# A sinking Feeling

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Posted by LeviLovR on June 05, 2024 at 21:39:57

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Well, I am back at the lake at the boat ramp. I have been for a few weeks now. We have had unusually warm weather for Maine. One day we actually hit 90 degrees, which was exceptional here for May. The water was chilly but is gradually warming up and becoming quite tolerable. Not a whole lot to report until today as to assisting people with their boats.

When I arrived today at the ramp there were three boats at the dock. One was heading out on the lake and two were tied up at the dock, one of which was clearly sinking and a man and woman were trying desperately to bail it out with five gallon pails. They were not having much success. It turns out the boat was not theirs, but belonged to a friend who was currently not in the area. It hadn't been in the water for four years and had had no maintenance of any kind done to it. It had only been put in the water yesterday and was moored in a cove at the owner's family camp. So this morning the owner's mother looked out the window and noticed the boat sinking and called her son's friend. The friend and his girlfriend came to help and decided to try to tow it to the boat ramp where they could load it onto a trailer and try to discover what was wrong. Man towed the boat, with great difficulty, while the young lady drove the truck and trailer over to the boat ramp. They had no idea what the problem was, but since it hadn't been serviced in four years it could have been anything. I took one look at it and said, "I'll bet the plug is missing."

They were having difficulty getting the boat on the trailer. Being full of water it was extremely heavy and I expected the back end to go under at any second. Naturally I literally jumped in to assist. It didn't matter to the young couple that I was fully clothed, they were just grateful for help of any kind. Part of the problem was that the trailer was not the trailer designed for the sinking boat. It was the trailer that belonged to the guy trying to get the boat out of the water and it was the only trailer they had. There was no choice but to use it. After some difficulty we did manage to get the front of the boat onto the trailer and winch it up some so the guy could at least drive the truck up the ramp and prevent it from sinking completely. As he started up the ramp water flowed out of the boat like a tidal wave. That lightened the boat considerably and we were able to winch it all the way up onto the trailer, even if it didn't fit properly. Then the man was able to haul it up on the pavement in the parking lot where it could continue to drain. Sure enough there was no plug. That left the couple a bit bewildered as water should have been noticed immediately coming into the boat yesterday when it was launched. I told them that not having even been looked at for four years it was very possible the plug had disintegrated and fallen out or that possibly it had not been screwed in tightly and fallen out. Regardless it was now gone. At least the boat was saved and once everything dried out could be run again. Replacing the plug is a simple matter. I told them I helped a couple last year in a very similar situation. Their boat had a leaking seam that would need some expensive repair.

The decision was made that they would take the boat home to their house and leave it, contact the friend's mother and tell her what had happened, and then come back and retrieve their own boat, which they had left tied to the dock. They asked me if I would mind keeping an eye on it until they got back. Of course! Since it was a nice warm, sunny day with temps around 80 degrees it presented a great opportunity for a couple of nice clothed dips. I had on a pair of old boots, brand new Lee indigo jeans never worn before, a Lee light blue denim shirt, brown belt, and brown cowboy hat. The young lady had expressed concern about me ruining my boots but I said not to worry. They had been wet many times before and were quite old and had always managed to survive.

I hung around until they came back. Since the sinking boat was still on their trailer the young man had to take his own boat back across the lake to the spot where the sinking boat had been moored and leave it there until they could get things fixed and then switched around again.

Thus begins another summer at the boat ramp. You never know what will happen there. But it's certain I will get wet and I will be wearing my clothes when I do so.

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- Re: A sinking Feeling Zonie 06:22:48 6/07/2024 (0)

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