Boating by boatguy Ed; To sink or not?

Should there be water on the cabin sole?

By boatguy Ed

Have you ever been aboard a sinking boat? Not a question one wants to answer, or even wants to contemplate, if the answer is yes. Taking on water is a form of sinking. A great number of us are within that category. Who hasn't forgot to put in the drain plug at the launch ramp? It's embarrassing to have to beach the boat or race back to the ramp for the plug.

Most of us made it but forgetting the drain plug is a big cause of boats sinking at the dock or underway according to the insurance industry. Several years ago an inventor came up with an alarm that could be inserted into the drain and would alert the boater that the transom drain was open to the sea. I found one product on the clearance shelf called Smart Plug Drain Plug and Alarm. West Marine had nothing like this and I suspect it is either because it was hard to instal or a pain to use. You guys at Smart Plug Drain Plug and Alarm should let me know?

I have to admit that I have been on several sinking boats, three to be exact. The first was a sailboat in the Great Lakes during a buoy race when a female crewman came on deck with wet shoes. The culprit was a corroded engine intake hose clamp. The race was abandoned and we sailed back to the slip for repair. If the wet shoes hadn't alerted the crew to the scenario of a leak the outcome could have been different.

The second was while I was aboard an abandoned boat in the back bay. It was floating when we found it but somehow our tugging at it caused a major breech somewhere below. She went down so fast, I just stepped off the gunnel into the rising water. Never did find out what or why. They loaded the boat onto a barge and away it went.

The third near disaster would have been way worse if not for a handy wooden thru hull plug. I was feeling around a leaking sea cock when I gently bumped it and it broke right off. Sea water everywhere especially in my eyes and mouth. I first jammed my shirt into the small hole but just to disperse the stream. In my sea bag I carried a group of tapered wooden plugs, one of which fit the hole exactly. I have never forgiven West Marine for not selling them individually. It's corporate, money grubbing BS.

Your brand new boat will come from the factory with several holes already cut into it. Several holes that could sink your boat eventually. Sea cocks, hose clamps and hoses should be inspected and replaced within a set time frame. Five years max for saltwater thru hulls and components sounds reasonable to me. Do you have an opinion or a sinking story? I'd like to hear from you!

The 'Dead End Canal Yacht Club' had one intentional sinking three years ago. “Take my house and my boat but you'll have to raise it,” said 'New Jersey Ned'. Which is a good reason not to bundle loans.

“So listen up Sea Scouts,” says Commodore Jim, “you have to be prepared beforehand or to swim.”