zeeke

I just read "Humor de jour" and find 7 out of the 8 stories in RROLDSX's post amazingly believable except for #8. Yes, I know it's humor, not to be taken seriously & not to be made sense of. No disrespect intended, but I've heard this story for the last 30 years in quite a few different versions but find that one amazingly, hard to believe. Living in NYC for the almost half a century now I've seen some unbelievably dumb things people have done. They seem to be infinite. That being said, this one???

While I do believe a person can be dim-witted enough to leave a trailer on a boat in the water I find it hard to believe someone that dim-witted could achieve such a feat. So assuming the back of the boat is strapped to the trailer...


1- How would they disconnect the trailer from the tongue with the load pulling back on the ball? OK, possibly use a jack to pop it off? Someone at the boat ramp would have to stop them, no? Ok next...
2- With the trailer attached in the water, wouldn't the boat either sink or be dangerously low in the water when throttled up that it would take water?
3- A V-hull would most likely not be stable enough to hold that type of load and would probably list once under way.
4- So the only way to achieve this, that I can wrap my head around, would be with a "cat" or pontoon type hull. Still possible to float but couldn't possibly steer for S#%! & would possibly drag the bow down, but still float.

Anyone have pictures of this one? Please share.

I worked with a guy, in the construction industry, years ago who would make up stories just to see what versions would come back to him. Every job site he went to he would pass one story on to someone & wait for the "boomerang" effect.

Maybe a new thread should be started like "Unbelievable Stories to Prove True" Just like "Finding Bigfoot". If they hear a Squash every show how is it they can't find one? And if they have never found one how do they know what they sound like? Their catch phrase should be "I think I see some holes in this story"

allyolds68

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3702704/Hilarious-photo-boat-trailer-attached-baffles-Facebook.html

RROLDSX

My insurance broker in the 70's told me of a insurance claimant that blamed his cruise control caused the accident in his motor home when he went back to make a sandwich.

VI Cutty

Not easy, but probably achievable...not that I have any intention of busting that myth!

If they're that stunned to begin with it isn't hard to fathom them backing their vehicle wayyyy back too. Bouyancy of the boat lifting the trailer should make it easy to disconnect. That or more brawn than brains?

Or at least video the process. Seems that people are often more entertained by watching a "fail" than by intervening to prevent disaster.

That would depend on the weight of the trailer vs the boat's capacity and displacement. The boat would obviously sit a lot lower than it should. How low would depend on how many people and supplies were also loaded in. Throttling up probably wouldn't make a big difference because of the massive amount of drag the trailer would cause.

With the load submerged and under the boat, the center of gravity would be lower and probably act more like a keel. Stability would be more of an issue if he put the trailer on top of the boat to keep it dry and handy!

I can see it possible with any hull. Either way it would handle like crap and move like a slug.

Just my armchair engineer guesstimate, I could be totally out to lunch too!

zeeke

Ok, I'm throwing the flag and going Perry Mason on the picture from Queensbury, UK.

The boat is aluminum so with the extra weight it would sit much lower in the water. Look at the water stains at the stern (rear) of the boat. They should be at the water line when docked, lower in the water when under way and above the water when planed off, which couldn't be achieved with the excessive drag.

The trailer is sitting correctly under the boat if you look at the yellow guide poles at the rear, so the boat would have to be strapped to the trailer of the trailer sitting on bottom.

Quick search nothing found on Mythbusters or Youtube.
To bad Adam & Jamie shut down, this would be a good one for them.

RROLDSX

OK, I copied that article from a friend so I have no idea if that pic is real or not. Do I believe it could happen? You bet your a$$ I do. If you want entertainment on a hot summer day, check out your local busy boat launch. Hours of fun! I believe the entertainment factor results from both inexperience and drug use. Of course you can't fix stupid either but at least I could empathize

allyolds68

The trailer weighs less than 1000 lbs. It takes 16 cubic feet of water to displace 1000 lbs. That's about 2" of freeboard on a boat that size. You wouldn't even know it.

When we need to move a boat hoist around here we strap it to the boat and put a couple ratchet straps around the hoist to draw it up to the boat and then motor to wherever the hoist needs to go. The hoists weight 400-800 lbs

VI Cutty

Testing this one wouldn't involve things that go boom. Well...maybe those two would figure out how to incorporate it...but it would probably get handed over to the sidekicks for exploration.

There's a new series where they're searching for the next generation of mythbusters. It will be interesting to see what comes of that...hopefully they're able to go forward with a new identity instead of just trying to imitate the original cast like Storage Wars seems to do.

In the meantime, maybe we need someone with a boat and trailer to volunteer for some official testing!

zeeke

I've seen some interesting stuff at the boat launch, heck when I first started I was the performer. Like in my early 20's launching my Four Winns. As I thought to myself, "Wow perfect launch what did I forget.. Oh S#%! the plug!!!" Ran it right back up the trailer & back to the house for a fresh water bath of the engine compartment. Yep I had my allstar moments too. Haven't seen anything close to launching a boat with a trailer, though I have seen tow vehicle launched with boat. I'm sure fresh water is not immuned to slippery ramps but moist salt and algae build up make for a great lubricant.

Alloy I'll take your word for it but I'd like to see that one for myself before I say Case Closed.

oldcutlass

Some of my most lifes entertaining moments were watching people launch their boats while sitting on a dock with a few beers and laughing my *** off.

stan 65 cutlass

i saw a guy at lake cow do that, the water came up real high where he had parked it. the nose wheel was still down so he blasted it back up the boat ramp where a couple guys blocked the wheels for him, hilarious

zeeke

Oh how I wish I could have seen that. Sorry, my evil side is showing through again. I mean good thing he was able to get it back on the ramp. What did it cost him in prop and drive damage?

Wait, the vehicle launch or the boat attached to the trailer?

stan 65 cutlass

he fished all weekend in it, then he ran it back up the paved boat ramp, tilted the outboard a bit, and gunned the **** out of it. noise and a huge roostertail, no prop damage. it was on youtube years ago, i couldnt find it though