Adventures of pulling the boat

[5th Tuition]

Sandy will come ashore in the Delmarva area, Sandy will hit near New York, Sandy will "escape" to the east between the high pressure and the low pressure and go out to sea.

With the forecast all over the place, I decided to play it safe with the new boat. I had pulled it once before at Sandy Point to make sure the trailer was "set up" properly from Dave's Trailers. Dave had assured me they had set them up for several 27 Chesapeakes before. Well; the Guides needed to be moved, the front part of the bunks needed to be moved in, and the wench needed to be lowered.

I made the adjustments and today she sat nicely on the new trailer. But getting there was a little more of a challenge than I had hoped. My marina has a nice concrete ramp, but it doesn't have much of a slope until the very bottom. It can be a challenge when the tide is not right.

Because of this, I checked the tides and saw that "high" was around 5pm. I had somebody coming at 12:30 pm to measure for my new rocket launchers, and when I arrived at the boat I noticed the tide was kind of high for that time of the day.

Got all the measurements for the rod holders done and headed to the truck to back the trailer to the ramp. I knew the truck wheels would be in the water because I need to float the boat on the new bunk trailer. Somebody from my marina volunteered to help me "load" my boat. I had him drop the trailer back while I drove the boat up on the trailer. All went well, and I ended about 10 inches from the winch. I hopped out of the boat, kicked off my shoes and waded in to crank it the final 10 inches. Wow, the water was high!!! It was just below my cutoff shorts, and I noticed the hitch receiver and the light connector UNDER WATER.

I better do this quick. I cranked the final couple of inches and stood back to tell the driver to pull forward. As I stepped back to give him room, I felt the edge of the ramp underfoot. Instinct told my toes to grip what remained of the concrete. As I dug my toes in, I could feel the skin underneath peeling away. Even though I have lost 35 pounds this summer, my toes couldn't hold my weight. I slipped off the ramp into about 4 ft of water.

I quickly scrambled back onto the ramp and my wallet, keys, and anything else in my pockets stayed fairly dry. I moved so quickly, I don't think my buddy even noticed. Note to self, it's time to start bringing the knee boots for loading the boat.

My buddy pulled the boat across the parking lot, and I had to walk on stone with cut feet to reach the boat. If you ever saw someone try to walk on hot coals, I did a good imitation.

I put on the new tiedown strap and brought her home. She is sitting out front of my home. I'm sure the eye of the storm will pass north of us since I pulled the boat.

Best of luck to everyone, stay safe, I hope the power stays on.

5th (Marty)

[Skip]

In a related story :

Weatherman found bound with duct tape and sodomized after predicted storm Sandy veers well off shore.

Suspect seen limping away.


Even getting hurt - think you played it smart pulling her out.

[5th Tuition]

I can't really say I got "hurt". It was mainly my pride when I did the quick step back onto the ramp out of the chilly water that was "hurt".

I have all the curtains off the boat and and everything "lashed" down around the house. I cleaned the gutters of leaves and put away all the lawn furniture. I have several electric cords run into the basement from the generator. i guess I'm ready.

5th

[seahuntr]

I voluntarily went swimming last week to retreive a SS knife I dropped next to the dock. I did notice water temp's have dropped

The reason I'm writing is reminder to watch for redness/burning signs of infection. I usually put neosporin on any similar scrapes i get from barnacles or oyster shell as soon as possible. I'm 100% with you as re pulling boat and resting easy versus wading around in the middle of the night with a flashlight.

[garlien]

Am I the only one that left my boat in the water ?

Thinking that most folks will stay home on Tuesday...With less pressure on the fish, I might have a really good day !

[Spot77]

we probably have close to 50 boats still in our neighborhood's marinas. With two boats sunk already this year when there WERE NO STORMS, I'm fully expecting to lose 1 or 2 throughout the storm.

I;m surprised by the lack of preparedness around here though. We have a bunch of kayak and dingy racks at the beaches and parks around here and most aren't even tied down. Maybe I'll finally get that free kayak I've been hoping would wash up in the marinas.

The thing that sucks the most in my neighborhood is that everone is on well water. Not a problem for me usually as my 7k watt generator can handle the well pump.

But of course tonight we have power just fine, and the $#$!^$@* well pump isn't working anyway.

Hell of a year it's been.....

[garlien]

One day I will have that generator !

For now, I will fill the tubs full of water...

[5th Tuition]

Originally Posted by garlien

Am I the only one that left my boat in the water ?

Mike; it should be fine as long as you pulled the plug so water can get out faster.
5th (Marty)

[Skip]

If this hits as predicted with 60-70 mph gusts - bet many will regret leaving boats in the water.

The predicted 5-7 inches of rain alone might be enough to overwhelm bilge pumps and drain boat batteries.

[garlien]

Still about 20 boats in the water at our marina...

So far so good, the wind is blowing out of the west...

Rain has been steady but not terrible so far...Guess the next 12 to 18 hours will be the real test...

Anybody fishing today ?