Chalked up another one...

[Chris Snider]

Well... I was so proud of myself yesterday for getting my 20 footer right up on the trailer in one smooth shot, that I forgot to raise the motor. I scraped the skeg clear across the parking lot (with wife jumping up and down while chasing me and yelling)... And yes, there were tons of people at the ramp probably snickering and mumbling "I've done that a few times"...

Oh well, you win some and lose alot! I'm just glad it was the skeg and not the prop!!! (wow, that almost rhymed).

 

[Bill McElroy]

Look on the bright side Sarge,......it probably won't happen again 'cuz you don't have enough skeg left to touch the ground!! LOL...
And yes,...be glad it wasn't the prop!!
Been there and done that!!!
Mac

 

[Chris Snider]

Ha ha! That's funny Mac! Maybe I could mount a wheel to the skeg for next time? LOL...

 

[Bill McElroy]

Talk about bum luck,.....last fall the very last time i took my boat out, i was loading it on the trailer and goosed it a tad to move it the last 6" on the trailer and i hit the edge of the cement ramp with my skeg!! LOL!!...UNREAL!!!
Went all year through all kinds of low water and never hit anything,.....then the last time out i hit the ramp!!
Luckily it wasn't bad, and the guys at the service center filed it off and repainted it......it looked so good I thought they had replaced it,.....all he did was grind it off straight and file and repaint it......perfecto!!! Hope yours isn't bad! Take care,..
Mac

 

[Gene McCarthy]

Friend of mine did the same and really screwed up his power tilt, not to mention the skeg. Heck, second time out I bent a brand new Doel fin hydro foil on a stump and broke my speedometer thingie off the back. Speedometer falls in the so what category, but the Doel fin is plastic for God's sake but yet I managed to bend one corner up. Heated it a little and straightened it out. By the way the Doel fin makes all the difference in the world on my 40 hp getting the PT165 on plane. Seems to help steering just like advertised. Moral of this is that you probably can't do anything others here haven't done. But man did you have to do it in front of the wife!!!LOL. You can be sure you'll probably hear about that once or twice or a hundred times. If it had been a fishing buddy you could have threatened to never take him out again if he said anything, but that is not an option in this case. Good luck Sarge.
Gene

 

[Chris Snider]

Ewwwwwwwww Gene... Glad I didn't mess up the power tilt. That would've been ugly! I know what you mean about the wife... GEEEEEEEZ! She tends to make fun of me for EVERYTHING!!!

You know something? I just bought this boat about 2 months ago and started posting on this message board immediately thereafter... At first, I was kinda discouraged with boating, since I screwed up EVERY TIME I TOOK THE BOAT OUT (running aground, flooding engine, taking 20 million tries to get boat on trailer, etc...)! But, you folks on this board made me feel much better by posting your stories (some were quite hilarious, I might ad)... Now only 2 months later, I just shrug my shoulders and say something like "heck with it" when I screw up. That's much easier than getting embarassed or upset!

In other words, THANKS EVERYONE!!!

 

[Staci Matheis]

Note to myself:

If you ever consider buying a used boat from Bill McElroy - remember to check the skeg!

me!

 

[Bill McElroy]

Don't worry Scott,...it'll be painted and lookin' SWEEEET!!!!!...LOL