Indestructible Triumph boat stories

[cagrove]

Originally Posted by McSpadden

Dick,

You mean the round metal piece that has the dorsel fin on it? What position is considered normal for it. I have noticed that mine is turned to one side but thought maybe it was supposed to be.

Dave

McSpadden,
Yes, that is what Dick is talking about. Mine is straight, dead center. Each boat is a little different so you may need to tinker with it a little to find the sweet spot for your boat. Just go easy with the adjustments...a little goes a long way. Good luck.

[McSpadden]

Here we go again. I am warning you now, it will be long winded. Pulled out of my driveway for a quick fishing trip this last Friday and within a couple of miles of the house I got rear ended by a Ford Ranger. Say it coming as I had to stop for a car turning left then heard the squeal of tires behind me. Wham!!!! I see the boat coming up towards the bed of the truck. Figured the day, and many others with that boat, was done. I get out, make sure the driver that hit me is okay, and then tell him he can sure ruin a fishing trip. Finally, I get a chance to check out the damage, I had seen the front of his truck so figured the worse. Well, luckily he had swerved over to the far left, hit my right side rear with the drivers 1/4 of his truck missing my motor, totaling his ranger and, dinging my boat. That's right guys, after a heat gun you will never be able to tell he hit me. Unbelievable!!!! Yeah, if I were reading this I would think the same thing. My trailer is trashed, Yes Dick, the one with the brand new axle on it, as well as brand new brake lights as I had put them on a week before. The tongue on the trailer was bent nearly 90 degrees. The strap on the winch looks like someone cut it, had it not been for the chain, I would have probably had the bow of my boat in the back window of the truck. The entire front bumper on the trailer is bent to heck but the boat is fine. Now for the "Rest of the Story." The people in front of me pulled over as witnesses. I did not need them as a deputy was running radar right across the road and saw it all. But while talking with the couple they mentioned, Hey, that's a Triumph!! Seems they own Rivercraft Marine, our local dealer here in Panama City. We look over the boat, all figure it made out fine, and Robert proceeds to tell me to have it towed on over, they will put a new trailer under it. Did just that and was on the water by Noon!!!! Now if I could just say the fish were biting, I did not catch a darn thing but I will say it again boys.

WE OWN ONE TOUGH BOAT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dave

You know Randy, We should get credit for words, I know I don't post a lot but when I do it is a novel!! <G>

[cagrove]

That's amazing! I hope you were able to take some pictures...I'd love to see them. Sorry for your troubles but WOW!

[dkaraluz]

Driving down US 1 in Key Largo I miss the store I wanted to stop at. Get off the road onto the gravel shoulder and using the mirrors on the car (2001 Ford Explorer) I back up. Did not stop untill I hit an utility pole with the boat that I did not see from either mirror. Scratches on the engine but nothing else. BOY, WAS I GLAD I BOUGHT A TRIUMPH!

[MolarBoater]

Here's one.

The first year we owned our 190 Bay, my wife helped me launch the boat on the concrete ramp.

I was use to pulling the boat out of my father's ramp on Fish River which was flat but up here in the Birmingham area, it's quit hilly and most of the lakes are reservoir lakes operated by Alabama Power. Well, the ramps are real steep and so I didn't hook the winch to the bow eye and just ran the boat onto the trailer. I told her to go ahead and pull on up to the parking area. All was fine at first and then she slowed down a little and then gunned it some and ooops....there goes half the boat onto the concrete.

What's even better, is the ramp is surrounded by mobile homes with decks built overlooking the launch and this was on Labor Day weekend! So in about 2 minutes I had no less than 15 guys with beer in hand with me looking at the boat philosophying what must have gone wronge as the male member of my family (me) could not had caused this fiasco! Certainly, if my "wife" hadn't "gunned" it that little extra bit, the boat would had never slid off like this.....even though there was nothing securing the boat to the trailer, like the winch!

Well, now the owner of the ramp walks over and sees that we are not successful in pushing or winching the boat back on and that backing the boat down the concrete back to the water has been ruled out, he offers the use of his tractor which by chance has a lift attached.

So we run a strap beneath the transome and push and winch the boat back onto the trailer, I shake everyone's hand and slip the owner a $50. I assured everyone that I would never "post launch" my boat again eventhough it seems they really enjoyed show.

Since then, I bought a different truck, grew a beard and wear dark sunglasses at the ramp. Oh, and I never pull the boat out of the water without the winch strap clipped into the bow eye!

[braley]

Check the pictures out on this site.

http://www.myfishfinder.com/fishing_...?topic=15191.0

[Jan from Humboldt]

Here's the next best thing...

