# Have you ever sunk your tinnie? If so, how??



## aeviaanah (Nov 28, 2011)

Curious if youve ever sunk your boat. Howd it happen? Whatd you end up doing?


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## bcbouy (Nov 28, 2011)

i was trolling for kokanee one day,minding my own buisiness when some d-bag pulling a wakeboarder passed 20 feet from my 12" tinnies stern.it filled it up to 2" from the top of the sides.it was almost half under water. all i could do was punch it wot. i sank about 6 feet from the dock, but it could have been worse. several people on the dock saw me heading in full blast,and threw me a line to tow me all the way in. the motor was ok and i actually made it back out,but couldn't catch the s.o.b. in the ski boat, but i did report him. at least i didnt lose all my flyline from him passing so close,but i did spool my rods tearassing back in.


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## aeviaanah (Nov 28, 2011)

Man lucky you, damn wake boarders. Did his wave crash against the stern allowing the water to come in? I'm curious, did you have a bilge pump? Would it have helped?

Or flotation?


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## bulldog (Nov 28, 2011)

I came very close one time. I beached just up river from this large tree going over the river. I barely made it under it coming up river. Me and 2 of my buddies were fishing the rapids and weren't having any luck so we decided to go to a new spot. Pushed off and I could not get the boat started and we drifted right under the tree. The motor stuck under the tree and kicked the boat sideways in about 3' of water that was really moving. The upstream side of the boat went under water and water just poured in so fast. I grabbed my buddy that was standing on the upstream side of the boat and threw him to the down stream side in order to lift the edge out of the water. He almost went in and was pissed but he was just frozen and not doing anything to help the cause. He's one of those, not my boat not my problem type of people. I have a 500 GPH bilge and it pumped for 45 minutes before the boat was empty of water. 

Lesson learned here - beach the boat far enough up stream from rapids so if something goes wrong you have time to prepare for something or beach the boat below the rapids and walk up stream to fish.


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## Jdholmes (Nov 28, 2011)

Wow. I would never fish the rapids. I do have experience sinking a kayak in them.

My dad and I were boating when I was younger with a group and had stopped to help some folks who had flipped their canoe with kids in it. So, we propped against a rock right before the rapids and caught kids and gear coming our way.

Once all was settled we went to push away from the rock and the current caught the kayak in a weird way and sucked it down. As soon as it started filling it the thing sunk like a rock and trapped my dads leg between the rocks. He was screaming in pain and it took about five guys nearby to lift the weight of the thing filled with water.


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## aeviaanah (Nov 28, 2011)

bulldog said:


> I came very close one time. I beached just up river from this large tree going over the river. I barely made it under it coming up river. Me and 2 of my buddies were fishing the rapids and weren't having any luck so we decided to go to a new spot. Pushed off and I could not get the boat started and we drifted right under the tree. The motor stuck under the tree and kicked the boat sideways in about 3' of water that was really moving. The upstream side of the boat went under water and water just poured in so fast. I grabbed my buddy that was standing on the upstream side of the boat and threw him to the down stream side in order to lift the edge out of the water. He almost went in and was pissed but he was just frozen and not doing anything to help the cause. He's one of those, not my boat not my problem type of people. I have a 500 GPH bilge and it pumped for 45 minutes before the boat was empty of water.
> 
> Lesson learned here - beach the boat far enough up stream from rapids so if something goes wrong you have time to prepare for something or beach the boat below the rapids and walk up stream to fish.


Oh man, what a story. Glad everything worked out. The boat never actually sank tho huh? Turned the bilge pump on in time and were able to keep the water from pouring in? Crazy!



Jdholmes said:


> Wow. I would never fish the rapids. I do have experience sinking a kayak in them.
> 
> My dad and I were boating when I was younger with a group and had stopped to help some folks who had flipped their canoe with kids in it. So, we propped against a rock right before the rapids and caught kids and gear coming our way.
> 
> Once all was settled we went to push away from the rock and the current caught the kayak in a weird way and sucked it down. As soon as it started filling it the thing sunk like a rock and trapped my dads leg between the rocks. He was screaming in pain and it took about five guys nearby to lift the weight of the thing filled with water.


