Well, I finally launched without the drain plug

[Elkins45]

Not the first time ever, of course, but the first time with my good boat. Parked my truck, walked back to the ramp and noticed there was already a pool of water in the floor. I immediately remembered laying the drain plug on the transom when I was removing the transom saver so I pulled off my shoes and socks and tried to insert the plug. I almost fell in when the motor shifted, my glasses almost fell off and my keys did fall out of my pocket. I have no idea how that happened but fortunately they landed in the transom well. I was wearing my inflatable PFD so as I was reaching down to put in the plug and sliding toward the water I remember thinking ‘If I fall in it will cost me $25!”

 

I got the plug in and flipped on the bilge pump, but after 10 minutes the water level hadn’t changed at all. To cut to the chase, I had installed the plug in the live well intake and not the hull drain hole. Once I corrected that the pump didn’t take long to empty it. On the bright side I know that my bilge pump is at least capable of keeping up with a missing plug. On the other side I wonder what possessed G3 to not equip this boat with an automatic float switch for the pump? If it had kicked on by itself I might have known it was taking on water before I walked away.
 

I’ve owned this boat since shortly before I retired and I’ve launched it at least a hundred times, so I suppose I should be grateful it didn’t happen sooner. As a friend once said, there are three kinds of boaters: the ones that have launched without the drain plug, the ones that are going to launch without the drain plug, and those that are liars.

 

If I could make three suggestions to help others they would be (a) have a spare plug immediately accessible (like twist tied to the transom) (b) learn how to identify the correct hole by feel while hanging over the back and (c) wire in a float switch for your bilge pump. Learn from my stupidity!

[Darth-Baiter]

I was 18 when I launched my first boat.  my mom bought it for us two boys.  my bro was 14.  

 

older dude next to us, "you kids put the drain plug in?"

"what drain plug?"

 

it was still on the trailer so we pulled it out and he showed it to us.  never forgot it ever again...I got that one done early!!

 

I think my mom wanted to collect the insurance money on us.  buying us a boat..like running with scissors!

[GreenPig]

I've never done such. No pictures, it didn't happen. Right?🙂

[Tennessee Boy]

I wouldn’t get in a boat driven by someone that said they had never launched without putting the plug in.  😆

[tunaman]

Did it once about 15 years ago at Lake Casitas. We were camping out in the motorhome and had a nice BBQ and late night campfire with my buddy BD, and Dave (RIP) and Rob of Orso swimbaits fame, and we agreed to do a hangover turkey shoot the next morning.

 

Rob hopped in my boat the next morning and Dave hopped in with BD, and off we went. Probably five minutes later my bilge pump came on and I realized my mistake.

 

I opted to just continue to fish rather than hauling out, as we were in my Ranger Z20 (unsinkable) and figured the pump could use a good workout.

 

Hadn't done it since, until a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately my Z521 has the remote drain switch so I was able to close it quickly and go park my Tahoe.

[GRiver]

Hey I’ve done it too,  got no legitimate excuse ether. I was thinking about fishing, ….. what bait, where I was going, my speech I was going to give when I caught the new world record bass. You know important stuff, not about the boat. 

[MN Fisher]

Ya - forgot it once this past year...didn't even have it off the trailer when the auto-bilge started shooting water out the port side...pulled it out, let it drain then put the plug in.

[ElGuapo928]

I usually do it about once a year…..auto pump starts running almost instantly and lets me know to pull it back out and give the dock denizens something to laugh at.

[Captain Phil]

Been there, done that.  When I lived in Miami, we often ran out to Elliot Key 8 miles out in Biscayne Bay.  There is a park on the Key where people go to picnic. On one trip I pulled into the marina to dock.  In the slip next to me was a boat sitting on the bottom in 6-8 feet of crystal clear water.  A 20' boat was tied to the dock with a rope leading down to a cleat on the front.  I often wondered how much it cost that boater to raise his boat?   I'll bet it was a bunch!  😩

[Woody B]

I haven't done that.  I did forget to remove one of the tie downs on the transom once.  It took me a minute to figure out why one side of my trailer was floating.  

 

When I was a kid none of the boats I fished out of had a bilge pump.  If there was water in the boat you'd remove the plug while on plane, and the water would drain out.   I was 10 or so,  the man that took me fishing back then had done that, hit a wave, and dropped the plug into the lake.  (tiller steer)  He went by a marina where he knew the owner and circled as slow as he could without sinking while yelling "I need a plug".   The guy that ran the marina came out and threw him a plug as we passed the dock.   He put the plug in, went a paid for it, and got a spare.  I've got a spare duct taped inside my transom even though I never take mine out while on the lake.   

