My first boat....forgot plug....oops!!

[vhuevos7]

Re: My first boat....forgot plug....oops!!

I am part of the forgot the plug club as well. I have had my boat for five years and have always put the plug in, then one day i put the boat in drove all the way to the marina for gas and still didnt snap. My brother in law tells me after i put gas in " hey john why are your life vest pushing the center cover up". I was so embarresed cause i had to jump into the water infront of about ten people right there at the marina. Well at least now I know how long the plug can be out and that foam works it really works

 

[monk-monk]

Re: My first boat....forgot plug....oops!!

Yep, I've done too, except in my case i payed the price instead of the boat! I had just washed and waxed my boat before heading to the lake...well, i had taken the plug out and forgot to put it back in, once the boat was in the water i turned and looked back to see the water pouring in...I grabbed the plug and ran to the back of the boat thinking i could just lay on the stern deck and reach down and install it...WELL, when my belly it that freshly waxed surface i flew in the water face first, beat my forehead off the prop (thank god the motor wasn't running)...knocked my glasses off, big gash in my forehead from the edge of the prop...felt like an idiot, took 20 min to find my glasses...Got that all straightened out and went fishing...That'll make ya remember the plug everytime out!!!

 

[DrWiffel]

Re: My first boat....forgot plug....oops!!

I'm surprised that some of you don't take your plug out every time... I know here in MN it's the law that it has to be removed to help fight against invasive species. Wouldn't want to get caught with that one. I'm sure the new law has led to more boats sinking this year though . Once you're in the habit, it becomes second nature. (though I have always removed the plug at the ramp, and yes I forgot to put it in before too)

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: My first boat....forgot plug....oops!!

I'm surprised that some of you don't take your plug out every time... I know here in MN it's the law that it has to be removed to help fight against invasive species. Wouldn't want to get caught with that one. I'm sure the new law has led to more boats sinking this year though . Once you're in the habit, it becomes second nature. (though I have always removed the plug at the ramp, and yes I forgot to put it in before too)

Yep, I got burned by that new MN law. Effective July 1, 2010.

Up until then I never took the plug out (keep boat garaged when not in use), but the new law requires that the drain hole be uncovered when towing. Yesterday I launched the boat with my son behind the helm. He motored off shore while I parked the trailer, then I helped someone coming in at the dock and then my son finally motored up to the dock and picked me up.

We headed out through the no-wake zone and into deeper water while talking about where we wanted to fish. We took a minute to scan the lake for other traffic and get a bearing on the other boaters. My son put the hammer down and the best we could do was 8 mpg and the boat wouldn't get up on plane.

I turned around and saw that the wake looked odd directly behind the motor, saw a thin line of water coming in ahead of the rear battery compartment, and then it hit me. The drain plug!! We trained for this when we got the boat new a couple of years ago. Son stopped the boat and turned on the bilge pump, I leaned over the 25" transom, found the plug on its tether wire, installed it and tightened it up. It only took about 10 minutes to empty out the bilge. From there we fished for 2 1/2 hours.

Upon returning home I used our carpet cleaning machine to get rid of any lake water in the rear of the boat interior, and this morning I used it again as a shampooer (using just hot water, no shampoo chemicals) to clean the entire interior. Also cleaned the battery compartment and the in-floor rod storage compartment. Left all of the compartment doors open for now. It looks and smells new again.

So, yeah, I just joined the "Forgot the Plug Club," a distinction I was once proud of avoiding. -Ken

 

[swandogg]

Re: My first boat....forgot plug....oops!!

Here is a tip. Put an extra plug, one with the round hole on the end, on the key for the boat. This way you will always be reminded when starting the boat and have an extra in case close by if something happens.

 

[Brinman7]

Re: My first boat....forgot plug....oops!!

I always wanted a boat. So one weekend about three months ago I took my wifes uncles boat out. First time ever I had a boat out by myself. Well I got it in the water and headed across the lake. I noticed it just wasnt going, I mean i had it to the floor. I was freaking out, so I pulled the engine cover back and saw about four or five inches of water in the bottom. Then I remembered him saying something aboput a plug. I thought for a minute and remembered I have something in my car that he said " Dont forget to put this in". I turned the boat around, turned the pump on and hauled a** back to the ramp. Jumped out of boat and ran to car and got plug. I remember telling myself "If I drop this in water I am screwed" luckily I got in and had a great rest of the day on the lake. Since then I have gotten my own boat and to this day I have not forgotten the plug.

 

[40fathomsdeep]

Re: My first boat....forgot plug....oops!!

