My First!

[AK_Chappy]

Ok,<br />I did my first boat launch that I was in charge of today. I have helped before, but I was the truck driver, not the overall in charge.<br />I read on here all the stories about the plug. So I tell myself, always remember the plug. Well, I forgot!<br />At least the boat didn't make it off the trailer. Thanks to all those stories, my brain finally clicked as the trailer tires went underwater.<br /> <br />I pulled the boat out and drained. Thankfully, it wasn't in the water long and didn't take too much.<br />The rest of the trip was good, and uneventful.<br />Except for the lure smack in the back of a friend's kid's head (his own lure) and his dad diving almost out of the boat for the rod. But that is another story.<br /><br />AK Chappy

 

[Jacques Nel]

Re: My First!

One day you will forget the plug entirely. Just be patient and it will happen. It always does. I did it twice.

 

[ztim]

Re: My First!

Do it once or twice in the summer. Don't save it for the dead of winter an hour from sunup.

 

[stairliftoheaven]

Re: My First!

fit an extemely good bilge pump

 

[achris]

Re: My First!

Two types of boaties. Those who've left the plug out, and those who lie about it!

 

[Northern Eclipse]

Re: My First!

I'v never left the plug out..but my brother has forget to tell me its not in, he also forgot to mention the drive was still down also.

 

[mitchcole]

Re: My First!

I left the plug out twice. It happens.<br /><br />I found that the best way to keep that from happening is to put the plug in a conspicuous location. I have min in a receiver for the rod holder - it fits perfectly in there.<br /><br />It gets noticed as I'm prepping the boat at the ramp.

 

[Capt Joe]

Re: My First!

I forgot mine one day until my wife yelled out as I was backing down the (quiet) ramp. I said I was just draining the overnight rainwater out of it & needed the ramp angle

 

[Mr.Ladyfish]

Re: My First!

Good save Capt Joe.

 

[Knightgang]

Re: My First!

I have not forgot my plug yet. It helps to have transom straps and a very good routine. Undo port strap, undo starboard strap, Grab plug from under rear starboard seat, Install plug, throw straps in back of truck, loosen winch and back down the ramp. Good routine everytime, never forgot plug, and don't plan to.

 

[ae708]

Re: My First!

I used to forget the plug in one of my old plywood boats quite often. The plug installed from the inside so I'd just run up and down the river until it drained then put the plug in. Stupid new boat has a "screw-in" plug from the outside. Come to think of it it would be kinda difficult reaching the hole from the inside with an I/O.

 

[thand]

Re: My First!

Just got my 1960 seaking 14' running, my first boat other than a canoe(which my wife is afraid of) so after a day on my own the day before i talk her into going out in the new "bigger" boat.<br />we went to the black river about a mile or two from our house. being new the plug was the first thing in. no dock but got the wife in.check. motor down.check. gas hooked up and primed. check. truck parked. check. shove off...... hop in reach for key ...ooops the key was on our kitchen table. God bless the person who told me not to go out without a paddle. short drive home. now the wife is loving the boat she caught the first fish from it.

a boat on the water is worth 20 in the shop

 

[ZmOz]

Re: My First!

I allways hang the plug from the steering wheel of the boat...haven't forgot it yet. Only thing I've forgotten is the oil...

 

[jsfinn]

Re: My First!

I keep a spare plug on my boat key and another spare plug on the winch handle.<br /><br />I forgot once on a cold cold day. My sweatshirt and socks were both in the boat and got soaked. <br /><br />That was the worst day of fishing ever ... was still better than working though!<br /><br />I hope I never forget again.

 

[karl smith]

Re: My First!

I was borrowing a friend's boat for a nice afternoon on the lake. I launched, and while putting away from the dock, warming up the engine, I noticed about 2" of water over the flooring. I knew immediately what I had forgotton to do. With plug in hand, I jumped in (after shutting down engine) and installed it under water. After about 20 minutes, the pump shut off. I have never done that since. 1990. He told me before I left, 'don't sink my boat!'

 

[agrazela]

Re: My First!

My plug hangs from one of the transom eyes by a bright yellow plastic chain with one of those key-ring type split rings at each end. I tie that chain around the tie-down strap when I trailer up after pulling out of the water. Pretty impossible for me to forget/overlook it on the next launch.

 

[Seamus]

Re: My First!

You know, once you've fished in the Puget Sound in the wintertime in a fresh breeze in a 13' Boston Whaler (about 4" freeboard), whether you put the plug in or not is practically irrelevant.<br /><br />Always keep a bailer handy. Also, I have observed that the fact that a Whaler cannot be sunk is a small comfort when you realize that it is possible for you to be in serious peril while the boat itself is still pretty much OK.<br /><br />Yes, I am new here, but after a while of reading this section I could no longer resist posting.

 

[woodrat]

Re: My First!

OK Seamus, since I'm your brother, I might as well tell the sinking boston whaler story.<br /><br />So we had gotten into the habit of fishing pretty much anywhere there might be a salmon or two, anytime we had the time, and last winter, we decided to take the 13' whaler out for winter blackmouth on Possession Bar. <br /><br />We planned to launch at Mukilteo, but when we got there at 5:00 am, the docks which used to accompany the ramp had been blown away in a storm the previous week and now there was just a big wide ramp, a gravel beach and some pilings. No biggie, we can just pull her up on the gravel beach after we launch her, right?<br /><br />After fishing most of the day and netting only one rockfish, we returned to the ramp in the afternoon, only now, the wind is blowing like crazy and the Whidbey Island ferry had just gone by. we pull up the boat and I leave my bro standing on the beach holding the painter whilst I go get the truck. When I return, about 90 seconds later, the boat has "sunk" right there at the beach, completely filled to the gunwales with cold salt water, and things are floating IN the boat. I had to wade in up to my chest to force the boat into a position that I could get it on the trailer while keeping it from blowing sideways at the same time. It took about twenty minutes to drain completely and several electrical components needed replacing after that.<br /><br />Oh, and it was @#$! COLD!<br /><br />I now have a 16' Bayrunner, with a little more freeboard and two bilge pumps.

 

[surfdaddie]

Re: My First!

I always put the plug in before i leave my house!

 

[woodrat]

Re: My First!

Wasn't a plug issue, it was an issue of waves breaking over a low freeboard boat.