How fast will a Bayliner 175 sink with no drain plug?
 

Not that anyone would set out to actually "test"
this, but I wonder how long it would take for
a new bayliner 175 bowrider to sink if one were
to launch without a drain plug. Anyone know ?
Ok, ok, so I need to come clean here... Yeah,
I'm stoopid, I launched without a drain plug. Yikes.
I always leave the plug in, and never take it out,
and I got complacent and haven't been doing
due diligence in checking the stupid drain plug.
Went in salt water the day before for the first
time, so I had to hose the thing out late last night.
Let it drip over night, and never thought to check
it - it's been absent from my regular routine. So,
local lake, public fishing launch area (seperate
from main rat-race launch lane, requires the
state Vehicle Use permit for fishing). Dumped
it in, tied it up, ran the truck up to park it, walked
down, untied it, got it, started it, and started to
pull out. Engine sounding a little funny, idle a
little weird, (Merc 3.0L I/O), acceleration all
weired, mushy, and just slugish. I look over
my sholder at the engine compartment, and said
now thats odd - water splashing out of the edge
of the engine cover on the bottom near the carpet.
Thought, humm, fan must be picking up water
left over from last nights hose-off, and throwing
it around the inside of the engine cover. No big.
DOH! 2.5 seconds I realized, Whoa! - I ain't
not fan - this ain't a car engine (well it is, but)...
Hol-Lee **** buckets - it sank it (no pun) that
I left the plug in. Panicsville!. Wham! - reach
over the steering wheel with both hands and
throw ALL switches upwards cause I ain't got
time to read each one to see which is the pump.
Engine chugging pretty good by now. Boat starting
to head into rocks - depth finder shows less than
2 feet. I can't let it stall, I can't let it stall, thats
all I kept saying to myself. Bang it into reverse
and jump up on that throttle and get her out from
the rocks a bit, whew, now in about 10 feet of
water just out from the launch a bit. Think quick.
Bingo, the plug is teathered (to the oil drain hose).
Without thought, wham, swan-dive off the back
of the boat, keys, smokes, rolaids, pockets full.
Flailed around the bottom, felt the plug dangling,
and fumbled around, but got it threaded in, and
hand tight. Whew, gonna need that cold beer
after THIS one I thought as I grasped the ladder.
(too bad I won't have any dry smokes, eh).
Anyways, get back up in the boat, bilage pump
pumping like a big dog, and I'm drifting towards
the rocks again. Damn. Throw her into gear,
get out more in the center, and catch my breath.
Engine still chugging and not running good at all.
Afraid to open engine cover, but I know I gotta.
Open her up, and hol-lee-****.... My engine is
drenched, water up to, and maybe past the crank,
holey f-ing crap, I just can't believe this has happened.
Sun. Sun is good. Sun is "hot", Sun dries **** I'm
thinking. Leave the cover off. Keep her running,
I can't let it stall I kept thinking. Water level. Do
I see the water level going down? No!... wtf?
Water coming out the side? yup, rolling out like
a big dog. Dang, whats taking so long then?
Calm down. Crack that beer, it'll be Ok. Smokes?
nope - all soggy, dry ones up in the truck. Balls.
Hey! - engines sounding better! (is it the beer ?)
hell no!, I just opened it. Water level ? Ahhhhh
who da man, huh? - look at dat! - water goning down.
I'll just hang out here, and let that water quit spurting
out the side. Dang, isn't it been like a half-hour now?
Andway, but the time the bilage pump was done, the
engine was bone dry from the sun, and hot enough
to fry an egg on (from the sun on that Phantom black).
Close we up, sop up the water on the carpet, and
go have fun. Dang, that was close I thought.
....or was it? 2-3 hours goes buy, the 24-oz Bug Lite's
gone, and time to start heading in. Replaying the
whole thing in my mind, I got to wondering just how
long could I have let that plug out? what would happen?
water would fill up the engine compartment to the point
that it was overflowing on the main deck, and carpet.
At whcih point, what, drain into that center section
with the door where you keep the life vests etc?
Was that pit already full? - I didn't check that while
the engine compartment was full of water. I'm thinking
that due to the design/layout of this boat (with all of
the sections/compartments and such, that it might not
sink as fast as one might think. Ideas, thoughts ?

Thanks

"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...


Corrections: (typos)

DOH! 2.5 seconds I realized, Whoa! - I ain't
"GOT" not fan - this ain't a car engine (well it is, but)...

Hol-Lee **** buckets - it sank "IN" (no pun) that
I left the plug "OUT" Panicsville!. Wham! - reach

Need to remove that plug after every trip to drain any water left in the
bilge. Leave it out if left outside, even if covered, since if you have a
leak in your cover, or if it collapses, it will be able to drain. Letting
even a little water sit in the bilge for days at a time will create big
problems down the road.

Pre-launch, make it a habit to install the plug when you remove the rear
tiedowns. Remove the plug when you fasten the tiedowns after loading the
boat onto the trailer.

"Stanley Barthfarkle" wrote in message
...

Need to remove that plug after every trip to drain any water left in the
bilge. Leave it out if left outside, even if covered, since if you have a
leak in your cover, or if it collapses, it will be able to drain. Letting
even a little water sit in the bilge for days at a time will create big
problems down the road.

Well, for almost a month now, there hasn't
been one single drop of water down there,
so that is why I've been leaving the plug in.
I cover it each night, so it just doesn't get
any water down there. But yeah, I'm just
going to have to make that part of my
routine, thats all. So they make some
sort of automatic plug? I can't believe
that with all the modern advancements,
that a $15-$30K boat gets down to
remembering to screw in a 25 cent plug.


Pre-launch, make it a habit to install the plug when you remove the rear
tiedowns. Remove the plug when you fasten the tiedowns after loading the
boat onto the trailer.

yeah, its a routine that I'm going to have
to get used to. Gosh, something so
important is just "so" manual. sheese.

thanks

"roadburner" roadburner^at^comcast^dot^net wrote in message
...
On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 04:35:26 GMT, "Stanley Barthfarkle"
wrote:

Need to remove that plug after every trip to drain any water left in the
bilge. Leave it out if left outside, even if covered, since if you have a
leak in your cover, or if it collapses, it will be able to drain. Letting
even a little water sit in the bilge for days at a time will create big
problems down the road.

Pre-launch, make it a habit to install the plug when you remove the rear
tiedowns. Remove the plug when you fasten the tiedowns after loading the
boat onto the trailer.


Good advice. It doesn't hurt to carry a backup screw type rubber expansion
drain plug that can be put in from the inside of the boat. I still carry 2
on board.

I was smart enough to buy 2 of the rubber plugs
when I got the boat, and carry them in my boat
box. The original has a teather, but if when I
went in, the plug was gone for some reason,
I'd have to get back in the boat, get the plug,
and dive back in the water - would have costed
me another minute or so.

For those of us that have water inlets, like for the head, tapered
dowel rods should also be carried.

Can you explain this to me? - why would you
need tapered dowel rods ?


My first boat of many years ago didn't have a bilge pump. It was a small
16'
Glastron OB. The wife, kids, and myself used to go tent caming on an
inland
lake at boat in only campsites. The open Glastron bilge would fill with
water after a heavy rain. To empty the rain water, I would have my wife
drive the boat at a moderate speed and I pulled out the drain plug from
the
inside. The water was "sucked" out of the bilge. When the bilge was empty,
I
put the plug back in.

I never had the misfortune to launch without the drain plug, but the
original question has me wondering.

If you accidentally launched without a drain plug and you pulled your
trailer up and away, could one be quick witted enough to start the engine
and accelerate away draining the water? Then put in a backup drain plug
from
the inside? Just a thought.

Regards,
roadburner

"roadburner" roadburner^at^comcast^dot^net wrote in message
...
On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 04:35:26 GMT, "Stanley Barthfarkle"
wrote:



If you accidentally launched without a drain plug and you pulled your
trailer up and away, could one be quick witted enough to start the engine
and accelerate away draining the water? Then put in a backup drain plug
from
the inside? Just a thought.

Dude, I never thought of that! Having survived
a plug-less launch, I'm a little less worked up
about the whole thing to where I'd feel confortable
with trying something like that. Problem for me is,
that with an I/O, its a little hard to get back in there
from the inside. I'm thinking that what is needed
is one of them 1/4 turn ball-valves with the long
handle on it. Plumb that up from the inside, and
fashon up a cable to open/close that sumbitch.


Regards,
roadburner

"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...
Not that anyone would set out to actually "test"
this, but I wonder how long it would take for
a new bayliner 175 bowrider to sink if one were
to launch without a drain plug. Anyone know ?
Ok, ok, so I need to come clean here... Yeah,
I'm stoopid, I launched without a drain plug. Yikes.
I always leave the plug in, and never take it out,
and I got complacent and haven't been doing
due diligence in checking the stupid drain plug.
Went in salt water the day before for the first
time, so I had to hose the thing out late last night.
Let it drip over night, and never thought to check
it - it's been absent from my regular routine. So,
local lake, public fishing launch area (seperate
from main rat-race launch lane, requires the
state Vehicle Use permit for fishing). Dumped
it in, tied it up, ran the truck up to park it, walked
down, untied it, got it, started it, and started to
pull out. Engine sounding a little funny, idle a
little weird, (Merc 3.0L I/O), acceleration all
weired, mushy, and just slugish. I look over
my sholder at the engine compartment, and said
now thats odd - water splashing out of the edge
of the engine cover on the bottom near the carpet.
Thought, humm, fan must be picking up water
left over from last nights hose-off, and throwing
it around the inside of the engine cover. No big.
DOH! 2.5 seconds I realized, Whoa! - I ain't
not fan - this ain't a car engine (well it is, but)...
Hol-Lee **** buckets - it sank it (no pun) that
I left the plug in. Panicsville!. Wham! - reach
over the steering wheel with both hands and
throw ALL switches upwards cause I ain't got
time to read each one to see which is the pump.
Engine chugging pretty good by now. Boat starting
to head into rocks - depth finder shows less than
2 feet. I can't let it stall, I can't let it stall, thats
all I kept saying to myself. Bang it into reverse
and jump up on that throttle and get her out from
the rocks a bit, whew, now in about 10 feet of
water just out from the launch a bit. Think quick.
Bingo, the plug is teathered (to the oil drain hose).
Without thought, wham, swan-dive off the back
of the boat, keys, smokes, rolaids, pockets full.
Flailed around the bottom, felt the plug dangling,
and fumbled around, but got it threaded in, and
hand tight. Whew, gonna need that cold beer
after THIS one I thought as I grasped the ladder.
(too bad I won't have any dry smokes, eh).
Anyways, get back up in the boat, bilage pump
pumping like a big dog, and I'm drifting towards
the rocks again. Damn. Throw her into gear,
get out more in the center, and catch my breath.
Engine still chugging and not running good at all.
Afraid to open engine cover, but I know I gotta.
Open her up, and hol-lee-****.... My engine is
drenched, water up to, and maybe past the crank,
holey f-ing crap, I just can't believe this has happened.
Sun. Sun is good. Sun is "hot", Sun dries **** I'm
thinking. Leave the cover off. Keep her running,
I can't let it stall I kept thinking. Water level. Do
I see the water level going down? No!... wtf?
Water coming out the side? yup, rolling out like
a big dog. Dang, whats taking so long then?
Calm down. Crack that beer, it'll be Ok. Smokes?
nope - all soggy, dry ones up in the truck. Balls.
Hey! - engines sounding better! (is it the beer ?)
hell no!, I just opened it. Water level ? Ahhhhh
who da man, huh? - look at dat! - water goning down.
I'll just hang out here, and let that water quit spurting
out the side. Dang, isn't it been like a half-hour now?
Andway, but the time the bilage pump was done, the
engine was bone dry from the sun, and hot enough
to fry an egg on (from the sun on that Phantom black).
Close we up, sop up the water on the carpet, and
go have fun. Dang, that was close I thought.
...or was it? 2-3 hours goes buy, the 24-oz Bug Lite's
gone, and time to start heading in. Replaying the
whole thing in my mind, I got to wondering just how
long could I have let that plug out? what would happen?
water would fill up the engine compartment to the point
that it was overflowing on the main deck, and carpet.
At whcih point, what, drain into that center section
with the door where you keep the life vests etc?
Was that pit already full? - I didn't check that while
the engine compartment was full of water. I'm thinking
that due to the design/layout of this boat (with all of
the sections/compartments and such, that it might not
sink as fast as one might think. Ideas, thoughts ?


