You know, on your first launch by yourself after you've pulled the trailer up and parked it, got the last few items gathered, and are walking proudly down to the ramp anticipating in your mind spending time again with your new love...only to discover as your new beauty comes into view and gets ever so closer...that she's almost under water! Then you race wildly back to truck, scramble to get it unlocked, scream through the parking lot squeeling the tires in a U-turn at the dock with no care about how riduculous you look, hoping that you can only get her back on the trailer before she goes under!

I mean I think with my next boat, if there is a next one, I'm just going to humble myself to the gods; put her in the water, pull the trailer up, yank out the plug and watch her 'til she almost sinks, calmly put the trailer back in the water, load her up, pull her out and bow repeatedly with the Ala-baba homage until she drains. And maybe that way I can enjoy the next six months without double, triple and quadruple checking to see if I've put the plug in!

Hahahaha, man that would suck. Been lucky so far, never forgot the plugs (knocking on wood). But it seems I have to repair something after every trip. This last one she ran great all day. Moved from spot to spot all over the lake. Beach her at the ramp, get the trailer backed in, jump back in boat, go to start, and she wont. had to jump the slave solenoid again... I guess it wasn't fixed from the last time after all........ I usually prep the boat the night before the trip and put the plugs in then. ya I said plugs, it takes 5.

BTW, where abouts in Michigan are you from?

Yeah I don't get it. Happened with my first boat and never again the eight years I owned her. Then I get this smaller little beauty and you guessed it. My thinking is that you have your mind concentrating on all the other pieces of launching a new set-up that the details are blown to the wind; who knows.

Originally from the Flint area, used to be the auto capital of the world, until NAFTA, now it's a sad ghetto. Seven complete auto factories employing the majority of the city, more than Motown(Detroit) and it's a wasteland now, all gone to Mexico. Lived the last seven in the Brooklyn area(that's where the Michigan International Speedway is located, well, a couple miles outside of the little town).

Lived my last couple years of high school up in AuGres about 50 miles north of Bay City. Met my wife there. that was 20 something years ago.

lol Don't feel bad man. I forgot my plugs (mine takes 2) for the FIRST TIME about a month ago. My story was NOWHERE near as bad as yours though lol. I towed the boat to work for some afternoon fishing. Get to the ramp and get the boat unhooked and ready for solo launch. Reach in the cubby where my batter switch is (got 3 batteries on the boat) and flip the battery switch on. Mind you 1 of the plugs is in the exact same cubby lol. Close the cubby up and climb back in the truck and back her down the ramp. Well needless to say I felt like a total CHUMP when I climbed in the boat to back it off the trailer and was ankle deep in water lol. After a FEW explatives aimed towards MYSELF. I climb back in the truck and feel like a total fricken idiot (much like the ones we all cuss blocking the ramp every weekend lol) with my tuck parked on the ramp. Now I will say the ONLY reason I stayed parked on the ramp was I was the only boat in the area. Waited until the ole bathtub drained. Popped the plugs in and was off to slay some Redfish. I think I would have chat myself if I would have seen my boat sitting tied at the ramp fixing to sink lol. Thank goodness my boat has an AUTOMATIC bilge pump float on it. Maybe you should invest in one??? Hard mount it to the hull of the boat in a hidden are in the bilge and very simple to wire in. Once there is 3/4' of water in the bilge it AUTOMATICALLY fires up your bilge pump.


Rob

I put the plug into one of my livewell drains instead of the place it belonged. That was a hard lesson. On that note, I've had a brain lapse to where I thought that keeping the truck in Low 1 instead of the Park postition would help to keep my gears locked and moving in the opposite direction of the boat. Truck submerged with the rear wheels totally until I was able to realize my mistake and hop back in to hit the gas and pull out.
"God it great, the beer is good.....and people are crazy."

A very humble Steven

spring break this year, about 4 or 5 of us guys went out in a flat bottom to check our lines at night, well, we are almost outta the no wake and look back to see the back full of water!!! OHHH chit was goin through our heads lol. and the guy that owned the boat punched it! we got goin fast enough to get all the water out and put the plug in. it was a close call lol!

Just wondering.....why do y'all take your plugs out? The only time I ever take mine out is when its rained or in super rough water and I get some water in the boat.
Personally, I dont see the use in pulling them out every time unless your boat leaks......
Enlighten me......

well the flat bottoms usually leak, in my new boat, we usually get some water in the boat some how or another, i dont think it leaks, but when ur in there with huge waves, we get water in. that and i think my live wells are leakin somwhere in the plumbing..... and gettin water in my boat.

I personally take mine out because I will normally stop at the carwash after I hit the lake and wash my boat. This includes the inside of the boat. I have no carpet to worry about ruining my whole boat is Fiberglass with the exceptions of the stainless steel and wood inside the fiberglass wrapping on the front and back casting decks. Also I have a hardsided Ice chest that has a drain hole that when the ice melts it drains onto the deck of my boat. So I always have some water on the deck of my boat when I do use this ice chest. So not everyone that pulls their plugs out has a boat that leaks.


Rob

ya i have the ice chest problem as well!

Parttime,

Nice area up there in Augres. Done alot of steelhead and salmon fishing on the Au Sable near the old Wurtsmith Airforce Base. What an experience to see the B-52's and the fighter jets doing their training excercises. The fighters would come over at tree-top level(that was scary enough); you'd see them for an instant and then two seconds later when they were completely out of site the full-throttle scream of their engines would knock you down...I bet the pilots got a kick out of that. Funny mix, pristine fishing on a gorgeous pine covered Michigan river while you were constantly picking yourself up and emptying your pants. Don't remember how many times I was just casting while daydreaming one minute, and the next thing I knew I was on my knees in turtle position making a pack with God.

Twenty years with the lady? Nice.

Nspanntx,

No garage. Have a nice cover but have to store it in the tilted position to keep the rain from pooling ontop of the cover and subsequently, at the stern of the boat their is a gap in the cover for the engine and it takes in water there...got to have the plug out when storing.

i put the plug in before i leave the house, and wrote a note on the key float just incase

I do good with it until something changes with the hook up routine. I always put the plug in when I get the boat hooked up to the truck. I then "usually" remember to check it while taking the transom saver off.

For whatever reason though, if something gets messed up with the routine, that's always when I forget to check for it.

Has happened twice now.

I didn't forget to put the plug in when my boat was new but I did put the plug in the livewell drain instead of the boat. I found out my boat will float even if the plug is in the wrong place. CC Kenner. I think I have done this maybe 2 times more since I have owned the boat. I have been in a hurry before daylight and well you know what I did. Oh well I guess that is part of fishing.