Am I the only moron to have done this?

[OCMD]

So we finally get the boat out. Hell, the Blue Angels were performing. Saturday's show was deterred by poor weather but the Sunday show from the beach was incredible. Anyway, back the the thread title. I'm rushing around, loading up, getting ready to go, running late as usual (no fault of my own, also,as usual) hurrying to get out onto the ocean for the show. Rush to the ramp. Back it in. Unload. Jump in. Start to reverse off the dock. WTF? Why isn't the boat moving. No power. Just revving. Did I suck some crap up already??? Unbelievable. Nope. Guess who forgot (first time ever) to secure the clean out plugs. Damn, it is my first time out this summer.....did I leave the plugs in the garage? Maneuver to the other side of the dock so others can unload; open the hatch, and there they are. 3 minutes later we are on our way. I can't believe I didn't install the clean outs! Anyone ever forget this? I was the first recorded oil line failure on the 2 stroke LS back in 06 on the other forum. Could this be another first for me?
Here is a one minute video of the Blue Angels. Not my best work by a long shot, and not as good as the video from the beach today. Those guys are studs.

 

[John McLaughlin]

I would answer however I just might incriminate myself. I keep meaning to make a checklist for before and after launch but have yet to do it.

 

[captras]

I am a member of that club! Sat with the trailer in the water, trying to back the boat out while other people waited and watched the idiot (ME) try to back out the the clean out plugs not installed. Finally figured it out!

 

[0627Devildog]

This is a first that you will never own. . . . . Nor will you be the last. I can promise you that.

Had a similar experience on Sunday. Launched for the first time at my usual ramp. . . .disconnected the boat buckles. . . sank the trailer in to the usual depth . . . Disconnected the winch strap and safety chain. . . Started the boat and tried to back off the trailer.

Didn't budge even after I goosed it a bit. I was like WTH? First thing I checked was the clean out plugs. Then rechecked the winch and safety chain. Nada.

My wife told me I just needed to get in a little deeper (which I assure you IS a first). . . .and off I floated.

 

[GoVols01]

Haven't done that yet, but I've forgotten to remove the stern straps that hold the boat to the back of the trailer a few times. People at the ramp get a good laugh out of that one.

 

[Ilmmct]

Club member as well. Became a club member before I was technically a jetboat owner. I bought my 2008 SX230 used ... I had never owned or operated a boat before, so I hired a marine surveyor to trailer the potential boat to the ramp to conduct the "sea trail" and inspect the Engine/mechanicals to give me the go/no-go on the boat purchase.

Of course the marine surveyor has never operated a jetboat, so after he backs off the trailer (with my wife and I aboard ... the seller stayed at his house 10 miles away) we notice no power ... just a lot of noise and a bubbling cauldron at the stern. Fortunately I'd been reading the predecessor jetboat forum and tell the surveyor ... "this must be that plug problem they complain about online". I tell the surveyor to shut the engine and climb over to have a look ... I have no idea what a cleanout plug is but I manage to figure out how to follow the arrows and get both plugs properly seated. Surveyor finishes the sea trial and post inspection.

We get back to the seller's house and he chuckles ... "oh I forgot about the plugs"! I bought the boat and fortunately have been plug problem-free since 2012.

 

[Wayloncle]

I forgot them once, it was my second time taking the boat out, thanks to reading the forums I knew exactly what was wrong as soon as I throttled up and didn't go anywhere.

 

[Coheeba]

I bought this to remind me to put in the clean out plugs, but it is a reminder to check everything.

 

[Scottintexas]

The moron club, I'm a Platinum member.

Try the walk of shame with your transom plug in your hand from the parking lot to the dock and then get to jump in the water to install it.

 

[captras]

Ok, here is a really good one....put the boat in the water. So I launch the boat and my son in law drives off with the trailer. I get just outside the marina and notice I am out of gas because the last time out, I was in a rush and forgot to fill up after taking the boat out of the water. Well, tanks are almost dry, and I doubt I have enough to get where the family is. So I turn around, hoping to make it back to the marina. Whew....I made it, pull up to the dock and tell the guy I need gas. So I reach for my wallet and no wallet.....I left it in the truck that just drove off. So I reach for my cell phone to call my son in law to bring my wallet back and....you guessed it, no cell phone....my cell phone is in the truck that just drove off with my wallet! Borrowed a cell phone, and finally was able to get gas.....then had to explain to everybody that the reason they had to wait so long for me to get back to them is because I was an idiot! So my wife, being the sympathetic soul that she is says "And you fly helicopters?????"