Happened to me once last year. Not only did I forget to put the plug in the
through-hull...I left it at home. My wife left the ramp with the trailer in
tow and was gone a good 2-3 minutes when I realized it was out. She got
home about 5 minutes after I realized the plug was out, and turned around to
bring it back to me. Total time without a plug: about 15-20 minutes.
Fortunately, it was a Whaler. They don't need no stinkin' plugs. ;-)

"roadburner" roadburner^at^comcast^dot^net wrote in message
...
On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 22:03:32 -0700, "Mr Wizzard"
wrote:


"Stanley Barthfarkle" wrote in message
m...

Need to remove that plug after every trip to drain any water left in
the
bilge. Leave it out if left outside, even if covered, since if you have
a
leak in your cover, or if it collapses, it will be able to drain.
Letting
even a little water sit in the bilge for days at a time will create big
problems down the road.

Well, for almost a month now, there hasn't
been one single drop of water down there,
so that is why I've been leaving the plug in.
I cover it each night, so it just doesn't get
any water down there. But yeah, I'm just
going to have to make that part of my
routine, thats all. So they make some
sort of automatic plug? I can't believe
that with all the modern advancements,
that a $15-$30K boat gets down to
remembering to screw in a 25 cent plug.


Pre-launch, make it a habit to install the plug when you remove the
rear
tiedowns. Remove the plug when you fasten the tiedowns after loading
the
boat onto the trailer.

yeah, its a routine that I'm going to have
to get used to. Gosh, something so
important is just "so" manual. sheese.

thanks





Curious, you don't get any water in the boat. Are you using a canvass or
plastic cover? Canvass I hope.

Not sure what it is. Some space-age, super light
silver thing I got at Wall Mart for $49. Its great.
Its like an ultra thin, and light mylon fabric that
water beads right off. Also got the adjustable
pole thing with snap together section with a
mushroom shoe at the top. Can't beat it. Don't
know how long it will last, but it seems perfect.




A plastic cover can be bad if used improperly. It traps in the moisture
that
is accumulated while boating from the wet footed swimmers to the normal
drops of spray. If a boat were left for an extended period with some
significant amount of water left in the bilge and covered with a plastic
cover so it couldn't breathe and dry out, it could lead to dry rot of
exposed wood.

Yeah, I wondered about that. When I feel/smell,
sence mosture after an outing, I open it up when I
get home from work to let it air out. Easy to handle.

Some of the less expensive boats (at least the older ones)
didn't have plywood decking coated with fiberglass. I have seen a couple
older boats ruined because the owners stored them wet and covered them
with
plastic.

Yeah, I already feared this, and trying to be carefull
to air that baby out when I can. Maybe a fan inside
on low speed would help ?



Regards,
roadburner

"roadburner" roadburner^at^comcast^dot^net wrote in message
...
On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 22:08:41 -0700, "Mr Wizzard"
wrote:


"roadburner" roadburner^at^comcast^dot^net wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 04:35:26 GMT, "Stanley Barthfarkle"

wrote:

Need to remove that plug after every trip to drain any water left in
the
bilge. Leave it out if left outside, even if covered, since if you
have a
leak in your cover, or if it collapses, it will be able to drain.
Letting
even a little water sit in the bilge for days at a time will create
big
problems down the road.

Pre-launch, make it a habit to install the plug when you remove the
rear
tiedowns. Remove the plug when you fasten the tiedowns after loading
the
boat onto the trailer.


Good advice. It doesn't hurt to carry a backup screw type rubber
expansion
drain plug that can be put in from the inside of the boat. I still
carry 2
on board.

I was smart enough to buy 2 of the rubber plugs
when I got the boat, and carry them in my boat
box. The original has a teather, but if when I
went in, the plug was gone for some reason,
I'd have to get back in the boat, get the plug,
and dive back in the water - would have costed
me another minute or so.

For those of us that have water inlets, like for the head, tapered
dowel rods should also be carried.

Can you explain this to me? - why would you
need tapered dowel rods ?


Be happy to. If for instance the seacock on the through hole on the bottom
of the boat were to break, I could break away the seacock (mine happens to
be some type of polymer) and pound the tapered dowel rod into the through
hole stopping the water from coming in. Forgot to mention I carry a hammer
and a complete tool set on board. Sometimes I am 15 or 20 miles from the
nearest shore. Too far out to get help quickly so I try to be prepared.

Best wishes to you

So what exactally are you calling a seacock?
The threaded plug, or the threaded female ring
that the plug screws into ? So more on my incident:
I got to reading some stuff on the web, and I
scared myself. Being newly single, I go out on
tje boat a lot by myself, and sometimes on the
big waters. (and at night). So did you know that
a 1-inch hole 5 inched below the water line will
let in 44 galons/min ? ****, a 1-inch hole is nothing.
If you hit a log, or dead head, you'd get a hole
bigger than 1-inch. Scares the **** out of me.
Also did research on why my bilage pump took
so long to clear out the motor compartment.
Not good. The cheesy pump on the Bayliner
is WAY too small according to recomendations.
They say that you need about 2500 Gal/Hour
worth of bilage pump on 17-18 foot boats. And,
they say to do it with multiple pumps to protect
against failure. Every boater should read this! :

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/bilge_pumps.htm

Thanks for all of your advose/help.





Regards,
roadburner

"NOYB" wrote in message
...

"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...
Not that anyone would set out to actually "test"
this, but I wonder how long it would take for
a new bayliner 175 bowrider to sink if one were
to launch without a drain plug. Anyone know ?
Ok, ok, so I need to come clean here... Yeah,
I'm stoopid, I launched without a drain plug. Yikes.
I always leave the plug in, and never take it out,
and I got complacent and haven't been doing
due diligence in checking the stupid drain plug.
Went in salt water the day before for the first
time, so I had to hose the thing out late last night.
Let it drip over night, and never thought to check
it - it's been absent from my regular routine. So,
local lake, public fishing launch area (seperate
from main rat-race launch lane, requires the
state Vehicle Use permit for fishing). Dumped
it in, tied it up, ran the truck up to park it, walked
down, untied it, got it, started it, and started to
pull out. Engine sounding a little funny, idle a
little weird, (Merc 3.0L I/O), acceleration all
weired, mushy, and just slugish. I look over
my sholder at the engine compartment, and said
now thats odd - water splashing out of the edge
of the engine cover on the bottom near the carpet.
Thought, humm, fan must be picking up water
left over from last nights hose-off, and throwing
it around the inside of the engine cover. No big.
DOH! 2.5 seconds I realized, Whoa! - I ain't
not fan - this ain't a car engine (well it is, but)...
Hol-Lee **** buckets - it sank it (no pun) that
I left the plug in. Panicsville!. Wham! - reach
over the steering wheel with both hands and
throw ALL switches upwards cause I ain't got
time to read each one to see which is the pump.
Engine chugging pretty good by now. Boat starting
to head into rocks - depth finder shows less than
2 feet. I can't let it stall, I can't let it stall, thats
all I kept saying to myself. Bang it into reverse
and jump up on that throttle and get her out from
the rocks a bit, whew, now in about 10 feet of
water just out from the launch a bit. Think quick.
Bingo, the plug is teathered (to the oil drain hose).
Without thought, wham, swan-dive off the back
of the boat, keys, smokes, rolaids, pockets full.
Flailed around the bottom, felt the plug dangling,
and fumbled around, but got it threaded in, and
hand tight. Whew, gonna need that cold beer
after THIS one I thought as I grasped the ladder.
(too bad I won't have any dry smokes, eh).
Anyways, get back up in the boat, bilage pump
pumping like a big dog, and I'm drifting towards
the rocks again. Damn. Throw her into gear,
get out more in the center, and catch my breath.
Engine still chugging and not running good at all.
Afraid to open engine cover, but I know I gotta.
Open her up, and hol-lee-****.... My engine is
drenched, water up to, and maybe past the crank,
holey f-ing crap, I just can't believe this has happened.
Sun. Sun is good. Sun is "hot", Sun dries **** I'm
thinking. Leave the cover off. Keep her running,
I can't let it stall I kept thinking. Water level. Do
I see the water level going down? No!... wtf?
Water coming out the side? yup, rolling out like
a big dog. Dang, whats taking so long then?
Calm down. Crack that beer, it'll be Ok. Smokes?
nope - all soggy, dry ones up in the truck. Balls.
Hey! - engines sounding better! (is it the beer ?)
hell no!, I just opened it. Water level ? Ahhhhh
who da man, huh? - look at dat! - water goning down.
I'll just hang out here, and let that water quit spurting
out the side. Dang, isn't it been like a half-hour now?
Andway, but the time the bilage pump was done, the
engine was bone dry from the sun, and hot enough
to fry an egg on (from the sun on that Phantom black).
Close we up, sop up the water on the carpet, and
go have fun. Dang, that was close I thought.
...or was it? 2-3 hours goes buy, the 24-oz Bug Lite's
gone, and time to start heading in. Replaying the
whole thing in my mind, I got to wondering just how
long could I have let that plug out? what would happen?
water would fill up the engine compartment to the point
that it was overflowing on the main deck, and carpet.
At whcih point, what, drain into that center section
with the door where you keep the life vests etc?
Was that pit already full? - I didn't check that while
the engine compartment was full of water. I'm thinking
that due to the design/layout of this boat (with all of
the sections/compartments and such, that it might not
sink as fast as one might think. Ideas, thoughts ?


Happened to me once last year. Not only did I forget to put the plug in
the
through-hull...I left it at home. My wife left the ramp with the trailer
in
tow and was gone a good 2-3 minutes when I realized it was out. She got
home about 5 minutes after I realized the plug was out, and turned around
to
bring it back to me. Total time without a plug: about 15-20 minutes.
Fortunately, it was a Whaler. They don't need no stinkin' plugs. ;-)

What da? .... Few questions on your logistics....
she left for home "with" the trailer? Whats the
deal there ? she not go boating with you ?

Which Whaler, how big, and no ****!
thats impressive. Thats good to know
that you now know your limit w/o plug.

