Forgot the bungs

[saphire]

Tempest and I decided to put the boat in at Rudy Maas Marina this morning. #Have never been there before and had wanted to try it out for a while.
As I drove in the trailer tyer went over the cement that was around the industrial bin next to the boat ramp. #This was because I did not keep wide enough. #Bang went the trailer and everyone looked at us with a shocked expression. #Got out the car and checked the trailer and no damage was evident so I got some dignity back. #What a relief. #Thank goodness I thought to myself.
Put the boat into the water and told Tempest to hold it on the little beach next to the ramp while I parked the car.
Next thing Tempest came running up to the car yelling at me and telling me how irresponsible I was for not putting the bungs in. I looked at the boat and yep.....the aft was very low indeed.
Backed the trailer back down and put the boat back onto the trailer. #
My goodness did it fill up or what. #The whole back of the boat was full of water which was higher than the battery casing. #The casing was full of water.
As I pulled the boat out, the water came pouring out of the bung holes like a burst dam. #Didnt take long to empty. Didnt take long to fill either.
There was a man and his kid coming back from a fishing trip as we were going out. #They helped me empty the battery and had a laugh about the whole thing with me. This discusion on the boat ramp helped to settle me down and feel less like an idiot.
Tempest eventually settled down and we were then able to get on our way. #What an adventure.
How do you make sure you dont forget your bungs?
saphire.

[philip_thomson]

sorry to hear about your trip.

dad always puts the bung in before we hook the boat up to the car. then check before we leave the backyard then check once at the ramp. this way we have triple checking

[QldKev]

I think we've all done it before; but only once :) My rule is the bungs go in when I put the boat trailer on the car at home; never had a problem since (where's that peice of wood)

[saphire]

We usually put the bungs in at home when hooking the boat up to the trailer as well, but for some reason today this did not happen. :-[

[skippa]

Happens 2 all of us saphire, mine was at Wello 1 Sunday arvo, not only did Mrs skip laugh, (great support eh) so did the everyone on the pier too. #;D

Mate #of mine has a plastic clip on his tie downs with a spare bung, acts as a reminder to #put #the bung in.

Don't worry 2 much, usually u don't do it twice. ::)

Cheers,
Tony # 8-)

[Morlers]

Saphire, I have my bungs clipped to the steering wheel as a reminder when preparing the boat to put the bungs in. I always put the key in at home and the bungs are in full view when doing this. Worked so far so I hope it continues.

:) :)

Morlers

[lil_boatie]

Perhaps you could make a sign and pin it on a post near the boat ramp, so everyone rembers.

[MrWong]

Did it once - Port Phillip Bay - Melbourne Beatifull day Black Rock here I come - - All the way out alone - drop the anchor cast out the first line sea is glassed out and the pinky snapper are on the chew :):) feel my feet getting wet hmmmm :o turn the Bilge pump on boyo, :-/ Whats wrong - oh yeah Bungs ::) thats whats wong! Have left em on the side of the boat after washing and now they are on the side of the road out near Greensborough. Never fear allways have spares ;) they are in the tool box alas it today is still in the driveway where I left it after fitting new prop! Hmmm not looking good now Mr Wong :-[ - - Lifts the anchor he does drives to ramp all water gone hehehe. Must tie her up now and run to car, reverse here down like a champ she is a Stacer 474 has lots a water inside now lol winch her on and let her drain no bungs no fish and a drive home without even sitting down in the boat!
Never will do it again - Touch wood - Dont say a word Pegasus!! ;)

[stingermuz]

I've done it too Saphire... I forgot my bungs at my lisence test :-[ The examiner was standing right there - I was quite embarassed although I did remember before letting the boat off the back of the trailer.

Still got my lisence tho :P

[dugong]

oh well no real harm done,i bet you won't do that again.
is the battery a screw in the top bung, lead acid type? make sure no salt water has gotten into the battery, clean up the terminals ect.
cheers

[stingermuz]

great idea lil boatie... how 'bout this?

[Heath]

Have never done it touch wood, but have a few backups. For 1, inside the boat I have 5 bungs for the different compartments, also carry a couple of wine corks. These can be used to plug the hole from the inside if need be.

Also just habit, Start from one side of the boat, VHF antenna up, tilt bracket off, bung in, 27mhz antenna up, hop back in the car :)

[frankj]

When my daughter was about 6 months old, (she's 23 now) my wife and I bought our first boat. Our first trip was from Glenelg SA, and the daughter was placed in a baby seat, which was stood up in the back of the boat before launching. We were quite relieved when the first traumatic launching seemed to go fine and we were about to hop aboard when we noticed the baby kicking her feet in the foot of water in the bottom of the boat. Mad dash for the car on a busy boat ramp, trying to look in control of the situation.

Touch wood, never done it since.

[brad72]

I did it once, put the boat in the water and parked it on the beach while i parked the car, as i was walking back i noticed there was a stream of water coming out the side of the boat, took me a few seconds to realise what was happening as i didn't know the boat had a float on the builge pump, I was just lucky there was nobody else there at the time.
I don't think it counts if nobody see's it happen.

