2017 AUGUST_AOeMAG

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5. STICKTOONELANE
Everyonehaspuledupandtherehasbenaboatthatisusing2lanestolaunchandhaseveryoneelse
onstandbyjustwaiting. Thisgoesbacktopracticingsoyoucanpositionthetrailerinasinglelaneand
notmultiple.
6. GETAWALKIETALKIE
Getasetofcheapwalkietalkiestohaveoneinthetruckandboat. Therearetimeswhencelularservice
isnotavailableattherampandtheremaybealotofnoisewherethevehicledriverandboatdriver
cannot hear eachother. Insteadofyelingbackandforth, it issomucheasier tohaveaset walkietalkies
whereyoucantalkbackandforthandhelpeachotheroutwithouthavingtoscreamateachother.
7. GIVEPEOPLEROOMWHENPARKING
Onceyouhavelaunchedfindaparkingspotthatisnotdifficulttogetinandout. Ifthelotisemptythere
isnoreasontoparkontopofadditionalvehiclesandtrailers,becourteousandgiveeveryonesome
extraroomifposible.
8. WHENLAUNCHINGALONE
Finally, acoupletipsiflaunchingalone. Makesureyouutilizearamponthesideanddonottakeupthe
middleoftheramp, ifpossible. Ifthereisanareatobeachtheboat rather thantieuptothedocktakead-
vantageofthat toopentherampupfaster. Beasfast andsafeasposibleifthereisalineofboatswait-
ingtousetheramp. Don’tbeafraidtoaskforsomehelpifyouhaveabuddyattheramthatiswaitingto
putin, wehavealbeenthereandnoshameingettingalittlehelp.
Ifyouseesomeon teadaskthemifyou
canhelpoutandmaybeteachthemathingortwo. Wewerealnewtolaunchingaboatatonepointin
ourlivesandhelpingsomeoneoutwilgoalotfartherthanjustyelingatthem!Staysafeandhavea
goodtimeoutonthewater.
BOATRAM
ETIQUETT
Oneofthemostfrustratingwaystostartadayonthewaterispulinguptotherampandhavingsome-
onethatdoesn’tknowtheunwritenrulesofboatrampetiquete. Wehavealbentherewhensomeone
isontheram andtheyhaveevery bac dp.Let’sgooverfewof ingsyoucand omakesur
youarnothtpersonlowingdownotherslaunchingat ramp.
1. PREPBEFOREHAND
Wheyouariveatthrampdonotpulstraightonotherampandstartpreparingtheboat. Thereisno
nedtopreptheb heparkinglotwhere
youcangetevryt
2. HAVEAROUTINE
Prephebafr thesameeachtimeyouariveatthelake. Thisisgoingtohelpyououtwith
notforgetingtodosomethingbeforeyoupulontherampandlaunchtheboat. Startatthenoseofthe
boatremovingthewinchstrap, workingdownonesidegetinglifejacketsout, workingtothebackre-
movingthestraps,transomsaver,puttheplugin,primethefuelline,putthekilswitchin,turnyour
graphsonandwhateverelseyoumaynedtodo. Ifitisdarkputyourlightsinnowandgivethematest
beforeyouhitthewaterandrealizetheyaren’tworking.Theimportantthingistogettheboat100%
readyforthedayonthewaterbeforeyoupulontotheramp.
3. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!
Beforeyoutrytolaunchtheboatandbackthetrailerdowntherampheadouttoalocal parkinglotwith
enoughroomandpracticebothlookingbackandusingyour mirorstobackthetrailer. Thiswilbeuseful
forwhenyoupuluptoabusyrampandarecomfortablewithbackingatrailer.
4. TURNYOURHEADLIGHTSOFF
Thisishugeespecialywhenlaunchingor loadinginthedark. Whenyouareabout toswingtolineupwith
therampisthetimetoturnthemofandgowithjustyourhazardsorrunninglights. Onceyouareback-
ingdowntherampthereisnouseforyourheadlightsandalyouaredoingisblindingtheotherpeople
attheramptryingtobackdowntheramp.