Hi Wiz,
Just so you know; all boats built after 19?? and under 20 feet are
required to have level floatation built in. You might not be happy with how
high out of the water it would float, but it should be enough to hang on to
while waiting for help to arrive.
You should try to rinse the salt off of the engine and anything else
that might have been submerged or splashed. I would then let things dry out
the best you can followed with a good anti corrosive spray. My choice would
be to use CRC 6-56, but there are other products that might be suitable.
Some things you need to monitor is your wiring, starter, power trim,
Steering cable, and alternator. Any salt left in these areas could cause
problems down the road.
You probably shouldn't be talking about this incident to your dealer.
You wouldn't want to give him an excuse to void your warranty.
JIMinFL

"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...
Not that anyone would set out to actually "test"
this, but I wonder how long it would take for
a new bayliner 175 bowrider to sink if one were
to launch without a drain plug. Anyone know ?
Ok, ok, so I need to come clean here... Yeah,
I'm stoopid, I launched without a drain plug. Yikes.
I always leave the plug in, and never take it out,
and I got complacent and haven't been doing
due diligence in checking the stupid drain plug.
Went in salt water the day before for the first
time, so I had to hose the thing out late last night.
Let it drip over night, and never thought to check
it - it's been absent from my regular routine. So,
local lake, public fishing launch area (seperate
from main rat-race launch lane, requires the
state Vehicle Use permit for fishing). Dumped
it in, tied it up, ran the truck up to park it, walked
down, untied it, got it, started it, and started to
pull out. Engine sounding a little funny, idle a
little weird, (Merc 3.0L I/O), acceleration all
weired, mushy, and just slugish. I look over
my sholder at the engine compartment, and said
now thats odd - water splashing out of the edge
of the engine cover on the bottom near the carpet.
Thought, humm, fan must be picking up water
left over from last nights hose-off, and throwing
it around the inside of the engine cover. No big.
DOH! 2.5 seconds I realized, Whoa! - I ain't
not fan - this ain't a car engine (well it is, but)...
Hol-Lee **** buckets - it sank it (no pun) that
I left the plug in. Panicsville!. Wham! - reach
over the steering wheel with both hands and
throw ALL switches upwards cause I ain't got
time to read each one to see which is the pump.
Engine chugging pretty good by now. Boat starting
to head into rocks - depth finder shows less than
2 feet. I can't let it stall, I can't let it stall, thats
all I kept saying to myself. Bang it into reverse
and jump up on that throttle and get her out from
the rocks a bit, whew, now in about 10 feet of
water just out from the launch a bit. Think quick.
Bingo, the plug is teathered (to the oil drain hose).
Without thought, wham, swan-dive off the back
of the boat, keys, smokes, rolaids, pockets full.
Flailed around the bottom, felt the plug dangling,
and fumbled around, but got it threaded in, and
hand tight. Whew, gonna need that cold beer
after THIS one I thought as I grasped the ladder.
(too bad I won't have any dry smokes, eh).
Anyways, get back up in the boat, bilage pump
pumping like a big dog, and I'm drifting towards
the rocks again. Damn. Throw her into gear,
get out more in the center, and catch my breath.
Engine still chugging and not running good at all.
Afraid to open engine cover, but I know I gotta.
Open her up, and hol-lee-****.... My engine is
drenched, water up to, and maybe past the crank,
holey f-ing crap, I just can't believe this has happened.
Sun. Sun is good. Sun is "hot", Sun dries **** I'm
thinking. Leave the cover off. Keep her running,
I can't let it stall I kept thinking. Water level. Do
I see the water level going down? No!... wtf?
Water coming out the side? yup, rolling out like
a big dog. Dang, whats taking so long then?
Calm down. Crack that beer, it'll be Ok. Smokes?
nope - all soggy, dry ones up in the truck. Balls.
Hey! - engines sounding better! (is it the beer ?)
hell no!, I just opened it. Water level ? Ahhhhh
who da man, huh? - look at dat! - water goning down.
I'll just hang out here, and let that water quit spurting
out the side. Dang, isn't it been like a half-hour now?
Andway, but the time the bilage pump was done, the
engine was bone dry from the sun, and hot enough
to fry an egg on (from the sun on that Phantom black).
Close we up, sop up the water on the carpet, and
go have fun. Dang, that was close I thought.
...or was it? 2-3 hours goes buy, the 24-oz Bug Lite's
gone, and time to start heading in. Replaying the
whole thing in my mind, I got to wondering just how
long could I have let that plug out? what would happen?
water would fill up the engine compartment to the point
that it was overflowing on the main deck, and carpet.
At whcih point, what, drain into that center section
with the door where you keep the life vests etc?
Was that pit already full? - I didn't check that while
the engine compartment was full of water. I'm thinking
that due to the design/layout of this boat (with all of
the sections/compartments and such, that it might not
sink as fast as one might think. Ideas, thoughts ?

Thanks

Wiz,

I put a clip on my boat key ring and attach the plug to the key ring. I
have seem where the service dept of marinas will attach the drain plug to
the steering wheel with a twist tie. The idea is to make it very easy not
to forgot.

PS - Put a float on the bilge pump with a lighted switch that will come on
whenever the pump is engaged. If you see the bilge pump coming on too often
or too long, you have a problem.

"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...
Not that anyone would set out to actually "test"
this, but I wonder how long it would take for
a new bayliner 175 bowrider to sink if one were
to launch without a drain plug. Anyone know ?
Ok, ok, so I need to come clean here... Yeah,
I'm stoopid, I launched without a drain plug. Yikes.
I always leave the plug in, and never take it out,
and I got complacent and haven't been doing
due diligence in checking the stupid drain plug.
Went in salt water the day before for the first
time, so I had to hose the thing out late last night.
Let it drip over night, and never thought to check
it - it's been absent from my regular routine. So,
local lake, public fishing launch area (seperate
from main rat-race launch lane, requires the
state Vehicle Use permit for fishing). Dumped
it in, tied it up, ran the truck up to park it, walked
down, untied it, got it, started it, and started to
pull out. Engine sounding a little funny, idle a
little weird, (Merc 3.0L I/O), acceleration all
weired, mushy, and just slugish. I look over
my sholder at the engine compartment, and said
now thats odd - water splashing out of the edge
of the engine cover on the bottom near the carpet.
Thought, humm, fan must be picking up water
left over from last nights hose-off, and throwing
it around the inside of the engine cover. No big.
DOH! 2.5 seconds I realized, Whoa! - I ain't
not fan - this ain't a car engine (well it is, but)...
Hol-Lee **** buckets - it sank it (no pun) that
I left the plug in. Panicsville!. Wham! - reach
over the steering wheel with both hands and
throw ALL switches upwards cause I ain't got
time to read each one to see which is the pump.
Engine chugging pretty good by now. Boat starting
to head into rocks - depth finder shows less than
2 feet. I can't let it stall, I can't let it stall, thats
all I kept saying to myself. Bang it into reverse
and jump up on that throttle and get her out from
the rocks a bit, whew, now in about 10 feet of
water just out from the launch a bit. Think quick.
Bingo, the plug is teathered (to the oil drain hose).
Without thought, wham, swan-dive off the back
of the boat, keys, smokes, rolaids, pockets full.
Flailed around the bottom, felt the plug dangling,
and fumbled around, but got it threaded in, and
hand tight. Whew, gonna need that cold beer
after THIS one I thought as I grasped the ladder.
(too bad I won't have any dry smokes, eh).
Anyways, get back up in the boat, bilage pump
pumping like a big dog, and I'm drifting towards
the rocks again. Damn. Throw her into gear,
get out more in the center, and catch my breath.
Engine still chugging and not running good at all.
Afraid to open engine cover, but I know I gotta.
Open her up, and hol-lee-****.... My engine is
drenched, water up to, and maybe past the crank,
holey f-ing crap, I just can't believe this has happened.
Sun. Sun is good. Sun is "hot", Sun dries **** I'm
thinking. Leave the cover off. Keep her running,
I can't let it stall I kept thinking. Water level. Do
I see the water level going down? No!... wtf?
Water coming out the side? yup, rolling out like
a big dog. Dang, whats taking so long then?
Calm down. Crack that beer, it'll be Ok. Smokes?
nope - all soggy, dry ones up in the truck. Balls.
Hey! - engines sounding better! (is it the beer ?)
hell no!, I just opened it. Water level ? Ahhhhh
who da man, huh? - look at dat! - water goning down.
I'll just hang out here, and let that water quit spurting
out the side. Dang, isn't it been like a half-hour now?
Andway, but the time the bilage pump was done, the
engine was bone dry from the sun, and hot enough
to fry an egg on (from the sun on that Phantom black).
Close we up, sop up the water on the carpet, and
go have fun. Dang, that was close I thought.
...or was it? 2-3 hours goes buy, the 24-oz Bug Lite's
gone, and time to start heading in. Replaying the
whole thing in my mind, I got to wondering just how
long could I have let that plug out? what would happen?
water would fill up the engine compartment to the point
that it was overflowing on the main deck, and carpet.
At whcih point, what, drain into that center section
with the door where you keep the life vests etc?
Was that pit already full? - I didn't check that while
the engine compartment was full of water. I'm thinking
that due to the design/layout of this boat (with all of
the sections/compartments and such, that it might not
sink as fast as one might think. Ideas, thoughts ?

Thanks

Wiz,
They do (or did) make an autoplug. It is a flapper value, that will allow
water out when the boat is on plane, but supposedly did not allow the water
back into the boat. My dad had one on his boat. The problem is they do
allow water to slowly seep in. As long as you always trailer your boat and
the boat never stays in the water overnight, you don't have a problem. I
would never use the flapper plug, to me it was a recipe for disaster.



"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...

"Stanley Barthfarkle" wrote in message
...

Need to remove that plug after every trip to drain any water left in the
bilge. Leave it out if left outside, even if covered, since if you have a
leak in your cover, or if it collapses, it will be able to drain. Letting
even a little water sit in the bilge for days at a time will create big
problems down the road.

Well, for almost a month now, there hasn't
been one single drop of water down there,
so that is why I've been leaving the plug in.
I cover it each night, so it just doesn't get
any water down there. But yeah, I'm just
going to have to make that part of my
routine, thats all. So they make some
sort of automatic plug? I can't believe
that with all the modern advancements,
that a $15-$30K boat gets down to
remembering to screw in a 25 cent plug.


Pre-launch, make it a habit to install the plug when you remove the rear
tiedowns. Remove the plug when you fasten the tiedowns after loading the
boat onto the trailer.

yeah, its a routine that I'm going to have
to get used to. Gosh, something so
important is just "so" manual. sheese.

thanks

dont worry about forgetting the drain plug. There are 2 types of boaters.
Those that forgot the plug and learned from it, and those that will forget
the plug. EVERYONE does it at one point.
Get a rubber stopper from the hardware store and put it on your keychain.
That way every time you reach for the ignition you will feel the plug
Good luck and welcome to the not so fun part of boating.

Steve

Karen Greer wrote in message ...
Wiz,

I put a clip on my boat key ring and attach the plug to the key ring. I
have seem where the service dept of marinas will attach the drain plug to
the steering wheel with a twist tie. The idea is to make it very easy not
to forgot.

PS - Put a float on the bilge pump with a lighted switch that will come on
whenever the pump is engaged. If you see the bilge pump coming on too
often
or too long, you have a problem.