Ouch glad to hear everyone is OK! Those kayak guys are nuts!


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## bulldog (Nov 28, 2011)

aeviaanah said:


> Oh man, what a story. Glad everything worked out. The boat never actually sank tho huh? Turned the bilge pump on in time and were able to keep the water from pouring in? Crazy!
> 
> It never sank. Basically had a lot of water in it which caused it to sit low enough in the water to free it from the tree. We then imediately beached it and let the bilge pump do the work. I think I remember hand bailing also. There was a lot of water.


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## bcbouy (Nov 28, 2011)

aeviaanah said:


> Man lucky you, damn wake boarders. Did his wave crash against the stern allowing the water to come in? I'm curious, did you have a bilge pump? Would it have helped?
> 
> Or flotation?


it was my old 12 footer bare bones. no bilge,just a battery, motor,gas and my fat ass all in the stern. it was the deciding factor in me buying a 2010 14.5 ft. g3 v bottom.no way a bilge could have helped. it came flooding over the stern.


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## aeviaanah (Nov 28, 2011)

bcbouy said:


> aeviaanah said:
> 
> 
> > Man lucky you, damn wake boarders. Did his wave crash against the stern allowing the water to come in? I'm curious, did you have a bilge pump? Would it have helped?
> ...


Was it a flat bottom? 


bulldog said:


> aeviaanah said:
> 
> 
> > Oh man, what a story. Glad everything worked out. The boat never actually sank tho huh? Turned the bilge pump on in time and were able to keep the water from pouring in? Crazy!
> ...


Crazy....did it have flotation built in? Im trying to figure out if I can get away without flotation....curious of the risks. I dont have much room in my 12' boat.


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## rickybobbybend (Nov 28, 2011)

I've never been close to swamping, but it is a "what 
if" that is always in the back of my mind. I am about three quarters of the way through modding a 12 footer to make it more fishable, but two absolutes were minimum added weight and retaining all factory flotation. I am very happy withe results...flotation is a must in my book...


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## bcbouy (Nov 29, 2011)

first thing that went into my new boat was an 800 bilge pump,and forward batteries so its nicely balanced


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## PSG-1 (Nov 29, 2011)

Having been on the water for almost 30 years, I've had a few mishaps with johnboats.

When I was a kid, I was on a boat that capsized....my stepdad and one of his buddies were fooling around, cutting sharp turns with the boat, and the next thing we knew, we were all overboard. We swam it back to the hill, flipped it up and drained the water out of it, and went home.

Another time, I nearly pitch-poled a johnboat coming through the surf zone in the inlet of Cherry Grove Beach, and that was in January. Back in those days, you could go from Cherry Grove to Little River through Dunn Sound, but only above a mid-tide, otherwise, you had to run through the ocean. I had been at Little River, it was getting dark and time to go home, but the tide was too low to go through the sound. So, I had to run the 2 1/2 miles home through the ocean, and back through the inlet. The wave I was riding on the back of, decreased in size, and the wave on my stern increased in size, picking up the stern. Fortunately, the water was so shallow, when the boat tried to nose-dive, it scraped bottom, and bounced up.

Then of course, there was my most recent incident, where a 31 foot para-sailing boat came by throwing a massive wake, and it swamped my jetboat, blowing up the engine. I replaced the engine with the High Output, but I've still got charges pending against the so-called 'captain' of that boat, we go to court in a few weeks. This 'captain' (and I use the term loosely... "common boater" is a more fitting description) has a history of swamping people, he's been convicted of doing the same thing twice. So, the DA's office has picked up the charges. If he's convicted, he will lose his captain's license, he will have to pay restitution to me, and the DA will also ask for jail time. Should be interesting to see what happens.


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## spotco2 (Nov 29, 2011)

I've never thought about putting a bilge pump in a jon before but you guys are making me think seriously about dropping one in the back.

I've never sank a jon before but I did sink a 19' fiberglass tri-hull once. It was not a fun experience flipping it back over and bailing the water out of it.


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## FuzzyGrub (Nov 29, 2011)

I assume you don't want to know about drain plug sinkings or deliberate capsizing. 

In that case, I have had only close calls. Those have all been on river drift trips where the hull hung on rock and the current almost flipped the boat. Never underestimate the power of shallow water current. All cases the depth was less than 4". 

