Joys of age related stupidity

I really hesitated to post this, but in the interest of those of you who worry about forgetting things that you did or needed to do here goes. I took a break from fishing over the summer just because it was so hot and not fun. So, yesterday I offered to take my buddy Harry to Lake Secession. I have not been able to sell him on trolling jigs for crappie so I thought if we went to Secession and had good luck he might come around. We have always caught at least a decent mess there and the Spotted Bass add to the fun.
We get to the ramp to find perfect conditions with no wind and only 2 cars in the parking lot. I could smell success.
In the process of prepping my boat to launch I explained to Harry how I idiot proofed my drain plug but attaching it to my hold down strap so I had to put my hand on it before i could launch the boat. As I was doing this, I laid the straps in my car, unfortunately, along with the plug.
So yes, I launched only to find the boat filling up with water. I had a spare plug but for the life of me I could not find the drain hole on the transom. So he quickly ran to the car and backed the trailer in so I could fun up on the trailer.
It took about 10 minutes for all the water to run out even though the bilge pump was going full blast along with water coming out the drain. I had run the boat about 2/3 of the way onto the trailer just to get out of the water.
Y'all see what's coming....right??
After all the water was out, i installed the plug, jumped in the boat and told Harry to launch me again. Well, as soon as the released the brake and the car started down he hit the brake to slow down the car and off the trailer went the boat. Now it is sitting on the ramp with the front on the trailer and the transom on the ramp. I attached the winch strap, which obviously wasn't attached earlier, and had Harry slowly back down while I cranked the boat back on the trailer. We checked for any damage and could not see anything. (Thanks goodness it didn't break the skeg on the foot of the motor).
So we launched and I pulled over to the dock only to see the boat filling with water again. Back to the car and back down the ramp Harry comes again and this time I run all the way up on the trailer and lock the winch strap. We looked and looked and could not see any damage but I noticed water coming out around the drain hole for the live well. I pressed on the plastic flange that mounts to the transom and hooks to the drain hose and it fell off on the ground. So now I have a hole in my transom where the drain hose used to be, Only thing we can figure is the impact must have popped it because it is too high up on the transom to had suffered a direct hit on the concrete. After a lot of looking and a trip the hardware store in Abbeville we couldn't find any way to patch or plug it so we gave up. The hose is under the sub floor and the battery hold down box is riveted over the top of the hose. There is a small amount of clearance between the sub floor and the transom to access the hose but the battery and the box have to come out. The boat is now in my garage waiting on me to tackle this lovely project.
So for CK and the net disaster or Don loosing his keys for a couple of hours, and any of the rest of you that have pulled bonehead stunts, it's alright guys. We will live to fight another day.
:banghead:banghead:bash:bash

Hate to hear you had a bad day of it. You are so right though, we all have days like that and we all survive the headache and the heartbreak of such days. Yes I too have done. I changed out my plugs and forgot to put 3 of the wires back on. Went out to fish and the motor would not run for anything. Looked and looked and never figured it out until we went back home and then, found the issue. Bonehead me.
Thanks for sharing. We all like knowing we are not the only one...lol

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Pulled my old SeaPro all the way to Myrtle Beach. Didnt weigh as much cause I left the keys at home !

We all have done something like that. Mine was when I had a Stratos Bass boat, the middle seat was the cooler. We were Striper fishing in Dec, we'd been on the water for a while and I wanted a cold Pepsi so I go the cooler which by now was full of water ice and drinks. I'm thinking wow it's not that hot and there wasn't water in the cooler, the drain for the cooler was out like normal. Then it dawned on me I didn't put the plug in. Well we were down by the pennisula South of the 150 bridge on Norman. A good 20 minute run once I got it on a plane, bilge pump going full blast, got it on the trailer and it poured out 15 minutes before it started throwing bubbles.

Been there one that, had warm drinks the rest of the day

Tough day Ray been there done that. You probably did not miss much on the fishing part. Couple people I know went Thursday and did not do much

That makes it a tough day when things just keep going the wrong way.
Been there done that.
Here's hoping next time out all goes well and you load the boat with slabs.
I'm sure you would have caught a bunch of crappie.



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Thanks for sharing your story. A good lesson for all of us.

Bummer. Glad no one got hurt. Except your buddies ribs from laughing. rotfl As soon as my coffee cools off from putting the cup in the refrigerator instead of the microwave, I’ll try to remember some tong I goofed on. :bash

How about this bonehead trip.. Years ago i had a tri hull with a old chrysler outboard that i could use a flat head screwdriver to operate the ignition switch. I put the boat in at Blewett Falls, above the dam and realized i had left the keys at home. So i commenced to use the screwdriver to try to start old Betsy not realizing that i was choking the engine every time i tried to start. I just knew it would start since it cranked up at home before i left. I thought to myself, i will just drift out a little ways from the dock and catch a few. So here i go, out a ways i thought i would anchor off, engine still wouldn't crank. i put the anchor out and it was too deep for the anchor, still drifting towards the dam. It's time for the paddle, grabbed the wooden paddle and the first stroke, the old wooden paddle broke. Thanks to the guy who pulled me away from the dam.. Now that is what i call up the creek without a paddle:yikes

Here's mine, no issues noticed on a beautiful day. My wife and I fishing and catching white perch when all of a sudden poof a loud noise I had never heard before. Found out my life vest in the floor under the console had inflated. The live well had overflowed filling the bilge. Stupid perch thought he could swing down the drain hole. No damage but a few minutes of scrambling around to get it fixed.

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