christmas eve excitemet on launch

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wendell avery

Active member
Nothing like a little excitement to kick off the morning hunt. Amazing how much water can enter the boat when you didn't realized you left the plug out until after you have parked the truck and came back to the boat!
 
Nice to have a super sized bilge pump . I'm lucky that I have a watertight cover on my boat....I trailer the boat, pull the plug to drain off the days water collected, then put the plug back in before leaving the ramp.
 
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Its always something when it comes to duck hunting. How have you guys been doing? We had a good day on the 18th, but not so good on last Friday. Thanks Pete
 
Must be this year fupah. I ran into a couple of guys at the boat ramp with the same problem the other day. They had a small jon boat and were installing the plug from the inside. They claimed the plug must have been knocked out while backing into ice....could happen. They were asking others for lighters, propane torches or anything that would thaw the hole for the plug. Several guys said run as the well was full of gas soaked hay.....Think People Think! I was surprised that someone had to bring this up to them. When I was a kid in NJ the inspection decal they would put in your car every year said ...The life you save may be your own...not just cars I suppose
 
I discovered this year that if the bung hole is iced up you just need to back just the first couple of inches into the water for about two minutes. The ice will melt and you can put the plug in.

I do recall an early morning run through a dark marsh where I commented to my buddy that the boat felt sluggish. When I pointed the floodlight at the floor the water was starting to come over it. A quick stop to put in the plug and turn on the bilge pump took care of the issue. I haven't made that mistake since.
 
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]the well was full of gas soaked hay,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,[/font]
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This brings up very very serious issue. FUEL LEAKS ARE ABSOLUTELY NOT TO BE TOLERATED.... PERIOD

Even tho we all carry a fire extinguisher on board, no one ever wants to in a position of having to use it. In a small boat involving a fuel related fire, one will have very little precious time in which to put a fire out before it is a lost cause. Think about that when choosing a place to mount your extinguisher. It needs to be away from the fuel lines and fuel storage. It needs to be instantly accessible,,,, that means no decoy bags in front of it, no gear of any sort blocking access.

I will admit, like most of us, my extinguisher is not always that accessible, which brings me back to my first statement.


No fuel leaks, period.


Please be safe and do as much as you can, to reduce the risk of a fuel related fire. The life you save may be your own.
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It must have been the moon or something distracting us, did the same thing on the 23rd!
 
Yep...same thing if you don't let the motor drain on a cold day before leaving the ramp. Sometimes you'll find when you try pulling the rope the motor won't turn. Back the trailer into the water for a while. It's usually the water pump and it'll thaw out. I've seen guys pack it up and go home because their motor was froze. I've also seen guys sitting there with a torch on the lower unit. It takes a lot of time when the old thermometer is sitting on 15 or 20 degrees even with a torch but it doesn't take to long when the water temp is 36 degrees.

Take care,

Ed L.
 
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