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I remembered to put the plug in before launching.....


electricjohn

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I forgot to make up the exhaust drain crossover hose. I started draining my exhaust and engine whenever I bring the boat home now, because I don't know how long it will lay up. I do not want to leave raw water in the engine or manifold for extended periods.

Anyways this is the second time I sent my daughter out onto the lake with a sinking boat. First time was without a plug in the bilge. This time, it took us three launches and two pull outs and drain to find out where the water was coming from. At first I thought it was the packing nut or prop shaft damper, then I thought about coolant hoses which reminded me about the crossover hose.

"Are you sure the plug is in, dad?" "Yes dear, you have nothing to worry about this time." Two minutes later she is headed back to the launch with the bilge pump flowing fast. So now, I decided to make some laminated tags identifying any unfinished bussiness and hang them from the steering wheel.

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Hey that's not that bad, at least it isn't a bonehead error. I won't hi-jack your post and tell ya what I did, I think I will be stupid and post it on my own just in case I screwed something up supabad last night and I need to have it checked before running it again.

Thanks for the tips. I think I am gonna do the laminated tags too for common stuff I have too many distractions to do this by myself and not screw up once in awhile. Glad your oops didn't sink the boat.

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I have probably launched my '70 Winner 100 times without the plug (1000's of launches). You'd be surprised how much water a boat can take on without sinking. Luckily it is an outboard, so the engine sits above the gunwale line. An inboard would end up in trouble much sooner.

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Yeah the plug thing is stuck in my brain, when I was a little girl my Dad took us fishing in an older boat with one of those plastic like plugs and he forgot to put the plug in it, and my Dad is a big man and to see him fishing for a plug to get in the hole and the boat is a rocking that was pretty tramatic for me.

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So now, I decided to make some laminated tags identifying any unfinished bussiness and hang them from the steering wheel.

Um....yeah, sure....but then you have to remember to attach the laminated tags to the steering wheel....

Whistling.gif

Hey John, you wanna stop by here on your way north sometime??? Gimme a shout. Using the email button is best at this point rather than the pm button.

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imho: if your daughter is old enough to pilot the boat by herself she is old enough to be responsible for herself, too.

take the time to teach her all the required stuff and let her do the prep/tear down after each outing.

it may be a pia for the first season but she will be much more comfortable when she gets to that one trip when she is out and really needs to understand what is wrong.

that said; my adult kids are not in the boat often enough for me to do the same. :blush:

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imho: if your daughter is old enough to pilot the boat by herself she is old enough to be responsible for herself, too.

take the time to teach her all the required stuff and let her do the prep/tear down after each outing.

it may be a pia for the first season but she will be much more comfortable when she gets to that one trip when she is out and really needs to understand what is wrong.

that said; my adult kids are not in the boat often enough for me to do the same. :blush:

Both of my college age daughters were literally born in a boat (my 1970 Winner). They are both well versed in boating and could handle an emergency on their own whether it be on a lake or out in the ocean where we do most of our boating. I make them help me with all maintenance, winterization, summerization and washing and waxing both boats. They have had their safety certification card since they were 12 and have also passed Coast Guard test before safety certification was even required in NJ. I just felt that that was the right way to do it if they wanted to be boaters/skiers, especially if operating out in the ocean. Edited by electricjohn
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