Almost was "THAT GUY" at the boat launch and ended up on youtube...
- Thread starter Josh
- Start date
It's often the little things, especially on little boats.One Laser nationals, with 182 boat fleet no less, I had a really rough first day.
Blew off some steam that night and got to the boat late the next day. Sailed out to the course(about an hour) with a huge cup of gas station coffee and a greasy ass breakfast burrito.
Started in with my pre-race routine; checking wind, side by side speed testing, etc. I was doing okay at first but started going really slow. Heard a sloshing sound when roll tacking.
Yup. Forgot to put my plug in. It was still hanging in by the little tabs. Pulled my boat up on a RIB coach boat and got 90% of the water out. Good enough.
Went 2, 1, 2 that day. Probably the best day of sailing I've ever had.
Still wonder if I should have tried that technique more often...
I wonder if that extra little bit of ballast made all the difference...
I learned to sail on a Laser. What a fun boat! You must have had a blast on the race circuit!
I forgot to install the plug too... once!
Wayne Kohan
Life of the Party
He did mention that the boat had to be emptied of water and dryed, I just asked if it is OK to place the plugs at home before I left as I had made that mistake before.
Rob Allen
Life of the Party
I don't want to make this too serious in a light hearted thread but keep your bilges clean.
One spring I was fishing a bass tournament on the Columbia out of Cascade locks. I was up by Wind Mountain and the Wind came up and for the run back to the ramp my boat would not get on plane and the 10 minute run took around 25 minutes and my boat was. Nose to the sky the whole way.. I got back to the ramp I finally got the idea to look in my battery compartment/ bilge area. It was completely full of water to the back deck of the boat.. maybe a couple hundred gallons? Got the boat on the trailer and pulled the plug.. it took forever to drain out. When it was done I looked around and found a piece of cellophane wrapper was clogging the automatic bilge. Good thing my batteries worked well enough while completely submerged.
Anyway, clean your bilges and keep them that way..
One spring I was fishing a bass tournament on the Columbia out of Cascade locks. I was up by Wind Mountain and the Wind came up and for the run back to the ramp my boat would not get on plane and the 10 minute run took around 25 minutes and my boat was. Nose to the sky the whole way.. I got back to the ramp I finally got the idea to look in my battery compartment/ bilge area. It was completely full of water to the back deck of the boat.. maybe a couple hundred gallons? Got the boat on the trailer and pulled the plug.. it took forever to drain out. When it was done I looked around and found a piece of cellophane wrapper was clogging the automatic bilge. Good thing my batteries worked well enough while completely submerged.
Anyway, clean your bilges and keep them that way..
Once saw the result after a young Cuban fellow tried to launch his about 30 ft Cigarette in The Homosassa on a hard falling low and neglect removing the trailer straps. The current caught the boat and now floating trailer and the next thing he knew he was making an ungraceful exit thru the driver side window. Bet he doesn't do that again. Boat ramps in south Florida on a weekend can be both a frustrating and amusing place to be. Seems like everyone has their first boat.
My favorite hang out is the Mukelteo boat launch on a Saturday afternoon during Pink season. Take your lawn chair and your fvorite cold beverage and watch em launch and retrieve with 2 to 3 ft rollers hitting the launch from passing boats. At low minus tides ive seen em back their trailers off the end of the ramp. They break springs and axles trying to get back on. One of my favovorite launch jobs was a chevy pu with water to the bottom of the windshield. After being towed out they tried to start the truck. Lots of smoke and fireworks came out from the engine compartment. By that time a dad showed up and what he said to his son shouldnt be said in front of little kids.
That's Qualified Captain stuff right there.
I drilled the plug and ran some thick mono with glow as a hanger and viz aid..also painted the plug bright orange.
that was I after I got a "I think so, yes" to my "is the plug in..?"
We made it out harbor then struggled to plane...easily made it back... gotta love Arimas...
Cant miss it now.
that was I after I got a "I think so, yes" to my "is the plug in..?"
We made it out harbor then struggled to plane...easily made it back... gotta love Arimas...
Cant miss it now.
From many years ago when I was a guide. It became apparent to me the guy in the back of the boat had hooked the wet side of the drain plug of my drift boat. As I was rowing to the bank, I noticed the boat was getting hard to row. Also, there was water up to my ankles. I turned around to find my drain plug removed, and my client trying to stuff his fly back though the drain hole of my boat against a stream of incoming water.
Some people man. Seems that might be something you would ask the guide about before doing. Haha!
I got the drain plug thing ingrained in my brain about 45 years ago.
A friend launched his 15' tri-hull and I tended to the boat while he parked which also included a bladder drain at the outhouse.
It wasn't long before I realized that there was a real issue so it was do I stay with the ship or race to the parking area. I chose option B.
By the time he got the trailer back in the water things weren't looking real good and we soon found that a somewhat rotted winch rope was no match for that much weight. After repeated 'panic knot tying' we got the bow somewhat up on the rollers and more or less drug it up enough to avoid sinking and got the plug in and got it bailed out. We often laughed about that day but it sure stuck in my head.
I won't mention the time that an employee and I decided to fish Roosevelt, out of Fort Spokane, in January... Oh, okay I will.
My boat had a small block Chevy which was winterized so, as we had done a number of times before, he took one side of the engine and I took the other. The launch was uneventful but a little later I noticed that the boat seemed sluggish. Opening the engine compartment was definitely an "Oh Shit" moment when I saw that he had missed closing the block drain on his side but thankfuly we got things corrected and the bilge pump eventually did it's job. At the time I didn't think about the moisture issues which by spring cost me a new starter.
The moral of the story is...add that to the blunder list.
A friend launched his 15' tri-hull and I tended to the boat while he parked which also included a bladder drain at the outhouse.
It wasn't long before I realized that there was a real issue so it was do I stay with the ship or race to the parking area. I chose option B.
By the time he got the trailer back in the water things weren't looking real good and we soon found that a somewhat rotted winch rope was no match for that much weight. After repeated 'panic knot tying' we got the bow somewhat up on the rollers and more or less drug it up enough to avoid sinking and got the plug in and got it bailed out. We often laughed about that day but it sure stuck in my head.
I won't mention the time that an employee and I decided to fish Roosevelt, out of Fort Spokane, in January... Oh, okay I will.
My boat had a small block Chevy which was winterized so, as we had done a number of times before, he took one side of the engine and I took the other. The launch was uneventful but a little later I noticed that the boat seemed sluggish. Opening the engine compartment was definitely an "Oh Shit" moment when I saw that he had missed closing the block drain on his side but thankfuly we got things corrected and the bilge pump eventually did it's job. At the time I didn't think about the moisture issues which by spring cost me a new starter.
The moral of the story is...add that to the blunder list.
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Dogsnfish
Steelhead
Yup, no way am I laughing at anyone for this. Too many close calls.
Had my drifter out on the lake with a couple of buddies, and I was fishing out of the back. Plug was in. Until i kicked it. Some swearing , some ribbing, and the plug is back in. Until I kicked it again. And maybe again, I’ve blocked it from memory.
Went and built a floorboard to keep that from happening again.
Went and built a floorboard to keep that from happening again.