I could fiil up a whole book with friends and my own experiences with plugs and swamping. Here's one: One morning I went down to the ramp to see who went out. I saw my friend Mike launching, so i figure i'll hang around awhile. "I'll stay out of his way cause every one man setup has their own routine when they launch", I thought. So I'm sitting on the wall watching him drive out around the big rock you have to avoid about halfway out when he does a quick u-turn and flies it back yelling something to me and waving his hands. I realize he's yelling "Back up my truck, back up my truck!!" So I do and he drives right onto his trailer. By this time I am already thinking plug.. Long story short, he was in the water all but 5 mins, and it took over an hour for the water to drain out of a hole the size of a nickel..(his boat is only 15' power skiff)

 

[xeddog]

Re: My first boat....forgot plug....oops!!

I have never left the plug in when towing anyway, but now it's also illegal in California to tow your boat with the plug in.

I have forgotten the plug on two occasions in over 20+ years of boating, and both times I was by myself. It was over the side for me both times. *%@#&$ Sacramento river is cold in the winter too. Not as cold as you in the north might experience, but cold just the same.

Wayne

 

[monk-monk]

Re: My first boat....forgot plug....oops!!

The first (and only time) i left the plug out, i was in a panic too...thought i was gonna sink my boat and lose everything! Being somewhat new to boating design, i had no idea that boat manufactures installed flotation foam in the hulls of boats...I discovered that when replacing a weak section of my floor...it is amazing the things we learn as we go about our projects...SO, when doing my new floor i removed the old foam blocks and stuffed the hull with 35 of the PE foam noodles (purchased at Dollar General for a buck a piece)...NOW there is very little space left in the hull that could hold water...theres so much foam in the hull that it leaves very little room for any water...because of this ratio between flotation foam and the little amount of space left in the hull that could take on water i have no worries at all...!! Infact, i would not be one bit scared to put this boat in the water WITHOUT even putting the plug in!! One of these PE noodles will hold my 150 lb brother chest high out of the water when sitting on it...if each noodle will hold 100 lb's then i figure 35 of them will support floating a 3500 lb craft...way above what my '72 Glastron V 166 plus the Mercury 1150 motor weighs...SO, if i forget to put the plug in before launching...no worries Mate...I can put it in when i get to my favorite cove and go for a swim...LOL..!! Seriously, it would take a ton of weight to even try to sink this boat..!!

 

[cellachdean]

Re: My first boat....forgot plug....oops!!

This Just happened to Me, it was a busy sunny Mothers Day in North Vancouver, me and my wife were qued up and waiting to launch, she removed a transom tie as did I, we made sure we had the boat key, and voila we noticed that it was out turn. In an attempt to get the boat in without unnecessary delay I backed it the boat and trailer with great skill and haste. I was feeling very good about my efficiency. I got in the boat started her up and it took first time and was running very well; also a great feeling, as it was the first time out it was a bit difficult to unstick it from my rollers so we it was on the trailer for a about 5 min while we tried to get it loose. When finally it was free i put it in reverse and started to the dock, I remember thinking it seemed to need a lot more reverse throttle that usual; that is when I saw the water coming up to the rear of the seat base behind me. I looked forward in hopes to see my trailer still on the ramp. Alas it was out of sight and there was another boat launching. I flicked on the bilge pump and had a momentary panic. I recall thinking where is all the water coming in, then it came to me "farking drain plug? That?s when I shut the motor off grabbed the plug and went over the stern, I remember trying to find the plug hole with my finger before i could see the hole. I managed to get it finger tight before I rose to the surface and climbed in to get the crescent wrench which was corroded just enough to make it impossible to adjust, I found that the wrench would only fit on in one way, which was unpleasing while under water. With plug in I climbed back into the boat and got it to the dock. I let it bilge until it was mostly empty got the trailer and tried to run the boat back to the trailer, it ran for about a min before everything died. I had to use the kicker to get back to the trailer. I am hopeful that the damage is minimal but a little concerned that there could be some extensive damage to the electrical and motor especially because it was salt water. Oh yeah to add insult to injury i had my iphone and iPod in my pocket as I leapt into the salt chuck. Let?s hope that the insurance company is easy to deal with.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: My first boat....forgot plug....oops!!

6 years later...

what people don't remember in a panic is that any piece of rubber or flexible plastic held over the drain hole will stop the sinking with just the water pressure, even a plastic bag.

 

[Davem3]

Re: My first boat....forgot plug....oops!!

no worries, there are two types of people here:

A) people who have forgotten the plug.............

B) and people who have done, just too chicken to admit it

welcome aboard, ummmmmmmmmm after we get the water out, that is