Bow mount PD-55 deploys while running WOT!

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Johny25

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This is why I do not like having people in my boat. I have always liked fishing alone except when it comes to my 2 boys (because they have been taught the right way) and yesterday was another example of why! After a few months of being bugged about taking him fishing I reluctantly decided to take a buddy of mine out in my boat. Something I wasn't looking forward too. I have been down this road before with friends that insist they are good fisherman and know what they are doing. Well after several hours of babysitting him in the boat (watching him lose fish to bad knots, snagging my line, stepping on poles, running his line into my trolling motor....etc) I decided to call it a day! Now I had went over several times how to put the TM up in the locked position and explained how important it was to make sure it was locked in. Had even caught it once before not locked in before take off. But on the last trip back to the shore in my frustration I hadn't looked close enough at the TM to be sure he had put it up correctly #-o. I mean how hard is it really! Your a 43yr old man for god's sake! Not even 2 min later with the boat on full plane and about 27-28mph I watched in horror as what seemed to be like slow motion my brand new PD-V2 ipilot stood up and started to deploy :shock: . I couldn't stop the boat fast enough obviously and she hit the water at what I would guess about 22mph. I was just hoping that she wasn't going to rip off the bow [-o< . Thank god it didn't for we were in 200' of water and I would never get her back. Water flew all over us and the boat like at the freakin wave pool. When the boat came to a stop I hurried to the bow to check the damage.......something was clearly bent because after pulling the motor back up she was not laying correctly anymore :evil:. It was all I could do not to throw him out of my boat and make him swim to shore. Once back at the launch, as he was walking to his car he says "anytime you need someone to go out with ya give me a call". Not a chance in hell :lol:. That was the last friend I will allow in my boat.....lesson learned again. Just my boys and I from here on out.

This was partly my fault because I knew after the first hour that I couldn't count on him to do anything properly and I should have locked the motor in myself. Just remember a bad fishing trip can also ruin friendships :(
 
Oh and thanks for reading my rant if you made it through the whole thing. The bow cap on my boat is bent up so the trolling motor sits at an angle as of now. The motor seemed to have faired pretty well surprisingly enough. But the bolts that went through my gunnels are bent, the bow plate is bent upward and the gunnels themselves have indents from the bolts bending up. Not un-fixable but not something I wanted to do or ever should have had to do.
 
What a bummer!

My GF's brother keeps insisting that I could use his boat anytime I want to if I want to fish off shore. I don't think so. His boat brand new would cost upward of $50,000 from what I understand. I have ridden with him before but I keep my hands and fingers off of everything!
 
Johnny sorry to hear about your incident that just sucks!

I know excatly how you feel, I have a friend whom I fished with on the shore all the time, not really a problem other than getting our lines crossed once in a while.

When I first bought the boat, I showed him a picture of it sitting on the ramp when I was test driving it, he tells me that it's backed to far in the water, & since he has also had ideas as to what I should or should not to with the boat. Needless to say he has never been out with me in the boat and I haven't been fishing with him since I bought the boat & if I do it will be from the shore.

I only carry one PFD so when someone says something about going with me I just say sorry I don't have enough floatation devices. The only person who has ever been out with me is my wife, she has her own PFD that is kept in the house and not on the boat.

I do have 2 very close friends that I would take out on the boat but that is about it. I really enjoy the peace and quite and solitude when I am out fishing. Now if I could just get rid of the pleasure boaters and jet skiers life would be good.
 
I have done a lot of shore fishing in the past with friends but the good thing is you can walk 50ft away from a friend on the shore :lol: but my boat isn't that big. My stepdaughters new boyfriend has been bugging me also to go out in my boat, I am probably just going to have to hurt his feelers and say NO now. I can't go through another day like that in my "sanctuary of life" fishing boat.

I am a firm believer that fishing in a boat is something you keep in the family, whether it is father/son, wife/hubby, father/daughter, brother/brother....etc.

So do ya think the stepdaughters boyfriend constitutes family?
 
Johny25 said:
So do ya think the stepdaughters boyfriend constitutes family?

Yeah, take the guy out for a fun trip, you don't want to turn into the cranky old man this soon.
 
Wonder if they make straight jacket PFD's? Just so he couldn't touch anything in the boat :lol:

Oh and I forgot to mention that my buddy caught more fish yesterday than he had ever caught before, even landing a 10 pound pike which was the biggest fish of his life. We had to stop the boat for almost a half hour to get enough good pics on his smart phone so he could text them to all his friends........ oh the drama. Wonder if there is an app for teaching people how to stow a bow mount :lol:
 
Sorry for this reply but...when your Captain your Captain...
 
Johny? You know what you will do: take the kid out, be STRICTLY clear on behavior instructions, and tell him the old story:

"An old farmer married a young bride. They left the chapel, got in the buggy, and started driving home.

The horse stumbled on the road. The farmer said, "that's once." His bride looked at him strangely, but caught up in the whole marriage thing, decided to keep her peace.

Down the road a bit, the horse stumbled again. The farmer said, "That's twice."

Again, his new-wife looked at him, but just settled back in her seat and stayed quiet.


