Yes it all sounds very stressful but now you have a reason to buy one of the new apple iPhones that are only $10,000
Somedays you see the show, somedays you ARE the show!!!
I’m a “no delay” kind of guy at the ramp, we always get our ducks in a row in the launch lane so the launch goes flawless and we don’t hang up the ramp…AND WE EXPECT EVERYONE ELSE TO DO THE SAME!!! Well…
One evening, I decided to take the 2 kids and the dog to the lake just to cruise around. (Wifey was recovering from spinal surgery, so she wasn’t with us…thank goodness!!) The launch goes flawless, of course, and we cruise around until after dark. I tie back up at the dock and leave the boy to watch the boat as the girl and I walk 30 miles up Mount Everest to the parking area. She has to use the little girls room, and thus, we take our sweet time getting back down to the ramp.
I get lined up on the ramp and start to back the trailer in when I look over and see the boy in full panic mode with a look of terror on his face. I roll down the window and he yells, “The boat is sinking!!!! I jump out and run to the dock to find the boat settling down nicely with 2” of water in the cockpit, Lord only know how much in the bilge. I slam on the bilge pump, but by this time it’s a lost cause. My only hope is to grab the bow line and drag it in line with the trailer, where hopefully we can winch it up on the bunks. OOPS!!! I’m on the offside of the dock, I have to pull it to the end, around, and back down the dock. I can still make it before she goes totally under. OOPS!!!! A family in a Bayliner cuddy cabin with a dead engine comes rowing to the end of the dock and block it. They see a sinking boat and refuse to move, now I can’t pull the boat around the end of the dock. About this time the batteries short out and smoke and sparks are going everywhere. The brand new stereo that was playing gave a weak warble and final gasp as it drowned out (just like the Titanic). By now there is enough water in the cockpit that the brand new Yeti 45 floats away!! Then…she rolled.
Evidently, there is no foam because the only thing sticking out of the water is the bow eye. When she went under I had to give up the bow line, so now I have to jump in to get the line and try to pull the capsized boat towards the trailer. This is a canyon reservoir, so we’re 20’ from the ramp and in about 25’ of water, no hope of touching bottom. I’m now trying to swim the capsized boat towards the shore while fully clothed and with socks and shoes. The Bayliner people finally get out of the way and we are able to get lined up behind the trailer.
She is still upside down. I can’t budge her back upright; 90hp on the stern. Fortunately, there was enough excitement that we had gathered a pretty good audience. About eight people jumped in and helped me flip it back over. There was so much suction that we really struggled for a bit, but it finally broke loose and flopped over. (If you were there, and helped….THANK YOU!!!)
Oops!!! When I jumped out to see what was happening, I hadn’t got the trailer all the way in the water. Now, I have to race out soaking wet, jump in the vehicle, and back it the rest of the way down. As I jump back out someone says, “Sir, is this your phone? I found it beside your vehicle.” My $5000 iPhone (or was it $6000?) looks like someone put it in a blender. While jumping out earlier, I dropped it and it landed under the tire and I rolled right over it.
We’ve got to hurry before Mr. Green-pants gets wind of this and makes the situation infinitely worse. He’ll probably call in the EPA and Fire Dept. HazMat team…maybe even Homeland Security. We attach the winch strap and start cranking….POW! The winch breaks under the strain!!! We mickey-mouse it back together and finally get the bow partway up on the trailer. At this point I still have no idea what has happened. I get back to the stern and both plugs are in and tight. I pulled both plugs, which were still 1’ under water. There was so much water in the hull that it was like a garden hose coming out of the plug holes…while they were still under water. We inch up the ramp a little at a time, letting it drain out as we go.
Finally, we get her all strapped down and jump in the vehicle to leave…my kids and the dog start gagging. Evidently, I was standing by the fuel vent when we were trying to flip it back over. I was soaked with gasoline.
Epilogue:
I have….er..had… a 17’ flats boat with a vented tunnel. The tunnel vent is 1-1/4” and runs up under the console. Somehow that vent line came loose and fell down into the bilge and caused it to flood while tied up at the dock. My wife tallied up the bill from that evening and she says that it came in at just under a million dollars.
PS- a good Samaritan managed to grab the Yeti and return it to us, thus preventing the bill from being substantially in excess of a million!!!