I have been hit by large wakes that have almost thrown me in, but didn't swamp the boat. Those pedelstal seat can do more than rest your butt. A surprise wave at the transom has exercised the bilge pump a time or two.


PS: Are you doing risk analysis for your floatation foam question?


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## aeviaanah (Nov 29, 2011)

FuzzyGrub said:


> I assume you don't want to know about drain plug sinkings or deliberate capsizing.
> 
> In that case, I have had only close calls. Those have all been on river drift trips where the hull hung on rock and the current almost flipped the boat. Never underestimate the power of shallow water current. All cases the depth was less than 4".
> 
> ...


Your exactly right, risk analysis.. Ya know I want what I want but the foam is still in the back of my mind. I havent locked anything down yet. The decision needs to be made!

Its a 12' semi V. I need roughly 5.3 cu ft with people and 4.6 cu ft without.


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## FuzzyGrub (Nov 29, 2011)

My advice is just do it. It will always be on the back of your mind. and why tempt Murphy? 

My latest project had the benches (and foam) removed by previous owner. I will be putting foam in floor and sides, along with additional in nose compartment that will not be used for storage.


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## gillhunter (Nov 29, 2011)

rickybobbybend said:


> I've never been close to swamping, but it is a "what
> if" that is always in the back of my mind. I am about three quarters of the way through modding a 12 footer to make it more fishable, but two absolutes were minimum added weight and retaining all factory flotation. I am very happy withe results...flotation is a must in my book...



I agree totally with rickybobbybend. I see you have already calculated how much foam you need to put in the boat. From my perspective the smaller the your boat is, especially if you are sharing water with larger more powerful boats the greater the chance is that you are going to be put at risk by the misjudgment or irresponsible actions of another boater. For example the experience that PSG-1 had. The manufacturers flotation requirement for new boat construction basically means that the boat can be totally swamped at it's rated load and still hold the powerhead on your motor out of the water and not sink. So not only is the amount of floatation important the placement is important also. Like rickybobbybend I kept the added weight to a minimum and retained all the factory flotation on my mod. The idea of watching my boat, motor and all my gear sinking to the bottom of a lake while making my way back to shore even in a PFD is something I would prefer not to experience. :roll:
Just my $0.02 worth. Good luck with your project.


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## aeviaanah (Nov 29, 2011)

Thanks guys. I will go with flotation. Its either live well or flotation...i removed livewell and can now have enough for flotation. I cant quiet get enough flotation for persons and boat but i can get it for boat weight...


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## PSG-1 (Nov 29, 2011)

I'm a firm believer in bilge pumps on board any boat.

My jetboat has 3 bilge pumps in total. One on the main deck is a 500 GPH automatic pump, this one deals with any water that hits the main deck. The main deck is fairly well sealed from the engine compartment, a very tiny amount of this water makes it to the engine compartment, and it takes that a while to drain, again, it's sealed pretty good. But then there are ventilation scoops, a hatch on the starboard side, and a few other routes where water can enter the engine compartment. Most of these breaches are above the main deck, and they only get wet in a rainstorm, or if I'm doing a lot of spinning or other maneuvers. The stern rarely takes any water, even with waves behind me, as the platform seems to give added lift, and keeps the transom from being swamped. 

Inside the engine compartment, I have 2 more bilge pumps to deal with any remaining water. One is an 1100GPH pump with a 1 1/8" discharge hose. This has a float switch. It's mounted at the rearmost point on the starboard side. The other bilge pump, mounted at the rear corner of the port side, is a pressure-fed bilge that's hooked to the jet pump, so, it uses the negative pressure created by water flowing out of the pump, as suction to drain the bilge. Most jet skis have this type of pump. I'm not sure exactly what GPH flow I get from the suction bilge, as the hose is only 1/2" diameter. Also, the amount of suction is dependent on the speed of the prop, obviously the more water flowing through the pump, the more suction at that hose. But I'm going to guess and say it's capable of at least 300-400 GPH.

So, in total, I'm able to pump about 25-30 gallons per minute, which is a good bit of water. Overkill? Maybe, but then again, remember that just one breaking wave, or one large boat wake across your bow is enough to fill an average boat at least knee deep in water.