"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...
Not that anyone would set out to actually "test"
this, but I wonder how long it would take for
a new bayliner 175 bowrider to sink if one were
to launch without a drain plug. Anyone know ?
Ok, ok, so I need to come clean here... Yeah,
I'm stoopid, I launched without a drain plug. Yikes.
I always leave the plug in, and never take it out,
and I got complacent and haven't been doing
due diligence in checking the stupid drain plug.
Went in salt water the day before for the first
time, so I had to hose the thing out late last night.
Let it drip over night, and never thought to check
it - it's been absent from my regular routine. So,
local lake, public fishing launch area (seperate
from main rat-race launch lane, requires the
state Vehicle Use permit for fishing). Dumped
it in, tied it up, ran the truck up to park it, walked
down, untied it, got it, started it, and started to
pull out. Engine sounding a little funny, idle a
little weird, (Merc 3.0L I/O), acceleration all
weired, mushy, and just slugish. I look over
my sholder at the engine compartment, and said
now thats odd - water splashing out of the edge
of the engine cover on the bottom near the carpet.
Thought, humm, fan must be picking up water
left over from last nights hose-off, and throwing
it around the inside of the engine cover. No big.
DOH! 2.5 seconds I realized, Whoa! - I ain't
not fan - this ain't a car engine (well it is, but)...
Hol-Lee **** buckets - it sank it (no pun) that
I left the plug in. Panicsville!. Wham! - reach
over the steering wheel with both hands and
throw ALL switches upwards cause I ain't got
time to read each one to see which is the pump.
Engine chugging pretty good by now. Boat starting
to head into rocks - depth finder shows less than
2 feet. I can't let it stall, I can't let it stall, thats
all I kept saying to myself. Bang it into reverse
and jump up on that throttle and get her out from
the rocks a bit, whew, now in about 10 feet of
water just out from the launch a bit. Think quick.
Bingo, the plug is teathered (to the oil drain hose).
Without thought, wham, swan-dive off the back
of the boat, keys, smokes, rolaids, pockets full.
Flailed around the bottom, felt the plug dangling,
and fumbled around, but got it threaded in, and
hand tight. Whew, gonna need that cold beer
after THIS one I thought as I grasped the ladder.
(too bad I won't have any dry smokes, eh).
Anyways, get back up in the boat, bilage pump
pumping like a big dog, and I'm drifting towards
the rocks again. Damn. Throw her into gear,
get out more in the center, and catch my breath.
Engine still chugging and not running good at all.
Afraid to open engine cover, but I know I gotta.
Open her up, and hol-lee-****.... My engine is
drenched, water up to, and maybe past the crank,
holey f-ing crap, I just can't believe this has happened.
Sun. Sun is good. Sun is "hot", Sun dries **** I'm
thinking. Leave the cover off. Keep her running,
I can't let it stall I kept thinking. Water level. Do
I see the water level going down? No!... wtf?
Water coming out the side? yup, rolling out like
a big dog. Dang, whats taking so long then?
Calm down. Crack that beer, it'll be Ok. Smokes?
nope - all soggy, dry ones up in the truck. Balls.
Hey! - engines sounding better! (is it the beer ?)
hell no!, I just opened it. Water level ? Ahhhhh
who da man, huh? - look at dat! - water goning down.
I'll just hang out here, and let that water quit spurting
out the side. Dang, isn't it been like a half-hour now?
Andway, but the time the bilage pump was done, the
engine was bone dry from the sun, and hot enough
to fry an egg on (from the sun on that Phantom black).
Close we up, sop up the water on the carpet, and
go have fun. Dang, that was close I thought.
...or was it? 2-3 hours goes buy, the 24-oz Bug Lite's
gone, and time to start heading in. Replaying the
whole thing in my mind, I got to wondering just how
long could I have let that plug out? what would happen?
water would fill up the engine compartment to the point
that it was overflowing on the main deck, and carpet.
At whcih point, what, drain into that center section
with the door where you keep the life vests etc?
Was that pit already full? - I didn't check that while
the engine compartment was full of water. I'm thinking
that due to the design/layout of this boat (with all of
the sections/compartments and such, that it might not
sink as fast as one might think. Ideas, thoughts ?

Thanks

"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...

"NOYB" wrote in message
...

"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...
Not that anyone would set out to actually "test"
this, but I wonder how long it would take for
a new bayliner 175 bowrider to sink if one were
to launch without a drain plug. Anyone know ?
Ok, ok, so I need to come clean here... Yeah,
I'm stoopid, I launched without a drain plug. Yikes.
I always leave the plug in, and never take it out,
and I got complacent and haven't been doing
due diligence in checking the stupid drain plug.
Went in salt water the day before for the first
time, so I had to hose the thing out late last night.
Let it drip over night, and never thought to check
it - it's been absent from my regular routine. So,
local lake, public fishing launch area (seperate
from main rat-race launch lane, requires the
state Vehicle Use permit for fishing). Dumped
it in, tied it up, ran the truck up to park it, walked
down, untied it, got it, started it, and started to
pull out. Engine sounding a little funny, idle a
little weird, (Merc 3.0L I/O), acceleration all
weired, mushy, and just slugish. I look over
my sholder at the engine compartment, and said
now thats odd - water splashing out of the edge
of the engine cover on the bottom near the carpet.
Thought, humm, fan must be picking up water
left over from last nights hose-off, and throwing
it around the inside of the engine cover. No big.
DOH! 2.5 seconds I realized, Whoa! - I ain't
not fan - this ain't a car engine (well it is, but)...
Hol-Lee **** buckets - it sank it (no pun) that
I left the plug in. Panicsville!. Wham! - reach
over the steering wheel with both hands and
throw ALL switches upwards cause I ain't got
time to read each one to see which is the pump.
Engine chugging pretty good by now. Boat starting
to head into rocks - depth finder shows less than
2 feet. I can't let it stall, I can't let it stall, thats
all I kept saying to myself. Bang it into reverse
and jump up on that throttle and get her out from
the rocks a bit, whew, now in about 10 feet of
water just out from the launch a bit. Think quick.
Bingo, the plug is teathered (to the oil drain hose).
Without thought, wham, swan-dive off the back
of the boat, keys, smokes, rolaids, pockets full.
Flailed around the bottom, felt the plug dangling,
and fumbled around, but got it threaded in, and
hand tight. Whew, gonna need that cold beer
after THIS one I thought as I grasped the ladder.
(too bad I won't have any dry smokes, eh).
Anyways, get back up in the boat, bilage pump
pumping like a big dog, and I'm drifting towards
the rocks again. Damn. Throw her into gear,
get out more in the center, and catch my breath.
Engine still chugging and not running good at all.
Afraid to open engine cover, but I know I gotta.
Open her up, and hol-lee-****.... My engine is
drenched, water up to, and maybe past the crank,
holey f-ing crap, I just can't believe this has happened.
Sun. Sun is good. Sun is "hot", Sun dries **** I'm
thinking. Leave the cover off. Keep her running,
I can't let it stall I kept thinking. Water level. Do
I see the water level going down? No!... wtf?
Water coming out the side? yup, rolling out like
a big dog. Dang, whats taking so long then?
Calm down. Crack that beer, it'll be Ok. Smokes?
nope - all soggy, dry ones up in the truck. Balls.
Hey! - engines sounding better! (is it the beer ?)
hell no!, I just opened it. Water level ? Ahhhhh
who da man, huh? - look at dat! - water goning down.
I'll just hang out here, and let that water quit spurting
out the side. Dang, isn't it been like a half-hour now?
Andway, but the time the bilage pump was done, the
engine was bone dry from the sun, and hot enough
to fry an egg on (from the sun on that Phantom black).
Close we up, sop up the water on the carpet, and
go have fun. Dang, that was close I thought.
...or was it? 2-3 hours goes buy, the 24-oz Bug Lite's
gone, and time to start heading in. Replaying the
whole thing in my mind, I got to wondering just how
long could I have let that plug out? what would happen?
water would fill up the engine compartment to the point
that it was overflowing on the main deck, and carpet.
At whcih point, what, drain into that center section
with the door where you keep the life vests etc?
Was that pit already full? - I didn't check that while
the engine compartment was full of water. I'm thinking
that due to the design/layout of this boat (with all of
the sections/compartments and such, that it might not
sink as fast as one might think. Ideas, thoughts ?


Happened to me once last year. Not only did I forget to put the plug in
the
through-hull...I left it at home. My wife left the ramp with the trailer
in
tow and was gone a good 2-3 minutes when I realized it was out. She got
home about 5 minutes after I realized the plug was out, and turned around
to
bring it back to me. Total time without a plug: about 15-20 minutes.
Fortunately, it was a Whaler. They don't need no stinkin' plugs. ;-)

What da? .... Few questions on your logistics....
she left for home "with" the trailer? Whats the
deal there ? she not go boating with you ?


I was launching the little boat for the weekend, going out fishing with my
son, and then running the boat back to my dock behind my house when I was
done. I do that on Fridays when I know I'm going to use the smaller boat on
Saturdays, so that I don't have to fight the weekend warriors at the ramp.


Which Whaler, how big, and no ****!

Boston Whaler Outrage 17'. Whalers are all designed to float without the
plug in place. My Outrage is self-bailing with scuppers. But I used to own
a 22' Whaler Revenge that had no scuppers. You pulled the starboard side
sump area drain plug at the dock or under way, and that's the way the water
drained. Some water would come in, but only a couple of inches. Since I
kept the boat in salt water though, I always left the plug in because you
would actually get growth and barnacles in the sump area when the plug was
out. The plug in the floor of the cabin on that Revenge was another story.
I pulled that plug to see what would happen, and water came in until it was
about a foot and a half deep in the floor of the cabin. I suspect that it
would have eventally leveled off, but I didn't want to push my luck. You
could pull that drain in the cabin while under way though, and the water
would run right out.



thats impressive. Thats good to know
that you now know your limit w/o plug.

The limit for most boats without a plug is the depth of the water. ;-)

"JIMinFL" wrote in message
nk.net...
Hi Wiz,
Just so you know; all boats built after 19?? and under 20 feet are
required to have level floatation built in.

Those boats won't float the powerhead though. A Whaler will.

NOYB wrote:
"JIMinFL" wrote in message
nk.net...
Hi Wiz,
Just so you know; all boats built after 19?? and under 20 feet are
required to have level floatation built in.

Those boats won't float the powerhead though. A Whaler will.




Not necessarily true. Any number of outboard boats have enough flotation
properly placed to float the boat and its powerhead.

"roadburner" roadburner^at^comcast^dot^net wrote in message
...
On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 00:51:52 -0700, "Mr Wizzard"
wrote:


"roadburner" roadburner^at^comcast^dot^net wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 22:08:41 -0700, "Mr Wizzard"
wrote:


"roadburner" roadburner^at^comcast^dot^net wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 04:35:26 GMT, "Stanley Barthfarkle"

wrote:

Need to remove that plug after every trip to drain any water left
in
the
bilge. Leave it out if left outside, even if covered, since if you
have a
leak in your cover, or if it collapses, it will be able to drain.
Letting
even a little water sit in the bilge for days at a time will create
big
problems down the road.

Pre-launch, make it a habit to install the plug when you remove the
rear
tiedowns. Remove the plug when you fasten the tiedowns after
loading
the
boat onto the trailer.