Some days you see the show, some days you ARE the show!!!
![]()
One evening, I decided to take the 2 kids and the dog to the lake just to cruise around. (Wifey was recovering from spinal surgery, so she wasn’t with us…thank goodness!!) The launch goes flawless, of course, and we cruise around until after dark. I tie back up at the dock and leave the boy to watch the boat as the girl and I walk 30 miles up Mount Everest to the parking area. She has to use the little girls room, and thus, we take our sweet time getting back down to the ramp.
I get lined up on the ramp and start to back the trailer in when I look over and see the boy in full panic mode with a look of terror on his face. I roll down the window and he yells, “The boat is sinking!!!! I jump out and run to the dock to find the boat settling down nicely with 2” of water in the cockpit, Lord only know how much in the bilge. I slam on the bilge pump, but by this time it’s a lost cause. My only hope is to grab the bow line and drag it in line with the trailer, where hopefully we can winch it up on the bunks. OOPS!!! I’m on the offside of the dock, I have to pull it to the end, around, and back down the dock. I can still make it before she goes totally under. OOPS!!!! A family in a Bayliner cuddy cabin with a dead engine comes rowing to the end of the dock and block it. They see a sinking boat and refuse to move, now I can’t pull the boat around the end of the dock. About this time the batteries short out and smoke and sparks are going everywhere. The brand new stereo that was playing gave a weak warble and final gasp as it drowned out (just like the Titanic). By now there is enough water in the cockpit that the brand new Yeti 45 floats away!! Then…she rolled.
Evidently, there is no foam because the only thing sticking out of the water is the bow eye. When she went under I had to give up the bow line, so now I have to jump in to get the line and try to pull the capsized boat towards the trailer. This is a canyon reservoir, so we’re 20’ from the ramp and in about 25’ of water, no hope of touching bottom. I’m now trying to swim the capsized boat towards the shore while fully clothed and with socks and shoes. The Bayliner people finally get out of the way and we are able to get lined up behind the trailer.
She is still upside down. I can’t budge her back upright; 90hp on the stern. Fortunately, there was enough excitement that we had gathered a pretty good audience. About eight people jumped in and helped me flip it back over. There was so much suction that we really struggled for a bit, but it finally broke loose and flopped over. (If you were there, and helped….THANK YOU!!!)
Oops!!! When I jumped out to see what was happening, I hadn’t got the trailer all the way in the water. Now, I have to race out soaking wet, jump in the vehicle, and back it the rest of the way down. As I jump back out someone says, “Sir, is this your phone? I found it beside your vehicle.” My $5000 iPhone (or was it $6000?) looks like someone put it in a blender. While jumping out earlier, I dropped it and it landed under the tire and I rolled right over it.
We’ve got to hurry before Mr. Green-pants gets wind of this and makes the situation infinitely worse. He’ll probably call in the EPA and Fire Dept. HazMat team…maybe even Homeland Security. We attach the winch strap and start cranking….POW! The winch breaks under the strain!!! We mickey-mouse it back together and finally get the bow partway up on the trailer. At this point I still have no idea what has happened. I get back to the stern and both plugs are in and tight. I pulled both plugs, which were still 1’ under water. There was so much water in the hull that it was like a garden hose coming out of the plug holes…while they were still under water. We inch up the ramp a little at a time, letting it drain out as we go.
Finally, we get her all strapped down and jump in the vehicle to leave…my kids and the dog start gagging. Evidently, I was standing by the fuel vent when we were trying to flip it back over. I was soaked with gasoline.
Epilogue:
I have….er..had… a 17’ flats boat with a vented tunnel. The tunnel vent is 1-1/4” and runs up under the console. Somehow that vent line came loose and fell down into the bilge and caused it to flood while tied up at the dock. My wife tallied up the bill from that evening and she says that it came in at just under a million dollars.
PS- a good Samaritan managed to grab the Yeti and return it to us, thus preventing the bill from being substantially in excess of a million!!!
Some days you see the show, some days you ARE the show!!!
