I suppose that anyone that has been around boats long enough has seen
the "missing drainplug" from the water at one time or another.

A friend of mine used to own a boat dealership, _and_ a tunnel boat
race team. One time we made a foursome (my wife, me, his girlfriend,
him) out on the lake for testing of a new motor on the tunnel boat.
For those of you who have never done this, it takes two boats. One
boat holds support crew and a radar gun, while the race driver makes
pass after pass, with adjustments in between. We were using a brand
new Bayliner 21' open bow for the support boat. I was holding the
radar gun and reading off speeds when I noticed my feet were getting
wet!! A quick pull of the ski locker cover showed that the bilge was
already full of water and it was now saturating the carpet.

A guy with 30+ years of wrenching, running, selling, racing, etc. boats
had launched without checking the drain plug ;-)

That made me feel a little better a few years later when I backed my
boat down the ramp into the water, jumped in, and saw the drain plug
sitting on the dash where I'd put it when I cleaned the bilge ;-)
Fortunately, the boat was still on the trailer at the time, so my
puzzled wife quickly figured out what I was gesticulating and yelling
about and pulled it back out of the water. Its amazing how much water
that little hole lets in in a short time.


Don W.

ML OZONE wrote:

Thought I was about to die in a brand new boat 2 months ago

snip...

surface it becomes an illusion worthy of
Blackstone because there is absolutly no reason to doubt that what you
are seeing is a screwed down drainplug unless you touch it firmly.

~~~~ Surfbored ~~~~

Don W wrote in news:jx7Jf.48644
:

Fortunately, the boat was still on the trailer at the time, so my
puzzled wife quickly figured out what I was gesticulating and yelling
about and pulled it back out of the water. Its amazing how much water
that little hole lets in in a short time.


I put the jetboat in at the ramp....
This guy from the dock says to me, "Hey, buddy, there's water pumping out
of the little hole over your swim platform!"

Not to look stupid in front of the assemblage, I retorted, "Oh, that's just
the air conditioner seawater drain outlet.", as I backed the boat around to
the dock and quietly put the drain plug in the starboard side...(c;

Boat was an open cockpit Sea Rayder...(c;

I'll tell you Larry, I had my own personal come-uppance after that
incident ... We all like to think of ourselves as "rambo-efficient" and
after getting home I really took serious reflection on my level of shock
and awe out there. Snapping awake from a sound sleep was the one and
only small excuse I allow for my behavior but the rest was pure
schoolgirl stuff.

The flood of 'small' never discussed 'truths' does the most damage of
all because the situation happenning in reality is a lot different than
any pre-boating safety thinking you can do
... Pfds, Pfd's, oh none of us will forget that need ... but the 46
degree water temp of that day eludes us completely until panic is
re-enforcing your understanding of the amount of danger occurring.

even more amusing to me is a few safety strategems I've never seen
mentioned in any safety manual .... I would definitly add a chapter
titled .... Marine Distress Radio, PfD, Epirb, flaregun, distress flag,
air horn, ..... to use or not to use ?

I had all of these things ,and in fact I had a serious battle with my
wife to explain the need for all the extra money spent for these
items,yet while frozen in place waiting to see if my pump would re-level
and drain that much water I actually couldnt assess my danger level
enough to determine if a flare, air blast, or even my direct line panic
button to the Coast Guard was even warranted .... the fact that I made
it in after about another hour of pumping still doesnt clarify if I was
wise not to attract another boat or CG patrol.

~~~~ Surfbored ~~~~

On Fri, 17 Feb 2006 08:23:32 -0800, (ML OZONE)
wrote:

the fact that I made
it in after about another hour of pumping still doesnt clarify if I was
wise not to attract another boat or CG patrol.

Good observation on how panic can throw our usual judgement out the
window. The best course would probably be to call a "securite,
securite" if you are moving but busy bailing or even a "mayday" to the
CG. A "mayday" does NOT mean you are in need of a rescue NOW, but it
does mean you are in distress and in possible need of rescue or
immediate aid.

A "mayday" could bring another boater alongside or the Coast Guard
with a nice fat deck pump...you would give your condition and
estimation and they would advise and check in on a schedule.

There's no shame in that. Taking on water is a legitimate reason to at
least say "this baby might decorate the bottom if I can't find the
hole".

R.

Thanks, Rhys .... don't know if others agree with you but even my wife
noticed I was not myself for hours afterward and commented that it
seemed I had avoided using the very reason I had won my argument with
her about buying all those emergency goodies ....

btw, I love when a company goes all out to make a good product ... One
piece of emergency gear I bought is essentially a double thick plastic
bottle of the type a 20 oz Coke comes in. but with much heavier
vinylization and thickness.

