Back when Dewey Mullins was the marina manager, there used to be little placards attached to the front side of these posts bearing the words: RAMP ENDS HERE. Despite this warning, as well as the verbal warning Dewey routinely used to give new patrons, he still often had to help them recover their rigs after they had backed too far and dropped the wheels of their trailer off the end of the concrete.
As you see here, those little placards long since have disappeared, and I don't imagine the current store workers often warn any patrons by word of mouth. As a result, the dangers of some folks backing their rigs off the end of the ramp are increased significantly. It's my understanding that one person experienced such a problem firsthand this past weekend. He dropped both his trailer wheels and the rear wheels of his tow vehicle off the end of the ramp, which makes a bad situation even worse.
I would urge anyone who uses the West Neck launch ramp to consider the following suggestions very carefully--for your own welfare:
* Accept the fact that the ramp ends exactly where I emphasized it does in my lead paragraph of this story. I've personally stood on that ramp when the water was so low you could see the very end as clearly as the nose on your face--twice in the past couple of months alone. And I've been patronizing West Neck Marina since August 1977.
* Only when the water-level gauge at the store reads 2.3 feet or more is it safe to launch full-sized bass rigs and boats of comparable size. When the level is any less than 2.3 feet, I wouldn't recommend anything larger than a kayak or johnboat trying to launch. I'm aware that one seasoned, local bass angler launched his full-sized bass rig with a tandem-wheel trailer just last week when the water level was 1.9 feet, but I wouldn't advise anyone else to try repeating that maneuver. It simply isn't safe.
* When you're backing down the ramp, do so at a controlled rate. Some people have a tendency, when the water level is lower than usual, to back hurriedly, then hit the brake, causing the boat to slide off the bunks. If that's the only way you can launch, you need to (1) find another launch facility or (2) wait for a day when the water level is sufficient. The only local alternate launch facility that usually will accommodate boats during low-water conditions--to my knowledge--is Munden Point Park.
I understand that some people are hell-bent on always learning things the hard way. For those, I'm probably wasting my time with a story like this. For a few others, though, I'm hoping I spare them the trouble of having an otherwise pleasant outing turned into a giant headache.
No comments:
Post a Comment