2
1 - 20 of 33 Posts
G
Could you repeat that?I’m a “no delay” kind of guy at the ramp, we always get our ducks in a row in the launch lane so the launch goes flawless and we don’t hang up the ramp…AND WE EXPECT EVERYONE ELSE TO DO THE SAME!!! Well…
One evening, I decided to take the 2 kids and the dog to the lake just to cruise around. (Wifey was recovering from spinal surgery, so she wasn’t with us…thank goodness!!) The launch goes flawless, of course, and we cruise around until after dark. I tie back up at the dock and leave the boy to watch the boat as the girl and I walk 30 miles up Mount Everest to the parking area. She has to use the little girls room, and thus, we take our sweet time getting back down to the ramp.
I get lined up on the ramp and start to back the trailer in when I look over and see the boy in full panic mode with a look of terror on his face. I roll down the window and he yells, “The boat is sinking!!!! I jump out and run to the dock to find the boat settling down nicely with 2” of water in the cockpit, Lord only know how much in the bilge. I slam on the bilge pump, but by this time it’s a lost cause. My only hope is to grab the bow line and drag it in line with the trailer, where hopefully we can winch it up on the bunks. OOPS!!! I’m on the offside of the dock, I have to pull it to the end, around, and back down the dock. I can still make it before she goes totally under. OOPS!!!! A family in a Bayliner cuddy cabin with a dead engine comes rowing to the end of the dock and block it. They see a sinking boat and refuse to move, now I can’t pull the boat around the end of the dock. About this time the batteries short out and smoke and sparks are going everywhere. The brand new stereo that was playing gave a weak warble and final gasp as it drowned out (just like the Titanic). By now there is enough water in the cockpit that the brand new Yeti 45 floats away!! Then…she rolled.
Evidently, there is no foam because the only thing sticking out of the water is the bow eye. When she went under I had to give up the bow line, so now I have to jump in to get the line and try to pull the capsized boat towards the trailer. This is a canyon reservoir, so we’re 20’ from the ramp and in about 25’ of water, no hope of touching bottom. I’m now trying to swim the capsized boat towards the shore while fully clothed and with socks and shoes. The Bayliner people finally get out of the way and we are able to get lined up behind the trailer.
She is still upside down. I can’t budge her back upright; 90hp on the stern. Fortunately, there was enough excitement that we had gathered a pretty good audience. About eight people jumped in and helped me flip it back over. There was so much suction that we really struggled for a bit, but it finally broke loose and flopped over. (If you were there, and helped….THANK YOU!!!)
Oops!!! When I jumped out to see what was happening, I hadn’t got the trailer all the way in the water. Now, I have to race out soaking wet, jump in the vehicle, and back it the rest of the way down. As I jump back out someone says, “Sir, is this your phone? I found it beside your vehicle.” My $5000 iPhone (or was it $6000?) looks like someone put it in a blender. While jumping out earlier, I dropped it and it landed under the tire and I rolled right over it.
We’ve got to hurry before Mr. Green-pants gets wind of this and makes the situation infinitely worse. He’ll probably call in the EPA and Fire Dept. HazMat team…maybe even Homeland Security. We attach the winch strap and start cranking….POW! The winch breaks under the strain!!! We mickey-mouse it back together and finally get the bow partway up on the trailer. At this point I still have no idea what has happened. I get back to the stern and both plugs are in and tight. I pulled both plugs, which were still 1’ under water. There was so much water in the hull that it was like a garden hose coming out of the plug holes…while they were still under water. We inch up the ramp a little at a time, letting it drain out as we go.
Finally, we get her all strapped down and jump in the vehicle to leave…my kids and the dog start gagging. Evidently, I was standing by the fuel vent when we were trying to flip it back over. I was soaked with gasoline.
Epilogue:
I have….er..had… a 17’ flats boat with a vented tunnel. The tunnel vent is 1-1/4” and runs up under the console. Somehow that vent line came loose and fell down into the bilge and caused it to flood while tied up at the dock. My wife tallied up the bill from that evening and she says that it came in at just under a million dollars.
PS- a good Samaritan managed to grab the Yeti and return it to us, thus preventing the bill from being substantially in excess of a million!!!
Some days you see the show, some days you ARE the show!!!
![]()
I can attest to a wired hot bilge, big rains in destin in my bay boat while in slip almost equaled a bad day. We were running around bar hopping in the rain. 2 hours of bilge time and we were good to go. At least it was fresh water and I have no idea how it didn’t cause any electrical damage. 
1 - 20 of 33 Posts