 

[Bill D]

I did the opposite of that one time... We were taking the boat about 4 hours down to the beach. I always try to empty out the fuel tank before a long tow, just to lighten the load by a few hundred pounds. We get to Orange Beach and stop for fuel.

Fill up the truck, pull forward to fill up the boat, click.
"That's strange", try again, click.
"What's going on here? Is this nozzle messed up? It didn't have any trouble filling the truck..."
Try again, click.
"Why won't the boat fill up? I don't really want to open the cover and crawl in the boat...
Maybe I'll try again." Click
"I don't want to get the boat in the water and be out of fuel. Surely I didn't fill it up after our last trip. Or did I?"
"I better crawl in the boat and check. Sh!t, I forgot the keys in the truck..."

Needless to say, the boat was full of fuel and I looked like I was completely lost to everyone at the gas station.

 

[0627Devildog]

Needless to say, the boat was full of fuel and I looked like I was completely lost to everyone at the gas station.

I had a back pressure issue with my vent system once and it wouldn't let me fill. Kept getting the same thing you mentioned (clicked every time I put the nozzle to it. Had to release the pressure from the line by disconnecting the vent hose at the gas tank.

So it can be a symptom of a larger issue beyond just having a fuel tank. . . .

 

[Bill D]

I was convinced that it was. I was ready to pull the fuel hatch and start taking apart the filler hose! Lol. I guess I would have figured out that it was full at that point.

 

[jameskeller76]

So we finally get the boat out. Hell, the Blue Angels were performing. Saturday's show was deterred by poor weather but the Sunday show from the beach was incredible. Anyway, back the the thread title. I'm rushing around, loading up, getting ready to go, running late as usual (no fault of my own, also,as usual) hurrying to get out onto the ocean for the show. Rush to the ramp. Back it in. Unload. Jump in. Start to reverse off the dock. WTF? Why isn't the boat moving. No power. Just revving. Did I suck some crap up already??? Unbelievable. Nope. Guess who forgot (first time ever) to secure the clean out plugs. Damn, it is my first time out this summer.....did I leave the plugs in the garage? Maneuver to the other side of the dock so others can unload; open the hatch, and there they are. 3 minutes later we are on our way. I can't believe I didn't install the clean outs! Anyone ever forget this? I was the first recorded oil line failure on the 2 stroke LS back in 06 on the other forum. Could this be another first for me?
Here is a one minute video of the Blue Angels. Not my best work by a long shot, and not as good as the video from the beach today. Those guys are studs.

According to my calculations you are number 2341 to have done this.

 

[Scuba_ref]

Make that 2342, unless you count each time you forget the plugs then you are 2345 as I forget at least once a year!

 

[blackhawkpilot]

So my wife, being the sympathetic soul that she is says "And you fly helicopters?????"

Funny - I get the same sarcastic remark all the time.

 

[AndyD]

I'm guilty!! Here's the thread to prove it!

https://jetboaters.net/threads/clean-out-plugs.13233/

As I mentioned before, I think we should get trophy points for having done this....and being brace enough to admit to it . Similar to the "sucked up a rope" club. Hey @Julian @Bruce can we make that happen??

 

[T. Turner]

The second time we took the boat out I forgot to install the clean out plugs. We were still figuring it out and hadn't developed a routine yet. Now everything runs like clockwork, most of the time.

 

[captainhook]

Second or third time out, I forgot to install the cleanout plugs. I thought for sure there was something wrong with the boat. Nope, just the operator!

I did forget the keys once. That was awesome driving the truck and trailer back home while the wife held the boat in the water because I figured it out after we launched.

 

[Scuba_ref]

I witnessed two Yamaha repair technicians launch a boat they were working on and struggle to figure out why it had no thrust - until I told them they needed to put the plugs in!