crannman
Well-known member
Had a bit of an emergency the other day going down the Housatonic River in Ct. and launched from Indian Well state park.
I have a 13’ jon boat with a 6hp outboard.
The wind picked up on the way back so I tried staying about 30’ from the side of the river but about halfway back I had just missed seeing a small red buoy and was just to the left of it as I went by and then BANG-BANG-BANG, hit some rocks! I had just spotted the rocks but it was too late!
I swung out of there quickly and felt that there was no vibration from the tiller so I knew the prop was okay but when I looked back I saw that the motor was crooked and hanging on by one screw pad and then looked down to see that I tore a hole at the seam where the transom meets the bottom of the boat! It was about a 1/2” long by about a 3/8” deep hole roughly with water gushing through!
I was with my wife and said that we have an emergency but not to abandon ship!
I put the motor in neutral and got it mounted straight again while thinking about what to do next. I said we’ll never make it back to Indian Well so let’s find a place to dock while I can figure out what to do next.
I made my way to this small cement dock with stairs going up a steep bank to the main road (Route 34, Rosevelt Drive).
We got out and then unloaded the boat, took the motor off and bailed the boat out. Then I pulled the back of the boat around and lifted it onto the cement dock to check out the hole in the bottom of the transom.
Looked in my boat bag for anything to use to patch the hole and I had a plastic BassPro bag and some Gorilla brand waterproof duck tape.
I twisted the bottom corner of the plastic bag and threaded it into the hole. I tied a knot a little larger than the home and pulled and pushed it into the hole from the outside as tight as I could get it and then cinched another knot as tight as I could against it from inside the boat then cut the rest of the bag off.
Dried the area and covered the outside and inside of the knotted plastic bag using strips of the waterproof duck tape.
I topped off the gas tank left all the gear at the dock to fetch after we got back to the dock (the gas can, trolling motor, lithium trolling motor battery, tackle bag, fishing rod, etc.).
We made it back okay to the dock at Indian Well! Some of the duck tape peeled back but luckily it held!
In my boat bag I carry an air horn, orange flag, whistle, tool kit, spark plug, fuse for the trolling motor, electrical tape, rope, first aid kit, hand operated bilge pump, plastic bucket, large sponge, 2 - 12” long pool noodles, a plastic water bottle, a couple of plastic bags and waterproof duck tape. I put my mobile phone in a tethered waterproof case.
Planning to add a tube of Marine JB Weld to my boat bag and thinking of what else to add just in case I need to patch a leak while on the water. Maybe a few wine bottle corks and find some stronger water proof duct tape or similar patching material?
Curious what other boaters carry in case of an emergency?
I have a 13’ jon boat with a 6hp outboard.
The wind picked up on the way back so I tried staying about 30’ from the side of the river but about halfway back I had just missed seeing a small red buoy and was just to the left of it as I went by and then BANG-BANG-BANG, hit some rocks! I had just spotted the rocks but it was too late!
I swung out of there quickly and felt that there was no vibration from the tiller so I knew the prop was okay but when I looked back I saw that the motor was crooked and hanging on by one screw pad and then looked down to see that I tore a hole at the seam where the transom meets the bottom of the boat! It was about a 1/2” long by about a 3/8” deep hole roughly with water gushing through!
I was with my wife and said that we have an emergency but not to abandon ship!
I put the motor in neutral and got it mounted straight again while thinking about what to do next. I said we’ll never make it back to Indian Well so let’s find a place to dock while I can figure out what to do next.
I made my way to this small cement dock with stairs going up a steep bank to the main road (Route 34, Rosevelt Drive).
We got out and then unloaded the boat, took the motor off and bailed the boat out. Then I pulled the back of the boat around and lifted it onto the cement dock to check out the hole in the bottom of the transom.
Looked in my boat bag for anything to use to patch the hole and I had a plastic BassPro bag and some Gorilla brand waterproof duck tape.
I twisted the bottom corner of the plastic bag and threaded it into the hole. I tied a knot a little larger than the home and pulled and pushed it into the hole from the outside as tight as I could get it and then cinched another knot as tight as I could against it from inside the boat then cut the rest of the bag off.
Dried the area and covered the outside and inside of the knotted plastic bag using strips of the waterproof duck tape.
I topped off the gas tank left all the gear at the dock to fetch after we got back to the dock (the gas can, trolling motor, lithium trolling motor battery, tackle bag, fishing rod, etc.).
We made it back okay to the dock at Indian Well! Some of the duck tape peeled back but luckily it held!
In my boat bag I carry an air horn, orange flag, whistle, tool kit, spark plug, fuse for the trolling motor, electrical tape, rope, first aid kit, hand operated bilge pump, plastic bucket, large sponge, 2 - 12” long pool noodles, a plastic water bottle, a couple of plastic bags and waterproof duck tape. I put my mobile phone in a tethered waterproof case.
Planning to add a tube of Marine JB Weld to my boat bag and thinking of what else to add just in case I need to patch a leak while on the water. Maybe a few wine bottle corks and find some stronger water proof duct tape or similar patching material?
Curious what other boaters carry in case of an emergency?
Anyhow……that’s some good thinking.