A refillable valve stem on the blasting head and an included pump lets
you repressurize this air horn and there is no comparison to the decible
levels this can put out versus the ones you see at most boating shops
with the replacable can ...

solidly made, including a volume adjust and trigger lock to stop
accidental sounding.

and I admired the red warning sticker about not pointing the rather
largish horn piece toward yourself whe blasting . 100 lb pressure, this
is for all the world at least equal to an 18 wheelers compressor horn.
Even includes a velcro drop in cup like sleeve for boat mounting.

~~~~ Surfbored ~~~~

On Fri, 17 Feb 2006 13:50:52 -0500, in message

rhys wrote:

On Fri, 17 Feb 2006 08:23:32 -0800, (ML OZONE)
wrote:

the fact that I made
it in after about another hour of pumping still doesnt clarify if I was
wise not to attract another boat or CG patrol.

Good observation on how panic can throw our usual judgement out the
window. The best course would probably be to call a "securite,
securite" if you are moving but busy bailing or even a "mayday" to the
CG. A "mayday" does NOT mean you are in need of a rescue NOW, but it
does mean you are in distress and in possible need of rescue or
immediate aid.

Or, of course PAN PAN if the situation is "urgent" but has not yet
become a matter of "distress". If I was taking on enough water to make
me worry I couldn't keep up with it I would skip the SECURITE.

Ryk

Ryk wrote in
:

Or, of course PAN PAN if the situation is "urgent" but has not yet
become a matter of "distress". If I was taking on enough water to make
me worry I couldn't keep up with it I would skip the SECURITE.

Ryk


If my feet were wet and I couldn't stop it rising, I'd skip all this 1930's
radio crap and trip the 406 EPIRB to get some help out there, fast. That's
what it's for, ya know!....

I'll talk to 'em on the radio when they call me to check on the EPIRB
emergency...after they've scrambled the choppers and fast boats...thanks.

Remember the kid calling for help 13 miles off Maine after his daddy fell
overboard, getting no answer until he'd drifted way down to Long Island
when some trawler found him adrift? Don't depend on anyone listening to
the "Marina Channel", 16, and all the noises they make.....

On Sun, 19 Feb 2006 10:40:43 -0500, Larry wrote:

Ryk wrote in
:

Or, of course PAN PAN if the situation is "urgent" but has not yet
become a matter of "distress". If I was taking on enough water to make
me worry I couldn't keep up with it I would skip the SECURITE.

Ryk


If my feet were wet and I couldn't stop it rising, I'd skip all this 1930's
radio crap and trip the 406 EPIRB to get some help out there, fast. That's
what it's for, ya know!....

I'll talk to 'em on the radio when they call me to check on the EPIRB
emergency...after they've scrambled the choppers and fast boats...thanks.

A "Mayday" call on Channel 16 should get immediate response from
nearby boaters, and from the Coast Guard, and potential rescuers will
know that they can talk to you to confirm position and other details.

My understanding is that it may take 30 minutes to two hours for an
EPIRB signal to be picked up by the satellites, passed to an earth
station, then eventually sent to the appropriate Coast Guard station
(who will then probably do a "Mayday Relay" broadcast on 16).



--
Peter Bennett, VE7CEI
peterbb4 (at) interchange.ubc.ca
new newsgroup users info : http://vancouver-webpages.com/nnq
GPS and NMEA info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter
Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca

On Sun, 19 Feb 2006 10:40:43 -0500, in message

Larry wrote:

Ryk wrote in
:

Or, of course PAN PAN if the situation is "urgent" but has not yet
become a matter of "distress". If I was taking on enough water to make
me worry I couldn't keep up with it I would skip the SECURITE.

Ryk


If my feet were wet and I couldn't stop it rising, I'd skip all this 1930's
radio crap and trip the 406 EPIRB to get some help out there, fast. That's
what it's for, ya know!....

I'll talk to 'em on the radio when they call me to check on the EPIRB
emergency...after they've scrambled the choppers and fast boats...thanks.

The only time I've had cause to call PAN PAN I got immediate response
from the Coast Guard acknowledging my position and helping me clarify
the situation. Likewise when I have called in obstructions with a
Securite. I would feel way better with that immediate response if the
situation was deteriorating.

Ryk

Ryk wrote:
On Fri, 17 Feb 2006 13:50:52 -0500, in message

rhys wrote:


On Fri, 17 Feb 2006 08:23:32 -0800, (ML OZONE)
wrote:


the fact that I made
it in after about another hour of pumping still doesnt clarify if I was
wise not to attract another boat or CG patrol.

Good observation on how panic can throw our usual judgement out the
window. The best course would probably be to call a "securite,
securite" if you are moving but busy bailing or even a "mayday" to the
CG. A "mayday" does NOT mean you are in need of a rescue NOW, but it
does mean you are in distress and in possible need of rescue or
immediate aid.


Or, of course PAN PAN if the situation is "urgent" but has not yet
become a matter of "distress". If I was taking on enough water to make
me worry I couldn't keep up with it I would skip the SECURITE.

Ryk

I think the deal is that Mayday is for life threatening situations, Pans
are for non-life threatening situations (urgent) and Securite are for
warnings not emergencies at all. For example, you would call a securite
if you wer rounding a blind corner in a narrow channel to warn traffic
on the other side.

Gaz