[Susky River Rat]

I have done it before with my old boat. This boat has two drain plugs and two pumps because of the tunnel. They are tethered from The inside out from factory.  I usually put my plugs in the night before when I tighten the transom straps to help prevent for getting this.

 

it happens to all of us. Just like we all bump stuff, all forget how to back a trailer from time to time. We are only human.

[Alex from GA]

Took my 2 kids, 9 and 4, to Lake Nacimiento for a 3 day trip in my slide-in camper.  Got to the ramp, launched the boat and went to the camp ground and parked the camper.  Walked back to the ramp and the gas tanks, 2 6 gallon ones, were floating.  Oops.  A woman next to me, on the ramp had just launched their boat and I asked her if she'd pull mine up the ramp to drain.  Good thing she had a double axle trailer. Took about 20 minutes.  Every boat I've had except my recent one I've left the plug out.

[thediscochef]

I've never done it.

my secret? I don't own a boat

[TnRiver46]

18 minutes ago, thediscochef said:

I've never done it.

my secret? I don't own a boat

[Way2slow]

All you have to do is fish in a hurry, and not sit too long.  You don't need one as long as the boat is moving forward in the water.

 

Many years ago, I was taking a friend back to where his parents were camped.  It was about 60 miles by land and 18 miles by water, so I said we would just go by water.  Not going fishing took me out of my normal routine because normally going fishing back then was always with my dad and we each had the things we did before leaving and when we got to the ramp. 

The boat was already behind my truck so we just jumped in, drove 3 miles to the boat ramp unload, parked, jumped in the boat and hauled butt to their camp site.  When we got there, he jumped and I hauled but back to the ramp.  Load the boat, and went back to take the drain plug out.  That's when I found out it never got put in.   

[airshot]

We all have done something boneheaded at one time or another.  It is how we learn from it !!  Now....I only remove my drain plug while boat is in my barn ( stone floor).  Part of my hitching up the boat process is checking the plug is in !!  lucky for me my boat does not leak a single drop, but...I do pull the plug to check it when I park it....if hole is dry then return the plug right away.  Gotta get the plug into your normal routine, otherwise....we continue to do bonehead things !!

[Alex from GA]

Are you calling me a bonehead?

[airshot]

3 hours ago, Alex from GA said:

Are you calling me a bonehead?

Welcome to the club, we have millions of members...lol.....

[Log Catcher]

So far I have been very lucky and never launched without the drain plug being in. The only time I ever take it out is when I will be driving in the rain or if it has to go in for some repair. The rest of the time the boat stays in my garage so I don't see a need to take it out.

[flyfisher]

I was doing some work on my kayak a few days before I went out fishing and when I was flipping it over, the plug popped out.  I launched and realized it was hard to paddle so I went to the shore.  I had about 5 gallons of water in there and my plug was nowhere to be found.  I emptied the water, found a stick and jammed it in there so I could fish the rest of the day.  I later started keeping a spare in my vehicle and double checking for it each trip out.

[813basstard]

Been there. First day first two hours I bought the boat on its maiden voyage. Put the plug into the livewell out hole. Found out real quick the importance of automatic bilge system
 

[Nitro 882]

As I got older (now 77) it became more difficult to get down and reach to put the drain plug in. I found the "Flow-Rite" remote drain plug. Easier for you to just Google it for a description rather than me try to describe it accurately. Not only do I not have to crawl my old arse around to put the plug in but if for some reason I forget to put the plug in, I simply flip the remotely mounted switch and presto, back in business.

Fyi, they recommended drilling a hole in your transom to flush mount the control but I couldn't do that to my boat. I screwed a small piece of composite decking to the wall in the battery compartment and mounted it there. Have to open the hatch to get at it but that is easy enough. Probly not a big deal to some to drill the transom but I couldn't do it.

This is a less than $100 item that ought to be included in any boat in my opinion. 

Check it out.

[Tackleholic]

I did it once.  It was the first time I launched "after" a new regulation was put into effect that required drain plugs to be out when trailering a boat.

[Bucks Bass and Bourbon]

My buddy and I went out for a day trip this last summer. I have a pretty good routine and I’m paranoid about forgetting to screw the plug in but I’m almost always alone so nothing usually to distract me. Well on this day of course we’re talking as we load the gear into the boat and as I’m backing down and the trailer tires are getting close I stop and stick my head out to ask if he can check the plug. Good thing I did. 
 

The thing I DID forget to do was remove the transom saver once. Me and the poor guy trying to help me couldn’t figure out what it was hanging up on haha. He’ll have a funny story to tell people for a while. 

[airshot]

A friend of mine had a small plaque made that attaches to his winch in plain sight...among other things it says " check drain plug" ...when he backs his boat toward the ramp and gets out to release his safety chain, the plaque is right in his face and brite colored, can't miss it !!