PDA

View Full Version : Your most embarrassing Driving Error...



Jeff Lytle
11-09-2002, 12:21 AM
I am a co-administrator on another Board on the net. I asked this same question on CORE and got some really great stories.
The best one I remember off the board, was a driver who showed at a race with a sparkling new 500cc Hydro Rig. The hardware wasn't on yet, so he had his work cut out for him.

******He was in such a hurry, he ran the steering cable over the drum instead of under it !!! :eek: Go fast--Turn RIGHT !!******

Gordie Miller
11-09-2002, 12:58 AM
Approx. 22 ft. center console boat with 225 Johnson. Company boat of the former OMC, on loan for the day. Father, friend and myself go to the river to play. Now you have to understand here, at this time(1988)I'm strictly a racer. Anyway, launching boat, friend backing truck down ramp, father in boat, me on the tongue of the trailer(I'm going to push it off like all other tunnel boats). So, to save time, I'll disconnect winch strap while backing down ramp. Silly me, roller trailer, not bunk. Trailer heads down ramp at 5 mph, boat at 10 mph. Boat lands mostly in the water, 2-3 inches of it anyway, father ends up on his ass at the transom, myself and my buddy not quite sure whether to laugh or what. Luckily motor was still trimmed all the way up, barely even scuffed the gelcoat. Well there it is, not really a driving embarrassment, but definitely my worst.

T2x
11-09-2002, 08:28 PM
We (Shadow/Image boat co.)got invited to the first Kennebec River Marathon in Bath, Maine in 1979. As Mr. Managing General Partner hotshot I awarded myself the twin 200 Merc equipped 21' Shadow Vee....(80 mph like a truck).

We start at Bath and head down river 20 miles to the outlet to the Atlantic......... one turn around an island three miles offshore and back up to Bath. We are neck and neck with local hot shoe in his Rayson Craft until we get to the ocean...whereupon my twin and the the three single engine 21 Shadows put a major hurt on everybody else (Checkmates, Pipkorns, Cigarettes....etc)... I am now alone 2 miles in the lead rentering the river............ Since I never checked any charts other than the race poster.....I failed to note the second river that merged with us over my left shoulder on the downriver leg........... on the return leg it looked like the main body of water and I thought the spectators were cheering us on in some strange "Down easterner" manner that involved frantically pointing behind us...............until I saw the rooster tails going past about 3 miles back

For about 5 years after that.....I was known as "Wrong River".

P.S. We came in second......like kissing a monkey's sister.


T2x

Powercat
11-09-2002, 08:34 PM
1958 LA Boat Show we had a fully rigged Powercat
with twin Mercs and trailer as a door prize give away during the show. The guy with the winning ticket was to meet us at the old Pacific Landing
in Long Beach. (Right where the Queen Mary is parked today). The winners had not showed up yet so we hoisted the boat up and set it in the water and I went down and tied it up to the dock. We went up to the coffee shop to wait for the winner and his family to show up. They arrive and we all
walk over to the pier to find the boat half full of water.. Forgot the drain plugs.... And we were supposed to be showing the guy and his family how to handle his new boat!!!
Well we lifted it up and drained the water out and
no harm done.. But man some days it just doesn't pay to even try..
Danny Leger

T2x
11-09-2002, 08:50 PM
Danny:

We raced one of your Dad's 15 footers in the '64 Hudson River Marathon............ with twin 100's.......

Anyway, when we stopped after the race at the Edgewater Marina and walked off to get a coke........that Powercat sank too..... only the drain plugs were in.......the bottom had dozens of little "weep holes" through the woven roving. The resin had vibrated out. Fortunately it settled in the mud with the powerheads above the waterline.

Those were the days.

T2x

Powercat
11-09-2002, 09:11 PM
Now thats something I have never heard of happening before... Must have been one of those
special lightweight "racing only" layups.. I am planing on attending the big "Switzer Wing Match Race" when you guys get it together. Wish I could
put together a Powercat to "follow" you guys around the course... Be sure to keep us up on the
progress of your project.
Danny Leger ;)

T2x
11-09-2002, 09:16 PM
Originally posted by Powercat
Now thats something I have never heard of happening before... Must have been one of those
special lightweight "racing only" layups.. I am planing on attending the big "Switzer Wing Match Race" when you guys get it together. Wish I could
put together a Powercat to "follow" you guys around the course... Be sure to keep us up on the
progress of your project.
Danny Leger ;)

Danny:

That 15 Powercat on a short course would demolish the wings, in that it turned like it was on rails...and the wings slide...plus the acceleration was mindboggling with twin 100's....twin T-1's or t-2's would positively push your eyeballs to the back of your skull....come to think of it....who invited you anyway ;)

T2x

P.S. We had "tunnel tab" on that 15 Powercat with a hydraulic porta power mounted between the seats. Amazing device in rough water.....the bow would NOT lift.......period!

Powercat
11-09-2002, 09:34 PM
I am trying to buy one just like you described..
Has the original hydralic afterplane and single
seat with dual ride guide steering and controls. Still has the race numbers on the side and all. Its in real bad shape but could be restored.. The guy has not made up his mind to sell yet but I have first call on it if he does...
What I remember about the short course racing was them talking about jacking the after plane down as they approached a corner and backing off the inside motor and just carving a turn. Jam the throttle foward coming out of the turn release the
afterplane and it would fly out of the corner. I can remember some of the west coast races where this would go on lap after lap with sometimes 3 abreast in the corners.... 5-10 Powercats mixing it up with every imaginable kind of boat in WOA and NOA racing.
Danny Leger

T2x
11-09-2002, 09:46 PM
Danny:

I never used the tab for turning .......didn't need to and the boat barely needed to split the throttles while turning either...... you could turn it with a foot throttle with both engines sync'ed if you wanted to.... While not quite as precise as the later tunnels....those Powercats could really build g's while turning.

T2x

P.S.: I also had a Pwercat 14 footer with a single Merc 850 in 63. It was a bad setup due to the lack of props capable of running in the tunnel and even with the factory "wedge" it cavitated like a son of a gun...the boat would have been sweet with a pair of 50's...probably run 55-60 I'll bet.

Powercat
11-09-2002, 10:17 PM
One of our Powercat owners group has this 14ft rigged with Scotts. Has it running over 60mph..
Not bad for vintage glass...

T2x
11-09-2002, 10:24 PM
Are those 60's or 75's?

T2x

airide18
11-09-2002, 10:31 PM
My most emmbarasing moment was when i was with my freind on the santa fe river,i was driving a 14ft jon boat with a 25merc /w tiller handel.I came around a sharpe turn and couldnt really see in fron of me because my freind was in my sight path .Well sense i couldnt see we jumped a log in the middle of the river caught like 2ft of air.Well the happened to be a party at a house with a bunch of people out on the dock right were al this happened .Those people were laghing so hard i didnt know if they were laghing or crying.Well thats my story.

Powercat
11-09-2002, 10:36 PM
Originally posted by T2x
Are those 60's or 75's?

T2x

Pretty sure he told me they were 75's

Dave S
11-10-2002, 11:29 AM
Hey T2X, I went to Bath, Maine. I think I saw you run there. Was that the year that Richie Sanddog took his Hydrostream with a short V6 Merc? Also, Stormin' Norman took his 20 foot Glastron Molinari up there. I went as a spectator. If that was your boat, was it brown?

T2x
11-10-2002, 11:33 AM
I don't remember a Glastron Molinari up there but there were a few Hydrostreams........... The twin 21' Shadow/Challenger I ran was , in fact brown, with an off-white deck and hull.

This was the first race they held up there and I know it went on for at least a few years after that............. But we only went once.

T2x

BK
11-10-2002, 12:30 PM
This thread could be really dangerous....... ;)

When I lived in AZ, my racing program was very low budget. In fact, I had no crew, no sponsor - just me.

The service manager at the dealership where I bought my Yamaha was a Mod-VP racer too. So, in exchange for work done on my boat, I painted his company name on the side of my boat, as well as doing odd-jobs for his team (boat cleaning, score-keeping, minor engine assembly, test session helper, launch and tow driver, etc).

Needless to say, my boat was rigged with only the very basics --- which meant my trim button was actually a toggle switch on the side of the cockpit, and still required a key for ignition.

