As mentioned before, I grew up in a family boat dealership where at a young age we learned about life jackets, swimming and propellers. For me the whole boat process was just part of growing up. There were lessons learned every time we went to the lake.

For example, I learned how to drive a truck with a trailer and how to back down the ramp. I also know what it is like to get all the way to the lake and realize that you forgot the keys to the boat.

In the “old days,” boats could be “hot-wired” easily. I’m not saying this happened a lot, but it has happened. Of course, the key issue is not unique to the boating industry. I was sent to pick up an airplane once and we didn’t have the keys. You only needed about five different keys and you had access to most of the airplanes on the ramp.

A lot of those “lessons” I learned on my own. It was nothing for my dad to send us to get a boat or trailer and back it down the drive. We were expected to watch, learn and be ready.

Looking back, I think I took those lessons for granted. Through the years I have met many people who still can’t back a trailer or unload a boat in a timely manner. Despite owning a boat, they block the ramp for hours because they never learned how.

It’s easy to look up how to do things. I had a friend who was buying a 25-foot “trailerable” sailboat. He wanted to buy a full-size SUV and he thought he did, but I kept telling him a Durango is not a full-size SUV. But the Internet and the online boating forums were filled with “keyboard” know-it-all’s who convinced him he didn’t need a big vehicle, but only needed to worry about the towing capacity.

His boat was a shoal keel (short, only 4-foot), which made the boat sit very tall on the trailer. Plus, it was longer than his vehicle and it caught a lot of wind. Yes, the Durango towing capacity was high enough for the boat, but the Durango didn’t have the weight and stability to be a safe tow vehicle.

My friend should have received some sort of a lesson when he bought it and I blame the boat dealer. The dealer sold him the boat and pitched it to him as easy to tow, rig and launch. I helped him once and it was not a trailerable boat. It was more of a “relocatable” boat. No one would not want to drive this setup every weekend. It was a handful on the highway and would take a day just to get the boat ready to launch.

I don’t think our industry is helping. For example, our marina, like many others around the country, offers a valet service. The owner calls the marina and they launch the boat for them. It’s a nice service I guess, but I have watched a boat with people on board pushed down the ramp by a tractor and launched into the water. The owners have never done it themselves. I also know people who rent boats and have never owned one. They get checked out with minimal instruction, then pushed back from the dock.

I’m not saying valet service or renting a boat is bad, but I do think we are creating a unique type of inexperienced boater. Next time you are at the ramp, look around and see what’s happening.

There are lots of ways to help a new or inexperienced owner. That old line of, “See something, say something,” might be appropriate. Good helpful tips, advice or even an extra hand can go a long way.

What brought this up? Recently news reported a person fell overboard at our lake and drowned. I don’t have all the details, but it has all the signs of inexperienced boaters on a fully loaded pontoon.

It is just a reminder that some of us take the lessons we learn for granted. There are many boaters who don’t have those experiences or the training, but they have the boat. I think it’s up to those of us who know, to help those who do not.