Just had my first close call!

[martini]

I'm just now settling down from what occurred few hours ago. This day was going pretty good up until then. I woke up this morning to take the boat for a quick run and all went well, stopped off at a friends to help with some demolition work on his house and headed home for dinner. I backed the trailer into my stall no problem, set the wheel blocks, disconnected everything and moved my truck out of the way. I went to check the wheel blocks again because my stall is on a slight slope. I wiggled the trailer to make sure all was good and a block went squirting out the side, I didn't immediately freak out until I realized that the other had failed too! So there it goes, rolling away, about 20-30 feet downhill and at this point it looks like it's gonna take out a fire hydrant and my truck at the same time. The swivel jack collaspes as it hits a curb and it's momentum begins to slow, thank God, as it squeazes itself between a tree before the hydrant catches the front of the fender brace stopping it feet from impaling my truck and inches from destroying a tree and itself.

DISASTER AVERTED! THANK GOD.

The boat was unharmed and the trailer seems to be fine structurally, except for the dent and smashed running light on the right side. O' yeah the swivel jack was toast. It took the brunt of the initial impact and just crumpled. Had a friend with a 4x4 come over and pull it back and into my stall. Went pretty smoothly. Went to WallyWorld and picked up another jack, cosmetic damage only. I am sooooooooooo lucky, it could have been much worse. I will never buy those collapsable blocks ever again. They are junk!

Nothing replaces a big rock.

[milkmania]

glad to hear it wasn't TOO bad...

sounds like crisis averted

what takes only a few seconds seems like an eternity when it's happening

[erkoehler]

Logs, or 4x4's work great under wheels!

[jimmer2880]

Logs, or 4x4's work great under wheels!

But - I have to say that a couple years ago, I found one of those rubber wedges along side the road. That is the BEST! It never moves. Unfortunately, it walked away one night. I need to get another, but rarely park on any kind of slope.

I think if I was in your shoes, I'd own a couple pairs of those, as they're not that expensive.

[jimmer2880]

But - I have to say that a couple years ago, I found one of those rubber wedges along side the road. That is the BEST! It never moves. Unfortunately, it walked away one night. I need to get another, but rarely park on any kind of slope.

I think if I was in your shoes, I'd own a couple pairs of those, as they're not that expensive.

Ohh yea - glad to hear you and your baby are all ok.

[jsonova99]

On the subject of close calls, I had one this weekend. Not with the boat, but still scared the crap out of me.

I went kayaking this weekend on Turkey Creek in Palm Bay for anybody familiar with Brevard county. Anyway, I had my first "close call" with a gator. I saw a few as I was going but they seemed ver disinterested in me. Anyway, as I was coming back I got to a fairly wide open spot so I was paddling pretty quick, anyway, as I turned a corner into a narrower portion due to some downed debris, I came right up on an 8 footer! He was blocking the creek. Anyway, I think we both scared the hell out of each other. He jumped and dove and I high tailed in the other direction. I waited a few minutes then came back and caught him crawling up on the bank. I tried to stay to the other side and pull my way through the debris by grabbing the branches. When I got about 10 feet from him he shot right in the water at me. Again, I paddled like a madman in the oppositte direction. Anyway, to make a along story short I retreated pretty far looking for a way to get up on land to walk around him, but couldn't find any. About 45 minutes later I paddled back and luckily he was not there anymore. I saw a few more on the way out but they seemed very uninterested in me. I know that he was probably just as scared as I was, but when you see something like that move that fast that close to you, it's quite an uncomfortable feeling. It probably wasn't that bad, but I was alone in the middle of nowhere so if something had happened I would have been screwed.

[mbeach]

glad all ended well. could have been much worse. friend of mine had something similar happen to him. boat was in garage and started rolling. by time he saw it, was going to be impossible to stop, so he figured guiding it was best option. so, here he is running down street doing his best impersonation of wiley cyote screaming for everyone to get out of way. fortunately, no cars were coming and he was able to successfully negotiate the cul-de-sac at the end of the street and get it headed back up hill breaking the momentum. needless to say, he is much more careful now.

