Boating Mishaps

Putting the boat in the water from a trailer...
Learn what the lines are and how to hold them. My husband, Jay, is not an educator. He either barks an order or tells me to "fix that", like I'm supposed to know what to do. In a small boat like ours, there is the bow line and the stern line. Make sure these are attached to the boat before you put it in the water (yes, it has gotten away from us once in the early days). As the trailer is backed down the ramp, hold on to the lines and walk along the doc. Once the boat is floating, gently pull the lines so the boat in next to the dock. Hopefully you are in a position to tie off one of the lines. Luckily, I already knew how to do this.

Watch out for the boat police...
First time out in the boat, beginning of the season, and I'm driving. I have no idea why I was driving. That's another thing about Jay, he loves to see what happens when...you fill in the blank. Anyway, there was a police officer waiting under a bridge on a jet ski, out of our site of course. He asks us to produce a number of safety items required on a boat- flares, flag, whistle, vhf radio, life jackets, etc. I end up getting a ticket for expired flares.

The boat plug...
Winterization- the process of preparing and storing the boat for the winter. If you live in a warm climate, you don't have to worry about this. Upstate NY- definitely prepare! With that said, it was the start of the 2nd season of our boating experiences. Same 21 foot boat. The marina takes care of preparing the boat for the water. We have guests on board that day. 4 adults, 3 kids under the age of 8. A large cooler with all the food and drinks we need for a day on the lake. We have bags, towels, water skis, a tube, we are loaded up. Jay backs the boat in the water. The boat is loaded with 2 adults and most of the gear. We start to take on water. Luckily the boat was still attached to the trailer. The boat comes back out of the water. We check with the marina and they inform us that the thing on the keychain is the boat plug.

Beaching your V hull boat is not a good idea...
We were at the lake for some water skiing and beach play. There were 2 boats that day- ours and a friend's. I took the kids in our boat while the rest of the party went skiing. The plan was to go to the beach and hang out until the guys were done skiing. I've never anchored the boat and had no intention of doing so alone. With our small boat, the anchors were manual- stored in the floor or back compartment, line wrapped around. I decided to point the boat toward the beach and let it sit on the sand. Its a small boat- how bad could it be? I raised the propeller (I think there's a name for that, trim?) and let the kids out to play. I see the boat bobbing back and forth and I think- "great, it looks pretty secure". When I tried to get the boat out, it was stuck. I pushed, pulled, and then tried to get Jay's attention. Luckily, he saw me and came to my aid. We were able to get the boat unstuck and drive it back to the marina but there was damage. By that point, we were wanting a larger boat.

Anchoring at Sylvan Beach...
No matter what size boat you own, trying to anchor at Sylvan Beach on Oneida Lake is one of the toughest things. Its very entertaining to listen to spouses attempt to do this. Lots of bickering and usually some swearing. Its best to have the kids occupied with something else during this process. On windy days, with waves, it is a challenge. People like to have the bow of the boat (front) facing the lake and the stern facing the beach. Set a front and back anchor to steady the boat. We used to use 1 anchor on our 21 foot boat. We would have to park far away from others and our boat would swing back and forth. The sand is pretty soft and the water can be pretty wavy. This makes it hard to anchor in one try. There are always those seasoned boaters who are willing to help set your anchors. Once you get them set, you have to watch the boat for a while to see if it's moving. Other boat owners will watch your boat too since they don't want it moving into their own boats. I would love to try to capture a conversation during the anchor process. This is one best for video.

We have had many mishaps through the years. Cell phones dropping to the bottom of the marina. Sun glasses going over board. Towels going over board. Dead boat batteries and having to get rescued at midnight in the middle of a lake. Boat not being completely fastened to the trailer during transport (it never left the trailer!). Little hands poking out the screens on a couple of cabin windows. We are constantly learning by our mistakes and get better at boating every year!