co. to tow the boat the rest of the way . Another $700 .Made me rethink getting back into boating .
I did fight the charges . They were reduced to $450 .
But the good news is I learned excactly how much the boat and truck weigh .

Paul
 

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#12 ·
hmmm, off water, Not too much excitement for me, (knock on wood) I once forgot to plug in my trailer lights. ;)

But I could tell you about an incident that happened to my delinquent buddy a Long long time ago..
I introduced him to the whole boating thing with my dads old boat..I thought it would be good for him and help keep him out of trouble, and he liked it so much he bought a boat for himself.

So after he gotten this old fiberglass runabout , the make escapes me at the moment, but this thing was built like a tank, and he had an old over-sized O/B on it, The trailer didn't match the boat and was undersized for it too, besides it being old & rusty.

Anyway I get a call at about 3 AM from his girlfriend, because she needs a ride home from the Police station, because he's in Jail. :confused1

She then tells me the axle snapped at both wheels, and the Boat came off the trailer and Passed their truck going down the road..!!!! :laugher: Like hey, isn't that your boat passing you, she told him, :laugher: and then the cops came... Busted, :shocked:

So come to find out, I guess he thought the trailer wasn't overloaded enough, because he had 2 Extra O/B's stashed in the boat that didn't belong to him. :shocked: along with some other stuff he stole, and then come to find out he got busted for drinking & narcotics, and was also going to be charged with grand theft once they found out who's motors he stole..

Needless to say, I wasn't too happy with him for pulling this crap.. but he was friend, so what could I do..

The End.. :)
 
#13 ·
Wow hard to top the last one there. The wife HAD to move my truck once and yanked the wiring clean out of our trailer. Left tongue jack down once. Bent/ wrecked that. Took a corner too quick/too tight once and tagged the rear of another car with my plastic trailer fender, for safetys sake-I adjusted the brakes and surge set up a lil' too tight once. 10 miles later the burning brake shoe smell was too much...the list goes on....
 
#14 · (Edited)
I hope none of you guys have to hear and feel the sickening thud of someone slamming into the back of your boat while in tow like I did. I was stopped at a red light when this maroon hit my 2 year old Donzi 22 Classic a year and a half ago. It didn't hurt the hull other then some gel damage up front but it took out my drive, rams, prop, trailer coupler and more. And Progressive insurance teamed up with K&M Marine to screw me on the repairs by using used parts and not replacing the bent trailer coupler or bent propshaft when replacing the lower housing. When they showed me "my" old parts the prop shaft had the numbers in a different location then mine! I had photos and confronted them and threatened legal action. They also refused to show me a copy of the check issued to K&M which should have also been in my name. All calls to the company ended up back at the same local office. More headaches and heartache than you can imagine. There is a lot more to this saga and it's all archived at Donzi.net. Needless to say I'm no longer with Progressive. Repairs took almost a year and were still not completed. I finished the job at my own expense since this boat will never go back to K&M Marine in Redford, MI. At least it was near the end of the season. :angry1: :angry1: :angry1:
 

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#15 ·
I did not ever here any one hit my boat, I have heard some one hit a boat. There was 3 of us all towing boats.We Left our cabin on the way to the lake. On the way their we passed a BIG house That had burned down over night and was still smoking. I slowed down to rubber neck at it.The guy be hind me slowed down to take a look. Well The 3rd one he did not slow down. So that day we had to take one boat to the shop. And then spent the rest of the day going and getting parts to fix the truck. Radiator trans cooler and all the rest of the stuff on the front of a power stroke. :( Never did hit the water that weekend. :(
 
#16 ·
Bought a Brand new F150 on a friday before the long weekend in July (4th to you folks, Canada Day for us)

Get home, loaded, hooked up the boat, took off down the road, and the boat came off the hitch.

1.5 hours old and I've completely smashed the tailgate to smithereens.
 
#17 ·
So many stories to tell.

I bought the boat 1275 miles away, I towed it home with no problems. The next weekend when I took it to the lake for the first time (10 miles away) I lost a set of bearings on the way. I pulled the hub off and went and got a new set of bearings. After putting the new bearings on I proceeded to the lake about 1 mile before the ramp a tire and hub passed me on the road. I looked in the mirror to see the riding on three of its four wheels. I stopped and picked up my wheel launched the boat and took the trailer to the shop for all new bearings.
 
#18 ·
phucking dog hit the power lock button when we were loading the boat up after a long HOT day on the water.

ramp was packed, wife was pizzed at me before that, and the dam dog was staying cool in the truck with the a/c on full blast.

I could have reached through the window, and punched that mutt!
 
#19 ·
Watched in the rear view mirror as all 5 lug nuts unscrewed and popped off one at a time. Pulled over, all 5 lug nuts laying near together in the road, tire stayed on so I just put the lug nuts back on and went along my merry way!


Stupidity - seen the dust cap popped off on my way to the ramp to winterize the boat. Went anyway figuring it was only 3 miles. Smoked the bearings and wiped out the hub in the brake drum, idiot. 3 dollars in parts end up well over a hundred.
 
#20 ·
CC said:
I hope none of you guys have to hear and feel the sickening thud of someone slamming into the back of your boat while in tow like I did. I was stopped at a red light when this maroon hit my 2 year old Donzi 22 Classic a year and a half ago. It didn't hurt the hull other then some gel damage up front but it took out my drive, rams, prop, trailer coupler and more. And Progressive insurance teamed up with K&M Marine to screw me on the repairs by using used parts and not replacing the bent trailer coupler or bent propshaft when replacing the lower housing. When they showed me "my" old parts the prop shaft had the numbers in a different location then mine! I had photos and confronted them and threatened legal action. They also refused to show me a copy of the check issued to K&M which should have also been in my name. All calls to the company ended up back at the same local office. More headaches and heartache than you can imagine. There is a lot more to this saga and it's all archived at Donzi.net. Needless to say I'm no longer with Progressive. Repairs took almost a year and were still not completed. I finished the job at my own expense since this boat will never go back to K&M Marine in Redford, MI. At least it was near the end of the season. :angry1: :angry1: :angry1:
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That's typical of Progressive Ins..Oh yeah and they have the cheapest rates They have the ignorant's out there figuring what it takes to repair your boat or vehicle who have NO experience what so ever..in either field.. wait till you have a auto accident & they are the one's paying they will try to find All the LKQ = USED or Aftermarket part they can to repair your vehicle no matter what year model it may be. at the Cheapest way for them to get out. I deal with them almost weekly. When you hear oh we have our Direct repair shop you can take it to look out. they in bed with them Just my input !!
 
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