[Leroy]

Glad it wasn't worse Martini.


Too bad they don't have a switch on the trailer brakes you can switch to make the brakes work.

[MarkP]

Me too, “glad it wasn’t worse”. I don’t know man. I probably would have wet myself if I saw my boat rolling down a hill:steering:

[mbeach]

On the subject of close calls, I had one this weekend. Not with the boat, but still scared the crap out of me.

I went kayaking this weekend on Turkey Creek in Palm Bay for anybody familiar with Brevard county. Anyway, I had my first "close call" with a gator. I saw a few as I was going but they seemed ver disinterested in me. Anyway, as I was coming back I got to a fairly wide open spot so I was paddling pretty quick, anyway, as I turned a corner into a narrower portion due to some downed debris, I came right up on an 8 footer! He was blocking the creek. Anyway, I think we both scared the hell out of each other. He jumped and dove and I high tailed in the other direction. I waited a few minutes then came back and caught him crawling up on the bank. I tried to stay to the other side and pull my way through the debris by grabbing the branches. When I got about 10 feet from him he shot right in the water at me. Again, I paddled like a madman in the oppositte direction. Anyway, to make a along story short I retreated pretty far looking for a way to get up on land to walk around him, but couldn't find any. About 45 minutes later I paddled back and luckily he was not there anymore. I saw a few more on the way out but they seemed very uninterested in me. I know that he was probably just as scared as I was, but when you see something like that move that fast that close to you, it's quite an uncomfortable feeling. It probably wasn't that bad, but I was alone in the middle of nowhere so if something had happened I would have been screwed.

had something similar happen to me. used to work for fla dept of nat resources and was surveying nassau river in ne fla by airboat. we were approx 15-miles up river but still in the marsh-grass area when the steering linkage broke, we hit the shore, and the airboat rolled over and sunk!! it is about 4 in the afternoon and the tidal flow was outgoing. i was a good swimmer (hs and college) but the guy i was with was not real great. i was able retrieve the bow rope and tie up to a tree. since we had on life vests, we decided to get in the river and float with the current back to the boat ramp, approx 5 miles, since we had no way of communicating with the civilized world (radio dead). rooughing it rambo style on the shore that night was not an option. anyway, we attracted a crowd floating in middle of river, namely 4 gators. guess they saw us and were wondering if anyone had brought the barbeque sause and beer. even though one approached to within 20-ft of us, we made it back to ramp ok but your mind really starts playing tricks on you when you are put into difficult situations. we were the subject of many jokes for several months.

[JEREMY79]

the best chock block I have ever had is a 4x4 cut to a taper. and then coated in Line-X. Talk about something that wont move,

[6ballsisall]

Freaky Martini! Bet you are loving that jack right now since it saved the day! Would have hated to see something happen to your ride after all the stuff you have done to it! I concur, 4x4's work great for blocks, I have some plastic ones from Wally world, they work good but sometimes can get slippery on smooth concrete.

[MarkP]

the best chock block I have ever had is a 4x4 cut to a taper. and then coated in Line-X. Talk about something that wont move,What is Line-X??

[6ballsisall]

[QUOTE=MarkP]What is Line-X??[/QUOTE

Spray in bed liner material

[peason]

Line-X is a the truck bed liner that you spray in the truck bed. Has a sand in the mix for fricton.

Good thing it ended well and we are seeing a hightlight film on the 10:00 news!

[MarkP]

That’s a good Idea. I’m going to have to make some of them.

