Who has the Safest tin?

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jigngrub said:
How long does it take you to notice that you've launched without the drain plug in?... and do you panic when you realize it?
The last time we launched a boat, we forgot to put the plug in. My rod tip was hanging over the side, my buddy freaked, proceeded to pull the boat in, ran my basically brand new St. Croix rod into one of the pilings of the dock, broke the last 2ft off:( Not a good way to start a fishing trip...
 
Went fishing with a buddy that forgot to put his plug in on his 20' tri-hull. We made it out of the launch and had just started to leave when I noticed the back was way lower than the front and he was having a bear of a time trying to get on plane.

He freaked out and almost stopped the boat - it took some ugly words for him to keep the boat moving while I tore the glove box apart looking for the plug (finally found it under his seat of all places). With the bilge and a bit of fuel we were clear again.

He now double checks before he launches. :D

C
 
closes ive ever been was it still on the trailer and looking in the bilge area and going oh s*** and pulling the truck up quick lol. We noticed it early so nothing really got in the boat except like 2 in if water in the back bilge. That is the worst feeling though lol
 
I forgot once, on my second trip with the tracker. Mine had ALOT of water in it. We launched the boat and pulled it up on the beach. At that point I realized I left the trolling motor battery at home. #-o I unhooked the trailer and drove home, grabbed the battery and went back, about 15 mins. Once I hooked up the battery we realized we couldn't push the boat off the shore. The bilge pump ran for over 10 mins @ 1000 gph.
I also now keep a spare plug on a chain in the bilge area.
 
I'm not sure who has the safest tin, but an experience I had last year convinced me not to remove flotation from any boat I own. My wife and I were on a week long fishing trip last summer. We came in from fishing one morning, tied up at the dock at the cabin we were staying at and decided that we needed to run into town and get some supplies. My wife was the last one out of the boat and I asked her to turn off the live well pump. It had a 3 position rocker switch, Auto - Off - Manual. (can you see were this is going?).

We return a couple of hours later and I glance out to the boat and something really looks wrong. I run out to the dock and the boat is full of water almost up to the casting decks. I figure some how the plug can out (I had a spare in the boat) and I check it and it is still in. I turn around and look at the console and the green light is on, on the live well switch. Of course she had not stopped at Off, but at Manual, and even though the live well had a overflow tube the output of the pump over powered it. The battery compartment was flooded, but the flotation had kept the powerhead on the engine out of the water. I shut off the live well pump and turned on the bilge pump and after about two hours the boat was pumped out, the engine fired back up, and we were good to go, no harm no foul.

Of course it was my fault :LOL2:
 
did it once, many years ago. ever since, I write on my transom saver " drain plug stupid" with bright yellow marker. also reminds me to remove the plug before heading home.
 
I have a check list I go over before I go fishing and one of the first things I do is put the drain plug in before I leave the house. I've probably jinxed myself now. #-o
 
gillhunter said:
I'm not sure who has the safest tin, but an experience I had last year convinced me not to remove flotation from any boat I own.

Yeah, that's where I was going with this thread.

My Tracker Deep V has so much foam in it I can launch the boat and water will never come out of the deck drain. I have fished all day without the plug in and never realized it until I take the boat out of the water on the trailer and see water gushing out of the bilge drain like a firehose. :oops:

DSC02206.jpg
 
It usually only takes one good scare with forgetting to put the plug in to burn into your brain how important it is.

Like someone said earlier, I also have the plug I use on a chain attached to the boat. I carry a spare with my safety gear as well. My Dad taught me that.

Which brings me to another pt concerning safety.....Although most people when they get their boat make sure they have all the required safety gear like Fire ext, flares, horn, whistle, and of course life jackets and throwables, etc. Its important to check some of that stuff and replace as needed. I have heard horror stories of fire ext. not working when they are needed. You might go all your life and not need to use one on your boat. But if you ever do you are going to want it to work. Its also important to know how to use it too..

Since were talking safety....When you have someone new on your boat I always give them a little safety brief to let them know where we are going, where all the safety gear is, how to use it, too. I also let them know that "this aint no tour boat". They will need to help out a little in certain circumstances like launching and recovery, shoving off, docking etc. Nothing is worse than coming up to a dock and your passenger just sits there when they could be grabbing a line or the dock itself. If its someone that has never been on a boat I let them drive a little too. That way they can really get the feel for it and not be freaked out when the boat leans into a turn.
 
I carry a little 1st aid kit, also have one of those small portable shock blankets. Of course fire extinguisher and some other stuff.
 
jigngrub said:
How long does it take you to notice that you've launched without the drain plug in?... and do you panic when you realize it?
never paniced, on my boat i just go wot and the water in the boat gets sucked out darn near dry as a bone, a little tricky gettin the plug in at full throttle when your alone though and not the safest thing ive done. oh yeah its happened to me about a half dozen times......
 
A spare plug isnt a bad idea. Had some gas leak from a can in the back of the boat one time on the way home. So we changed cans for our next trip out but when we got there we realized that the gas made our plug almost double in size... Had to pound it in from the back of the boat with a 2x4 and hope it didnt pop outta there.
 

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