The floatation foam I have under my false bottom would be enough to keep the boat afloat, for sure. But the main objective of the numerous bilge pumps, is to prevent a large amount of water from ever being able to accumulate in the engine compartment and destroy another engine. 

You can get by with being swamped all the way to the transom with an outboard motor, and it will be OK, as long as the intake manifold never goes underwater. (I know, because I've done it) But, as you can imagine, with an inboard, it's a much different story.


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## FuzzyGrub (Nov 29, 2011)

PSG-1, sounds like a gas motor trash pump won't be enough!


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## Canoeman (Nov 29, 2011)

Ive flipped my flat back canoe once and my point to point a handful of times.. both kayak's once.. 

All of the above are typical "flipped my canoe/kayak" stories.

Hmm.. ripped 2 X 6" gashes at the same time on the side of my 1648 30 hp jet.. had my girl stuff her shirt in the holes and ran back to the launch (her shirtless) @ wot.. didn't actually sink but dam close by the time i got my trailer down the launch.. lol.


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## CodyPomeroy (Nov 29, 2011)

I am new to boating, so I thankfully haven't had any close calls but I witnessed the aftermath of one this summer. I was returning to the ramp one sunday afternoon, I was taking my time because I saw someone was on the ramp. As I got closer I realized there was water coming out of the back of the boat and two people were bailing it out by hand. As I beached my boat I said "Looks like you took on some water..." Then they told me about how they found the owner of the boat drunk and barely coherant. Luckily the ramp is in shallow slack water because he had hit something and punched a hole in the stern. He had sunk it and was revving the motor trying to go somewhere. By the time we had got there he was passed out somewhere on shore.


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## spotco2 (Nov 30, 2011)

CodyPomeroy said:


> I am new to boating, so I thankfully haven't had any close calls but I witnessed the aftermath of one this summer. I was returning to the ramp one sunday afternoon, I was taking my time because I saw someone was on the ramp. As I got closer I realized there was water coming out of the back of the boat and two people were bailing it out by hand. As I beached my boat I said "Looks like you took on some water..." Then they told me about how they found the owner of the boat drunk and barely coherant. Luckily the ramp is in shallow slack water because he had hit something and punched a hole in the stern. He had sunk it and was revving the motor trying to go somewhere. By the time we had got there he was passed out somewhere on shore.



I hope someone notified the police or rangers about this situation. Boating under the influence is both dangerous and illegal. It's a very good way to kill yourself or someone else.

I'm not a tattle tale, but I'll report a drunk driver on the road or water in a second. I couldn't live with myself if I knew that I did not make the call and they hurt someone.


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## PSG-1 (Nov 30, 2011)

CodyPomeroy said:


> I am new to boating, so I thankfully haven't had any close calls but I witnessed the aftermath of one this summer. I was returning to the ramp one sunday afternoon, I was taking my time because I saw someone was on the ramp. As I got closer I realized there was water coming out of the back of the boat and two people were bailing it out by hand. As I beached my boat I said "Looks like you took on some water..." Then they told me about how they found the owner of the boat drunk and barely coherant. Luckily the ramp is in shallow slack water because he had hit something and punched a hole in the stern. He had sunk it and was revving the motor trying to go somewhere. By the time we had got there he was passed out somewhere on shore.




Sounds about like the caliber of folks where I live, where Bud Light is the official drink of the ocean cowboy. We'd probably never have boating fatalities in South Carolina if they every decided to make it illegal to have an open container of alcohol aboard a boat. But that'll never happen.


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## earl60446 (Nov 30, 2011)

Sunk a wellcraft v20 fisherman on lake erie once, about 4 miles out. That boat was a real lead sled. Plus the transom was so low in the water. We were in about 3-4 foot waves and trolling for walleye with following waves. We had a lot of weight in the boat too, our fault there. A 150 johnson and a 10hp honda on the back plus downriggers, rods, etc.. Water was splashing over the transom, bilge pump would keep up ok. The the backend started to look really low and waves coming in heavier. We started the big motor to get going and the big motor died everytime we put it in gear??? Before you knew it we were swamped, both outboards amd whole transom underwater. The boat rolled in a wave and we were swimming.