Good advice. It doesn't hurt to carry a backup screw type rubber
expansion
drain plug that can be put in from the inside of the boat. I still
carry 2
on board.

I was smart enough to buy 2 of the rubber plugs
when I got the boat, and carry them in my boat
box. The original has a teather, but if when I
went in, the plug was gone for some reason,
I'd have to get back in the boat, get the plug,
and dive back in the water - would have costed
me another minute or so.

For those of us that have water inlets, like for the head, tapered
dowel rods should also be carried.

Can you explain this to me? - why would you
need tapered dowel rods ?


Be happy to. If for instance the seacock on the through hole on the
bottom
of the boat were to break, I could break away the seacock (mine happens
to
be some type of polymer) and pound the tapered dowel rod into the
through
hole stopping the water from coming in. Forgot to mention I carry a
hammer
and a complete tool set on board. Sometimes I am 15 or 20 miles from
the
nearest shore. Too far out to get help quickly so I try to be prepared.

Best wishes to you

So what exactally are you calling a seacock?
The threaded plug, or the threaded female ring
that the plug screws into ? So more on my incident:
I got to reading some stuff on the web, and I
scared myself. Being newly single, I go out on
tje boat a lot by myself, and sometimes on the
big waters. (and at night). So did you know that
a 1-inch hole 5 inched below the water line will
let in 44 galons/min ? ****, a 1-inch hole is nothing.
If you hit a log, or dead head, you'd get a hole
bigger than 1-inch. Scares the **** out of me.
Also did research on why my bilage pump took
so long to clear out the motor compartment.
Not good. The cheesy pump on the Bayliner
is WAY too small according to recomendations.
They say that you need about 2500 Gal/Hour
worth of bilage pump on 17-18 foot boats. And,
they say to do it with multiple pumps to protect
against failure. Every boater should read this! :

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/bilge_pumps.htm

Thanks for all of your advose/help.

Your bilge pump has a hose connected to it that in turn is connected to a
thru-hull fitting above the water line. The thru-hull fitting is in the
hole
in the side of your boat that the bilge pump hose connects to.

A seacock is nothing more than a valve. I have thru-hull fitting on the
bottom odf my boat. Attached to the thru-hull is the seacock (fancy name
for a valve) which in turn has a high strength braided hose coupled to it
that goes to the head. What I intended to say was I could break off the
leaking seacock and pound a wooden tapered dowel into the hole of the
thru-hull fitting stopping the inrushing water.

In the spring, the waters I boat in have more than their fair share of
floating logs and whole trees from the heavy spring rains and flooding as
a
result of melting snow.

I spend weekends on the boat and when under way at night, keep the speed
at
idle. Over the years I have hit a couple of floating trees, but I was
going
slow enough, so no damage was done. Fortunately, the smaller lake waters I
boat in have no concrete or rock deadheads more than a hundred yards from
the shoreline.

As for Lake Erie, I know the entrance to the harbor. On one side is a
lighthouse, the other a breakwall. Both side are well marked with lights
at
night. (Though every year or so, someone manages to run into them,
sometimes
at high speed)

You are correct on the pump sizes. Bigger is better. The problem is the
size
of the exit hose that the water will be ejected from the boat through. A
small diameter exit hose won't let the 2500 gal/hr pump run at its rated
capacity.

Bigger is better.......but more than one is even better..........



Gotta run off to work. have a nice day.

Regards,
roadburner

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
"JIMinFL" wrote in message
nk.net...
Hi Wiz,
Just so you know; all boats built after 19?? and under 20 feet are
required to have level floatation built in.

Those boats won't float the powerhead though. A Whaler will.




Not necessarily true. Any number of outboard boats have enough flotation
properly placed to float the boat and its powerhead.

Bayliners? With I/O's?

"JIMinFL" wrote in message
nk.net...

Luckily this was a local lake fresh water incident.
Motor is nice and clean now! All that manufacturing
dust is all gone now.

Thanks.

Hi Wiz,
Just so you know; all boats built after 19?? and under 20 feet are
required to have level floatation built in. You might not be happy with
how
high out of the water it would float, but it should be enough to hang on
to
while waiting for help to arrive.
You should try to rinse the salt off of the engine and anything else
that might have been submerged or splashed. I would then let things dry
out
the best you can followed with a good anti corrosive spray. My choice
would
be to use CRC 6-56, but there are other products that might be suitable.
Some things you need to monitor is your wiring, starter, power trim,
Steering cable, and alternator. Any salt left in these areas could cause
problems down the road.
You probably shouldn't be talking about this incident to your dealer.
You wouldn't want to give him an excuse to void your warranty.
JIMinFL

"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...
Not that anyone would set out to actually "test"
this, but I wonder how long it would take for
a new bayliner 175 bowrider to sink if one were
to launch without a drain plug. Anyone know ?
Ok, ok, so I need to come clean here... Yeah,
I'm stoopid, I launched without a drain plug. Yikes.
I always leave the plug in, and never take it out,
and I got complacent and haven't been doing
due diligence in checking the stupid drain plug.
Went in salt water the day before for the first
time, so I had to hose the thing out late last night.
Let it drip over night, and never thought to check
it - it's been absent from my regular routine. So,
local lake, public fishing launch area (seperate
from main rat-race launch lane, requires the
state Vehicle Use permit for fishing). Dumped
it in, tied it up, ran the truck up to park it, walked
down, untied it, got it, started it, and started to
pull out. Engine sounding a little funny, idle a
little weird, (Merc 3.0L I/O), acceleration all
weired, mushy, and just slugish. I look over
my sholder at the engine compartment, and said
now thats odd - water splashing out of the edge
of the engine cover on the bottom near the carpet.
Thought, humm, fan must be picking up water
left over from last nights hose-off, and throwing
it around the inside of the engine cover. No big.
DOH! 2.5 seconds I realized, Whoa! - I ain't
not fan - this ain't a car engine (well it is, but)...
Hol-Lee **** buckets - it sank it (no pun) that
I left the plug in. Panicsville!. Wham! - reach
over the steering wheel with both hands and
throw ALL switches upwards cause I ain't got
time to read each one to see which is the pump.
Engine chugging pretty good by now. Boat starting
to head into rocks - depth finder shows less than
2 feet. I can't let it stall, I can't let it stall, thats
all I kept saying to myself. Bang it into reverse
and jump up on that throttle and get her out from
the rocks a bit, whew, now in about 10 feet of
water just out from the launch a bit. Think quick.
Bingo, the plug is teathered (to the oil drain hose).
Without thought, wham, swan-dive off the back
of the boat, keys, smokes, rolaids, pockets full.
Flailed around the bottom, felt the plug dangling,
and fumbled around, but got it threaded in, and
hand tight. Whew, gonna need that cold beer
after THIS one I thought as I grasped the ladder.
(too bad I won't have any dry smokes, eh).
Anyways, get back up in the boat, bilage pump
pumping like a big dog, and I'm drifting towards
the rocks again. Damn. Throw her into gear,
get out more in the center, and catch my breath.
Engine still chugging and not running good at all.
Afraid to open engine cover, but I know I gotta.
Open her up, and hol-lee-****.... My engine is
drenched, water up to, and maybe past the crank,
holey f-ing crap, I just can't believe this has happened.
Sun. Sun is good. Sun is "hot", Sun dries **** I'm
thinking. Leave the cover off. Keep her running,
I can't let it stall I kept thinking. Water level. Do
I see the water level going down? No!... wtf?
Water coming out the side? yup, rolling out like
a big dog. Dang, whats taking so long then?
Calm down. Crack that beer, it'll be Ok. Smokes?
nope - all soggy, dry ones up in the truck. Balls.
Hey! - engines sounding better! (is it the beer ?)
hell no!, I just opened it. Water level ? Ahhhhh
who da man, huh? - look at dat! - water goning down.
I'll just hang out here, and let that water quit spurting
out the side. Dang, isn't it been like a half-hour now?
Andway, but the time the bilage pump was done, the
engine was bone dry from the sun, and hot enough
to fry an egg on (from the sun on that Phantom black).
Close we up, sop up the water on the carpet, and
go have fun. Dang, that was close I thought.
...or was it? 2-3 hours goes buy, the 24-oz Bug Lite's
gone, and time to start heading in. Replaying the
whole thing in my mind, I got to wondering just how
long could I have let that plug out? what would happen?
water would fill up the engine compartment to the point
that it was overflowing on the main deck, and carpet.
At whcih point, what, drain into that center section
with the door where you keep the life vests etc?
Was that pit already full? - I didn't check that while
the engine compartment was full of water. I'm thinking
that due to the design/layout of this boat (with all of
the sections/compartments and such, that it might not
sink as fast as one might think. Ideas, thoughts ?

Thanks

"NOYB" wrote in message
k.net...

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
"JIMinFL" wrote in message
nk.net...
Hi Wiz,
Just so you know; all boats built after 19?? and under 20 feet are
required to have level floatation built in.

Those boats won't float the powerhead though. A Whaler will.




Not necessarily true. Any number of outboard boats have enough flotation
properly placed to float the boat and its powerhead.

Bayliners? With I/O's?

Bayliners are mostly I/O's. Very few are O/B's.

NOYB wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
"JIMinFL" wrote in message
nk.net...
Hi Wiz,
Just so you know; all boats built after 19?? and under 20 feet are
required to have level floatation built in.
Those boats won't float the powerhead though. A Whaler will.



Not necessarily true. Any number of outboard boats have enough flotation
properly placed to float the boat and its powerhead.

Bayliners? With I/O's?



The powerhead in an I/O typically is lower in the hull than an outboard
powerhead might be, and that might improve the boat's chances of
remaining afloat, if awash, assuming it has sufficient flotation.

I have seen capsized Whalers in my lifetime. They're floating, but
upside down. You put two 500-pound outboard powerheads on the stern of a
big Whaler, flip it, and then tell me it righted itself. Doubtful. If it
is awash and in heavy seas, it might flip.

Mr Wizzard wrote:
"NOYB" wrote in message
k.net...
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
"JIMinFL" wrote in message
nk.net...
Hi Wiz,
Just so you know; all boats built after 19?? and under 20 feet are
required to have level floatation built in.
Those boats won't float the powerhead though. A Whaler will.



Not necessarily true. Any number of outboard boats have enough flotation
properly placed to float the boat and its powerhead.
Bayliners? With I/O's?

Bayliners are mostly I/O's. Very few are O/B's.





Bayliner makes a line of boats called "Trophy," and the smaller ones and
several of the larger ones are outboard-equipped.

I'm not a big fan of I/O's, but I understand why some people like them.

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
"JIMinFL" wrote in message
nk.net...
Hi Wiz,
Just so you know; all boats built after 19?? and under 20 feet are
required to have level floatation built in.
Those boats won't float the powerhead though. A Whaler will.



Not necessarily true. Any number of outboard boats have enough flotation
properly placed to float the boat and its powerhead.

Bayliners? With I/O's?



The powerhead in an I/O typically is lower in the hull than an outboard
powerhead might be, and that might improve the boat's chances of remaining
afloat, if awash, assuming it has sufficient flotation.

I have seen capsized Whalers in my lifetime. They're floating, but upside
down. You put two 500-pound outboard powerheads on the stern of a big
Whaler, flip it, and then tell me it righted itself. Doubtful. If it is
awash and in heavy seas, it might flip.

