have a few questions about first trip out.

[kriegersa]

okay, so I recently purchased a 14ft flatbottom aluminum boat.

and I have a few questions. this was my first time EVER going out on a lake by my self (and my girlfriend) I put the new plug in that hole thing, I put the boat in, I noticed there was some water getting in towards the back (im assuming from the plug) but i didn't pay much attention to it, so I got it out on the main water, and hit the throttle... well ran for about 4 mins, then it ran out of gas so luckly i had a trolling motor and so i used that to get back to the ramp. lol this took me about 30-40 mins total. and when i was heading back i noticed there was ALOT of water right by the battery in the back or in the stern so i started worrying about it, not panicking, just keeping an eye on it, so i finally loaded the boat up and pulled that plug to drain all the water, there was a good 3-4 gallons of water in there.

so im wondering if my plug just isn't fitting or if i have a leak somehere else or is that normal?

would I have to get to a higher speed so remove that water or is it normal to take on that amount of water?

thanks for your responses in advanced

-kriegersa


EDIT: after i took the boat out of the water i kept that plug in to see if i could see any major leaks but couldn't, so i pulled that plug and all that water came rushing out.

 

[roscoe]

Re: have a few questions about first trip out.

You have a leak, it is a normal leak, water gets into the boat.

This is not normal for a boat without a leak.

Dry the boat thoroughly.
Sprinkle a light dusting of ordinary flour in the back of the boat, covering any area you suspect was leaking.

Launch the boat and watch carefully where the flour gets wet first.

Mark this area with a sharpie marker.

Seal the leak.

 

[dave11]

Re: have a few questions about first trip out.

Congrats on your new boat!

No, that is not normal to have that much water coming in. Make sure you tighten the plug after you put it in. Otherwise, you probably just have a loose rivet or two. Easy to fix, somewhat harder to find.

 

[5150abf]

Re: have a few questions about first trip out.

Welcome to iboats.

What you wnat tot do is put the boat on saw horses and get some water in it, mark the leaks, hopefully rivets and rebuck the lose ones, it is pretty common for rivets to work loose over time.

Only get about 2-3'' of water or you may hurt the boat.

Take 2 steel hammers and have your girlfreind hold one on a leaking rivet outside then you smack the rivet inside, it will smash it tight again like it should be, repeat this for all loose ones and you have a water tight boat again.

If the water is coming from somewhere else you may have to use a product called Gluvit, It seals leaks and keeps water where it should be, on the outside of the boat.

You learned 2 good lessons on your first trip, ALWAYS make sure you have charged batteries and enough gas before heading out, dead on the water is a bad thing.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: have a few questions about first trip out.

check the corners in the stern (back) for leaks also any open screw holes where a previous owner removed something.
Always carry a paddle, and an anchor. Some of my friends with those boats keep a set of oars and oar locks strapped along the sides--don't take up any room and a lifesaver in break down or shallow water. Especially if you boat in isolated areas, as we do.
Ask someone at your boat store or around the ramp/marina how to tighten your plug; most do (assuming it's the rubber type).

 

[RWilson2526]

Re: have a few questions about first trip out.

yea what's up with running out of gas? you dont need to be an experienced boater to know that red plastic thing in the back needs to have gas in it

 

[kriegersa]

Re: have a few questions about first trip out.

thanks everyone for the replies! hahah so it looks like if i do have a leak its from the rivets? because i isolated it to somewhere in the stern because the front 3/4's had no water. To be quite honest i did have a little 2gal. plastic jug to fill her up but i didn't know how to do it on the water and i didn't feel to conferable doing it just then., i dont have the 6gal metal ones just yet so the motor has a built in gas tank.

I found out that when your boat is the smallest and slowest on the lake they just dont really care about creating huge wakes right next to you

Also on my motor it has rich and lean and numbers 1-10 i was just wondering what that means? lol.

thanks again for all the good advice, its the one reason why i keep coming back here

 

[kriegersa]

Re: have a few questions about first trip out.

also another thing, i forgot to mention, i have a drop in floor if thats what you want to call it, so i couldn't see the last quarter of my boat, so do you think its possible that the rivets are loose there or i have a leak some where in that section?

i also noticed that when my girlfriend was sitting closer to me the back filled up more, so i asked to to sit towards to bow and the water in the back went down a little. just a little more information for yall to help me out.

thanks so much

-kriegersa

 

[H20Rat]

Re: have a few questions about first trip out.

couple points of advice...

