www.iFourWinns.com

This past weekend was a busy one on Lake Lewisville. We had fireworks on the lake on Saturday night that were just awesome. The flip side...I bet there was close to 500 boats in the area...I swear, you could see navigation lights and anchor lights EVERYWHERE. It was a great time. We were tied up with 10 other boats and had quite the party. We got off the water after a nice late night cruise all the way across the lake at about midnight. Just awesome.

Anyway, Sunday we start heading out of our usual marina and as we are exiting the cove and entering the main portion of the lake, we see what appears to be a boat about 75% under water, close to the shore. We are not sure what happened, but we assumed it probably happened the night before. The thing that really made me upset about this is that there were SEVERAL boats ahead of us that didnt even go near the boat to see if maybe it had just happened and people needed any help. Not a SINGLE boat. So, of course, we stopped (the water was VERY choppy) and called it into the county. They acted like it was a new report and said they would send the lake patrol over there after they got all my info and such. There didnt appear to be anyone there and since it was so close to shore, we assumed that anyone would have made it off safely anyway. No idea how it happened, but here are a few pics my wife snapped with her iphone.

_________________
Current Boat:
2004 Sea Ray 320 Sundancer "Nauti Luvin'"

Previous Boats:
1999 298 Vista "Seas The Day"
2008 H200SS "Nauti Luv"
2006 Tahoe Q4

Bet they forgot the drain plug.

_________________
2007 Horizon 200
4.3L GXi/ SX 225 HP

I think this boat is normally kept in a slip, so in my mind have ruled out the no plug deal. There are a few underwater (slightly above surface) trees close. I sort of think that maybe in the dark, too fast, drunk, etc....is what caused this.

_________________
Current Boat:
2004 Sea Ray 320 Sundancer "Nauti Luvin'"

Previous Boats:
1999 298 Vista "Seas The Day"
2008 H200SS "Nauti Luv"
2006 Tahoe Q4

Wow that sucks.

_________________
Troy
2008 Centurion Avalanche
1994 Four Winns Horizon 180 SE 5.0L OMC Cobra (Sold)
2002 Ford F150 Harley Davidson Edition (http://www.nhtoc.com) 378 hp & 465 tq at rear wheels
2008 Honda Accord EX-L w/Nav

Not a good day at the lake for them

That boat was kept three slips down from me. I believe since they purchased that boat they had issues with it. They went out either on Fri or Sat night and never came back. The word spread through our marina that it sank on Sunday. About 9 jet skis were scavenging through it on Sunday picking it apart.

_________________

2001 328 Vista

Previous Boats:
2004 Sea Ray 220 Select

Scary, but maybe for the best if they have had constant problems. Insurance just might solve his problems.

Surprised I didn't see it out there on Sunday - we were all over the lake, but as much as it was whitecapping, I might have missed it all together.

Not good, I hesitate to admit, but I was almost one (sunken boat that is.....) myself. That same Fri afternoon we went out. I took my time getting the boat off the trailer and patiently puttered around as my wife parked the truck. We puttered around in the cove for a few min and then went for a cruise in the hickory creek area (w of the 35 bridge) that we put in at. I looked over at her and said "does the boat sound different to you" really knowing I was saying it outloud and to myself........then it dawned on me........S.O.B....I forgot to put the drain plug in.......a wave of sheer panic flowed through me at that moment. Then I gathered my thoughts and headed for a calm spot close to the opening of the cove, at the very same time punching the bilge and throttle. Luckily I had the plug in the boat with me and was able to jump out in a shallow spot without dropping the plug in the lake and get it screwed into the hole..................shhhhhhew!!!! Only took the bilge pump about another 60 seconds or so to empty the bilge, but God bless my mother, I'll never do that again..........I hope!

_________________
2008 H210SS VP 5.7 Gi/SX
2011 Ford F150 FX4 EB

hahahaha

I did that last summer. It was coming up thru the floor on our bayliner that did not leak a drop. I kept moving at half throttle while my boy and myself tossed coins to see who had to go in. He lost............lol
We were two miles from the dock on Table Rock out in the deep. I pulled it off into a cove close to shore and he jumped in. Even took the time to tighten it with a wrench. lol

It took about a half an hour to pump it out. It's really funny now, but it sure wasn't when it was going on.

_________________
1992 Baja 38 Special Twin 502 Mags

03 Stingray 3.0
88 261 Liberator 460 King Cobras
95 Bayliner 1850 3.0
77 Fiber Form 20ft 350/385hp
70 Wescraft 1800 SS 455 Jet

Lead, Follow, or get the Hell out of the Way!

You DO carry a spare plug, don't you?

_________________
-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Spare plug? I'm Dutch. I've always got my finger......................

_________________
1992 Baja 38 Special Twin 502 Mags

03 Stingray 3.0
88 261 Liberator 460 King Cobras
95 Bayliner 1850 3.0
77 Fiber Form 20ft 350/385hp
70 Wescraft 1800 SS 455 Jet

Lead, Follow, or get the Hell out of the Way!

Call me weird but my spare plug is actually the cheap floatable kind. Figure if I'm in the situation there is no way I'm calm enough not to be shaking. The cheapie should get me back to the ramp on our ultra small lake where I could re-trailer and put the brass one in.

_________________
2005 Horizon 210, 5.7L Volvo

I did the plug thing with my last boat. Was out in the middle of the lake when water started coming up from the engine cover. Luckily I had a spare on the boat. I jumped in with the spare being super careful not to drop it. I was able to get it in and it took the bilge a good 30-45 minutes to empty. Pretty hard to get the boat up on plane when she si plum full of water in the back! It is funny now, but at the time I was pissing myself.

_________________
1998 Baja Boss 252 7.4L MPI Bravo 1 (SOLD)
2007 FW H200SS 5.0GXI (Sold)
2004 Chevy Silverado 2500 Crew 6.0L (tow vehicle)
1991 FW 170 Freedom 4.3L (SOLD)

I always put the plug I use in a cupholder inside the boat (when It's not plugging the drain hole, for the ones about to make a smartarse comment). I keep my spare in the truck. I suppose I should get a spare to leave on the boat, besides the one I use. A plastic one as a spare actually sounds like a good idea though. Are they light enough plastic to float?

_________________
2008 H210SS VP 5.7 Gi/SX
2011 Ford F150 FX4 EB

Too Funny. Not really surprising though, given the reputation of your typical jet skier.

_________________

Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY