Every year for the past several years, my father, older brother, and uncle have made a trip to the Wind River in Southwest Washington. The spring chinook fishery there can be a blast. Anyway, this was the first year that I had my own 14 foot aluminum boat to bring along.
Now before I get too far, you have to realize that I used to work for the Department of Fish and Wildlife in Oregon, and watched a lot of people make many mistakes when attempting to launch their boats. Things like forgetting to put the plug in, forgetting to lift the outboard and grinding it into the boat launch, and forgetting the fishing pole, only to return a few minutes later after realizing the oversight. That coupled with about 25 years of fishing experience, you would think that I could get it right.
Back to the story. Since my dad and the crew are on vacation, they refuse to get up too early, so it's rare anymore to find them on the water before about 8:30 am. So I load up the boat and all the gear and begin the 50 minute drive from my house to the River along with my 7 year old son. When we arrive, there are people coming and going, and there are only 2 slots for boats to load or launch, so nerves can get a bit flustered with all the anxiety that men seem to have when they know there are fish to be caught, or they have had a rotten morning and just want to go home. So I get everything ready to go with the boat, and wait my turn, which finally comes. I backed the boat right down in there between the dock and another vehicle. The hand crank lock was released, the safety chain removed, and the hook and strap were unclipped from the boat. I proceeded to give the ol' boat a good shove, which is usually enough to get it right into the water, and it barely moved an inch. I figured, hey, that's weird, it's never been stuck before, and gave it another harder push. Still, no go. What the heck is going on here. OK, maybe it's all just dry and sticky, so I'll back it into the water a little further, and try again. This time, I pushed hard enough that the front of the boat lifted up about a foot, and my hand slipped right off the gunwale, spraining my thumb in the process, but no backward movement in the least.
Fed up with this whole escapade, I got back in the car and pulled it out of the launch area to reconsider this whole trip. My son is beginning to wonder what daddy did with his brain this morning, maybe it's still on the bathroom counter or something. So I get out of the way to let someone else get their boat launched, and take a walk around the boat to figure out what in the world is happening to me. Sure enough, and you probably guessed it, the straps that hold down the back of the boat were still doing their job, holding the boat firmly to the trailer.
What a bonehead! I wish I could blame it on being too tired, or in too much of a hurry, but I get to eat this one.