I'd be willing to bet your plug wasn't in correctly. You aren't the first and won't be the last. There are two types of common plugs, both of them you need to turn some to snug up.. With the T handle type, you just turn it until it is tight, with the cam flip lever type, you turn it until it starts to snug up, and then flip the lever, MAKING SURE THE LEVER IS POINTED UP! (if it points down, water or the bottom can flip it accidently.) You certainly don't want to leave the dock though if it is leaking that much again. You got lucky to get back in time, lots of stories like that end up with a sunken boat and two bobbing people. (hopefully with life jackets!)

one other thing... fuel. You didn't say much about the engine but the majority of boat engines for the type of boat you are talking about require PRE MIXED fuel. (oil mixed in with the gas) Failing to do this step will kill the motor in about 5 minutes. Lots of boat engines suffer this fate from new boaters every year.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: have a few questions about first trip out.

Water runs downhill. Since the back of the boat sits lower in the water than the front water that gets into the boat from anywhere will run to the back. If the boat has a floor, the only way you will know if the leak is under it is to get the boat on a level parking lot or driveway, insert the plug, and start filling the boat with water. Look at the bottom of the boat and any leaks will be readily apparent. BOAT MUST BE LEVEL!!!! One other word of advice. I trust you have life jackets with you when you are running this boat. I would also suggest you leave your girlfriend at home until you get the hang of "safely" operating this boat. Running out of gas is not a good way to impress a lady and also places her and yourself at risk. Learn this boat and how to operate it.

 

[kriegersa]

Re: have a few questions about first trip out.

couple points of advice...

I'd be willing to bet your plug wasn't in correctly. You aren't the first and won't be the last. There are two types of common plugs, both of them you need to turn some to snug up.. With the T handle type, you just turn it until it is tight, with the cam flip lever type, you turn it until it starts to snug up, and then flip the lever, MAKING SURE THE LEVER IS POINTED UP! (if it points down, water or the bottom can flip it accidently.) You certainly don't want to leave the dock though if it is leaking that much again. You got lucky to get back in time, lots of stories like that end up with a sunken boat and two bobbing people. (hopefully with life jackets!)

one other thing... fuel. You didn't say much about the engine but the majority of boat engines for the type of boat you are talking about require PRE MIXED fuel. (oil mixed in with the gas) Failing to do this step will kill the motor in about 5 minutes. Lots of boat engines suffer this fate from new boaters every year.

the ring looks like this 0=ooo haha a horrible picture, but at the top there is a ring, then a little metal piece attached to that and around the "plug" area there is ribbed rubber. i thought you had to screw to whole thing into that hole and then flip the lever up.

yeah the engine is a 2 cycle, and i used the correct fuel mixture with it. so i know that i just ran out of gas but what i was wondering about is what is the rich and lean part mean?

Water runs downhill. Since the back of the boat sits lower in the water than the front water that gets into the boat from anywhere will run to the back. If the boat has a floor, the only way you will know if the leak is under it is to get the boat on a level parking lot or driveway, insert the plug, and start filling the boat with water. Look at the bottom of the boat and any leaks will be readily apparent. BOAT MUST BE LEVEL!!!! One other word of advice. I trust you have life jackets with you when you are running this boat. I would also suggest you leave your girlfriend at home until you get the hang of "safely" operating this boat. Running out of gas is not a good way to impress a lady and also places her and yourself at risk. Learn this boat and how to operate it.

Thanks for the tips ill try and find some level ground and test that. and I dont need to impress her as much as i use to considering we've been dating for over 3 years now. haha. but your right on the safety part, and i wouldn't ever let anyone ride in my boat without a life jacket.


i still dont have an answer to the rich and lean thing so if someone would be so kind and tell me what it means that would be freaking awesome

 

[kriegersa]

Re: have a few questions about first trip out.

bumpity bump bump

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: have a few questions about first trip out.

rich lean is your air fuel mixture adjustment.....