[bluewaterbandit]

soon as ya flush the motors put the bungs back in ya bendin down anyway CHEERS

[PinHead]

Mine was at Horizon Shores..(left the boat there so was launched by the tractor guys)..launched the boat...slowly went ot the fuel wharf..put in 90 litres of fuel....started motor and then remembered..oh s**t..the bungs....had the boat on the plane back thru the marina...yelling for the bloke on the tractor to get my trailer bloody quickly.

[blaze]

been there done that, not once but twice.
2nd time I took 4 people 5km down river, come back and picked up 4 more, then proceeded to picnic and have family fun on the beach, notice the boat sitting low in the water, told the wife I was going to the boat to get a rod and have a bit of a fish. put in bungs and pump out half a boat of water.
first time I just gunned the boat till the water was gone and put the bungs in
not a proper boaty untill you own up to forgetting them a couple of times
cheers
blaze

[Bosunsmate]

Yep done it too,

Had the tub a couple of months, was launching into the Ross, put boat on ramp, parked car and whamo the tub was full.....had to do same as you saphire. I was fortunate enough that it was early in the morning and there was no-one around to laugh at me....

It is really amazing how much water gets in that little hole in such a short period of time......

[Burley_Boy]

Oh well blaze, I'm not a proper boaty yet. Only forgot them once so far!
Bluewaterbandit, if poeple are like me they don't put the bungs inn after the flushing as the boat may collect rainwater.
I did it when I had people helping me launch, totally threw my system & rhythm. The bilge is a lot slower than 3 bungs...
cheers BB

[saphire]

BB I know what you mean when you have a few people with you who have not launched a boat it can be hard.
They want to help so they all ask lots of questions and this interfers with your normal routine.
I read in a magazine lately that what you do it explain to everyone what you want them to do before you get to the ramp.
Give them a task or the option not to help if that is what they want as well.
Usually though people want to help as it is all part of the fun of boating isnt it.

[DaveSue_Fishos_Two]

I've forgotton the bungs once too and almost lost my boat. Bilge didn't work for whatever reason and I only just managed to get it back onto the trailer. Now, I always (hope there's no hex on this!!!) put the bungs back in after washing down. Wine corks are a good emergency stand by. Even stuffing a piece of rag into the holes helps a lot.
You're certainly not on your own here Saphire!!!

Cheers
Dave

[Sportfish_5]

Dont put the bungs back in when you store youre boat if you have a raised/sealed floor :o

Let the air circulate to keep condensation and fuel fumes out 8-)

Bungs should just be a part of your pre-launch checks while doing the walk around like Heath mentioned.


Cheers

Greg

[FNQCairns]

Saphire it's good to get it out of the way, you will never do it again I bet!

The first and only time I forgot the bungs I was 10 or 12 and was in the 6hp toppercraft punt when me and my mates got to the camping spot and offloaded gear the boat was filling up :o, I jumped in and went screaming around until it all emptied, dad would have killed me if I sunk it.
As it was forward failed and we had to come back to our pickup in reverse all the way. Anyway we whittled a willow branch to plug the hole, never done it again although I once traveled 300km but left the bungs at home ::).

Also unhooked the boat before backing into the water once, luckily it didn't fly backward until there was enough water to float it, was a long cold swim to retrieve with the wind pushing it along. :-[

Cheers fnq

[baldyhead]

Is that as bad as driving along the highway being closely followed by 20m garden hose attached to the muffs attached to the outboard leg? my excuse was that I was in a hurry to go fishin hahahaha baldy

[brenmer]

I too have done the same thing in the early days, despite making a checklist up! I found that using a pneumonic has kept me out of trouble since. It’s a little corny, but works well for me. I use LABS E

L- Lights unplug the trailer lights.
A- Put the aerial on
B-Bungs
S- Strap- Remove strap that goes over the boat and connects to the trailer
E- Engine, prime, and lift engine.

I find this works well for both launching and retrieving.

[Big_Kev]

Don't worry Saphire I was going to say that every boatie does it at least once and you should only feel like an idiot if you do it twice. (sorry Blaze lol).

Heath I think you have given yourself the kiss of death saying you have never forgoten the bungs, we will wait to hear this story. Make sure the bilge pump is working. Mine picked just this time to cark it.
Cheers

[Jeremy]

yes I have done it a couple of times too, but never too much water got in. Just popped the bungs in a turn the bilge on. Certainly feel foolish though.

I think the key is to have a routine and stick to it. Usually easier and quicker to just do the rigging before and after launching myself. That way you know that everything has been done the way you want it. Give the crew other jobs to do like transfer gear from the boot to the boat, or empty the burley pot, take the rubbish to the bin etc.

Jeremy

[smerl]

I did it once in my old tinnie. It was the middle of winter so I got a mate to reverse the trailer down the ramp with me already in the boat so I didn' t have to get my feet wet. Started her up and merrily headed to Mud Island. Once I got there, I anchored up and started to fish only to notice that the boat was filling up. Luckily I had spare plugs. Unfortunately though the boat had a pod added and I could not reach the bung holes from inside the boat - so over the side I went. I think the guy that was fishing in the boat next to me is still laughing about it!