My equipment was scant too, but I was really proud of my florescent orange ski-gloves. They served a double purpose -- they were a two-fold safety device: as extra-grip on the wheel and also the bright color was used to wave above my head like warning flags during those unfortunate times when I would get chunked into the water.

One weekend, I found myself alone at a Puddingstone COBRA race, with an ornery fuel line that kept 'unclipping' from the powerhead at the most inopportune times. One friend used a tie-wrap on it just before the start of my first heat. Problem solved. So I thought......

But during the mill session, while speeding back and forth, waiting for the clock to tick off --- suddenly my motor leaned out then went dead. I looked back --- and there was that damn fuel line hanging off the side again. GRRRR.....

In a ten foot boat, quarters are pretty cramped, and moving to the back can mean water over the transom. But I managed to get back there and re-hook the line..... Whew! But when I sat back down to turn the key and tried to turn it over --- No go.

DUH! Just remembered - No FUEL! PRIME THE BULB!!

In one movement, my hand left the key and reached behind the seat, groping to find the fuel bulb to the tank.

Just then I heard "PLOP" in the water.

I thought...."What the HECK was that???"

Looking back at the engine cowl, nothing looked amiss. By now, the clock is running out. Boats are heading for the start.

A few pumps on the bulb and I'm ready to go! But when I reach for the ignition.......there is NO key.


Oh gawd.


My key had stuck to those "fancy" gloves and was now resting at the bottom of the lake. :( Since it was a 30 minute marathon, and I had no idea how to "hot wire", I ended up sitting on my floating boat until the race was over and I could be towed.

The whole deal wasn't embarrassing until I got to the pits and everyone gathered around, asking what went wrong........THAT was embarrassing...:D

Barefoot Bob
11-10-2002, 12:36 PM
Was when my wife needed to get something she forgot. I dropped her off at the landing. She put the wheel down and unhooked the trailer from the truck. As she drove away I noticed that the trailer was rolling real slow. I watched the trailer turn around and start to pick up speed for the ramp. There was nothing I could do, but to watch the trailer enter the water at about 10 MPH and completly submerge. How embarasing, I am just glad no one was hurt.

BK
11-10-2002, 12:52 PM
I know of at least three occasions where boaters installed something on the floor of the boat....

Only to discover at the ramp that the boat wasn't going anywhere --- they had screwed through the floor to the trailer bunk!

Come on ya'll, I know there's more stories.... let's hear 'em! lol :D

airide18
11-10-2002, 02:31 PM
Man those are some pretty embarressing moments!!!!

Boz
11-10-2002, 05:49 PM
I had just backed my HST down the ramp and stopped at the bottom as i'd forgotten to unplug my trailer lights and screw in my plugs. I was approached by a couple of guys who were inquiring about my boat, motor etc. The launch was fairly busy, so when I'd finished chatting w/ these gentlemen, I promptly backed my boat into the water, tied it up to the dock, and drove my truck and trailer up to the parking area. As I was walking down the hill to my boat, admiring how clean and slinky it looked, I remember thinking to myself, "Hmmmm, it sure is sitting low in the back" I got down to the dock and realized that while talking to these guys earlier, I'd gotten side tracked and forgotten to put my three plugs in the boat!! The water was up to the back of the front seats!!!!! So much for the cool factor. I had to pull er' back up and let it drain for 10 minutes...........in front of 25 people. Good thing I have a sense of humor:D :D

eautosales
11-10-2002, 05:52 PM
MINE WAS RUNNING OUT OF GAS AT THE RODAK ROMP:eek:
2ND WAS SOMEONE STOLE MY RECIEVER PIN AT THE BOAT LAUNCH I BACKED THE TRAILER UP LOADED THE BOAT DROVE OUT OFF THE RAMP & THE BOAT & TRAILER ROLLED BACKWARDS INTO THE LAKE:rolleyes:

Barefoot Bob
11-10-2002, 05:57 PM
Thats not embarasing, thats down right mean:mad:

eautosales
11-10-2002, 06:00 PM
EVERBODY WAS LOOKIN AT ME AT THE BOAT LAUNCH LIKE I WAS AN IDIOT I HAVE BEEN BOATING FOR 15+ YEARS I FELT LIKE AN INCH TALL I WAS PISSED I HAD TO MAKE A RECIEVER PIN OUT OF SCRAP STEEL & CREEP HOME AUGUST 2002 :( :mad:

