Tyrone

How many times have you been out boating with your friends and family, and things havent gone as smoothly as you would like? Youve invited some of your friends to the lake for their first time, and you want to look like you know what your doing. But instead you make yourself look like a rookie. I do it almost every week.

I dont care if youre an expert boater that has been doing this their entire life, or a rookie that is taking their boat out for the first time. We still make ourselves look like beginners a few times a year. Below youll find some tips on how to avoid some of those silly boating mistakes, and youll possible have a laugh at the same time.

The Plug Dont assume the plug is in the boat.
Ive heard dozens of stories about not putting the plug in your boat before launching. This is one of the most basic items in boating, but is forgotten by some boater every weekend on many boat launches around the country.

I had a friend that loaded their jet ski into Lake Michigan, him and his father were riding past the beach where we were sitting. His father was on the back and he asks his son if it is normal that his feet were under water? My friend looks back and notices that he and his father are starting to sink. He does a u-turn and goes back past us along the beach. Were having a great time on the beach pointing and laughing as they pass us. Everything worked out, he was able to get back to the ramp, and drag his jet ski out of the water. He put his plug in and we ended up having a great day and a good laugh.

The Anchor Tie that sucker up!
Last summer I lost three anchors to the bottom of the lake. We dont anchor a lot in deep water, so we dont have our anchor tied up all of the time. I decided to do some fishing in some of the deeper areas of the lake, so I got the anchor out of the compartment and threw it over the side of the boat. Next thing you know, my friends and I are watching the end of the rope slide right over the side of the boat. All I could do was laugh.

Ive also taken off several times while spending a few hours at the sandbar, next thing I know, we hear this banging sound coming from the side of the boat. Yep, you guessed it. I never pulled the anchor up, and its hitting the side of the boat as Im going 30 mph. So remember pull up your anchor before you take off, and tie up you anchor before dropping it in the lake.

The Boat Ramp Not all boat ramps are equal.

If you want to get a good laugh, sit at the boat ramp for a few hours on a busy Saturday and enjoy the show. I had a very old truck and was trying to put my deck boat in the water. My wife and I hadnt had our boat for very long. We neglected to pay attention to how steep the ramp was, and how old my truck was. Well, we start to back the boat in, and everything was going fine, until my wife says ok, youre far enough in. I put the truck in park and the truck keeps going backwards. The boat is too heavy and the ramp is to steep. By the time we stopped the truck had been pulled in up to the axle. I thought ok, lets get the boat off and Ill just pull the truck and trailer out. Nope, not that easy, the boat and trailer had pulled us off of the cement pad, and now the back tires were sitting in the mud at the bottom of the lake. We had to have someone with a four-wheel drive truck chain up to us, and pull us out. Wasn't funny then, but now looking back, I laugh everytime I tell that story.

So remember to check out the ramp before unloading you boat.

I know there are more great boating stories out there, and would love to hear them. If you dont mind me using your funny boating stories in one of my articles, send them to me. I may use them for my next article. It will give people a laugh, and possibly help them to remember not to copy your mistake while theyre out boating.

Wrote by Keith Raven Contact him at aquabay01@yahoo.com if you would like to tell him your funny boating story. Need a Water Ski Tubes visit our online boating supply store.