how many take plug out of their boat?

several years ago I was idling up to the Lakepoint boat ramp on Lake Eufaula (Al.) and noticed two guys standing out in waist deep water guiding an aluminum boat onto the trailer while another guy backed trailer into the water....noticed the boat sat pretty low in the water....by the time I retrieved my truck and backed my trailer into the water,they had loaded their boat and pulled halfway up the ramp and water was pouring out of their boat....one of the guys looked over at me and I said "forget to put plug in" and he said yes and asked me "have you ever done that".....
told him I had done it years and since then I never take the plug out unless I stand there with plug in my hand and put it back in when water quits draining......he looked at me like I was crazy but I resisted the temptation to tell him that I wasn't the one standing there with water running out of my boat and my drawers....
my reasoning behind leaving the plug in is that no matter careful you are in following a routine prior to launching your boat,you've got a lot of things going through your mind especially if are fishing a tournament and it is real easy to get distracted and forget to put the plug in...(and invariably will happen with vehicles backed up and large number of people to witness your mistake)

Always take the plug out. My first time taking my boy out I did forget to put the plug in. Drove across the lake remembered and drove back to put plug in. Haven’t done it again since. But only owned a boat for almost 2 years now.

Always take it out and yes have forgot it a few times.

We have to remove it in Texas since its the law.

heck my boat never takes water on so rarely do I even pull it to drain the boat.

Always pull it, carry spares

Best to take out to avoid mold issues......

I put a remote drain on mine. The best thing I have added to my boat in years.

Take mine out at the ramp every time It is the law now, make it part of my hookup duties when I hook up to the tow vehicle ( don't put the transom savor on until after I install the plug)

Take mine out at the ramp every time It is the law now, make it part of my hookup duties when I hook up to the tow vehicle ( don't put the transom savor on until after I install the plug)

My boat has the kind that doesn't come out, just a knob that makes it slide in or out. Even though it is set up this way, a couple times i have forgot to turn the knob or turned it the wrong way and filled bottom of boat with water.

I take mine out; Put it back in when I leave the boat storage or before I leave the house.

This is why I remove it every time. I have a habit. Unplug the charger, put in the plug.

Do you suck the water out of your ice chest? Lol

Lol

Always take mine out when I get back to the bank.

I always remove mine because I'm liable to forget and a rainstorm will put my batteries and charger 6" under water. Don't ask ho I know that!

You definitely don't want the boat to start filling up if you tow in a rainstorm. The square footage of the deck is a large watershed for filling the bilge, and the gallons add up quickly along with weight at 8 pounds per gallon. You can accumulate hundreds of pounds of extra weight (undesirable) that's not good on the trailer suspension & tires.

I always take mine out. When I am leaving the house and putting on transom saver I always reach down and put the plug in. When I get to the ramp and take off the transom saver I check it again. Of course the reason I double check it is because I forgot to put it in twice!

I pull the plug at the ramp when leaving to drain the water then the plug is in my pocket until I get home. Once everything is put up I put the plug back in somewhat hard to forget since in my pocket.

Pull it and place it on the transom drain it stays there until I leave the house next time.

I always pull it. If someone tells you they have never forgotten to put it back in when they launch the boat they either:

a) have not owned a boat very long or;
b) are lying

pretty sure for past 30 years most boats come with an automatic bilge pump.....when towing through rainstorms,I've looked back going up hills and my bilge pump would be pumping water out of the boat.....typically when I got home,I'd pull plug on my boat,let the water drain out then immediately put plug back in....with these new "drain your bilge laws" may have to start taking plug out for the ride home then putting it back in when I get home...

Remote drain plug mounted next to drivers seat. Open every time I pull the boat out of the water.

I forgot to put the plug in my Ranger 350. Dropped the boat off at Joe Pool, tied it up at the dock in front of the restaurant and then registered for the Wed night tournament. 20 min later someone came and said I had water in the bottom of the boat. It probably had only 15 or 20 gallons in it.
My other Rangers had the plastic screw in plug. If you don't put it in the plug will still suck into the hole and you will only get a slow drip coming in. I've done that before too but I just turned the bilge pump on every hour and it would pump out a couple gallons then stop.

Yes, I pull it every time.

Always take mine out when I load up. I put the drain plug back in when I get home. Have I forgot yes once at Squaw thank goodness the water was warm.

Always take it out...it was the law in many of the states where I owned a boat. So I'm used to it as a practice. It's good to keep your boat dry and the inside ventilated to reduce mold potentials.

When I had the boat in the garage, never pulled it out. Now it sits outside, and pull it every time. I do this because we had torrential rain for 4 to 5 days straight, the boat had a lot of water in it when I went to use it the next time.

It’s the law to drain your boat and motor before leaving a ramp.

Interesting, 20 people so far are admitting to breaking the law...lol. Unless of course they are only fishing private waters, which I would assume is improbable.

I've said the same thing about falling out of the boat!

Quarantines are in order. Or maybe not.

Not everyone that reads TFF is a Texas resident too.

Arkansas recommends removing plugs, for example, but it's not law as far as I know.

I take mine out and keep it out until unplugging the charger to cut down on mold.