Barefoot Bob
11-10-2002, 06:25 PM
My first boat was a real piece of crap. Even though it was all I could aford at the time, I still liked it. Well someone at our local hangout thought since it was just a beeter, it would be real funny to lift the latch, so when I loaded it the hitch would lift off of the ball. They all thaught it was real funny playing a joke like that. I was pissed
:mad:

I cant imagine how you felt:(

eautosales
11-10-2002, 07:04 PM
I WAS PISSED IF I FOUND OUT WHO DID IT I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE SHOVED THE HITCH UP HIS :eek:

airide18
11-10-2002, 07:08 PM
No kidding.I probably would of done the same ting.

BK
11-10-2002, 07:43 PM
There once was a team from Washington state who drove all the way to Parker AZ for the November mini enduro. They were bringing 2 boats on one trailer -- each pointed up at an angle.

They drove for 2 days and rolled into town late at night. But when they stopped to check in to the hotel, there was only ONE boat on the trailer! They had no idea when the boat may have been lost......or even which state it may have been lost in!!


At the same time, out near Interstate 40 near Needles California, the AZ Highway Patrol was called to be notified of an abandoned boat on the side of the road.


Eventually, the Washington team was reunited with their missing race boat --- though they did have a lot of glass work to do over night in the parking lot so they could run the next morning.

Id say that was pretty embarrassing.

Mark75H
11-10-2002, 08:54 PM
Not mine, but a very famous runabout driver told me this story.

Seems he was headed into the first turn and noticed something odd out of the corner of his eye... another racer beside him who had spun out rather violently and was now going about 50....backwards! Driver #1 was so stunned to see this that he let go with both hands and fell out of his boat. The race was stopped and the officials chewed out driver #2 for hitting driver #1, as from their angle of sight it appeared that boat #2 had hit #1. Driver #1 was allowed to run in the restarted heat, but #2 was DQ'ed as the cause of the incident.

It wasn't until later in the season that driver #1 'fessed up to driver #2 that he fell out on his own and that the boats had never actually touched.

Flat Out
11-20-2002, 10:26 AM
I had food poisioning compliments of Rotten Ronald, had all the gang coming up to the cottage for a weekend of boating and my project Sidewinder had sunk in 15 ft of water. Thanks to all the boat club gang we were up and running in no time, well maybe a couple of hours

Flat Out
11-20-2002, 10:27 AM
Another

Flat Out
11-20-2002, 10:29 AM
It probably sank cuz its a Merc

Flat Out
11-20-2002, 10:30 AM
Got the PBCC bailers going

BK
11-20-2002, 10:43 AM
We were on the final hour of the 5 Hour Mini Enduro in Parker AZ, when my co-driver (Kristi) was bringing the boat in for a pit stop and driver change. In an Enduro race like this, the drivers almost never have time to talk ---- One gets lifted out of the boat while the other driver is being carried into the boat.

As soon as I took my place behind the wheel and throttled back onto the course, something felt terribly wrong.

The torque on the wheel was INTENSE! I could barely grip it and hold the boat straight -- so I leaned my entire body against the wheel and kept running WOT, hoping the next 55 minutes would pass quickly.

After running this way for 45 minutes, I really felt my hands were going to snap right off. My arms ached fiercely. I was hurting BAD! I prayed and prayed that the checkered flag would come soon..... Finally -- THE END CAME!

As we pulled the boat on the trailer, I finally let go -- My hands were shaped in a permanent "grip". I could not uncurl my fingers. My wrists were both sprained.

At the same time my prop guy walked over to check the prop -- he was furious and yelled -- "Get over here and LOOK at this!"

My co-driver joined me as we went to the back of the boat --- Oh my gosh. My skeg was curled upward, and one blade on the prop was missing the entire trailing edge!


I was relieved.......I thought I just had weak muscles!!!!....LOL :D

Kristi later told me that during her turn at the wheel, my engine quit for no reason -- and then started back up just as quickly. I asked her later "Did the engine quit?....or did it feel more like brakes??" Another driver told me later that she had been cutting some turns very close, running off into some extremely shallow water. Hmmmm....


Someone clicked a picture right at that moment we discovered the mess: