"I'm An Idiot" thread, generic. Props to XtraPickels.

[oftpiste]

It's just too good to be limited to Sprocket Rockets. I'll start.

Last night I'm chilling at the boat on a gorgeous night and decide to take a little rip around Lake Union in the 8' dinghy with a 5hp OB to ogle the scantily-clad paddle board girls. Dinghy lives vertically on Weaver davits attached to the swim step, so I have one of those outboard mounts that allows you to keep the motor upright on the dink whether in the water or hanging off the davits.

I drop the dinghy, fire up the motor, and am ripping around exceeding the speed limit (to reduce wake of course). At one point I make a hard turn to port and the motor, duh, flops to horizontal to the water and dunks itself in the lake, propellor spinning madly out of the water. I had forgotten to secure the swiveling mount to the upright position. Rowed back to the marina. Wouldn't start up again for a while. I think some people saw it happen.

I'm an idiot.

[Viva]

We're all idiots.

[Gepeto]

Resuscitation costs or hours lost playing with wrenches will herd your ignoramus proclivities into an even more remote corner...

Maybe she didn't get a very good gulp?

U can clearly blame women

[riser4]

Stoner moves thread?

I can relate to doing dumb things while ogling women. That's how I cut the fuck outta my thumb in a meat slicer when I was 16. There's just something about what spandex does to a nice female rear end.

[Skistack]

Boating “I’m an idiot” could be a separate thread too. Here is my first submission.

We used to have a small center console fishing boat. Similar to a Boston Whaler, it was a friggin tank.

Anyways, one Friday we take it down to the lake where my folks have their houseboat. It’s a long drive through shitty traffic, I want the boat in the water and a beer in my hand ASAP.

So the ramp is in the middle of the marina, with a row of houseboats facing the ramp. It’s a Friday night in the middle of summer, everybody is on their boat.

I pull into the staging area to prep the boat to launch - transom saver and straps off, drain plug in, disconnect safety chain. Except the chain is bound up with hook on the winch strap. So I tighten /loosen the strap until the chain pops free. Cool, lets get this fucker in the water!

The trailer for this boat has rollers instead of carpeted bunks. This is important. I start backing down the ramp and hear something I was not expecting.

Oh shit, the winch is unlocked and boat is rolling off the trailer. If I stop, the boat’s coming off the trailer on the ramp, so I speed up hoping to get to the water before the boat leaves the trailer.

I don’t quite make it. The boat slams into ramp and slides almost into the water. Everyone on the houseboats has heard the commotion and is now staring at this boat strangely sitting sideways on the ramp. Luckily the ramp is slick with moss, as we’re able to push the stern far enough into the lake to fire up the motor and pull the boat into the water.

Pull it back out of the water and the only damage is a couple feet of gel coat missing from the keel and part on the motor skeg is ground off. Back into the lake like nothing happened.

My first words to my folks was “I don’t want to talk about it” and to their credit it wasn’t mentioned again in front of me. But I’m sure the tale was told many times among their friends at the lake.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[El Chupacabra]

I'll bump the old "unsmart things done" thread. Same spirit...

Edit: there's a lot of unsmart things threads. Guess that's who we are.

[oftpiste]

Looks like I was too busy staring at the paddle board girls to know that was there.

I'll bump the old "unsmart things done" thread. Same spirit...

Edit: there's a lot of unsmart things threads. Guess that's who we are.

[Danno]

One shit that annoys you, one things that amuse you, and fifteen dumb shit you've done. Sounds about right.

[Meadow Skipper]

I don’t know where to start,

[singlecross]

…exceeding the speed limit (to reduce wake of course).

A point most, if not all, do not understand. A planing boat leaves a smaller wake.

You, sir, are welcome on my boats anytime.

[PB]

A point most, if not all, do not understand. A planing boat leaves a smaller wake.

You, sir, are welcome on my boats anytime.

"..... but please stay away from the engine"

[Core Shot]

Boating unsmartness.

Had the new rig for a year and a half. There was always a weird clunk over bumps. Kept meaning to check that out.

Yesterday dropped the tongue and dragged on chains for a few yards in the middle of a state route backing up traffic.

Turns out the noise was the coupler failing.
Should have investigated and fixed that.

In the upside, multiple nice people helped me get it out of the way and I was able to replace the coupler for proper future operation

[Rideski]

I'll bump the old "unsmart things done" thread. Same spirit...

Edit: there's a lot of unsmart things threads. Guess that's who we are.

I think a crowd that participates in slightly extreme sports, and wrenches on their own toys and vehicles ups the ante quite a bit on the consequences of unsmrt things done.

[gravitylover]

I'm so used to being an idiot...

[Diamond Joe]

I'll second that we need a specific "Boating I'm An Idiot" thread...

Dumbest thing I've done (as of 7/2/23) was drop my 23" Sea Ray into the water sans drain plug. As I'm putting away from the ramp, I'm like "does it seem like she's sitting really low in the water??" and as I said those words, the image of the drain plug sitting in my truck's cup holder popped into my head. Very lucky nobody was on the ramp and I could pull her right back out...

(In my defense, if you've never done this, it was the first day of the season - first time out since the previous summer, and we had gotten stuck in traffic on the way, doubling our drive - and we had already gotten a pretty late start. Was definitely rushing.)

[The AD]

Dumbest thing I've done (as of 7/2/23) was drop my 23" Sea Ray into the water sans drain plug.

At least it was an RC boat and not a real boat unless you mean 23'.

[Core Shot]

I keep the plug in one of those floating buoy stash cans on the keychain. The weight and the rattle make it easier to notice.

PS. A 23 inch sea ray should be easily retrieved by hand if it sinks.

[oftpiste]

So I swing by a store on Broadway in my white Audi the other day to run in and pick something up. Park on the street. I make my purchase, walk out of the store and open the door to my car and can't figure out why the seat position is all weird. I look up and my car has suddenly grown a bigger nav screen than it used to have! Guess what? Wrong white Audi. I'm an idiot.

[rideit]

Same girl, same...I just did this a few weeks ago.

[californiagrown]

I think a crowd that participates in slightly extreme sports, and wrenches on their own toys and vehicles ups the ante quite a bit on the consequences of unsmrt things done.

Like forgetting to put the cotter pin back in your brakes, going for a MTB ride and having the brake pads fly out of the caliper mid trail?

[Kenny Satch]

The one thing did that I will never forgive myself for is checking out this girl from the opposing team while I was sitting on the bench. I was totally distracted by her gorgeous looks. I get called on and get a pass right away. I did a layup into our own basket.

Never felt so stupid in my entire and since then. Thankful we won the game but the well deserved abuse I got was incredible. All I could do was laugh along but inside I was dying. My brother will bring it up once in awhile but now I can chuckle without too much shame.

[liv2ski]

I'm so used to being an idiot...

Right? Seems like I get it wrong at least 50% of the time. I am the King of the do over/try it again...