Thanks

[milkmania]

had something similar happen to me. used to work for fla dept of nat resources and was surveying nassau river in ne fla by airboat. we were approx 15-miles up river but still in the marsh-grass area when the steering linkage broke, we hit the shore, and the airboat rolled over and sunk!! it is about 4 in the afternoon and the tidal flow was outgoing. i was a good swimmer (hs and college) but the guy i was with was not real great. i was able retrieve the bow rope and tie up to a tree. since we had on life vests, we decided to get in the river and float with the current back to the boat ramp, approx 5 miles, since we had no way of communicating with the civilized world (radio dead). rooughing it rambo style on the shore that night was not an option. anyway, we attracted a crowd floating in middle of river, namely 4 gators. guess they saw us and were wondering if anyone had brought the barbeque sause and beer. even though one approached to within 20-ft of us, we made it back to ramp ok but your mind really starts playing tricks on you when you are put into difficult situations. we were the subject of many jokes for several months.

that's exactly the way I'd want it....
me and a "not as fast" swimmer!

kinda like wehn the dogs are chasing...
I nly have to keep ahead of the other guy:headbang:

[east tx skier]

Wow, talk about pucker factor! Glad it wasn't a disaster.

[martini]

That's exatly what I was yelling at the old man trying to stop it, GET OUT OF THE WAY, GET OUT OF THE WAY. I guess he thought I was trying to stop it, but I knew better, I was just trying to guide it between the tree and the fire hydrant, as a poster was describing a similar situation about a friend. I have a massive rock under both sides right now. A rubberized block would have prevented this that is for sure as the blocks were just slip-sliding-away on the cement pavers! What a night. I really don't want to be at work today, I have a my annual evaluation today at 3:30, yuck!

[mbeach]

that's exactly the way I'd want it....
me and a "not as fast" swimmer!

kinda like wehn the dogs are chasing...
I nly have to keep ahead of the other guy:headbang:
milk -- never thought of it that way, but he could have been viewed by the gators as bait.

[sfitzgerald351]

After hearing about a similar story I make sure I never unhook my safety chains until I have the trailer unhooked, chocked, AND give it a good wiggle to make sure it's secure... If it does roll, it's only going 8 inches either backwards until the chains grab or forwards until the tongue hits my bumper.

Glad it wasn't more serious!

[martini]

I posted a picture of my boat on Saturday. You can see the baby blocks that were holding it in place on that slight slope.

Here's the thread

http://www.tmcowners.com/teamtalk/showthread.php?p=44846#post44846

I also have pics of the newly re-ringed engine on that thread as well.

[jayocheskey]

You need to send up a "thank you" prayer.

[martini]

I did the moment I realized the boat was intact and no people or property were hurt or damaged.

[captkidd]

I have a question: could you pull that little cable (that attaches from the actuator to the hitch) hard enough to apply the brakes? My understanding is that it is there in case the trailer comes unhitched from the tow vehicle, in order to apply the brakes. If so, then it might work.

[martini]

Yes it might have helped if I actually had trailer brakes. LOL! That is my next big purchase.

[erkoehler]

My weekend was dull compared to some of yours!

[lakes Rick]

WOW, tween gators and chasing your boat down the street, having my pilot bit break on my hole saw was pretty mundane even though I was PO the rest of the night..

Gators, and I worry if I might get too much "shrinkage" if the water is too cold... If I lived in Gator country, I dont think I would be doing much water sports...

As to chasing your boat down the street yelling "get out of the way" I gotta pretty good chuckle out of reading that just thinking about it... I would have personally "soiled" my pants on that one....

[BriEOD]

Wow, some crazy stories!! I would have probably been trying to steer the trailer as well.

[mbeach]

WOW, tween gators and chasing your boat down the street, having my pilot bit break on my hole saw was pretty mundane even though I was PO the rest of the night..

Gators, and I worry if I might get too much "shrinkage" if the water is too cold... If I lived in Gator country, I dont think I would be doing much water sports...

As to chasing your boat down the street yelling "get out of the way" I gotta pretty good chuckle out of reading that just thinking about it... I would have personally "soiled" my pants on that one....
lakes -- gator story gets better. we used to see who the tuff guy was based upon who could hand catch the largest gator while hanging off the front of the airboat. needless to say, i was not the champ. my record was a 2 footer, but one of the guys i worked with held the record at 4 feet. trick is to come up behind them.

[MarkP]

The trick is for YOU to come up behind them:wavey:

[lakes Rick]

lakes -- gator story gets better. we used to see who the tuff guy was based upon who could hand catch the largest gator while hanging off the front of the airboat. needless to say, i was not the champ. my record was a 2 footer, but one of the guys i worked with held the record at 4 feet. trick is to come up behind them.

OH HEY, now that sounds like fun...

[mbeach]

mark & lakes -- what can i say but i did things in my youth that i would not do now. i was very content not to hold the record. record holder and i used to hunt together (both 2 & 4 legged game) and he did not consider it to be a good hunt unless HE got bloody with the 4-leggers. but then again, he signed up for 2 tours of nam. need i say more??

[jimmer2880]

mark & lakes -- what can i say but i did things in my youth that i would not do now. i was very content not to hold the record. record holder and i used to hunt together (both 2 & 4 legged game) and he did not consider it to be a good hunt unless HE got bloody with the 4-leggers. but then again, he signed up for 2 tours of nam. need i say more??

better you than me. That's all I have to say.

[erkoehler]

No gators for me! The only swimming I will be doing in Florida from now on is in a swimming pool where I can check the entire pool before entering.

[jsonova99]

They usually aren't bad, but the one I ran into really did not want me around. Usually you can go by them and they don't respond at all. This guy was either scared to death of me, or protecting his territory. When alone in the middle of nowhere though, I lean on the side of caution and just gave him all of the space he needed until he decided to move on.

[BriEOD]

I've been around them all my life and never had a problem. The boats are loud and keeps the gators away. That one gator may have been a female protecting her nest? For all of you "concerned," their is a good article in this month's Water Ski Mag about the probabilities of run ins with gators and such. To sum it up for you, you've got a better chance of getting killed in a car wreck on the way to the ramp.

[jsonova99]

I've been around them all my life and never had a problem. The boats are loud and keeps the gators away. That one gator may have been a female protecting her nest? For all of you "concerned," their is a good article in this month's Water Ski Mag about the probabilities of run ins with gators and such. To sum it up for you, you've got a better chance of getting killed in a car wreck on the way to the ramp.

I worry a lot more about sharks at the beach than gators. I was only concerned because I was in a kayak by myself. It could have beena female. She never hissed or growled at me. It was just uncomfortable to see one really move because of you at such close proximity. I'm sure it probably was just trying to get away form me, but still very scary when your by yourself.

[BriEOD]

I would have been worried in your situation also. I was speaking to our "I'm never going to swim/ski in Florida" brethren.

[MarkP]

How about your, "I'm never going to swim/ski with gators" brethren.;)

[jsonova99]

I've never seen one on the lake we usually go to. Very residential with a lot of boat traffic. I'm sure they are there, but probably stay hidden most of the time. I'd be more afraid of hitting one and messing up my prop and shaft!

[BriEOD]

How about your, "I'm never going to swim/ski with gators" brethren.;)

You know Mark maybe the gators are a great thing. If it keeps all you snow birds up north and out of our water, well it can't be all bad!! :uglyhamme

[MarkP]

Do you truly feel that way? I’m saddened to hear that. :confused:

[LakePirate]

I was at a wedding on Hilton Head Island last summer and the reception was outside overlooking the marsh. We were sitting about 300 yards from the marsh having a beer when a couple from Seattle passed us on their way to the marsh. They wanted to go and see if they could find/see any gators. I guess they have seen Steve Irwin one time too many. I don't think either one of them had any idea what kind of great vengnace and furious anger that a gator can unleash upon them.

[lakes Rick]

mark & lakes -- what can i say but i did things in my youth that i would not do now. i was very content not to hold the record. record holder and i used to hunt together (both 2 & 4 legged game) and he did not consider it to be a good hunt unless HE got bloody with the 4-leggers. but then again, he signed up for 2 tours of nam. need i say more??

Did your friend bring back his ear necklace?

[mbeach]

I worry a lot more about sharks at the beach than gators. .
i was raised in jax, fl, and worked 6 summers lifeguard at jax beach. have also had encounters with sharks, but that's a story for another thread. agree, however, that to this day i fear sharks much more than gators unless it's a mama gator and i am between her and her young'uns. another point, gators in fla pose a more serious threat around golf courses than in most lakes. they are a way of life and most folks have learned to deal with them.

