How to Sink Your Boat
By Officer Joe Alvarez

There are billions of dollars of boats sitting on the ocean floor. Have you ever wondered how all they all got there? It’s amazing the simple things people fail to do, or the dumb things they do, that turn their boats into an artificial reef.

The most common way to sink a boat is forgetting to first replace the drain plug before you launch. Consider yourself fortunate if you notice the slow settling of the boat and the bilge pump working overtime before any damage can be sustained. There are electronic devices that sound an alarm if it senses a missing drain plug after launch. Another method is to have a check-valve installed that allows water to flow out but not in.

Leaving a boat unattended at the marina is the second most common way to sink a boat. The bilge pumps can deplete the batteries as it works to drain the water from rainstorms or minor leaks. The pump shuts down when there’s no power in the batteries and the water collects in the bilge. The water builds up and your boat is a home for the fish. There are chargers available that monitor the condition of the batteries and keep them fully charged. If you don’t have a self-bailing cockpit in your boat, look into obtaining a full canvas cover.

Swamping or capsizing accidents don’t just happen to rowboats or canoes, but to motorboats as well. Breaking inlet waves and rapidly developing storms are always a danger, but the size of boat wakes are underestimated by a large amount of people. A large amount of water can be dumped into your boat in a very short period of time by a wave. Be aware of inlet conditions, tides, currents and changing weather conditions. Always be aware of your surroundings. Don’t become so involved in a conversation with someone on your boat that you don’t notice the large wake that’s about to break over the bow.

Pilings or other debris are difficult to see when they’re floating just at the surface of the water. If you maintain a speed appropriate with the conditions, keep up-to-date charts on board, and understand the meaning of all the different buoys and markers, you’ll have no good excuse for striking a submerged rock or piling. Some of it unfortunately is just beyond our control.

Finally, there’s one item most boat owners don’t even think about, hoses. A broken or burst hose can be a disaster particularly on stern drives and inboards. Should the clamp to an exhaust cooling hose fail; the force of the water flow through the hose could dislodge the hose. Gallons of water would then be pumped into the bilge. Fortunately, hoses will usually give you some warning in the form of cracking, bubbling, expansion or some other sign of fatigue. Check hoses and clamps at least once a month. Stern drive owners should include the bellows and other fittings in their check. Remember, safe boating is smart boating.

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