Boat Plug

[LADY JANE]

That's a great suggestion, Dave, to have a prelaunch checklist to go through Religiously prior to every launch. If the bilge drain "Plug" were ever forgotten, it would be the most unforgiving item on any boat's prelaunchlist. Some of those most important items on a pilot's preflight checklist are considered so critical that they are required to have an additional physical marker/flag in clear view, like, "Remove Before Flight" or in this case, "Install Before Launch". Too many recreational vessels sink clear to the bottom every year because of a "Missing Drain Plug". There must be a way to take human error out of the equation for all future boaters. Who Knows? BB+

 

[LADY JANE]

The Holy Drain Plug... It could also be clipped to an "Install Before Launch" Flag.

 

[LADY JANE]

Does "The Factory" approve of those new fandangled plastic, nylon, etc bilge drain plugs?

 

[knotflying]

Are there any other good suggestions on how not to forget to install the drain plug in your boat before launch? Sounds crazy, but it could happen to anyone anytime. I've forgotten stuff like the keys for one thing. I've locked my keys in the car and in the house. Once, I forgot, but then I remembered to install the drain plug in the boat. Most of us have a need to know the best way to never forget this potentially boat sinking item.

I have etched in the metal by the winch - Drain Plug !!

Don't ask why I did that. 😳

 

[Levitation]

We have a tugger who all but sunk his boat at the dock by launching without the plug. It was someone on the dock who asked why is your stern so low in the water that saved it. He lifted the engine cover. The water was close to the top of the engine and the boat was minutes from sinking at the stern - he said another inch or so and the scuppers would have started flowing backwards. Miracle of miracles the salt water did not short out the starter and the warm engine restarted immediately as his wife flew to the truck and backed the trailer down the ramp.
The truck was barely able to pull the boat up the ramp with the weight inside. It was good she was competent at backing the trailer down the ramp.
I learn from the misfortune of others. I no longer leave the plug out. Pull it, wait a minute for the drizzle to stop, and put the plug back in.

 

[PhilR]

When my bilge plug is out, it goes in a plastic bag and is tucked in behind the thruster joy sticks.

Phil

 

[CAPTCRUNCH]

Perhaps because I haven't launched/retrieved my R27 in the 18 months I've owned her, the need for the drain plug isn't obvious to me. Is it so I can remove the 1/2 cup of water that the bilge pump doesn't get? Something to do with invasive species? Please explain. Thanks.

 

[knotflying]

I learn from the misfortune of others. I no longer leave the plug out. Pull it, wait a minute for the drizzle to stop, and put the plug back in.

Denny,
I know you leave your boat in the barn so you may not have an issue. When the boat is on the trailer many times if water gets in the bilge and the boat is not in a correct position the sensor does not operate properly and the pumps stay on until the batteries die. So if you put the plug in when stored you may want to remove the fuse, but then you need to remember to put in the fuse.

 

[tlkenyon]

Several states that I know of require the plug be pulled to demonstrate dry bilges for invasive species prevention. Can't always just leave it in...

 

[LADY JANE]

After each boat trip, at the Ramp, I remove the bilge drain plug. The bilge does drain, but the main purpose of removing the plug is to drain the coming flood of a fresh water rinse off. The removed drainplug always remains out after that to let the water completely drain overboard during the stop & go drive home. That's when it fully drains. The drain plug is left out even when parked, just in case of rain, mist, or any rinsing that would accumulate 'til the the next boat trip. The bilge drain plug was being reinstalled just before launching at the ramp. But one time, I almost forgot to reinstall it. So now, I've learned to kill 2 birds with one stone. Before the boat & trailer are ever pulled away from ground power, the battery charger must be unplugged from the Stern-Portside. Directly below that, the Bilge Drain Plug is immediately reinstalled. BB+

 

[baz]

FYI... on my R-21EC the drain plug will not empty the bilge water completely because its lower edge is about 1/2" higher the the bottom of the bilge. Thus, unless the water evaporates there will always be some water left in the bilge.

The only idea I can think of to ensure the drain plug is inserted before launching is to have a small mug that contains a pre-launch checklist and the drain plug. If you have an electronic device you could also set a timer that coincides with the amount of time to launch and for it to alert you to "Install drain plug". Another method might be to tell one of your helpers to yell "Drain plug" at the point you start down the launch ramp and another might to attach a weather proof note to the winch handle with the words "Drain Plug" in bright red. 🙂

 

[LADY JANE]

I've sat at the dock before, just taking the whole scene in. Then all of a sudden, a boat gets to the ramp to launch their boat in a big hurry. That's when accidents happen. Slow down. Where's the fire? :roll:

 

[harry ames]

My R21 Classic uses a nylon plug that seats nicely with an o-ring and doesn't loosen.

http://www.westmarine.com/buy/moeller-- ... ecordNum=9

I'm pretty sure this type of plug is original to the classic.

I have 5, but haven't lost one this summer. In our invasive species environment in the inter-mountain west, the bilge plug has to be removed regularly for inspections.

 

[NorthernFocus]

Assuming a more or less standard method of launch, one thing that has to be done is to operate the winch in order to release the strap and get the boat off the trailer. Using wire ties to attach the plug itself or some other reminder (like a tag) to the winch handle or strap/chain hook is hard to ignore. It's not something that you see all the time and therefore get callous about (like the plug on a key chain, warning note on truck mirror, etc.) so one is less likely to "zone it out" and look right past it. You literally can't grip the winch handle without it getting your attention.

Then again, if you're like me, you can still get distracted walking from the trailer winch to the back of the boat, drop the plug in your pocket "for just a minute" and you're headed down the same path. So nothing's perfect.

One good habit to get into is to (relatively) immediately after splash down lift the engine hatch to look for any leaks and check position of seacocks etc. That's at least an after the fact way to catch for a missing plug before the engine space is knee deep in water. But if you're as slow as I am launching even before the hatch check there's plenty of time for the supervisor/admiral to notice the bilge pump running before the boat ever comes off the trailer 😀

Due to human nature being what it is, for critical systems designers typically utilize redundant "layers of protection" with the assumption that someone at some point will defeat/overlook a single protection. It's not a bad way to approach the plug issue. Have multiple reminders for yourself.

 

[LADY JANE]

I agree, Dan. The winch handle (PLUG) idea sounds like a good one for those who loosen the winch strap while still on dry land. But sometimes, ya see someone at the helm, ready to go, while the truck driver backs the trailer down the ramp into the water. When the engine dunks-in, starts and warms-up, it's too late for the plug, while the boat slowly sinks.

When the boat-trailer is still on dry land & getting ready to launch at the ramp area, the aft hold-down boat straps must be disconnected & removed at that time. This would be a good time to remember the "BILGE DRAIN PLUG" -as written on the pocket, sewn on the Portside hold-down strap. Portside because that's the only location a Bilge Drain Plug is ever removed or reinstalled. Just as importantly, boat-trailers need to have two red flags to state exactly where the boat drain plug is at all times. One flag is pulled out of the pocket stating "INSTALL BDP BEFORE LAUNCH". So, the plug location is still removed & in the strap pocket. The other flag says to "REMOVE BDP AT LANDING". So, the plug is still installed, plugging the bilge drain. I've seen this Strap Flag idea in earlier Tugnuts postings and saw it work smoothly at the ramp.

-Bill-