Covid / New Boat Owners

[Bruno]

One of the surprising outcomes of this whole deal is the number of new boat owners. I am talking everything from SUPs, Kayaks, Pontoons, Ski Boats. It is crazy town on the ramps and it has been quite funny to watch. I was with my sister in law last week at the ramp and she pulled our ski boat up on the trailer for the 1st time. I asked her what finally got her over her fear. She looked around and determined that she had better boat skills the 90% of the idiots on the ramp. Trailers sideways, dead batteries, boats coming in hot, general idiocy.

No Joke, I am leaving shortly to meet two of my buddies here to see the boats each of them just bought.

Good News : There are gonna be a ton of lightly used boats on the market when $ show is over. I am looking forward ti it.

Silver Linings People !

 

[moon1284]

Yes agree its insane. Marina's are having banner years.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Good News : There are gonna be a ton of lightly used boats on the market when $ show is over. I am looking forward ti it.

int:

 

[Baron]

Thats the way it is at WallenPaupack every Day and the Park Officials do nothing. There aren't any skills requirements to qualify owners for ramp privileges so until someone is hurt they're hands are tied.

It's a hoot to watch but I wouldn't want to be there with my boat.

 

[BrookieChaser]

Boat ramps are great summer entertainment.

 

[Mike]

I always “like” the people who tie up both lanes of a two lane ramp by backing down the center line, imagined or painted on the ramp. The other classic is kayakers tying up a ramp with a vehicle and boats when they could launch or retrieve their boats in an adjacent grassy area by simply dragging them across the lawn by the bow loop. Evidence that this would not be a hardship: They launched from the grassy area by my former office all of the time, dragging their boats about 30 -40 yds.

 

[Fly-Swatter]

It would likely be less damaging to canoes and Kayaks to launch on grass as Mike suggests rather than cement or gravel ramps.

 

[drakeking412]

just sold my boat. glad to be done with the headaches

 

[PennypackFlyer]

Got my boat in 2003....Still enjoy putting her on the lake.

Timing is everything when launching or retrieving from a boat ramp.

 

[DaveS]

The real issue with these buffoons isn’t on the ramp. It has more to do with the Hp hanging off the transom and the lack of a brake pedal.

 

[Bruno]

DaveS wrote:
The real issue with these buffoons isn’t on the ramp. It has more to do with the Hp hanging off the transom and the lack of a brake pedal.

Just powerslide into the take out then ?

 

[ryansheehan]

DaveS wrote:
The real issue with these buffoons isn’t on the ramp. It has more to do with the Hp hanging off the transom and the lack of a brake pedal.

The old hp to iq equation, as the hp goes up the iq points go down ;-) . In all seriousness I was pulling my boys on a tube yesterday when some clown shoe following us closed within 50 feet. I almost fired a flare across his bow.

 

[lycoflyfisher]

ryansheehan wrote:


The old hp to iq equation, as the hp goes up the iq points go down ;-) . In all seriousness I was pulling my boys on a tube yesterday when some clown shoe following us closed within 50 feet. I almost fired a flare across his bow.

That is way too close for comfort... A flare would have been friendly. The sad part is they probably have no understanding how dangerous their actions were.

 

[Bruno]

My favorite of the summer so far was a guy letting kids kids jump off the back of their pontoon rental. Only thing was he kept the motor on and would back up the boat while the kids were swimming around the back of the boat. I am shocked more people don't drown in rain storms.

 

[ryansheehan]

Bruno wrote:
My favorite of the summer so far was a guy letting kids kids jump off the back of their pontoon rental. Only thing was he kept the motor on and would back up the boat while the kids were swimming around the back of the boat. I am shocked more people don't drown in rain storms.

We all know the rental boat registration numbers at deep creek, have since I was a kid. We stay as far away as possible when we see LA or LB registration but sometimes it's unavoidable.

 

[kbobb]

Mike wrote:
The other classic is kayakers tying up a ramp with a vehicle and boats when they could launch or retrieve their boats in an adjacent grassy area by simply dragging them across the lawn by the bow loop. Evidence that this would not be a hardship: They launched from the grassy area by my former office all of the time, dragging their boats about 30 -40 yds.

i wish i could launch my canoe away from the boat ramp as you suggest. I tried it once at a state park and the ranger was ready to give me a ticket - he said you cannot launch a canoe or kayak anywhere except at the ramp. does anyone know if this is true?

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear kbobb,

I've launched my Creek Company Voyager at Memorial Lake State Park and Little Buffalo State Park from the lawn and never had any trouble.