[palehorse]

Originally Posted by Dick@merrittmarine

True story---, Back in the late 90s, when I was at the factory, I sold 6, 17' boat's to a fish camp in Guadalajara, Mexico. A few months later the owner called and said that his guides were fighting to use the Logics rather than the Fiberglass Pangas. His Guide's said the Logic's attracted fish! He thought that the natural static electricty that the boat's generated, were the reason that guides, using Logics, were catching more fish! Well, from a marketing standpoint, I thought I stumbled on a Gold Mine. I tried to get one of the local Universities to do a study on this phenomenon, even offering the use of a boat for a year. Think about it, If I were succussful, I could advertise that this great new boat is being studied because it catches more fish. If it proved true, the industry would get the word out quickly, If not, The advertising push would have advanced the technology, therefore sales.
Unfortunatly, Universities would not take my offer of the use of a boat without additional funding that we just did not have.

Dick

Convince someone at Triumph to *give* them a boat, particularly a person in authority, and give them the title in *their* name (wink).

That's unfortunately the way the world works, but the outcome of the test, and the resulting sales, will pay for that boat a thousand times over in sales, even if just the slightest detectable difference is found.

Double blind, even the rare "triple blind" study technique *could* possibly yield *some* repeatable variance, even if it is minute. Then, with this study to cover their legal "behind", the marketing dept could really go to town with this!

Make me CEO I will show you how to exploit this feature lol!

First time poster here, proud owner of a 190 bay. Hope to pickup a lot of tips here! I researched this very well before I bought it. Owned aluminums, fiberglass, but never a ropelene boat. So far I love it!

Nice to meet you folks!

[Gentlebear]

Last October I was pulling my boat across country from North Carolina to Washington State. I had purchased an older Dodge Van for the trip. On the morning of the 3rd Day I was coming off the interstate in western Nebraska to get gas when the Transmission blew. I creeped 3 miles into Lodgepole, Nebraska. People were very nice and the most helpful guy was Brian the Local Mechanic. He had me pull the van up to his shop entrance. In 5 minutes he figured out this job was going to have to be done in Ft. Sidney (20 miles away) . The van would not move in Reverse so I was stuck. Then Brian had this brilliant idea of taking his Heavy Duty Case Tractor/Chain up to the boat trailer and pull the whole rig Boat and 450 Van out backwards. I had some trepidation but said go ahead. As we started moving backwards I realized in horror that he was picking up speed way past the 0-1 miles an hour I though he would go. He ran out of driving space when The whole rig was moving at probable 5-10 miles an hour backwards. I then heard the tractor tires lock as Brian brought the Case to a sudden stop followed almost immediately by a horrible loud crunch bang smash sound and the Boat and Van slammed to a stop. I got out and slowly went back to check the damage. All the inertia energy had been taking by the transom/port side at the curve. The boat had struck the metal lift bar on the tractor. The damage was a 4 inch slice and a 2 inch gouge maybe 1/4 deep and 1/2 inch wide. The trailer light port side was busted to but the trailer otherwise was fine. Brian was very apologetic, I gritted my teeth and smiled. "Don't worry accidents happen". That was the beginning of a three day saga that ended with the Van by the side of the Road Again in Cheyenne, Wyoming, only 100 plus miles from Pt. Sidney, Nebraska. The Van is still in Cheyenne as far as I know. U-haul truck got the job of getting "Laughing Dolphin" to her new home in the Pacific Northwest.

[Gentlebear]

Last October I was pulling my boat across country from North Carolina to Washington State. I had purchased an older Dodge Van for the trip. On the morning of the 3rd Day I was coming off the interstate in western Nebraska to get gas when the Transmission blew. I creeped 3 miles into Lodgepole, Nebraska. People were very nice and the most helpful guy was Brian the Local Mechanic. He had me pull the van up to his shop entrance. In 5 minutes he figured out this job was going to have to be done in Ft. Sidney (20 miles away) . The van would not move in Reverse so I was stuck. Then Brian had this brilliant idea of taking his Heavy Duty Case Tractor/Chain up to the boat trailer and pull the whole rig Boat and 450 Van out backwards. I had some trepidation but said go ahead. As we started moving backwards I realized in horror that he was picking up speed way past the 0-1 miles an hour I though he would go. He ran out of driving space when The whole rig was moving at probable 5-10 miles an hour backwards. I then heard the tractor tires lock as Brian brought the Case to a sudden stop followed almost immediately by a horrible loud crunch bang smash sound and the Boat and Van slammed to a stop. I got out and slowly went back to check the damage. All the inertia energy had been taking by the transom/port side at the curve. The boat had struck the metal lift bar on the tractor. The damage was a 4 inch slice and a 2 inch gouge maybe 1/4 deep and 1/2 inch wide. The trailer light port side was busted to but the trailer otherwise was fine. Brian was very apologetic, I gritted my teeth and smiled. "Don't worry accidents happen". That was the beginning of a three day saga that ended with the Van by the side of the Road Again in Cheyenne, Wyoming, only 100 plus miles from Pt. Sidney, Nebraska. The Van is still in Cheyenne as far as I know. U-haul truck got the job of getting "Laughing Dolphin" to her new home in the Pacific Northwest.