Weather you are a recreational boater, or serious tournament fisherman, all boats have one natural enemy, water! Sea water from below, water over the bow or stern, or even rain water from above, all can lead to disaster on a boat. The following tips include boat handling techniques and maintenance issues that can help keep your boat high and dry. After spending close to 40 years on a boat, here are some of my favorites, a lot of which I have learned from personal experience.
(Yes, I have been on several sinking boats, see if you can count how many)
1) Who put the plug in?
An olde but a goodie, I can not tell you how many times I have seen boats sinking at the boat ramp because someone forgot to put in the transom drain plug. It is hard to believe, but I have seen famous professional Bass fisherman swimming beneath their boat trying to get the plug in. This happens to a lot of folks. A simple solution is to leave the plug in, and install a floating bilge switch. Get in the habit of cleaning out the bilge, then putting the plug back in. Always remember to re tighten the plug.
NEVER NEVER use a drain plug that has a lever to tighten the plug, only use the screw in type! Why?-Well this one all but sank us on Smith Mountain Lake one afternoon. We were on a guide boat that had recently had some repairs done. The boat yard had put a lever plug in the boat, and the captain had not changed out the plug. The lake was turning over, with a lot of trash in the lake. Some trash hit the lever on the plug, it popped out, and the boat quickly filled once we stopped to through out some live bait. The transom quickly went under water, three of the people on the boat could not swim, and I was holding our $30,000.00 camera, about to be at the bottom of a 225 ft deep lake. Not to mention it was winter, and hypothermia would have gotten us all.
We floored the engine, and barley made it to a shoal. There was right much damage to the boat by running it a shore with that much weight. Since then, any boats that we have that use drain plugs, all are the screw in type.
2) Following Sea part one (Inlets)
This one happened when I was about 16 years of age. We had about 400 pounds of Bluefish in a 36 foot sportsfisherman comming into Rudee Inlett. The seas had really kicked up, and there was about a seven to eight foot surf in the Inlet. The captain had decided to rush the Inlet, and not wait to time the boat with the backside of an incoming wave. The result was about an eight foot wave comming onto our stern, I was on the Flybridge, looking out the back at a monster wave about to crush our stern. The wave caused the boat to broach, filling the entire boat with water, we had Bluefish swimming in the V Berth. On the second approach, the captain did the same thing, this time both props were clearly out of the water, the boat slowly rolled, heading for the rocks on the Inlet. By the time we made it in, the rescue squad had already been called, and there were crowds at the docks seeing if everyone had made it. Everyone did, however it took three hours before I could even feel my knees.
The lesson here is a simple one. First off, watch the weather, if it gets a little nasty, remember you still have to negotiate the Inlet to get back in, be aware of it. Second, ALWAYS, wait the Inlet out, just like the locals do. Do NOT proceed until you can time the boat appropriately to safely navigate back in. This can take a while. If at all possible, try to find a different harbor that does not have such large swells. Staying over for one night at a different marina is not that big of a burden.
3) Following Sea part two
During the Summer of 2001, I was running our 24 foot CC back from the Easter Shore towards Hampton Roads. On this day, I had about a two foot chop with a following sea. To make the boat run a little better at higher speeds, I had the trim tabs down about 20%. The boat handled beautifully, and we were making great time.The problem came when the wind shifted a little more NE, and we hit the Thimble Shoals area, and found ourselves instantly in four to five foot (very steep and close) waves. A small tip of the bow caught the top of the backside of the wave, filled the boat right up with water. This actually happened twice before I realized I still had the trim tabs down. Now a lot of captains that I know have seriously "stuffed" their bow into the back side of a wave, and also put a lot of water in their boats. What I have learned is that the velocity of any portion of the bow of a boat while under way is going to through a LOT of water around, so be careful
So, we learn the hard way sometimes, NEVER! NEVER! NEVER!, have your trim tabs down in a following sea. Speed is also an issue, slow the boat down, surf the waves if you have to. Route planning is also a good Idea, simply approach the area from a different angle if possible so that your in a head on sea, and take it slow.
4) A head above water?
You better hope that your marine toilet is above the boats water line, as well as your holding tank. Remember, water always levels itself!! SO, should your boat have a holding tank that is below the water line, and your head is below the waterline, guess what will happen if you do not have a vented loop and your sea cocks are open?
You guessed correctly, you are sinking at the dock. This has happened to many boaters. If you are buying a used boat, these are the things you should be looking at, not the condition of the carpet. Good advice is to always have your head Sea Cocks closed unless in use. Our 36 trojan head sea cocks are always left open, however all systems pertaining to our Marine Heads are above the waterline. We have not encountered any problems either at dock or at sea.
5) Everything raw water.
All systems on a boat that use a sea water pump for engine cooling will mainly consist of these items: A Sea Cock, a hose, a hose clamp, and the pump assembly itself. All of these items need to be professional inspected at least annually, and checked by the captain on a regular basis. One raw water sea pump hose goes bad, and you are pumping water right into your boat.
NOTE on Sea Cocks---Make sure they are not frozen shut. Replace as needed. How would you like to be taking on water from a busted hose, and you can not close the Sea Cock? Make sure they work!!
6) " I love that new top name brand 30 ft boat I just bought for $110,000.00. To bad it is sitting on the bottom of the river."
This one just kills me, boating manufactures will build and sell a nice boat, claim it is the best boat ever to hit H2O, then to save a dollar in manufacturing, install plastic through hull fittings. If you a buy a new boat that has plastic through hull fittings near or below the waterline, contact the manufacture and tell them of your concern. They need to hear it. I have seen VERY expensive boats, with wonderful new kitchens, microwaves, wet bars, the works, and of course, the dreaded plastic through hull fittings!! Have a boat yard replace any plastic through hull fittings, plastic fittings do not last, they crack, and break very easily. This past summer I witnessed two boats that sank right at the dock due to plastic through hull fittings. One other boat barely made it back in from taking in too much water, the culprit, a plastic through hull fitting.
7) My boat sank, and it was on land! How could this be?
The number one problem with most boats is neglect! Just because your boat is on a trailer in a boat yard, does not mean that it is "High and Dry". Various causes like leaves or even Ice and Snow, can easily clog up scuppers and other drain areas. Rainwater and melting snow will then proceed to fill up your boat, ruining everything in it. Some interiors of boats have been totaled from this problem of clogged drain areas. The solution is simple, check on your boat often, or have someone at the boat yard have a look. Install some sort of cover over scuppers and drain areas so that leaves and other debre can not clog up your boat.
8) Leaks, Leaks, Leaks.
In a power boat, there is usually a lot of through hull type attachments at the stern portion of the boat. Checking to see if your stuffing boxes are leaking is easy, however here are some other common areas that water can get through. The screws on a swim platform may be loose. Struts leading to the prop shaft could be loose, leaking through the screw holes. And an old favorite, missing screws in the trim tabs, they will leak for sure.
The simple solution is this, get to a good boat yard and have the boat pulled for a looksy. Carefully inspect ANY attachment to the transom of the boat, use screw drivers to check for tightness. Any problem areas, simply reseal with a good sealer, and retighten with new fasteners. It is a good idea to be present during this inspection, it will also give you a peace of mind that the job was thoroughly done. Anytime you pull the boat for a haul out, have the boat yard carefully inspect the entire hull. This would also be a good time for any Sea Cock replacement.
9) So, you have an inboard \ outboard? Im Sorry.
If there is one thing that I truly do not like in boat manufacturing, is an IO (inboard outboard) I am absolutely amazed that any boat manufacturer still makes these type of boats, yet they are very popular and you see them everywhere. I used to think that only first time boat buyers would buy a IO, you know the type, the family ski and fish boat, etc. etc. However there are quite a few "high end" fishing boat companies that build boats with IO's. WHY??? My only guess is that the people who build them, just have been lucky enough not to sink in one ...yet. I get people all the time in the boat industry tell me how awesome this new__________ boat is, I look at it, and it is an IO. Shows how much salesmen know.
Here is why I do not like these type of boats. There is the old saying, "all the problems of an inboard, and all the problems of an outboard", however I really do not find that to be true. Outboards these days are extremely reliable, (especially the four strokes), and Inboards, well they are Inboards. Usually you can get them serviced anywhere, they are not that expensive, and they are very reliable. The reason is this, and there is no way around it, inboard outboards by there nature of design, put one huge hole in the back of your boat. If your boat has twin IO's, then you have TWO big holes in the back of your boat. These holes are filled with the lower unit of the engine, attached with through bolts and a gasket. Loose through bolts and leaky gaskets will sink you very quickly. There are of course many instances of these problems known in the boating community, I personally have had friends of mine with brand new sportfishing yachts ($150,000.00 to $200,000.00 boats) sink like a rock. Why? Loose engine transom bolts.
If you own an inboard outboard of any type and you keep the boat, be sure to inspect the gaskets and any through bolts on a regular basis. Be sure to have this professionally done by someone who knows what they are looking for.
My advice for your next boat purchase, go outboard or inboard, do not try to combine the two
10) Neglect.
Neglect in all of it's forms, is the #1 reason for problems with boats. Neglect will sink your boat at the dock, at sea, just about anywhere. There are some things that are not in the captains control, like hitting floating submerged structures just below the surface, however most problems regarding taking on water are due to a boat that has not been properly maintained.
Accident's do and will happen, that is why our Trojan has a six man coastal life raft sitting right on top of the boat. Our show boat is foam filled and floats very well even full of water. Even still, we always try to fish using the buddy system, (two boats in contact with each other by visual and radio)
Keeping your boat, "High and Dry" should be top priority for every captain. Hopefully some of these tips will shed some light and give you some new ideas on maintaining a safe vessel.