We found out later the bilge got something stuck in the impeller and it stopped plus a dock line was wrapped around our big motor prop and that caused it to keep killing. Some boaters saw us and came and got us from about a mile away. The salvage / tow boat righted our boat, pumped it out and towed it to harbor for $600

We had too much weight in the boat, should have had 2 bilge pumps.

Tim


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## aeviaanah (Nov 30, 2011)

earl60446 said:


> Sunk a wellcraft v20 fisherman on lake erie once, about 4 miles out. That boat was a real lead sled. Plus the transom was so low in the water. We were in about 3-4 foot waves and trolling for walleye with following waves. We had a lot of weight in the boat too, our fault there. A 150 johnson and a 10hp honda on the back plus downriggers, rods, etc.. Water was splashing over the transom, bilge pump would keep up ok. The the backend started to look really low and waves coming in heavier. We started the big motor to get going and the big motor died everytime we put it in gear??? Before you knew it we were swamped, both outboards amd whole transom underwater. The boat rolled in a wave and we were swimming.
> 
> We found out later the bilge got something stuck in the impeller and it stopped plus a dock line was wrapped around our big motor prop and that caused it to keep killing. Some boaters saw us and came and got us from about a mile away. The salvage / tow boat righted our boat, pumped it out and towed it to harbor for $600
> 
> ...


Wow crazy 4 miles out...thats a long swim. Thats good someone saw you! A series of unfortunate events.


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## CodyPomeroy (Nov 30, 2011)

spotco2 said:


> I hope someone notified the police or rangers about this situation. Boating under the influence is both dangerous and illegal. It's a very good way to kill yourself or someone else.
> 
> I'm not a tattle tale, but I'll report a drunk driver on the road or water in a second. I couldn't live with myself if I knew that I did not make the call and they hurt someone.


I never thought of that... I supposed it didn't occur to me because he was passed out and wouldn't be going anywhere soon. I will do something next time.


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## hotshotinn (Dec 1, 2011)

I was out catfishing with a friend one night some time agao and when we were heading in about 3 in the morning my friend hit a big rock in the middle of the river.The boat was a jon boat with a 25hp johnson.Upon hitting the rock it opened up the bottom of the boat and water was rushing in.In no time we were not going under power by the 25 hp.I grabbed my fishing rods and tackle and went for shore.My friend stayed with the boat for awhile as it went down streem with the current,he was wanting to try to save the boat and tackle.I yelled to him to just let her go so he bailed out and went to the shore,he lost his poles and tackle but he didnot loose his life.Good thing it was in warmer weather and not in deep water.Once day light came he and i went to retreave the boat and we found it wedged in a blow down tree,all i did we hook a rope onit with my boat and pulled it free.The jon boat was scraped and he was able to salvage the 25 Johnson for another jon boat that he is still running today.He has learned not to run fast in the dark and he allso has some lighting for night use now.A close call for sure.We did have out life jackets on board but we wernt wearing them.When I bailed out for shore the water was shallow up to my knees and waist but when my friend bailed out he had to swim abit til he could stand


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## aeviaanah (Dec 1, 2011)

hotshotinn said:


> I was out catfishing with a friend one night some time agao and when we were heading in about 3 in the morning my friend hit a big rock in the middle of the river.The boat was a jon boat with a 25hp johnson.Upon hitting the rock it opened up the bottom of the boat and water was rushing in.In no time we were not going under power by the 25 hp.I grabbed my fishing rods and tackle and went for shore.My friend stayed with the boat for awhile as it went down streem with the current,he was wanting to try to save the boat and tackle.I yelled to him to just let her go so he bailed out and went to the shore,he lost his poles and tackle but he didnot loose his life.Good thing it was in warmer weather and not in deep water.Once day light came he and i went to retreave the boat and we found it wedged in a blow down tree,all i did we hook a rope onit with my boat and pulled it free.The jon boat was scraped and he was able to salvage the 25 Johnson for another jon boat that he is still running today.He has learned not to run fast in the dark and he allso has some lighting for night use now.A close call for sure.We did have out life jackets on board but we wernt wearing them.When I bailed out for shore the water was shallow up to my knees and waist but when my friend bailed out he had to swim abit til he could stand


Well that was a good read! Did you catch anything? I'm glad you were able to salvage the motor and that you and your buddy are ok.