You’re gonna wish you pulled it if you leave your boat outside during a storm.

Seen a few leaf springs busted...

Always pull it at the ramp to drain after fishing, then put it back in.
I also pull it where I store the covered boat as I'm hitching the boat up to my vehicle, then put it back in.
I probably should leave it out more when storing the sheltered boat to let it dry out faster between storms.

IN Texas as long as you fish the same lake and never go to another lake you do not have to pull it unless you just want to drain all the water out if you have any little leaks.

IF you go to different lakes it is the law and you must drain the bilge to prevent the spread of invasive species and grasses.

IF your boat stays moored on the lake, you'd be correct. BUT....if you put it on a trailer, you aren't telling the full story. It doesn't matter if you are going to another lake or not, just that you have put the boat on a trailer. It must be drained before you leave a lake as well, not just if you go to another lake. They can't tell if you are going to the boat barn, or to another lake. They even cover that you can leave a ramp with water & fish for a tournament, but only if you have paperwork for that tournament with you to exempt you from the "drain before you depart" portion of the rule.

From TPWD:
"To prevent the spread of invasive species, boaters are required to drain all water from their boat and gear before approaching or leaving a public fresh water body. Failure to immediately remove and lawfully dispose of any harmful or potentially harmful aquatic plant that is clinging or attached to a vessel, watercraft, trailer, motor vehicle, or other device used to transport or launch a vessel or watercraft is unlawful."

I was with a guide one time in a old 20’ Cajun we had been fishing for a good hour and all the sudden my buddy was fishing in the middle was standing in water . The guide goes damn I forgot to put the plug in so I had to reach down with my head under water and put it in for him lol

[/quote]
They even cover that you can leave a ramp with water & fish for a tournament, but only if you have paperwork for that tournament with you to exempt you from the "drain before you depart" portion of the rule.[/quote]

Was wondering how the MLF tourney went from fork to athens in one day to be legal. I thought one had to dry out their boat for 7 days or power wash at a car wash. maybe they did wash all the boats, idk.

Ditto to this. I added it myself and it is absolutely the best thing I have added. Only one time has the bilge automatically started draining and I realized I forgot to close it. If I didn’t have the remote drain plug I would of had to reload boat on trailer.

I haven't seen the bilge of a boat in the water "drain" but the bilge pump will PUMP as water rises.
My boat has a remote drain plug, and it's nice for stopping the forgotten plug issue. I've done it only once....25-30 years ago. I guess a lesson well learned, LOL.

That's my system, too.

Take it out as I tie down the boat before I leave the ramp.
Put it in before I leave the house. Its one of the things on my check list in my head that I do before I leave the house.

I've owned a boat off and on for 50 years, and I always remove and leave out the drain plug until I get ready to use the boat again.
I put the plug back in when I hook up my trailer to the tow vehicle, and usually check again just before I back into the launch.
Only forgot to put the plug in once that I can remember.

When I was a kid we had a riveted aluminum boat that leaked so much around the rivets we actually kept the plug on the inside of the boat. When the water would get too deep we would take it up on plane and remove the plug to drain the water then put it back in. had to do this every 3-4 hrs every trip. Good thing that old 15 hp Johnson always started!

I had a Bass Tracker and luckily never forgot about the plug; it never leaked at all. I just put a remote plug in my Champ so I don't have to worry about it. Now, funny story; my cousin bought a used Gator bass boat and I met him at the lake to fish. I asked him if his plug was in and he assured me it was. Lo and behold, he launched and by the time I parked his truck and trailer then met him at the dock, his ankles were in water. Boat wouldn't restart and he had to jump in the water to pull it back to the ramp while I got his trailer. After we got it back up the ramp, he looks down and says, "Hmm, I guess I put it in the wrong hole!" Funniest thing I ever heard at the ramp. He had put the plug in the livewell hole.

Was wondering how the MLF tourney went from fork to athens in one day to be legal. I thought one had to dry out their boat for 7 days or power wash at a car wash. maybe they did wash all the boats, idk.
[/quote]

No such thing as a law requiring you dry your boat for 7 days or wash before putting it in another lake. That may have been a recommendation but not a requirement in Texas.

Every time

I pull it every time. I have forgotten a couple of times too. I had the plug in and drove through a bad storm and had the boat fill up going down the road. Having to stop in a pouring rain and pull it out isn't much better than having to get wet to put it in on the lake.

Plus 2

That works okay as long as you don't punch a hole in the bottom of the boat and the 15 horse Johnson won't get it on plane!

You can ask me how I know that if you want.

That is when the 2 coffee cans that you use to hold the trotline stuff comes in REAL handy!

I always pull mine. Last year when I towed the boat to San Diego, they checked the plug at the border. Not sure what would have happened if I had the plug in. I think one of the pros got his boat quarantined a few weeks for having his plug in while in route in California.

No such thing as a law requiring you dry your boat for 7 days or wash before putting it in another lake. That may have been a recommendation but not a requirement in Texas.


[/quote]

https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/boating/clean-drain-dry-your-boat

You are correct! I see how they slightly differ between "unlawful" and "recommended" at the TPWD website. Anyway I pull my plug and open my livewell drain after putting on trailer.

Always take the plug out