remembered the plug, but..........

[dave37]

New to boating. When out last weekend fishing, made sure to go through my pre-launch checklist, ending with PUT IN PLUG, which I did do.<br /><br />Out a couple of hours when I suddenly feel my feet getting wet. Oh, oh, pull back tank cover, things are floating. Frantically fumble around and find plug is missing. Even more frantically feel around for plug and find it. Friend takes wheel and we begin to drain the boat, only to have 1st tank run out of fuel and boat starts filling again. Got it all drained, when back on shore found the plug seemed to fit very poorly. Have only had the boat a couple of weeks but I sure do seem to remember it fit tighter than that. Then it hit me. I had left the plug on the top of the refrigerator in the house for a couple of weeks. Am picturing bored teen son or daughter picking it up, twiddling it about (loosening it), getting bored and putting it back. All deny any knowledge of plug, even what it looks like so my theory is confirmed.<br /><br />Still my fault though for not making sure it was tight after I put it in. Made for an exciting bit of fun, luckily no damage or injuries!!

 

[jtexas]

Re: remembered the plug, but..........

Originally posted by dave_o:<br /> All deny any knowledge of plug, even what it looks like so my theory is confirmed.

<br /><br /><br />But, leaving the plug on top of the fridge? Still trying to figure that one out!<br /><br />welcome!

 

[Twidget]

Re: remembered the plug, but..........

I have an 8 year old son that likes to 'help out' and I never could keep up with my plugs. So, I installed one of these. Plug

 

[Winger Ed.]

Re: remembered the plug, but..........

Originally posted by dave_o:<br /> Still my fault though for not making sure it was tight

No, you're not totally correct. Not anymore. In this day and age, nothing is completely any one person's fault anymore.<br /><br /><br />I think the plug, and perhaps even the refrigerator, should share at least some responsibility for this incident.<br /><br />Ed.

 

[Seamus]

Re: remembered the plug, but..........

Originally posted by Winger Ed.:<br />

Originally posted by dave_o:<br /> Still my fault though for not making sure it was tight

I think the plug, and perhaps even the refrigerator, should share at least some responsibility for this incident.<br />Ed.

You're forgetting about the manufacturer of the plug, the various suppliers to the manufacturer and the patent holder and their various decendents and assignees...

 

[starrider_68]

Re: remembered the plug, but..........

Dont forget the truck driver that delivered it or the salesman that sold it to you.

 

[dave37]

Re: remembered the plug, but..........

I'm in Canada, we haven't gotten as product lawsuit happy as in the US, yet. Has anyone ever won a lawsuit for forgetting the plug? Not that I'm interested in a suit (it's my own fault), but just curious if it's ever been done.

 

[Dave Abrahamson]

Re: remembered the plug, but..........

Originally posted by dave_o:<br /> Frantically fumble around and find plug is missing. Even more frantically feel around for plug and find it.

Am I reading this right? You FOUND the plug, in the boat, after having it fall out? This must mean you put the plug in from the INSIDE of the boat. They work better when they are put in from the outside. Outside water pressure tries to force the plug IN the hole. When you put them in backwards, water pressure will try to push 'em in. And if they fit loosley..it will.<br /><br />Dave

 

[dave37]

Re: remembered the plug, but..........

It's an adjustable cam type plug. Always on the inside because without a bilge pump bailing is the only way to remove water in an emergency, and I can't imagine trying to reach the plug on the outside in an emergency. It does fit nice and tight when adjusted correctly.<br /><br />

 

[Seamus]

Re: remembered the plug, but..........

Originally posted by Dave Abrahamson:<br />

Originally posted by dave_o:<br /> Frantically fumble around and find plug is missing. Even more frantically feel around for plug and find it. [/QUOTE... Outside water pressure tries to force the plug IN the hole. When you put them in backwards, water pressure will try to push 'em in. And if they fit loosley..it will.<br />Dave

But, again, you have to admit that when water pressure pushes the plug out, at least you still have a plug. When something catches the plug and pulls it out, you don't still have a plug. Besides, it's a lot easier to insert a forgotten plug from the inside. All the boats I've been on had the plug inserted from the inside and I've never been able to figure out what kind of 'logic' makes people build boats where the plug is not accessable from the inside.

 

[demsvmejm]

Re: remembered the plug, but..........

