What do I do if my boat is taking on water.

[Stonewall2002]

Ok.... My dad and I are out on Rough River Saturday afternoon and some guy in a runabout come bareling up to us and asks us if we have a fish bucket. It seems that someone in a Nitro was sinking! We didnt have a bucket of any kind and didnt know what to do. The next thing you know the guy and his son in the Nitro come sputtering down the lake with just about 2 inches of the back of their boat still above water. They were both bailing like the dickins with a couple of drink cups. I didnt know what to do. I felt bad for them, but didnt have any idea as to what I could do to help them.

I have always heard that if you remove the drain plug and get you motor running quickly you can drain the boat that way. Is this true? What do you guys (and gals) suggest.

Keep on chuckin'

[fisheater]

1.Get an automatic bilge.
2.remove plug and run it if you can.
3.All else fails i would beach it first and the start bailing.
4.Throw out the fattest man on board.J/K
5.Most importantly if its filling that fast i would beach it as fast as possible to cut down on losses.
6.Tie a drain plug to your keys to remind yourself if your prone to forgetting.
7.Put your livewell hose back on or make sure you have the right tools handy to fix the problem.

[Cobra190]

I was going to offer up some suggestions, but according to Fisheater's #4, I have to leave the boat. So i'll just leave the suggestions for the guys still in the boat.

[CatFan96]

I keep each of my anchors in a small (2 or 3 gallon) plastic bucket. This not only keeps the boat clean and keeps the lines from tangling, it gives me two bailing buckets that are always in the boat. I put the anchor in, then coil the line as I put it in. Works sweet!

[PRO V LE]

Will it really sink? the level flotation in my old Skeeter was tested a couple of times.
Had a sucker plug the overflow on the live well with the pump running at the dock, it gets low in the water but does not go to the bottom.

[CatFan96]

Will it really sink? the level flotation in my old Skeeter was tested a couple of times.
Had a sucker plug the overflow on the live well with the pump running at the dock, it gets low in the water but does not go to the bottom.

I wouldn't count on most boats floating when full of water. The outboard is just too heavy, and a jackplate makes it worse. I've seen 4 of at least a couple different brands with the bow tied to the dock and the outboard resting on the bottom.

[PRO V LE]

I thought it was required that boats under a certain length had to have level flotation.
I would have to go after the boat mfg. if my boat went to the bottom.
The Skeeter was a Wrangler model with a 150 V6 motor a full tank of fuel and 3 batterys all in the rear. The opening for the motor cables in the splash well was under water, so there was no doubt the boat was as full of water it could get. Turned the bilge pump on and it was floating again.

[Tyme2fish]

Call you congressman and ask for a special "bailout" for you.

[fisheater]

Call you congressman and ask for a special "bailout" for you.

Thats too good..lol

[BASSKING]

Call you congressman and ask for a special "bailout" for you.

i am still grinning over this one. thats classic. i have seen a boat sink at rough about 8 years ago. i do the same thing catfan does with my anchors so hopefully with a couple of good sized buckets you will be able to get out enough water to stop from sinking. pulling the drain plug out while moving forward does work if you havent took on too much water already.

[kygorski]

If you can safly reach the drain plug, pullit out and start moving, the water will siphon out, have done it. Check your bige pump as often as you can, if it isn't working, dont launch!My new boat at present does not have a bilge pump, I bought a bailer pump, and it will work, but why are you taking on water?My cousins brand new bass boat had a factory defect, the torque from the motor caused a seam leak at the transom, he needed to sue the company to have it fixed.But if all else fails, beach it!

[Stonewall2002]

If you can safly reach the drain plug, pullit out and start moving, the water will siphon out, have done it. Check your bige pump as often as you can, if it isn't working, dont launch!My new boat at present does not have a bilge pump, I bought a bailer pump, and it will work, but why are you taking on water?My cousins brand new bass boat had a factory defect, the torque from the motor caused a seam leak at the transom, he needed to sue the company to have it fixed.But if all else fails, beach it!

Im not taking on water. I was curious as to what to do if the occasion ever presented itself, or if I needed to help another angler on the water.