Senior Trailer Sailor Loses Control of Cruising Dinghy I had a task to perform! Simply to put my Dinghy of Dreams on her trailer and take her out of the water
I have about 40 (forty) years of experience living aboard boats. My first command as a trailer-sailor has arrived. I reason that it cannot be that hard to take a dinghy out of the water. So, I way anchor (all by me one-sies)—and I row my Dinghy over to the crab dock while the crab fleet is out.
I have never backed up a trailer before even so—I feel that I can do this (all by me one-sies). So I put the trailer’s tongue on the trailer hitch ball and the darn thing will not cooperate by slipping into its proper place. ARRRGH! It is not working this is a good time to practice nasty sailor language, so I jump and grumble using nasty sailor talk.
ARRRGH! That has been loads of fun, but I am not getting the job done, so I sit down on the trailer tongue I look at the top of the tongue wondering what the lever thing attached to it is. I try to turn it. ARRRGH! It isn’t turning. I cannot help but to keep wondering what that thing is! I wonder what would happen if I were to lift it? So I lift it and almost fall on me fantail and at the same time the trailer falls into place. Aha! I have done it (all by me one-sies)! Let’s see. I am still trying to figure out how to back up a trailer. “Aha!” I tell myself, “I can do this!” Then off goes the van with Dingy (me) at the helm. I get it into position well enough to let the comedy of errors begin. “Aye,” I say’s I to myself, I want it to go to port and it goes starboard!”
So I get out of the van and pull the trailer around by hand, I have been at this for a good 20 minutes, and I’m still not getting the trailer into the water.
The bartender and the customers at the Marina are laughing their poop decks off at my inability to put a trailer into the water. I pull the trailer by hand to line it up with the water and back it almost straight.
The Dinghy is now ready to load and I have done it (all by me one-sies)! So then off I go! It seems as though the fender is scraping on the tiers. I decide to remove the fender. “That should keep it from scraping and causing a blow-out!”
I remove the fender, what am I to do with the nuts and bolts; I put them back onto the fender.
Remembering the nuts and bolts, whoops it seems as though they are supposed to hold the axle onto the trailer. I travel a hundred yards before I figure that out. It’s a good thing that I have the boat strapped onto the trailer, or she would have fallen off and onto the road. As I look into the rear-view mirror, I see the Dinghy leaning to the port side. The frame on the trailer is bent down and is dragging on the ground. I have a serious problem and I have created it (all by me one-sies)! For more Adventures of Admiral Dingy go to admiraldinghy.com! By Admiral Dingy