My boat has a plug only accessible from the outside. It’s threaded and only comes out twice, once when I get home from the lake, and once before I leave for the lake. And it is only ever one of two places, installed in the boat, or in my hand. It only takes 10 mins. tops to drain the bilge, so I just wait. Ooooh! The power of running water!

 

[Winger Ed.]

Re: remembered the plug, but..........

You're forgetting about the manufacturer of the plug, the various suppliers to the manufacturer and the patent holder and their various decendents and assignees... [/QB]

Yes Sir. <br /><br />I think we have a legitimate case here.<br /><br />Not only do I think all these others are at least partially responsible,,,,,<br /><br />We might even be able to get a govt. grant of a few million dollars and investigate this further.<br /><br />I'm sure we can find at least a few more culpable persons if we have proper funding.<br /><br />Seriously-<br />There is no reason that the company who manufactured the refrigerator should get off 'scot free' and remain blameless, only to certainly cause more of such mayhem in the future.

 

[lark2004]

Re: remembered the plug, but..........

what about your house builder, did they insulate your house properly, temp changes and such, oh don't forget the BIG FELLA, HE controls everthing and is probably to blame for the mess in the first place! (Good Luck fighting That one, the odds are in His favor!)

 

[deputydawg]

Re: remembered the plug, but..........

Hey I need to add here, everyone is forgetting the obvious...... The one responsible for the water in the lake. In my case it would be the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for if they hadn't built the dam that made the lake, the lake would not have water in it. It was after all the water in the boat that caused all of the discomfort! The plug and everyone involved with the plug defense could simply be innocent third parties.

 

[jtexas]

Re: remembered the plug, but..........

Okay, how many of you boaters have ever launched without the plug? Looks like we have enough for a class-action suit! Free boats for everyone! And by "everyone" I mean the lawyers. As plaintiffs we can maybe expect a discount coupon to a boat show or something.

 

[AMD Rules]

Re: remembered the plug, but..........

They work better when they are put in from the outside. Outside water pressure tries to force the plug IN the hole. When you put them in backwards, water pressure will try to push 'em in. And if they fit loosley..it will.

I am a relatively new boat owner. I have always seen plugs installed from the inside. The thought of installing the plug on the outside of the boat scares me. <br /><br />First off, if the plug were to become loose (for whatever reason, I would much prefer looking around for it in my bilge, than frantically driving around the lake at high speed hoping someone with a trailer will notice what I am doing, before I run out of gas.<br /><br />Second, the water pressure 1 foot below the surface is marginal, and most plugs are small diameter. The risk of having the plug fall out into the lake, instead of into the boat far outweighs the risk of having it fall out into the boat.<br /><br />Do boating regulations specify whether a plug shall be installed from inside, or out? The cover a lot of safty items, include how to crimp wires, surely they must have covered plugs & bildge items ?<br /><br />Very curious.<br /><br />I vote for inside mounted plugs, for safety's sake. Twidget posted a link to a great looking tethered plug. Very nice design which would be hard to lose.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: remembered the plug, but..........

My plug goes in April and I take it out in October. Then it is put with the rest of the manifold/engine block plugs on the intake manifold until winter is over. Then the cycle begins again in the spring..... <br /><br />Oh, mine is an outty, you would need to be a contorsionist to reach it from the inside.<br /><br />It sure is amazing what you can find on top of a refridgerator.

 

[Capt Joe]

Re: remembered the plug, but..........

"Twidget posted a link to a great looking tethered plug. Very nice design which would be hard to lose"<br /><br />90% of plugs in Australia are like this one.<br />I have added an additional safety feature - a cord from one plug to the other inside the boat.

 

[BF]

Re: remembered the plug, but..........

I'm surprised Ralph Nader isn't all over this whole "plug problem"! Maybe 20/20 should do an expose... they could put one of their cracker-jack investigative journalists in a boat lacking plug and document the appalling results.... Maybe they could hire Heraldo for that. And they could have him launch the boat with one of them "exploding" GM pickups.

 

[Twidget]

Re: remembered the plug, but..........

It would be too hard to keep the flare burning on the ramp for the exploding Chevy. <br /><br />On the other hand I just printed up...er found some documents from plug manufacturers from '68. I was given these documents by a retired middle manager in the plug industry. They obviously prove that manufacturers have used their clout to keep the story quiet and get better pricing. Think Dan Rather would take them?