[mbeach]

Did your friend bring back his ear necklace?
if i have to ask what an ear necklace is, he probably did not but pm me and and let me know what it is just in case.

[AirJunky]

I was at a wedding on Hilton Head Island last summer and the reception was outside overlooking the marsh. We were sitting about 300 yards from the marsh having a beer when a couple from Seattle passed us on their way to the marsh. They wanted to go and see if they could find/see any gators. I guess they have seen Steve Irwin one time too many. I don't think either one of them had any idea what kind of great vengnace and furious anger that a gator can unleash upon them.
We've skied on Lake Placid a few times. Even held organized ski events there. And never had any problem with the neighbors there. I'm told them don't go for deep water & are as scared of you as you are of them...... unless, like someone else mentioned, your threatening their young.

[Brn85ss]

That's exatly what I was yelling at the old man trying to stop it, GET OUT OF THE WAY, GET OUT OF THE WAY. I guess he thought I was trying to stop it, but I knew better, I was just trying to guide it between the tree and the fire hydrant, as a poster was describing a similar situation about a friend. I have a massive rock under both sides right now. A rubberized block would have prevented this that is for sure as the blocks were just slip-sliding-away on the cement pavers! What a night. I really don't want to be at work today, I have a my annual evaluation today at 3:30, yuck!

I had a close call kind of like yours the first weekend I had my boat.Had the boat on the side of my driveway at a 45 degree angle to the slope of the driveway. (I have a steep driveway) Went to the back of the boat and popped a wheelie,then the bow started to rotate down the hill toward the garage and house.Lucky for me when I ran to the bow of the boat it dropped down and stopped rotating.Learned my lesson really fast! Trailer has a prop guard so no damage done.Trailer should have a warning on it about the balance point of the boat and trailer combo.

[Ric]

I had a close call kind of like yours the first weekend I had my boat.Had the boat on the side of my driveway at a 45 degree angle to the slope of the driveway. (I have a steep driveway) Went to the back of the boat and popped a wheelie,then the bow started to rotate down the hill toward the garage and house.Lucky for me when I ran to the bow of the boat it dropped down and stopped rotating.Learned my lesson really fast! Trailer has a prop guard so no damage done.Trailer should have a warning on it about the balance point of the boat and trailer combo.
where would they put the warning label? I think they might be out of room for warning labels unless they take their name off the boat ;)

[MasterMason]

I had a close call kind of like yours the first weekend I had my boat.Had the boat on the side of my driveway at a 45 degree angle to the slope of the driveway. (I have a steep driveway) Went to the back of the boat and popped a wheelie,then the bow started to rotate down the hill toward the garage and house.Lucky for me when I ran to the bow of the boat it dropped down and stopped rotating.Learned my lesson really fast! Trailer has a prop guard so no damage done.Trailer should have a warning on it about the balance point of the boat and trailer combo.


That is one of the major benifits of the dual axel trailers. I have had a couple folks in my boat in the rear and never even felt it move.

[BriEOD]

Do you truly feel that way? I’m saddened to hear that. :confused:



Dude, I was kidding.

[MarkP]

Ya see,

I’m going to have to quit being so sensitive and thin skinned. You know more like mag.:cool: .

[mbeach]

You know Mark maybe the gators are a great thing. If it keeps all you snow birds up north and out of our water, well it can't be all bad!! :uglyhamme
bri -- sit back and feeeeeeel the love. remember the old saying "you'all come on down, bring lots of money, spend lots of money, go home broke, and come on back ya hea". tourism helps keep fla free of state income tax.

[BriEOD]

Don't I know it!! I'm still a Florida resident, just displaced due to military service. The only state I know that has it better is Alaska. I had a friend that was a an Alaska resident and he told me once that their is an Alaska fund. Bascially, if you live (prove you reside) in the state more than 30 days a year they pay you. I think he told me he received a $1k check per year. That's great if you don't mind darkness and arctic temperatures 6 months a year. I was in Fairbanks 2x's both in July and it was getting into the 40's at night. :eek: