Stupid Things You've Done (or not done)

[Bruizza]

I have forgotten the plug as well as the transom straps. Forgot to strap boards in god knows now many times. Wrapped a few ropes in props. Dinged my prop last year at powell and then had to wait 2 days for a prop puller to arrive. Changing out a prop under water is an interesting experience to say the least. I also didn't winch the boat onto the trailer far enough and decided to go back and float it to winch it on better. Only I had the cover on with the straps around the trailer. Boat floated, straps on the cover broke. Had a really bad windstorm in WY also break the straps on my cover.

I will say probably the funniest thing and maybe the most worrisome was back in college we were out on Lake Norris in TN. We were on my roommates Moomba Outback and we had about 5 girls in the bow of the boat. My roommate looks back and me and says watch this and takes a HUGE roller over the bow SOAKING the girls who had no clue it was coming. We are both dying laughing but then we notice there is a good 3 inches of water in the floor of the boat now and it is not going anywhere. He asks me if I put the plug in. I reply I thought he put the plug in. Open the motor hatch and we have no plug. So now we are in a bit of trouble lol. We HAUL *** over to the ramp as fast as that boat would go and get the plug from the truck and put it in with very little time to spare before we would have sunk that boat.

[hossdog]

I'll bite! My first boat was an 18 foot fiberglass bass boat with an outboard. Can't remember the brand, but it was given to me by my Grandpa. At age 16 and wild I should have never been trusted. Was out with a girl I was dating at the time on Lake Conroe TX and it was a windy day with big waves and she had to pee. Well I thought it would be fun to floor the throttle up the waves and then smash the next one messing with her cause I knew she had to pee. Not a good idea in big waves and wind in a small powerful light boat! Came up a wave and the bow caught the wind causing the entire boat to go vertical in the air and land transom first like a lawn dart submerging the outboard and about half the boat. Then it shot back out of the water and landed hard on the hull on the next wave. We managed to stay in the boat somehow, but everything else was floating around us. The cooler, seats and everything else was floating. After getting everything back in the boat luckily the motor turned over and we were able to start heading in. As we motored back I noticed the bilge pump would not stop running then I realized we were sinking. By the time I got to the ramp only the rub rails were out of the water. I had to back the truck so deep down the launch that half the truck was under water. Managed to get it on the trailer and out of the water then discovered the entire hull had a crack going from the port to starboard sides. Boat was luckily a cheap boat, but was a total loss. Didn't have another boat until I was 25 and bought it myself. I am about the safest boater you'll ever meet now a days. I get my thrills behind the boat on a foil these days.

edit: Thought I would add that she never spoke to me again after that day!

[jzts0214]

There is 2 types of boaters. Ones that have forgot to put the plug in and the ones that will forget to put the plug in.

[dom w. forte]

There is 2 types of boaters. Ones that have forgot to put the plug in and the ones that will forget to put the plug in.

There are three types here in FLA. the third is forgetting to take the plug out while on the trailer and sinking the boat in our heavy rain season , I cant tell you how many boats come in that we have to change out starters and pump the water out of the trans, because of not removeing the plug.

[Guest]

This thread has made me laugh as I have been there so I have to contribute. It all started when I was a kid and my Dad put in our old Astroglass bass boat before dawn without the plug in. He noticed when he jumped in the boat to pull it off the trailer. First and last time for him, that he has admitted to anyways. Then about a year into ownership of my 2004 22V I dropped in my buddy and noticed the bilge working when pulling up from the ramp. I quickly put two and two together and backed down and my buddy pulled the boat right back on the trailer. That just bruised my ego at a busy ramp. I have always checked the plug since.

With the 2013 Z3 on my first day out this spring I was pulling into a marina to get gas I had never been to and I was not used to board racks so low (my list of excuses start here) and one metal pole on the port side was about a 1/4 inch too high and bent the crap out of the rack and essentially broke it. Glad I got my new boat dumb move out of the way early. Yes and I knocking on wood.

A couple weekends ago my boat partner went out and did not tie the anchor rope tight enough and lost it. Then my other boat partner did the exact same thing the next day. I have lost two anchors myself over the years, one with a bad tie and one with a rope shorter than the depth. Those are cheap mistakes and gave us a laugh.

[murphini]

Left plug out 2x: one on each boat. It will happen to everyone about every 5 years.

Strangest/stupidest thing was my first boat needed new steering cable. Paid a guy to do it. I was backing off the trailer and thought it was odd that the boat was going the wrong way. Then in forward, the boat was turning opposite of the steering wheel. The guy put the helm rack/pinion in backwards so it was opposite of where it should be. I had my son/daughter out with my brother in law and his son. It was my bro in law's birthday and his wife had a surprise party waiting for him so I had to keep him on the lake from noon-5pm so she could get ready so when we pulled back in everyone would be there.

Ir was an uncrowded/slow day and I quickly figured out how to navigate by steering backwards. We mostly put-zed around, but later in the day we tubed and my whole mantra was "steer towards trouble". My mechanic fixed the helm the next day.