Yes, they could flip. My brother took a huge rogue wave over the bow of his
18' Outrage while 18 miles from shore. The boat filled right up to the top
of the gunnel with water. He said that the boat became very tippy for a
moment, but the engine remained running and he just powered forward, the bow
popped up, and most of the water rushed out the large notched transom in the
back. That's one of the reasons why I'm a fan of the older Whalers with
notched transoms. You don't have very long before a swamped boat flips, so
you need to get that water out in a hurry. Throttling up is the quickest
way to do it.

NOYB wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
"JIMinFL" wrote in message
nk.net...
Hi Wiz,
Just so you know; all boats built after 19?? and under 20 feet are
required to have level floatation built in.
Those boats won't float the powerhead though. A Whaler will.


Not necessarily true. Any number of outboard boats have enough flotation
properly placed to float the boat and its powerhead.
Bayliners? With I/O's?


The powerhead in an I/O typically is lower in the hull than an outboard
powerhead might be, and that might improve the boat's chances of remaining
afloat, if awash, assuming it has sufficient flotation.

I have seen capsized Whalers in my lifetime. They're floating, but upside
down. You put two 500-pound outboard powerheads on the stern of a big
Whaler, flip it, and then tell me it righted itself. Doubtful. If it is
awash and in heavy seas, it might flip.

Yes, they could flip. My brother took a huge rogue wave over the bow of his
18' Outrage while 18 miles from shore. The boat filled right up to the top
of the gunnel with water. He said that the boat became very tippy for a
moment, but the engine remained running and he just powered forward, the bow
popped up, and most of the water rushed out the large notched transom in the
back. That's one of the reasons why I'm a fan of the older Whalers with
notched transoms. You don't have very long before a swamped boat flips, so
you need to get that water out in a hurry. Throttling up is the quickest
way to do it.



I swamped one of my first SeaPro's once. I was anchored at a beach, and
I had the anchor line tied to the bow cleat. A sudden windstorm came up,
and waves started breaking over the bow. The boat was filling with water
faster than the drain plugs could unload it. I sliced off the anchor
line, gave the engine some RPMs and drained the water over the stern, as
your brother did. That would NOT be do-able on my Parker, because it has
a full transom and a bracket. The boat has a lot of flotation below the
deck, but my guess is it would sink like a stone if it filled with water.

Speaking of sinking like stones, I've decided to always wear my
inflatable life vest when I go forward to mess with the anchor. I'm a
good swimmer, but you just never know.

Lol - thats one of those things that you only do once!



"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...
Not that anyone would set out to actually "test"
this, but I wonder how long it would take for
a new bayliner 175 bowrider to sink if one were
to launch without a drain plug. Anyone know ?
Ok, ok, so I need to come clean here... Yeah,
I'm stoopid, I launched without a drain plug. Yikes.
I always leave the plug in, and never take it out,
and I got complacent and haven't been doing
due diligence in checking the stupid drain plug.
Went in salt water the day before for the first
time, so I had to hose the thing out late last night.
Let it drip over night, and never thought to check
it - it's been absent from my regular routine. So,
local lake, public fishing launch area (seperate
from main rat-race launch lane, requires the
state Vehicle Use permit for fishing). Dumped
it in, tied it up, ran the truck up to park it, walked
down, untied it, got it, started it, and started to
pull out. Engine sounding a little funny, idle a
little weird, (Merc 3.0L I/O), acceleration all
weired, mushy, and just slugish. I look over
my sholder at the engine compartment, and said
now thats odd - water splashing out of the edge
of the engine cover on the bottom near the carpet.
Thought, humm, fan must be picking up water
left over from last nights hose-off, and throwing
it around the inside of the engine cover. No big.
DOH! 2.5 seconds I realized, Whoa! - I ain't
not fan - this ain't a car engine (well it is, but)...
Hol-Lee **** buckets - it sank it (no pun) that
I left the plug in. Panicsville!. Wham! - reach
over the steering wheel with both hands and
throw ALL switches upwards cause I ain't got
time to read each one to see which is the pump.
Engine chugging pretty good by now. Boat starting
to head into rocks - depth finder shows less than
2 feet. I can't let it stall, I can't let it stall, thats
all I kept saying to myself. Bang it into reverse
and jump up on that throttle and get her out from
the rocks a bit, whew, now in about 10 feet of
water just out from the launch a bit. Think quick.
Bingo, the plug is teathered (to the oil drain hose).
Without thought, wham, swan-dive off the back
of the boat, keys, smokes, rolaids, pockets full.
Flailed around the bottom, felt the plug dangling,
and fumbled around, but got it threaded in, and
hand tight. Whew, gonna need that cold beer
after THIS one I thought as I grasped the ladder.
(too bad I won't have any dry smokes, eh).
Anyways, get back up in the boat, bilage pump
pumping like a big dog, and I'm drifting towards
the rocks again. Damn. Throw her into gear,
get out more in the center, and catch my breath.
Engine still chugging and not running good at all.
Afraid to open engine cover, but I know I gotta.
Open her up, and hol-lee-****.... My engine is
drenched, water up to, and maybe past the crank,
holey f-ing crap, I just can't believe this has happened.
Sun. Sun is good. Sun is "hot", Sun dries **** I'm
thinking. Leave the cover off. Keep her running,
I can't let it stall I kept thinking. Water level. Do
I see the water level going down? No!... wtf?
Water coming out the side? yup, rolling out like
a big dog. Dang, whats taking so long then?
Calm down. Crack that beer, it'll be Ok. Smokes?
nope - all soggy, dry ones up in the truck. Balls.
Hey! - engines sounding better! (is it the beer ?)
hell no!, I just opened it. Water level ? Ahhhhh
who da man, huh? - look at dat! - water goning down.
I'll just hang out here, and let that water quit spurting
out the side. Dang, isn't it been like a half-hour now?
Andway, but the time the bilage pump was done, the
engine was bone dry from the sun, and hot enough
to fry an egg on (from the sun on that Phantom black).
Close we up, sop up the water on the carpet, and
go have fun. Dang, that was close I thought.
...or was it? 2-3 hours goes buy, the 24-oz Bug Lite's
gone, and time to start heading in. Replaying the
whole thing in my mind, I got to wondering just how
long could I have let that plug out? what would happen?
water would fill up the engine compartment to the point
that it was overflowing on the main deck, and carpet.
At whcih point, what, drain into that center section
with the door where you keep the life vests etc?
Was that pit already full? - I didn't check that while
the engine compartment was full of water. I'm thinking
that due to the design/layout of this boat (with all of
the sections/compartments and such, that it might not
sink as fast as one might think. Ideas, thoughts ?

Thanks

NOYB wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
"JIMinFL" wrote in message
nk.net...
Hi Wiz,
Just so you know; all boats built after 19?? and under 20 feet are
required to have level floatation built in.

Those boats won't float the powerhead though. A Whaler will.




Not necessarily true. Any number of outboard boats have enough flotation
properly placed to float the boat and its powerhead.

Bayliners? With I/O's?

Why do you ask? Many, if not most are I/O's.

Current boats 20' have to have "level floation". That means the Bayliner
wouldn't sink, but an awful lot of stuff would get wet.

A couple of motivated guys with buckets can stay ahead of the
the drain plug. Several years ago this blonde (no kidding) launches
her boat (one of those low freeboard V8 ski boats that were popular
about 1980), ties it up, and heads off to park the truck and grab a
burger. We were hanging out on the dock while a couple of folks used
the head on shore. A few minutes later we noticed that her boat had a list
and was kinda low in the water. We couldn't find the hole the water was
coming in (turns out there was drain way under that V8), the bilge pump
switch didn't make anything happen (hardware store wiring with those really
dumb ScotchLock splices), so we grabbed the
bailing bucket off my whaler and another bucket from somewhere and
started bailing. We were gaining on it when she showed up, put the
plug in, and sweet talked the marina mech into bringing down a bilge pump
with jumper cables on it to fiinish the dewatering job.

And before some wise ass Bayliner driver asks "why a bailing bucket on
a Boston Whaler, I thought they are unsinkable":

1. Required to pass the USCGA Courtesy Marine Exam each year.

2. Useful for dumping a bucket or two of water on the mutt to cool him off,

3. It's also the trash bag (one of those behind the passenger seat auto
trash bags).

4. They really are unsinkable, but if you get complacent, Neptune will find
a way.


"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...
Not that anyone would set out to actually "test"
this, but I wonder how long it would take for
a new bayliner 175 bowrider to sink if one were
to launch without a drain plug. Anyone know ?
Ok, ok, so I need to come clean here... Yeah,
I'm stoopid, I launched without a drain plug. Yikes.
I always leave the plug in, and never take it out,
and I got complacent and haven't been doing
due diligence in checking the stupid drain plug.
Went in salt water the day before for the first
time, so I had to hose the thing out late last night.
Let it drip over night, and never thought to check
it - it's been absent from my regular routine. So,
local lake, public fishing launch area (seperate
from main rat-race launch lane, requires the
state Vehicle Use permit for fishing). Dumped
it in, tied it up, ran the truck up to park it, walked
down, untied it, got it, started it, and started to
pull out. Engine sounding a little funny, idle a
little weird, (Merc 3.0L I/O), acceleration all
weired, mushy, and just slugish. I look over
my sholder at the engine compartment, and said
now thats odd - water splashing out of the edge
of the engine cover on the bottom near the carpet.
Thought, humm, fan must be picking up water
left over from last nights hose-off, and throwing
it around the inside of the engine cover. No big.
DOH! 2.5 seconds I realized, Whoa! - I ain't
not fan - this ain't a car engine (well it is, but)...
Hol-Lee **** buckets - it sank it (no pun) that
I left the plug in. Panicsville!. Wham! - reach
over the steering wheel with both hands and
throw ALL switches upwards cause I ain't got
time to read each one to see which is the pump.
Engine chugging pretty good by now. Boat starting
to head into rocks - depth finder shows less than
2 feet. I can't let it stall, I can't let it stall, thats
all I kept saying to myself. Bang it into reverse
and jump up on that throttle and get her out from
the rocks a bit, whew, now in about 10 feet of
water just out from the launch a bit. Think quick.
Bingo, the plug is teathered (to the oil drain hose).
Without thought, wham, swan-dive off the back
of the boat, keys, smokes, rolaids, pockets full.
Flailed around the bottom, felt the plug dangling,
and fumbled around, but got it threaded in, and
hand tight. Whew, gonna need that cold beer
after THIS one I thought as I grasped the ladder.
(too bad I won't have any dry smokes, eh).
Anyways, get back up in the boat, bilage pump
pumping like a big dog, and I'm drifting towards
the rocks again. Damn. Throw her into gear,
get out more in the center, and catch my breath.
Engine still chugging and not running good at all.
Afraid to open engine cover, but I know I gotta.
Open her up, and hol-lee-****.... My engine is
drenched, water up to, and maybe past the crank,
holey f-ing crap, I just can't believe this has happened.
Sun. Sun is good. Sun is "hot", Sun dries **** I'm
thinking. Leave the cover off. Keep her running,
I can't let it stall I kept thinking. Water level. Do
I see the water level going down? No!... wtf?
Water coming out the side? yup, rolling out like
a big dog. Dang, whats taking so long then?
Calm down. Crack that beer, it'll be Ok. Smokes?
nope - all soggy, dry ones up in the truck. Balls.
Hey! - engines sounding better! (is it the beer ?)
hell no!, I just opened it. Water level ? Ahhhhh
who da man, huh? - look at dat! - water goning down.
I'll just hang out here, and let that water quit spurting
out the side. Dang, isn't it been like a half-hour now?
Andway, but the time the bilage pump was done, the
engine was bone dry from the sun, and hot enough
to fry an egg on (from the sun on that Phantom black).
Close we up, sop up the water on the carpet, and
go have fun. Dang, that was close I thought.
...or was it? 2-3 hours goes buy, the 24-oz Bug Lite's
gone, and time to start heading in. Replaying the
whole thing in my mind, I got to wondering just how
long could I have let that plug out? what would happen?
water would fill up the engine compartment to the point
that it was overflowing on the main deck, and carpet.
At whcih point, what, drain into that center section
with the door where you keep the life vests etc?
Was that pit already full? - I didn't check that while
the engine compartment was full of water. I'm thinking
that due to the design/layout of this boat (with all of
the sections/compartments and such, that it might not
sink as fast as one might think. Ideas, thoughts ?

