Got swamped tonight...

[hibbert6]

After viewing fireworks on the lake with a million other boaters, I took a big wake over the bow on my trip back to dock. As my boat is a 15' triHull with an outboard, there is no bilge pump. The water filled my in-floor bait well (a big fiberglass bowl) and the fuel tank area at the stern, which might be part of the plywood floor underneath the carpet.

I bailed out half the bait well and 90% of the standing water in the stern. I know that what I really need to do is get the boat onto the trailer and pull the plug to let it drain, but the ramps are busy as heck tonight and I'm not thrilled about trying to get the boat onto the trailer in the dark. There's no water standing in the boat, with the exception of a little at the stern. But the entire floor is carpet over glassed plywood and the carpet is wet. My question is, is it going to hurt my boat to wait until morning to get it out of the water and drain it?

Dave

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Got swamped tonight...

the method for draining in a situation like that is. if you have access to the drain plug,from inside. start the engine, put in gear, get the bow up, and pull the drain plug. the water will have less resistance on the outside of the transon, and the boat will drain dry. reinsert drain plug before slowing down.

 

[tfbrown1270]

Re: Got swamped tonight...

td is absolutely correct....
My 14 ft lund fishing boat was flooded and about 6 inches from sinking (from a weeks worth of thunderstorms and torrential rain in NW Ontario) because it was full of water when I got to the lake this past weekend.
I bailed until I could get in the boat without sinking it from my weight and fired up the Johnson 9.9 (the fuel tank was floating in the middle of the boat) and eased onto the lake. When I was sure I could give it WOT without capsizing I pulled the drain plug and cruised around for about 10-15 minutes while the boat drained itself...
I wasn't sure at first whether the water was going out of the boat or coming in so I was ready to beach the boat if need be if I got into trouble
but it worked like a charm...the lighter the boat got thje faster it went and the faster it drained.

 

[thurps]

Re: Got swamped tonight...

I occasionally get a little water over the stern of my 13' Boston Whaler. Turning around and scooping out water is a pain so I went to Wally World and bought a 500 GPM bilge pump for about $10.00. Works like a charm. I just pump the water into the motor well that self drains.

 

[thurps]

Re: Got swamped tonight...

Sorry, that would be GPH.

 

[BF]

Re: Got swamped tonight...

ditto... on my Dad's 15' trihull we had to do that technique relative regularly. It would get swamped while beached if a storm came up and the waves broke over the transom. We'd bail it out till it floated again, then go for about a 20 min cruise (just above planing speed, bow high) with the plug pulled.

By the way, just because it's a 15' boat doesn't mean that you can't/shouldn't have a bilge pump! I have a cheapo (~$20) bilge pump in my 16' tinnie (that actually doesn't have a "bilge". It's a big rain catcher and it's faster and easier to flip on the pump to drain it than to use a bailer. Also I leave my 14' fiberglass runabout tied to our the dock for weeks at a time, so I have a bilge pump with a float switch to keep it from getting filled with rain water. It's in water that is shallow enough that if the pump were to quit and the boat sank, the motor wouldn't get swamped. If it were a nice boat in at a deeper dock, I'd be more concerned about the system failing (I'd have redundant pumps, plus a solar battery charger).

 

[Dakota47]

Re: Got swamped tonight...

Wet/Dry Shop Vac.. works great..

 

[rndn]

Re: Got swamped tonight...

It won't do any damage for a limited amount of time.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Got swamped tonight...

Ayuh,........

Every Boat I Own has a Bilge Pump,...........
Well,......
Except for the Canoes...............

Pulling the garboard plug is just Fine on some smaller outboard powered boats,.......
But on Many boats,..... There's No Way to Reach it........

 

[JasonB]

Re: Got swamped tonight...

My 16' tri-hull now has 2 500GPH pumps, each with its own hose and thru hull. Cost about $25 each to get with pumps and install kits. Well worth the price as I can bail some major amounts of water fairly quickly.