Well, I finally launched without the drain plug

[Bird]

I've done it once, hard to get on plane 😳 

But once you do it will draw the water out then hang over transom and install plug.

My goal is to avoid duplicating any and all of Bill Dance bloopers. Ha Ha

[Siebert Outdoors]

I've never left the plug out, forgot a tie down, forgot the transom saver, or anything else.  😁

 

I have a pretty good routine now that minimizes the mistakes.  I would think anyone that launches/owns a boat has forgot one of them at least once.

[Choporoz]

I credit my wife for getting me into a 3-things 'system' when launching and recovering.  Has made it easy to have a mental checklist since I'd have been lousy about consulting an actual checklist.  She broke it down to 3 sets of three things....3 at the bow (tm strap, screens, safety chain), 3 in the boat (rope, pfd, key), and 3 at the stern (plug, straps, trim).  And it has been smooth ever since.

[TnRiver46]

I exit the driver seat and head toward the tailgate. First thing is unplug trailer lights. Then walk to the back and undo the tie down/transom strap on the driver side. That puts me at the motor where I remove the transom saver. Drain plug is also right under the motor so I put it in. Continuing around the boat I get the strap off the passenger side. Walking back up to the cab I unhook the winch strap from the bow and she’s ready to dump in. Basically just walking a circle around the rig and always looking at everything 3-4 times to make sure

 

[volzfan59]

I've done it twice. Once years ago and then again last spring. 

[WRB]

Back in day we didn’t have bilge pumps. Leaving the drain plug out met running the boat bow up and putting the drain plug in from in side of the boat when all the water ran out.

Sometimes with race boats the stern is only a few inches about the water and any waves would fill the stern with water, so same routine run the boat to drain it and install the plug.

Tom

[airshot]

Any time I have forgotten to do something critical is when I have other people with me. Typically go alone and know my routine quite well, never an issue when alone.  But when I have guests, then I get off track.  Often find myself talking to my self to stay in the routine.  Like most everything now a days, got to be someone elses fault...lol...

[WVU-SCPA]

I've started putting the plug in as part of the hooking up the trailer process in the garage after plugging the livewell drain at 4 a.m..  Got lucky as I would normally bank the boat to register and talk, but launched a different ramp and noticed in transit.

 

Transom saver pins were a mess this year, misplaced and never found 2.

[Functional]

Never forgot to put the drain plug in. I'm paranoid about it...even have 2 spare plugs in the boat, 2 spare plugs in my truck and even 2 plugs in my wifes SUV (just in case) in the event I forget or lose one. 

 

I have, however, launched the boat completely unattached from the trailer and watched it float away. Not once mind you...but twice. 

[DaubsNU1]

6 minutes ago, Functional said:

I have, however, launched the boat completely unattached from the trailer and watched it float away. Not once mind you...but twice. 

 

Borrowed my brother's boat, with Ulterra and the remote deploy feature. Fishing in South Dakota on Father's Day weekend, waited in a line of 10 trucks to launch the boat...told the people standing on the dock, "if this doesn't work...I'm going to need a ride..."

 

Launched the boat (with wife on board), deployed the Ulterra...set spot-lock...parked the truck...drove the boat back to dock with remote...stepped on...and drove off. Pretty neat! Minor applause from the peanut gallery. 

 

The next morning I was launching alone at 5:45 AM, no one on the ramp but me. Thought to myself, "this is pretty cool, the remote thingy..." 

 

Launched boat...it is floating gently away from the dock...I press TM deploy feature...it starts to deploy...when one of the cables catches...and STOPS the process. CRAP!

 

I quickly strip down to britches, hop in the water, and swim out to his boat. Thankfully the water was warm. 

 

I still use the remote deploy...but not when the wind is blowing hard, or the water is cold.  

[Functional]

25 minutes ago, DaubsNU1 said:

 

Borrowed my brother's boat, with Ulterra and the remote deploy feature. Fishing in South Dakota on Father's Day weekend, waited in a line of 10 trucks to launch the boat...told the people standing on the dock, "if this doesn't work...I'm going to need a ride..."

 

Launched the boat (with wife on board), deployed the Ulterra...set spot-lock...parked the truck...drove the boat back to dock with remote...stepped on...and drove off. Pretty neat! Minor applause from the peanut gallery. 

 

The next morning I was launching alone at 5:45 AM, no one on the ramp but me. Thought to myself, "this is pretty cool, the remote thingy..." 

 

Launched boat...it is floating gently away from the dock...I press TM deploy feature...it starts to deploy...when one of the cables catches...and STOPS the process. CRAP!

 

I quickly strip down to britches, hop in the water, and swim out to his boat. Thankfully the water was warm. 

 

I still use the remote deploy...but not when the wind is blowing hard, or the water is cold.  

I thought long and hard about buying the Ulterra over the Force for this specific reason. Clearly my choice was not to go with the Ulterra but those 2 times I was kicking myself.

 

First time I did it was in January with high 40s low 50s water temp. I stripped down and got almost to my waist and thought better about it. Drove home quickly and got the kayak and towed it in. Wife was sure confused when she heard the garage door and me running out of the truck in my underwear throwing the kayak in the truck. I heard about it for a few weeks...

[DaubsNU1]

10 minutes ago, Functional said:

First time I did it was in January with high 40s low 50s water temp. I stripped down and got almost to my waist and thought better about it. Drove home quickly and got the kayak and towed it in. Wife was sure confused when she heard the garage door and me running out of the truck in my underwear throwing the kayak in the truck. I heard about it for a few weeks...

 

Water that cold is nothing to mess with. 

 

Duck hunting with my 72 year old Uncle few weeks back...he's hard core waterfowler, and stubborn as heck. Hoped in his 10' john boat to move decoys in a back slew of the Missouri River. Water was ten feet deep...he was wearing chest waders and did not have a life-jacket on. 

 

As the boat rocked back and forth...I said, "if he dumps that boat and goes in...what is our plan??"

 

His hunting buddy of many years quickly chimes in, "we call 911 and wait for the Sherriff to come find his body...that water is so cold...you wouldn't last 5 minutes." 

 

We shot 9 ducks that morning...without incident.  

 

[airshot]

3 hours ago, Functional said:

Never forgot to put the drain plug in. I'm paranoid about it...even have 2 spare plugs in the boat, 2 spare plugs in my truck and even 2 plugs in my wifes SUV (just in case) in the event I forget or lose one. 

 

I have, however, launched the boat completely unattached from the trailer and watched it float away. Not once mind you...but twice. 

Did that once...then added a long coiled rope on the front deck with a loop that I throw over my winch stand.  The boat floats off the trailer, as I move up the ramp the rope uncoils until the rope tightens and gently bring the boat towards the ramp.  Go back and tie it off before parking.  To old now to have to swim out after it !!

[gim]

I've done it once with my current rig.  Way back the first year I had it in 2016.  It was July on a bright sunny early evening.  Launched with a friend, cruised 1.5 miles to the first spot, started casting.

 

30 minutes later, my friend says "there's some water down here" referring to the bottom floor area where you ride on plane.  I say "that's odd, there shouldn't be."  Then it hits me, I forgot to put the plug in.  The back of the boat was also noticeably riding lower in the water.

 

I reach down into the water on the bottom of the transom, put the plug back in, and start the bilge.  95% of the water is gone in 20 minutes.  The rest is drained back at the access when I pull the plug on shore.

 

I find it astonishing that the boat didn't sink any further than it did that evening.  Must be a heck of a lot of floatation built into them.