Thanks

The worst part of the forgotten plug scenario is the aftermath in a few
months. The rust that shows up in starters, etc.

"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...

"roadburner" roadburner^at^comcast^dot^net wrote in message
...
On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 04:35:26 GMT, "Stanley Barthfarkle"

wrote:



If you accidentally launched without a drain plug and you pulled your
trailer up and away, could one be quick witted enough to start the engine
and accelerate away draining the water? Then put in a backup drain plug
from
the inside? Just a thought.

Dude, I never thought of that! Having survived
a plug-less launch, I'm a little less worked up
about the whole thing to where I'd feel confortable
with trying something like that. Problem for me is,
that with an I/O, its a little hard to get back in there
from the inside. I'm thinking that what is needed
is one of them 1/4 turn ball-valves with the long
handle on it. Plumb that up from the inside, and
fashon up a cable to open/close that sumbitch.


Regards,
roadburner

"NOYB" wrote in message
nk.net...

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
"JIMinFL" wrote in message
nk.net...
Hi Wiz,
Just so you know; all boats built after 19?? and under 20 feet are
required to have level floatation built in.
Those boats won't float the powerhead though. A Whaler will.



Not necessarily true. Any number of outboard boats have enough
flotation properly placed to float the boat and its powerhead.

Bayliners? With I/O's?



The powerhead in an I/O typically is lower in the hull than an outboard
powerhead might be, and that might improve the boat's chances of
remaining afloat, if awash, assuming it has sufficient flotation.

I have seen capsized Whalers in my lifetime. They're floating, but upside
down. You put two 500-pound outboard powerheads on the stern of a big
Whaler, flip it, and then tell me it righted itself. Doubtful. If it is
awash and in heavy seas, it might flip.

Yes, they could flip. My brother took a huge rogue wave over the bow of
his 18' Outrage while 18 miles from shore. The boat filled right up to
the top of the gunnel with water. He said that the boat became very tippy
for a moment, but the engine remained running and he just powered forward,
the bow popped up, and most of the water rushed out the large notched
transom in the back. That's one of the reasons why I'm a fan of the older
Whalers with notched transoms. You don't have very long before a swamped
boat flips, so you need to get that water out in a hurry. Throttling up
is the quickest way to do it.




The problem is when the whaler gets in a situation where it quickly flips.
Friend earlier this year was trying to unstick a crab pot when a large wave
flipped the boat. 6 hours later, the three guys were luckily seen and
rescued just before dark. They were sitting on the bottom of the boat. The
handheld VHF was at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. We probably see more
whalers flipped than any other boat off the West coast. The Whaler owners
believe all the advertising quoting the safety of the boat. And they go out
when it is inappropriate.

My boat informs me that the plug is not installed, by shooting a stream of
water out the side of the boat. If I wait long enough there will be 2 large
streams of water shooting out the side of the boat.
Bill

Karen Greer wrote in message ...
Wiz,

I put a clip on my boat key ring and attach the plug to the key ring. I
have seem where the service dept of marinas will attach the drain plug to
the steering wheel with a twist tie. The idea is to make it very easy not
to forgot.

PS - Put a float on the bilge pump with a lighted switch that will come on
whenever the pump is engaged. If you see the bilge pump coming on too
often or too long, you have a problem.

"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...
Not that anyone would set out to actually "test"
this, but I wonder how long it would take for
a new bayliner 175 bowrider to sink if one were
to launch without a drain plug. Anyone know ?
Ok, ok, so I need to come clean here... Yeah,
I'm stoopid, I launched without a drain plug. Yikes.
I always leave the plug in, and never take it out,
and I got complacent and haven't been doing
due diligence in checking the stupid drain plug.
Went in salt water the day before for the first
time, so I had to hose the thing out late last night.
Let it drip over night, and never thought to check
it - it's been absent from my regular routine. So,
local lake, public fishing launch area (seperate
from main rat-race launch lane, requires the
state Vehicle Use permit for fishing). Dumped
it in, tied it up, ran the truck up to park it, walked
down, untied it, got it, started it, and started to
pull out. Engine sounding a little funny, idle a
little weird, (Merc 3.0L I/O), acceleration all
weired, mushy, and just slugish. I look over
my sholder at the engine compartment, and said
now thats odd - water splashing out of the edge
of the engine cover on the bottom near the carpet.
Thought, humm, fan must be picking up water
left over from last nights hose-off, and throwing
it around the inside of the engine cover. No big.
DOH! 2.5 seconds I realized, Whoa! - I ain't
not fan - this ain't a car engine (well it is, but)...
Hol-Lee **** buckets - it sank it (no pun) that
I left the plug in. Panicsville!. Wham! - reach
over the steering wheel with both hands and
throw ALL switches upwards cause I ain't got
time to read each one to see which is the pump.
Engine chugging pretty good by now. Boat starting
to head into rocks - depth finder shows less than
2 feet. I can't let it stall, I can't let it stall, thats
all I kept saying to myself. Bang it into reverse
and jump up on that throttle and get her out from
the rocks a bit, whew, now in about 10 feet of
water just out from the launch a bit. Think quick.
Bingo, the plug is teathered (to the oil drain hose).
Without thought, wham, swan-dive off the back
of the boat, keys, smokes, rolaids, pockets full.
Flailed around the bottom, felt the plug dangling,
and fumbled around, but got it threaded in, and
hand tight. Whew, gonna need that cold beer
after THIS one I thought as I grasped the ladder.
(too bad I won't have any dry smokes, eh).
Anyways, get back up in the boat, bilage pump
pumping like a big dog, and I'm drifting towards
the rocks again. Damn. Throw her into gear,
get out more in the center, and catch my breath.
Engine still chugging and not running good at all.
Afraid to open engine cover, but I know I gotta.
Open her up, and hol-lee-****.... My engine is
drenched, water up to, and maybe past the crank,
holey f-ing crap, I just can't believe this has happened.
Sun. Sun is good. Sun is "hot", Sun dries **** I'm
thinking. Leave the cover off. Keep her running,
I can't let it stall I kept thinking. Water level. Do
I see the water level going down? No!... wtf?
Water coming out the side? yup, rolling out like
a big dog. Dang, whats taking so long then?
Calm down. Crack that beer, it'll be Ok. Smokes?
nope - all soggy, dry ones up in the truck. Balls.
Hey! - engines sounding better! (is it the beer ?)
hell no!, I just opened it. Water level ? Ahhhhh
who da man, huh? - look at dat! - water goning down.
I'll just hang out here, and let that water quit spurting
out the side. Dang, isn't it been like a half-hour now?
Andway, but the time the bilage pump was done, the
engine was bone dry from the sun, and hot enough
to fry an egg on (from the sun on that Phantom black).
Close we up, sop up the water on the carpet, and
go have fun. Dang, that was close I thought.
...or was it? 2-3 hours goes buy, the 24-oz Bug Lite's
gone, and time to start heading in. Replaying the
whole thing in my mind, I got to wondering just how
long could I have let that plug out? what would happen?
water would fill up the engine compartment to the point
that it was overflowing on the main deck, and carpet.
At whcih point, what, drain into that center section
with the door where you keep the life vests etc?
Was that pit already full? - I didn't check that while
the engine compartment was full of water. I'm thinking
that due to the design/layout of this boat (with all of
the sections/compartments and such, that it might not
sink as fast as one might think. Ideas, thoughts ?

Thanks

"Bill McKee" wrote in message
nk.net...

The worst part of the forgotten plug scenario is the aftermath in a few
months. The rust that shows up in starters, etc.

Oh ****, that was my darkest fear. The starter isn't
water proof, is it ? Now what? Anything I can do?
Or just wait it out and see what happens ?





"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...

"roadburner" roadburner^at^comcast^dot^net wrote in message
...
On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 04:35:26 GMT, "Stanley Barthfarkle"

wrote:



If you accidentally launched without a drain plug and you pulled your
trailer up and away, could one be quick witted enough to start the
engine
and accelerate away draining the water? Then put in a backup drain plug
from
the inside? Just a thought.

Dude, I never thought of that! Having survived
a plug-less launch, I'm a little less worked up
about the whole thing to where I'd feel confortable
with trying something like that. Problem for me is,
that with an I/O, its a little hard to get back in there
from the inside. I'm thinking that what is needed
is one of them 1/4 turn ball-valves with the long
handle on it. Plumb that up from the inside, and
fashon up a cable to open/close that sumbitch.


Regards,
roadburner

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Mr Wizzard wrote:
"NOYB" wrote in message
k.net...
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
"JIMinFL" wrote in message
nk.net...
Hi Wiz,
Just so you know; all boats built after 19?? and under 20 feet
are
required to have level floatation built in.
Those boats won't float the powerhead though. A Whaler will.



Not necessarily true. Any number of outboard boats have enough
flotation
properly placed to float the boat and its powerhead.
Bayliners? With I/O's?

Bayliners are mostly I/O's. Very few are O/B's.





Bayliner makes a line of boats called "Trophy," and the smaller ones and
several of the larger ones are outboard-equipped.

I'm not a big fan of I/O's, but I understand why some people like them.

Same here - just too clunky, and complex (gimbles, cables, etc).
But they DO make the boat much cheaper, and for the first time
boat owner, its sometimes the difference between being able to
buy a new boat, or not (price difference)

Go to your local Radio Shack and tell them that you have some electronics
that got wet (electric motor and some circuit boards)- no sense in getting
laughed at. They have some chemical dryer that will take the moisture out.
Personally I just use wd-40. And spray the hell out of anything that looks
like it may have gotten wet. DO THAT TODAY
Steve
"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...

"Bill McKee" wrote in message
nk.net...

The worst part of the forgotten plug scenario is the aftermath in a few
months. The rust that shows up in starters, etc.

Oh ****, that was my darkest fear. The starter isn't
water proof, is it ? Now what? Anything I can do?
Or just wait it out and see what happens ?





"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...

"roadburner" roadburner^at^comcast^dot^net wrote in message
...
On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 04:35:26 GMT, "Stanley Barthfarkle"

wrote:



If you accidentally launched without a drain plug and you pulled your
trailer up and away, could one be quick witted enough to start the
engine
and accelerate away draining the water? Then put in a backup drain
plug
from
the inside? Just a thought.