A little further on, the horse stumbled a third time. The farmer said, "That's three times," got out, pulled a revolver from under the seat, walked up, and shot the horse.

Aghast, the bride watched, and then let loose with a tirade about the how were they to get home now, did he appreciate how much a horse cost, and what in the world would possess him to do such a thing?"


Slowly, the farmer turned his head towards her and said:

"That's once."


:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:


Some folks are just too ... let's call it "casual"... to be trusted with the use, or proximity to your equipment. I've seen it in business, motorcycling, hunting (!), and almost all other areas of living.

I used to call it a "one strike" at-bat. A person gets one chance to do right.


Hang in. Glad it wasn't much worse.
 
Sometimes fishing can ruin a friendship for the better.

I took a guy who claimed to bass fish. He showed up without a rod, treated himself to my lures, lost probably $20 worth, and didn't offer to pitch in on gas or beer.

When ppl ask me now I just simply tell them only if they have their own gear.
 
Hard way to find out how tough Minn Kota trolling motors are . :shock: There must be something to the composite shaft they use rather than metal.

I have never taken anyone but family fishing, and a couple of them I only took once :LOL2:
 
River said:
Sorry for this reply but...when your Captain your Captain...

So true River, and I know better trust me. I was a tugboat captain for several years and I know in the end it is the captains responsibility no matter what.

Yes Kismet the kid and I are going to have a nice talk while I am out there with him......and there is no cell phone service in one of my favorite fishing holes :wink:

Loggerhead Mike said:
Sometimes fishing can ruin a friendship for the better.

I took a guy who claimed to bass fish. He showed up without a rod, treated himself to my lures, lost probably $20 worth, and didn't offer to pitch in on gas or beer.

When ppl ask me now I just simply tell them only if they have their own gear.

The moment I saw my $900 TM start to deploy I would have gladly thrown a few hundred dollars of my fishing gear into the water at the lake god so as to not take my motor :lol:

gillhunter said:
Hard way to find out how tough Minn Kota trolling motors are . :shock: There must be something to the composite shaft they use rather than metal.

I have never taken anyone but family fishing, and a couple of them I only took once :LOL2:

Yes that composite shaft is straight as an arrow still. This incident says a lot about the toughness of Minnekota motors. I can't see or find anything wrong with it at all. The boat took the only damage that I can see.
 
Kinda funny when I think about it - my best hunting partner and I don't hang out at all, talk only a few times a year, and have zero issues co-habiting a cramped tent for weeks in crap conditions. We actually look forward to it. A good friend I shoot with regularly and know family I could just strangle before we even get into the woods.

Same with fishing - great friends don't always make good fishing partners (which is why he has HIS boat, and I have mine... :lol: ).
 
Johny25 said:
So do ya think the stepdaughters boyfriend constitutes family?

I think not, wouldn't become family until they got engaged, til then he's just a boyfriend. If I liked the guy I might take him out once but with rules before we left the ramp.

Sometimes being the old crouch is a good thing.. :lol:
 
Yeah gramps to be honest he is a great kid with a good head on his shoulders. I say kid but he is 25 so not exactly a kid in the true sense. Fact is, he is the first real man she has ever brought home. He is honest, respectful, hard working, has a firm handshake, has good morals and values, and looks me straight in the eye when we have conversation. If he marries her someday she will be a lucky lady, so I think he deserves at least one shot in the boat with me eh. But I will have the "what happens in the boat stays in the boat" talk with him before we leave the launch :lol:
 
Johny25 said:
Yeah gramps to be honest he is a great kid with a good head on his shoulders. I say kid but he is 25 so not exactly a kid in the true sense. Fact is, he is the first real man she has ever brought home. He is honest, respectful, hard working, has a firm handshake, has good morals and values, and looks me straight in the eye when we have conversation. If he marries her someday she will be a lucky lady, so I think he deserves at least one shot in the boat with me eh. But I will have the "what happens in the boat stays in the boat" talk with him before we leave the launch :lol:

In that case you definitely want to encourage him to stay around, those types are few and far between these days. Give him a ride.....
 
I'm sorry to hear that your experience totally...well...sucked. I am glad to hear that no massive dammage was done and, more importantly, no one got hurt.

I hear ya on going on the water with other (inexperienced) people. I usually go out fishin' with 2-3 buddied and or kids and EVERYONE knows how to handle themselves on my boat. My boat is my baby, they all know that, and know not to screw anything up.

I hope that you find a good fishin' buddy some day, one who respects your stuff as much as you do. When I read your last statement of him asking you for a call to go again...I was really hoping that it was going to be him offering to replace your TM.

Sorry bro, best of luck in the future.
 
Actually I have the 2 best fishing buddies I could ask for :D One is 6 yrs old and the other is 3, they are a little green behind the ears but my 6 yr old handles himself better than most adults in a boat already. I am grooming them so that one day I will sit in the front and do nothing but fish. They will take me to the fish, tie my knots, take my fish off, pack the lunches and change my diapers :lol:
 
I enjoy introducing friends and family to fishing - which means I take people out on the boat that have no clue what they are doing.

I know that and don't expect them to do anything but enjoy themselves.
 

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