This rule may seem rather basic, but there are a startling number of inexperienced ways to fill a boat with water.
 
DRAINS, SEA VALVES, COOLING LINES
 
Remember to put the drain plug back in the boat before you launch.  Everyone who has hung around a boat launch ramp has watched as some loud male tries to plug the drain hole with his finger while he yells imperatives at his earnest female companion.
 
If Murphy's Law is operative, the leaking boat will drift off with the current and/or wind with no line attached.  Almost every launch site has a surplus of shore side advisors who will cheerfully yell conflicting advice to both the man and his besieged companion.  Be smart, put in the plug, and tie off the bow line; your marriage will last longer.
 
Through-hull fittings for your toilets and sinks should be well above the water line and have a valve immediately inboard of the fitting.  You should periodically check the fittings, valves, and hoses.  There are many circumstances that can put the through-hull fittings below the water temporarily and you can get lots of water on board quickly.
 
If Murphy's Law was involved in the construction of your boat, the builder will have to put the through-hull fitting behind bulkheads and cabinets where they can leak, rot and rust undetected.
 
Inboard cooling systems are subject to damage from hitting rocks and groundings.  If you have a keel cooler or heat exchanger, always check for damage if you hit something.
 
SWAMPING FROM AN OVERLOAD
 
My father always said maritime disasters were generally a combination of negative events.  Prudent sailors will work to minimize their exposure to the dangerous combinations.  An overloaded boat will not only have less reserve buoyancy, but often the stability and the trim of the boat will be compromised.
 
I have seen commercial fishermen frantically throwing fish into the fo'c'sle (crew's sleeping quarters forward) trying to get the stem of the boat up out of the water.  Sleeping in a bunk with fish slime ranks with April 15 for all-time bad days.
 
Having the stem (back) of the boat low in the water is particularly dangerous with waves coming from behind (following sea).  Having waves come over the stem is technically called being 'pooped.'
 
The expression supposedly comes from the old days of sail when the highest deck at the back of the vessel was the 'poop deck.'  This columnist holds the view that the expression really comes from a loose translation of the comment of the skipper-owner who has just been 'pooped.'
 
Even from the front, waves, like many things in life, are good to look at but are not something you would choose to get intimate with.  Common nautical wisdom indicates that you should run into waves at an angle (called quartering).  This technique allows you to take the wave at the point where the hulls are the highest (most freeboard) and where there is generally a flare to the hull.
 
Prudent boat operators avoid running in the troughs (parallel to the waves), particularly when the waves are breaking.  Obviously, if the height of the breaking wave exceeds the height of the hull on an open boat, there is a distinct possibility of getting both intimate with the wave and wet.
 
If you ever loose power in big and/or breaking waves, it is very helpful to deploy an anchor in shallow water and a sea anchor in deep water.  I will cover these techniques in other articles.
 
A FINAL WAY TO SINK YOUR BOAT
 
In areas with high tidal ranges, like Cook Inlet, the boat operator is in danger of going around on mudflats.  This situation is not in itself dangerous, but the next incoming tide can be.  Boats with deep keels or skegs can lean (heel) over so far that the incoming tide fills the boat before it floats.  It is a good idea to put an anchor out to seaward to hold your bow into the incoming waves and to prevent your boat being swept further ashore.

___________________________________________________________________ Many mudflats are like quicksand.  People have died after becoming entrapped in the Cook Inlet mudflats.

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