[JB]

Well, we are on the topic of bungz hey #:-[ , i guess you could say i've dont that #;) . Nearly sunk my 2month old trailcraft at couran cove marina couple of years ago... i did manage to write off a 9 thousand dollar merc that went too far under the water #::) > thank god for insurance! That experience is one i will never forget and in a way it was good thing to help me never forget them again #;)

P.S trailcrafts hold a TRUCKLOAD of water under the sealed floor if you forget the bung! Must have taken 10 minutes or more to unload it all.

P.S thanks for the tow DC ;)

[gunna]

They reckon there are two type of people - those who have forgotten the bungs - and those who are yet to do it ;D. Simply no category that says you will never do it. Which worries me because its yet to happen.

Many years back the Father-in-law did it and tried to get the boat back on the trailer half full of water. Snapped the trailer axle. Hopefully they are a bit stronger these days.

[agnes_jack]

Looks like it's unanimous!!
I've done that one too!!................................Twice ::)
Definately not on your own Sapphire!!!!

Regards, Tony

[StevenM]

Count me in. One time here. Think it makes you remmber for next time.

I take bungs out when washing boat and leave them out. Will always rig up by myself so I have no one to blame.

I put them in when hooking up the boat ready to go. Like the spare on the tie downs idea but. Thanks skippa. will have to do that.

Cheers Steven

[2iar]

Mythbusters last night kind of put forgetting the bungs into perspective!

I don't know if anyone saw it, but they confirmed the myth that forgetting to take the boat OFF THE TRAILER before launching was plausible. Impeded performance somewhat it has to be said.

Don't try this at home kids!

Mike

[reeldreamer]

Done a few time myself! Been standing at the helm in dark waiting for the boys to park the car....alas my feet are wet! Turn on the bilge pump and amazingly that things pumps faster than the water can get in! Lean over the back, the best part of 3ft into the freezing water and screw it in! Never do that again!

[drb]

I did it once too. It was when I was buying a new trailer. Trailer had arrived so I quickly ducked out from work, went home and got the boat and took it in. The guys said just take the boat off (they have there own ramp and take the old trailer home and we will put it on the new trailer for you. So I backed here in floated it off and put her on the back tied to the canal wall. I took the trailer home and when I came back and parked I noticed the new trailer still sitting there with out the boat on it (20 mins later) Bloody lazy buggers I thought until I walked down to the ramp ans saw two mechanics with buckets bailing like crazy. Suddenly I realised what was going on..DOH. Cost me two batteries as they got submegred.

The boat dealer was North Coast Marine at mooloolaba and I can't praise them enough. They even emptied out the fuel tank and made sure there was no water in it and checked that the motor was OK for no extra cost. Excellent service.

Never forgotten the bungs since.

[stunnedmullet]

No sweat Saphire
Sounds like heaps of us have done the same thing. Great idea with the wine corks, will implement that immediately ;)
I always put them in when I am putting the motor on the support strut and tying down the boat. The system fails when you are rushed however.
The mullet

[Bowser]

I just work to a routine, Drop the engine bracket do the bungs, remove tie doen strp. Has worked so far. Went out with a mate years ago in his boat. Forgot the bungs and was outside of manly harbour trying to work out why she wouldn't plane, D'oh.

Always said that you forget them once and once only the embarassment is enough, but he did it again years later in Townsville.

[TonyM]

How do you make sure you dont forget your bungs?
saphire.


hahahaha Welcome to the club Saphire. I reckon those of us that have never done this at least once are in a very small minority.

How do you remember? All you need to do is forget just once and you'll never forget to check, double check and triple check #;) # :D

Happened to me at the Parsley Bay ramp at Brooklyn NSW about 5 years ago - the kids were in the half cab and didn't bother to tell my wife who was holding the boat about the water until it started to lap at the seat they were sitting on up in the cabin #;D

Happened the 2nd time when I had a "friend" who was not a boatie help me - he assured the bungs were in so I launched... You know the rest ::)

Making a mental note to check 4 times the first day with the new boat coming soon as I'll be too excited to think straight! #;D

[bluewaterbandit]

re burly boy if ya respect ya boat it aint out in the rain in da shed or under tarp

[iank]

Did it twice in the one day, ::) ;D same boat same boat ramp, learnt that as skipper it is the only job that is not entrusted to the crew.
Ian

[Duyz72]

A mate decided to take me out fishing a few months ago, got to the ramp, Oooops no bungs [smiley=hammer.gif]. Lucky we were launching right near a chandlery. You can never have enough spares. I like the idea of tying them to the keys. [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

[Cheech]

I am slowly working my way through all the possible things that you can do wrong. Thought I would never do that one, but it happened the very first launch of my current boat.

I was really lucky though because my wife was with me and as the boat was half of the trailer she jokingly said, " are the bugs in?". So I could just winch it back on.

Still amazes me the new things that you can do wrong. As I said, I am still working through them.

Cheech