JACK THE KNIFE

As the scene opens, Jack pulls his rig adroitly to the top of the ramp and shifts into reverse to back the trailer into the water. But things go terribly wrong. The trailer yaws wildly from side to side. Jack hangs out the window, looking backward while desperately spinning the wheel one way and then the other in a futile struggle to correct his zigzag decent.

Trailer boats in adjacent lanes look on in fright, and some take flight as Jack’s trailer threatens to collide first with one rig and then another. In the grand finale, the truck and trailer jackknife at a shocking angle that leaves the audience on the edge of their lawn chairs.

But like all good comedies, this one has a happy ending. A friendly onlooker who is also a veteran trailer boater offers to lend a hand. He coaches on the proper technique for backing down a trailer. Jack’s subsequent success earns him a round of hardy applause from the ramp gallery.