Dude, I never thought of that! Having survived
a plug-less launch, I'm a little less worked up
about the whole thing to where I'd feel confortable
with trying something like that. Problem for me is,
that with an I/O, its a little hard to get back in there
from the inside. I'm thinking that what is needed
is one of them 1/4 turn ball-valves with the long
handle on it. Plumb that up from the inside, and
fashon up a cable to open/close that sumbitch.


Regards,
roadburner

"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...

"Bill McKee" wrote in message
nk.net...

The worst part of the forgotten plug scenario is the aftermath in a few
months. The rust that shows up in starters, etc.

Oh ****, that was my darkest fear. The starter isn't
water proof, is it ? Now what? Anything I can do?
Or just wait it out and see what happens ?

alternators, trim tab motors, battery charger... to name a few other things.







"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...

"roadburner" roadburner^at^comcast^dot^net wrote in message
...
On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 04:35:26 GMT, "Stanley Barthfarkle"

wrote:



If you accidentally launched without a drain plug and you pulled your
trailer up and away, could one be quick witted enough to start the
engine
and accelerate away draining the water? Then put in a backup drain
plug
from
the inside? Just a thought.

Dude, I never thought of that! Having survived
a plug-less launch, I'm a little less worked up
about the whole thing to where I'd feel confortable
with trying something like that. Problem for me is,
that with an I/O, its a little hard to get back in there
from the inside. I'm thinking that what is needed
is one of them 1/4 turn ball-valves with the long
handle on it. Plumb that up from the inside, and
fashon up a cable to open/close that sumbitch.


Regards,
roadburner

"Bill McKee" wrote in message
nk.net...

"NOYB" wrote in message
nk.net...

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
"JIMinFL" wrote in message
nk.net...
Hi Wiz,
Just so you know; all boats built after 19?? and under 20 feet
are required to have level floatation built in.
Those boats won't float the powerhead though. A Whaler will.



Not necessarily true. Any number of outboard boats have enough
flotation properly placed to float the boat and its powerhead.

Bayliners? With I/O's?



The powerhead in an I/O typically is lower in the hull than an outboard
powerhead might be, and that might improve the boat's chances of
remaining afloat, if awash, assuming it has sufficient flotation.

I have seen capsized Whalers in my lifetime. They're floating, but
upside down. You put two 500-pound outboard powerheads on the stern of a
big Whaler, flip it, and then tell me it righted itself. Doubtful. If it
is awash and in heavy seas, it might flip.

Yes, they could flip. My brother took a huge rogue wave over the bow of
his 18' Outrage while 18 miles from shore. The boat filled right up to
the top of the gunnel with water. He said that the boat became very
tippy for a moment, but the engine remained running and he just powered
forward, the bow popped up, and most of the water rushed out the large
notched transom in the back. That's one of the reasons why I'm a fan of
the older Whalers with notched transoms. You don't have very long before
a swamped boat flips, so you need to get that water out in a hurry.
Throttling up is the quickest way to do it.




The problem is when the whaler gets in a situation where it quickly flips.
Friend earlier this year was trying to unstick a crab pot when a large
wave flipped the boat. 6 hours later, the three guys were luckily seen
and rescued just before dark. They were sitting on the bottom of the
boat. The handheld VHF was at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. We
probably see more whalers flipped than any other boat off the West coast.

That's because you don't see the other boats that flip 'cause most of them
are sitting at the bottom of the ocean.

Whalers may flip, but no more so than the others that flip and then sink.



The Whaler owners believe all the advertising quoting the safety of the
boat. And they go out when it is inappropriate.

That is true.

Nice post dude! - thanks !!


"Chuck Tribolet" wrote in message
...
Current boats 20' have to have "level floation". That means the
Bayliner
wouldn't sink, but an awful lot of stuff would get wet.

A couple of motivated guys with buckets can stay ahead of the
the drain plug. Several years ago this blonde (no kidding) launches
her boat (one of those low freeboard V8 ski boats that were popular
about 1980), ties it up, and heads off to park the truck and grab a
burger. We were hanging out on the dock while a couple of folks used
the head on shore. A few minutes later we noticed that her boat had a
list
and was kinda low in the water. We couldn't find the hole the water was
coming in (turns out there was drain way under that V8), the bilge pump
switch didn't make anything happen (hardware store wiring with those
really
dumb ScotchLock splices), so we grabbed the
bailing bucket off my whaler and another bucket from somewhere and
started bailing. We were gaining on it when she showed up, put the
plug in, and sweet talked the marina mech into bringing down a bilge pump
with jumper cables on it to fiinish the dewatering job.

And before some wise ass Bayliner driver asks "why a bailing bucket on
a Boston Whaler, I thought they are unsinkable":

1. Required to pass the USCGA Courtesy Marine Exam each year.

2. Useful for dumping a bucket or two of water on the mutt to cool him
off,

3. It's also the trash bag (one of those behind the passenger seat auto
trash bags).

4. They really are unsinkable, but if you get complacent, Neptune will
find
a way.


"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...
Not that anyone would set out to actually "test"
this, but I wonder how long it would take for
a new bayliner 175 bowrider to sink if one were
to launch without a drain plug. Anyone know ?
Ok, ok, so I need to come clean here... Yeah,
I'm stoopid, I launched without a drain plug. Yikes.
I always leave the plug in, and never take it out,
and I got complacent and haven't been doing
due diligence in checking the stupid drain plug.
Went in salt water the day before for the first
time, so I had to hose the thing out late last night.
Let it drip over night, and never thought to check
it - it's been absent from my regular routine. So,
local lake, public fishing launch area (seperate
from main rat-race launch lane, requires the
state Vehicle Use permit for fishing). Dumped
it in, tied it up, ran the truck up to park it, walked
down, untied it, got it, started it, and started to
pull out. Engine sounding a little funny, idle a
little weird, (Merc 3.0L I/O), acceleration all
weired, mushy, and just slugish. I look over
my sholder at the engine compartment, and said
now thats odd - water splashing out of the edge
of the engine cover on the bottom near the carpet.
Thought, humm, fan must be picking up water
left over from last nights hose-off, and throwing
it around the inside of the engine cover. No big.
DOH! 2.5 seconds I realized, Whoa! - I ain't
not fan - this ain't a car engine (well it is, but)...
Hol-Lee **** buckets - it sank it (no pun) that
I left the plug in. Panicsville!. Wham! - reach
over the steering wheel with both hands and
throw ALL switches upwards cause I ain't got
time to read each one to see which is the pump.
Engine chugging pretty good by now. Boat starting
to head into rocks - depth finder shows less than
2 feet. I can't let it stall, I can't let it stall, thats
all I kept saying to myself. Bang it into reverse
and jump up on that throttle and get her out from
the rocks a bit, whew, now in about 10 feet of
water just out from the launch a bit. Think quick.
Bingo, the plug is teathered (to the oil drain hose).
Without thought, wham, swan-dive off the back
of the boat, keys, smokes, rolaids, pockets full.
Flailed around the bottom, felt the plug dangling,
and fumbled around, but got it threaded in, and
hand tight. Whew, gonna need that cold beer
after THIS one I thought as I grasped the ladder.
(too bad I won't have any dry smokes, eh).
Anyways, get back up in the boat, bilage pump
pumping like a big dog, and I'm drifting towards
the rocks again. Damn. Throw her into gear,
get out more in the center, and catch my breath.
Engine still chugging and not running good at all.
Afraid to open engine cover, but I know I gotta.
Open her up, and hol-lee-****.... My engine is
drenched, water up to, and maybe past the crank,
holey f-ing crap, I just can't believe this has happened.
Sun. Sun is good. Sun is "hot", Sun dries **** I'm
thinking. Leave the cover off. Keep her running,
I can't let it stall I kept thinking. Water level. Do
I see the water level going down? No!... wtf?
Water coming out the side? yup, rolling out like
a big dog. Dang, whats taking so long then?
Calm down. Crack that beer, it'll be Ok. Smokes?
nope - all soggy, dry ones up in the truck. Balls.
Hey! - engines sounding better! (is it the beer ?)
hell no!, I just opened it. Water level ? Ahhhhh
who da man, huh? - look at dat! - water goning down.
I'll just hang out here, and let that water quit spurting
out the side. Dang, isn't it been like a half-hour now?
Andway, but the time the bilage pump was done, the
engine was bone dry from the sun, and hot enough
to fry an egg on (from the sun on that Phantom black).
Close we up, sop up the water on the carpet, and
go have fun. Dang, that was close I thought.
...or was it? 2-3 hours goes buy, the 24-oz Bug Lite's
gone, and time to start heading in. Replaying the
whole thing in my mind, I got to wondering just how
long could I have let that plug out? what would happen?
water would fill up the engine compartment to the point
that it was overflowing on the main deck, and carpet.
At whcih point, what, drain into that center section
with the door where you keep the life vests etc?
Was that pit already full? - I didn't check that while
the engine compartment was full of water. I'm thinking
that due to the design/layout of this boat (with all of
the sections/compartments and such, that it might not
sink as fast as one might think. Ideas, thoughts ?

Thanks

"NOYB" wrote in message
nk.net...

"Bill McKee" wrote in message
nk.net...

"NOYB" wrote in message
nk.net...

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
"JIMinFL" wrote in message
nk.net...
Hi Wiz,
Just so you know; all boats built after 19?? and under 20 feet
are required to have level floatation built in.
Those boats won't float the powerhead though. A Whaler will.



Not necessarily true. Any number of outboard boats have enough
flotation properly placed to float the boat and its powerhead.

Bayliners? With I/O's?



The powerhead in an I/O typically is lower in the hull than an outboard
powerhead might be, and that might improve the boat's chances of
remaining afloat, if awash, assuming it has sufficient flotation.

I have seen capsized Whalers in my lifetime. They're floating, but
upside down. You put two 500-pound outboard powerheads on the stern of
a big Whaler, flip it, and then tell me it righted itself. Doubtful. If
it is awash and in heavy seas, it might flip.

Yes, they could flip. My brother took a huge rogue wave over the bow of
his 18' Outrage while 18 miles from shore. The boat filled right up to
the top of the gunnel with water. He said that the boat became very
tippy for a moment, but the engine remained running and he just powered
forward, the bow popped up, and most of the water rushed out the large
notched transom in the back. That's one of the reasons why I'm a fan of
the older Whalers with notched transoms. You don't have very long
before a swamped boat flips, so you need to get that water out in a
hurry. Throttling up is the quickest way to do it.




The problem is when the whaler gets in a situation where it quickly
flips. Friend earlier this year was trying to unstick a crab pot when a
large wave flipped the boat. 6 hours later, the three guys were luckily
seen and rescued just before dark. They were sitting on the bottom of
the boat. The handheld VHF was at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. We
probably see more whalers flipped than any other boat off the West coast.

That's because you don't see the other boats that flip 'cause most of them
are sitting at the bottom of the ocean.

Whalers may flip, but no more so than the others that flip and then sink.



The Whaler owners believe all the advertising quoting the safety of the
boat. And they go out when it is inappropriate.

That is true.




Very few other boats flip. They may hit something and sink, but very few
other model boats are 13-17' boats out in unsafe conditions.