... For more great fun, try being a spectator at the local boat ramp on a windy Saturday summer morning
We owned a boat for decades. There is no better entertainment that a boat ramp.....
Many seemed to have the same luck in backing down a ramp to launch/retrieve as pushing a rope up a hill. I think for some a rope would hvae been easier. I have made fun of it since I saw the first advertisement, but 15 minutes at a boat ramp, explains Ford's trailer backing assist in the half tons. Dad's 16 has it, and them only think that it's been used for in his truck is point out it's there and laugh....
One that really stick in my mind was the couple trying to retrieve their fishing boat. He was in the boat, she was driving the car, a bandit style T/A or Firechicken (this was in the late 80's). The firechicken would not idle in gear, and she seemed to be insistent on the fact it had to be in gear to back down the ramp. So start, reverse, die, start, reverse, die.... 4 or 5 times. Finally she got pissed, got it started, left it in neutral and let the car roll (gravity) backward down the ramp. The ramp was maybe 75 feet long and when she got close to the bottom with the car, trailer was already in the water, she shoved the transmission in PARK!!! That was an interesting sound, and the biggest surprise was the car actually stopped where it needed to be.......
My other favorite was people watching me...... I've lost count of the times of hearing "You"ll never get that trailer in that spot". You know the one that is just big enough to back straight in.... I got good at backing a trailer, by backing up a 4x8 flatbed for our tractors.... so a 20+ foot long boat trailer is a breeze..... so I don't need the entire width of the ramp to back down.
My last story, again was someone watching me. We were at our small lake, close to my parents house. We had the "big boat" at that time, which was a 23' SeaRay (tongue to out-drive was pushing 30', being towed with Dad's 94 E-350 Conversion van. So the entire unit was almost 50' bumper to out-drive. This was a small 2 lane ramp, that was at the bottom of a hill, so the road to the ramp came down the hill, there was a maybe 30' cutout in the hill for a turn around, and the ramp right behind it, which was maybe 30' to the water. So there is no way I can pull inot the turn around, and back down like you should. I heard a couple old guys on the dock with the "You'll never get that in there" line and started watching. So I started back up the road away from the ramp, and heard a laugh and "See, I knew he couldn't get that launched" because the thought I was going back to the lot. Nope, got the trailer tires even with the side of the ramp, started backing, cut the wheel, and down the ramp and the boat into the water, first try. Dad idled out, and I parked the van/trailer. When I go to the dock to get on the boat, both old guys told me good job and said most people would have never gotten that rig in the water. There were actually impressed.....