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## hotshotinn (Dec 1, 2011)

WE had some cats in a white cooler and that was gone.IT went some where down streem,i bet someone else found them.My friend should of grabbed that coolerwhen he bailed out to atleast save the cats.Those fish fries are priceless you know :mrgreen:


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## Loggerhead Mike (Dec 1, 2011)

Didn't sink but came close

Fishing chatuage before a big storm with small craft warnings. I told my brother to turn the Livewell pump on and completely forgot about it. Wind picked up bad and waves started comming over the side. I cranked the motor and hammered down to get to the ramp. Boat stood up about 2oclock going maybe 3mph. I said wtf, let off throttle turned and saw water comming out of the whole rear deck. Instantly hammerd down barely moving and pointing at the sky again, turned on the bildge and pointed it to the closest bank wich was all rocks. Just before I would of been comited to running into the bank the boat started to pick up and eventualy plained after a few min. Scared as I've ever been on the water. I guarantee we had well over 100 gallons in the boat.


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## aeviaanah (Dec 6, 2011)

Loggerhead Mike said:


> Didn't sink but came close
> 
> Fishing chatuage before a big storm with small craft warnings. I told my brother to turn the Livewell pump on and completely forgot about it. Wind picked up bad and waves started comming over the side. I cranked the motor and hammered down to get to the ramp. Boat stood up about 2oclock going maybe 3mph. I said wtf, let off throttle turned and saw water comming out of the whole rear deck. Instantly hammerd down barely moving and pointing at the sky again, turned on the bildge and pointed it to the closest bank wich was all rocks. Just before I would of been comited to running into the bank the boat started to pick up and eventualy plained after a few min. Scared as I've ever been on the water. I guarantee we had well over 100 gallons in the boat.


Man thats scary. I got my foam in!


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## Loggerhead Mike (Dec 6, 2011)

Ya man, but I did finially get to use the new bildge pump

The funnyest part was watching my brother trying to get the drain plug out of the back while we were hammering 2-3 ft waves at 20mph. I was still to puckered up to let off the throttle any untill we hit the boat ramp


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## aeviaanah (Dec 6, 2011)

Loggerhead Mike said:


> Ya man, but I did finially get to use the new bildge pump
> 
> The funnyest part was watching my brother trying to get the drain plug out of the back while we were hammering 2-3 ft waves at 20mph. I was still to puckered up to let off the throttle any untill we hit the boat ramp


Whats he gonna do with the drain plug?


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## bulldog (Dec 6, 2011)

aeviaanah said:


> Loggerhead Mike said:
> 
> 
> > Ya man, but I did finially get to use the new bildge pump
> ...



If you pull the drain plug while on plane it will drain the boat. You have to be on plane for it to work and you have to make sure to put it back in before you stop.


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## PSG-1 (Dec 6, 2011)

Yep, the drain plug trick works for draining the boat while underway, but as stated, don't forget to put it back in!!

In a few of my close calls, I've been swamped bad enough, I didn't even have to pull a drain plug, as the water was draining out over the top edge of the transom while the boat was at a 45 degree angle! (The bilge pump handled the rest of the water, but it took a while)

I'm a big fan of self-bailing decks, but the problem with modifying a johnboat to have a self-bailing deck is that you have to build the inner hull up above the natural waterline of the boat, which means coming up about 4-6 inches. As johnboats are low-slung to begin with, you lose a lot of gunwale height inside the boat when you do this modification. But if it's done correctly, and you have large enough drain scuppers (like 1 inch or better in diameter), you can just about take a boat like this through breaking surf, and not have to worry too much.

I thought about doing this modification to my jetboat when I rebuilt it, but I already had so much to do, this was a low priority for me.

But when I build the next boat with the supercharged engine, it WILL have a self-bailing deck, with enough drainage to handle any condition I could ever encounter.


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## bulldog (Dec 6, 2011)

Do you have any reference pictures of a self bailing deck?


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## aeviaanah (Dec 6, 2011)

Didnt know that, thanks!