It's not a canoe or a kayak, but it's an 8 foot U-shaped inflatable boat so it's pretty good sized. I do have a launch permit for it though.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[RLeep2]

I would imagine that one reason that DCNR folks might get prickly about where folks launch, especially in some of the higher traffic state parks in eastern PA, is the herd mentality. Too busy and hence, too much potential lawn and and grounds damage. Not to mention it can make it difficult to discern who has a launch permit as opposed to who (technically) doesn't need one. While I have a permit, I avoid the gravel/concrete launches whenever possible. I have an NRS STAR Pike with hard keels on both ends and it doesn't like concrete or gravel launches.

I spent a couple nights at Little Buffalo a couple years ago. I think next time I'll skip it and just stay at the nearest Hyatt. Roughly the same experience in terms of congestion. But that's just me.. The older I get, the more I wish it was still 1970..

 

[TimMurphy]

RLeep2 wrote:
I would imagine that one reason that DCNR folks might get prickly about where folks launch, especially in some of the higher traffic state parks in eastern PA, is the herd mentality. Too busy and hence, too much potential lawn and and grounds damage. Not to mention it can make it difficult to discern who has a launch permit as opposed to who (technically) doesn't need one. While I have a permit, I avoid the gravel/concrete launches whenever possible. I have an NRS STAR Pike with hard keels on both ends and it doesn't like concrete or gravel launches.

I spent a couple nights at Little Buffalo a couple years ago. I think next time I'll skip it and just stay at the nearest Hyatt. Roughly the same experience in terms of congestion. But that's just me.. The older I get, the more I wish it was still 1970..

Dear Rleep,

How to you like your Star Pike? I sold our hard shell kayaks because they were a giant PITA. They were too long to throw in the bed of a short bed pickup, and mine was 95 pounds so it was too heavy to cartop. I could do it but it tested the limits of my fun level. So we had a trailer which solved the problems but created new ones. The only time we actually liked the kayaks was when we were paddling, the fore and aft sections of a kayak trip sucked.

At 60 years of age with a wife that is older we need things to be easier and not more difficult. To that end I am considering replacing the kayaks with either 2 Star Pikes or 2 Aquaglide 125 HB Anglers. Or maybe one of each? A lot depends on if anything is ever back in stock?

How do you like your Star Pike? I'm figuring it would be pretty easy to secure to the roof rack on either my car or truck when inflated. I figure I could get both boats on the rack and get back and forth to the lake or stream we want to visit. Is that something you have done?

State Parks on weekends are definitely not the place you want to be now. In the past I've fished Little Buffalo in the Fall with a buddy and we launched our boat on a week day and literally had the entire lake to ourselves. I doubt that would be possible in the modern Covid world, but it would still be better than a weekend.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[RLeep2]

Hi Tim: I traded up in June and sold my older plain NRS Pike to my brother and got the STAR Pike. So far, I'm a little lukewarm with how satisfied I am by comparison, but that may have more to do with getting used to the new yak than anything else. I appreciate the higher seat position; it means better casting position and less wear and tear on my old body. The higher seat and the (slightly) smaller tubes make the Star Pike feel a little more goosey in anything more than a light to moderate chop, but that too may be more perceptual than actual. If sustained winds are forecast to be in excess of 10 mph, I generally won't put it on the water. I could do maybe 12 mph in the older Pike at most, although it wasn't always comfortable. I've had to Aquaseal both of the hard keels on the Star Pike to protect them, but that is probably my own stupidity/lack of common sense. I got very minor wear through to fabric on both keels after a half dozen ill-advised 30-40 foot drags on gravel. None of this of course affects the integrity of the air chambers, but it was a little like getting a new car and immediately denting a fender. Frazzled me.. Otherwise, I like the Star Pike pretty well. Won't set any speed records, but its a fishing yak anyway. Considerably faster than the older Pike at any rate which was a little wider and more squat with no hard internal keels.

I have never transported either of my kayaks on a rack while inflated. Always in the bag and inflate on arrival. NRS says it can be done, but you have to watch the increases in air pressure caused by sun exposure on longer transports. This isn't hard to do or monitor, but it is one more thing I'm required to fuss with and I'm constutionally opposed to excess fussing. Inflation takes about 10-12 minutes with the supplied NRS Super Pump and you have to fadiddle with an air gauge. I'm too hasty for that, so I bought a Bravo 12 volt pump with automatic shut off at pressure. A little pricey, but worth it for me. Inflation now takes about 5 minutes and I'm always on the button for pressure.

I'd recommend the Star Pike to anybody. Very easy to transport, inflate and quick to get on the water. Pretty durable too, not a toy. Holds a lot of gear and has (I think) 5 Scotty mounts if I wanted to get all wrapped up in that stuff. I'm still getting used to it though and I think the more I use it the more I'll like it.