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launching the boat mishap this weekend

Just1more

Jetboaters Commander
Messages
285
Reaction score
242
Points
192
Location
Darien,il
Boat Make
Yamaha
Year
2021
Boat Model
242X E-Series
Boat Length
25
Wife and I went down to the marina to put the boat back in the slip after having one more stereo upgrade completed. I back the trailer/boat down the ramp as usual. Once in the water, I climb up in the boat to start the engines. My wife starts to loosen the winch strap so that she can get the hook off the boat. She couldn't get the hook latch to open. I crawled over the bow and also tried but the latch was stuck. I turned back into the boat to grab a pair of pliers and feel the boat slipping off trailer into the water. I look up and my wife is standing next to the winch as the winch spins rapidly. I notice the boat is still attached to the winch. My wife is holding her arm. She kept messing with the hook on the boat and didn't lock the winch arm down. Lost her grip and wham. The winch arm spun are and hit her. I get the boat released and put in out slip while the wife pulled the trailer around. I went up to meet her and I could tell she was in pain. 3 hours later we were having our daughters bday party at home and she decided not to go to emergency room. Sunday morning....immediate care, xrays, hair line fracture between elbow and wrist. BE CAREFUL. We have launched tons of times, but one moment of not thinking.........
 
I have seen those stinkin winches break several wrists and hurt a lot of people while I was in the AirForce.

Some of our utility trailers had the winches to lower and raise the ramp, people would start to lower it and after the ramp started leaning back there was no stopping it, of course non experienced people would try to stop the handle (even some experienced people would grab for it out of reflex).
 
@Just1more sorry to hear about your wife's injury, hope she heels quickly and doesn't loose the desire to help with launching/recovering the boat.
 
Good reminder for us all.

Glad she was not more seriously hurt. Certainly could have been (myself, I probably would have had my face down there closely examining the mechanism...). Quick healing to her!
 
Ouch!
Hope it heals quickly and (relatively) painlessly...

(BTW, amazing how often a serious accident is preceded by a moment of distraction from a routine we've performed many many times, isn't it? So easy to forget that some of the things we use every day can bite you in a second.)
 
@Just1more my wife and I had a little mishap this weekend her arm got pinned but quickly freed no serious harm... sorry to hear about your wife's injury ...wishing her all the best.
Thanks for sharing. We will be mindful of that.
 
sorry to hear that, thanks for the reminder,
 
Ouch, hopefully she's not still in too much pain. Thanks for the heads up.
 
Ouch, that is terrible!
 
Sorry to hear that. Hope she gets back at it soon.
 
I hope she feels better quick! My wife had the same thing happen to her last season. Luckily she didn't get hit by the handle.
 
Sorry to hear about her mishap....I got whacked by our old boat winch once when we were launching on a really steep ramp....is started to spin and I just didnt move out of the way fast enough.
 
I reached over the bow to loosen the winch on our third time launching the boat and did the exact same thing! I feel her pain, but she is not alone. One thing I know for sure is, you only do that once. I think about it EVERY time I grab that winch handle.
 
That happened to me on a very steep ramp into the Ohio river about three years ago. Slapped me right across my hand. Although nothing was broken, two of my fingers were so bruised, it took almost two years to heal completely. Lesson learned.
 
Wife and I went down to the marina to put the boat back in the slip after having one more stereo upgrade completed. I back the trailer/boat down the ramp as usual. Once in the water, I climb up in the boat to start the engines. My wife starts to loosen the winch strap so that she can get the hook off the boat. She couldn't get the hook latch to open. I crawled over the bow and also tried but the latch was stuck. I turned back into the boat to grab a pair of pliers and feel the boat slipping off trailer into the water. I look up and my wife is standing next to the winch as the winch spins rapidly. I notice the boat is still attached to the winch. My wife is holding her arm. She kept messing with the hook on the boat and didn't lock the winch arm down. Lost her grip and wham. The winch arm spun are and hit her. I get the boat released and put in out slip while the wife pulled the trailer around. I went up to meet her and I could tell she was in pain. 3 hours later we were having our daughters bday party at home and she decided not to go to emergency room. Sunday morning....immediate care, xrays, hair line fracture between elbow and wrist. BE CAREFUL. We have launched tons of times, but one moment of not thinking.........
@Just1more , I'm really sorry about your wife's injury.
 
Hoping for a speedy recovery, and sorry to hear of her about the injury.
 
Sorry to hear about your mishap. I went with Ramp N Clamp. It might help avoid this.
 
Does anyone use silicone spray on their winches and cables? Ever since I started doing that I have had absolutely no issues even after parked for the winter.
if it might help prevent lockups it might be worth the 1 mn it takes to apply after getting home every trip.

Here is s link to what I use:
http://wd40specialist.com/products/silicone-lubricant/
 
ouch ! Hope she gets better soon....accidents happen to us all.
 
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