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## PSG-1 (Dec 7, 2011)

bulldog said:


> Do you have any reference pictures of a self bailing deck?




Not really. I know what the design looks like in my head, so, I'll try to explain it.

It's similar to the inner hull you would see in a johnboat, but instead of attaching to the factory ribs across the floor, you need to use some 2x4" rectangular aluminum tube, with a thin wall, to raise the deck level up above the waterline. Simply attach them to the existing factory ribs across the floor, with the ends of the rect. tube angle cut so they butt right up to the inside edge of the gunwale ribs.

Fabricate and install the inner deck by riveting or screwing it to the ribs along the floor, and along the gunwales.

You then separate this inner hull from the bilge/stern area, by properly sealing at the rear bench seat, engine compartment, etc. And then at each rear corner of the inner deck, you install your scuppers.


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## srr5008 (Dec 23, 2011)

Never sank a tin, but we almost sank our fiberglass jet boat. Story could serve as a good warning for jet owners on the forum. 

We were in the middle of a 120' deep lake, getting ready to do some skiing. When we hit the throttle to get ourselves into position and the engine revved, but nothing happened. So after working the throttle back and forth a few more times, water came rushing into the boat from underneath the back seat (which butts up to the engine compartment). We lifted the hatch to look in the engine compartment and there was water up to the spark plugs (350 Chevy small-block engine). Luckily we were able to idle her into shore where she sunk at a dock. 

As it turns out, the hoses in the boat were the original hoses (20 years old at the time) and had dry-rotted. So when we hit the gas they started sucking water into the engine compartment, but not much of the water was making it through the engine. Very close call, and it was quite the eye-opener.


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## the hammer (Dec 23, 2011)

I almost did it at the ramp. I forgot to remove the transom tie downs and I'm backing down an unimproved mud slide between a couple of trees. I'm noticing the boat isn't sliding off the trailer. When I realize what was going on, I put the truck in drive and that's all remember but me trying to pull up the boat as I'd unhooked the winch. My tackle box is floating off the deck, my auto inflate PFD had, in fact, self inflated and it's floating across the pond.
I at least had the presence of mind to whip the rope around one tree and tie around the other tree to prevent the boat from sinking further. I jumped onto the deck and hit the bilge switch but since the transom was submerged it really didn't do anything. I was able to get the winch hook into the bow eye, winch the boat onto the trailer and the bilge started to kick in.
Eventually I had it under control and fortunately no water got into the powerhead or through the cowling.


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## aeviaanah (Dec 23, 2011)

Wow interesting story! Happy holidays!


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## flatboat (Dec 25, 2011)

once in january tryin to get a 48 lb catfish in a 12 ft boat ,not a good day, i am a believer , foam ,foam, foam!


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## knnymain (Dec 26, 2011)

yep forgot drain plug. i unloaded my boat tied it to the dock. drove up the hill at the ramp to park.when i walked down to the dock the boat was full. i was by myself so i was lucky to get the boat back up..i had to get the trailer and back down past the end of the ramp and winch it up. i thought my little dakota wasnt going to pull her out........ive also dumped my tinnie on a boat ramp.i had a tip bunk trailer and glide slicks on the bunks when i unhooked winch strap yhe boat slid the bunks tipped and my boat hit the ground....worst part was we were fishing a tourney with a new club and we didnt know any one there was not funny at the time but my brother and i get a laugh whenever we tell someone about it.......btw i no longer use tip bunks they were welded tight the next week...... and when the sticker that cones with glide slicks says do not unhook boat untill you are ready to launch heed the warning lol


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## linehand (Dec 28, 2011)

Close to sinking last fall. Trolling in the evening with a friend at the helm of my boat. He hit the live well pump inadvertently. apparently it was just overflowing into the hull. I didn't notice the boat getting low because of the darkness. When the front live well lid opened up that I was storing tackle in started rushing into the boat It got a little nerve racking. In the far end of a larger lake, trying to get lines in at the same time I floored the boat pump running and couldn't remove the plug because we were just putting at full throttle. Very close to sinking. 
It was weird because the front deck where the live well sits is a good 8 or so inches above the main deck. We made it back ok about a 15 minute cheek clincher.


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