Boat Drain Plug Regs

[amateurfishing]

can anyone plz tell me what the purpose of removing boat drain plug prior to hitting the road is for? i know its the law, just wondering why

[Eric Wettschreck]

Its to ensure you're not transferring water from one lake to another.

[SkunkedAgain]

...or more specifically, transporting invasive species contained in the water. It's a step in the right direction, but unless you flush out and really clean the bilge, most boats will retain water and mix it at the next lake.

[amateurfishing]

technically is that not, well fantasizing? even if i pull drain plug & use bilge pump, i can carry risidual water, technically any watercraft can, correct? no watercraft will ever be 100% dry inside unless one takes time to completely dry inside of boat after trailering with rags or whatever. my boat always has risidual water in back unless sitting for 1 week outside in 80 degrees to dry out

[Chode2235]

technically is that not, well fantasizing? even if i pull drain plug & use bilge pump, i can carry risidual water, technically any watercraft can, correct? no watercraft will ever be 100% dry inside unless one takes time to completely dry inside of boat after trailering with rags or whatever. my boat always has risidual water in back unless sitting for 1 week outside in 80 degrees to dry out

Which is why they recommend you let your boat dry out for a week, or that you power wash it with water over 140 degrees.

If you are going to be going between lakes (especially infested waters) be sure that you are washing your boat and bilge with hot water.

[SkunkedAgain]

Right on. That's the only way to be sure

[amateurfishing]

k, thx, water over 140 degrees, where does someone find that? boiling is 100 degrees and who can handle that?

[kg2]

k, thx, water over 140 degrees, where does someone find that? boiling is 100 degrees and who can handle that?

140 degrees F, not C...

[ClownColor]

212 degrees...or 373K

[BobT]

...or more specifically, transporting invasive species contained in the water. It's a step in the right direction, but unless you flush out and really clean the bilge, most boats will retain water and mix it at the next lake.

The part that has me confused is how does lake water get into a boat? Any water that is in mine has likely got there from clouds above. As long as I don't leave it outside when it rains, I never have water in the bottom of my boat.

[Black_Bay]

The part that has me confused is how does lake water get into a boat? Any water that is in mine has likely got there from clouds above. As long as I don't leave it outside when it rains, I never have water in the bottom of my boat.

Some people don't get their drain plug tight, some livewells and associated plumbing leak, some livewells have a high speed pick up and it fills the livewell, I've gotten soaked due to wave spray, slow down a bit fast or back troll into waves and water can come in, people and dogs swimming can bring a lot of water in...

[JeffS]

How many of you guys know what temperature your hot water heaters are set to? Mine is a tankless system that is set to 122 degrees F. Which is below the 140 F suggestion, however my hot water heater manual says the limit for my system is 128 degrees F.

[amateurfishing]

legally we could not have ours above 120 degrees when we adopted our kids, our in home inspections made sure of that so there was no accidental burns from hot tap or bath water. so those of u who have flushed/cleaned said bilge pump or boat area, where do you get your hot water from & do you just dump it in or use pressure washer or garden hose or what?

[JeffS]

I know my parent's keep their's set to 130 F. I was just curious to see how many people keep their hot water heater at 140 F. I'm not sure if car washes have their water set to 140 (I'm assuming that most are trying to maximize their profits so they keep their hot water set toward the lower side).

[SpecialK]

I believe some of the pressure washers have a heater built in. I would imagine the self service car wash places water would be set to 120 to ensure against lawsuits.

Other than that you would have to boil the water and dump it in the boat and then grab a brush and scrub.

[amateurfishing]

I believe some of the pressure washers have a heater built in. I would imagine the self service car wash places water would be set to 120 to ensure against lawsuits.

Other than that you would have to boil the water and dump it in the boat and then grab a brush and scrub.

..& thats not possible where my bilge pump is located

[SkunkedAgain]

I believe that the landing at Grey's Bay on Minnetonka has a hot water pressure sprayer. Don't quote me on that.

I never fish sooner than a week from my last trip, so I just open everything up and let it dry. That's your best option if you don't have the equipment do get rid of invasive species from your boat.

[TyGuy02]

I just watched a DVR'd Lindner episode that went in-depth on the invasive issue, and they mentioned that some lakes that have invasives have a special cleaning area for your boat. The one they showed was on the Gull Lake Chain, I suppose since the Lindner's are from the Brainerd area. But at these cleaning stations they have a pressure washer with 140 F water to wash your boat.

By the time they get these set up everywhere they're needed though it may be too late!

[JohnMickish]

Big waves, water from the landing net and leaks are prime ways water gets in the boat.

[Chode2235]

I just watched a DVR'd Lindner episode that went in-depth on the invasive issue, and they mentioned that some lakes that have invasives have a special cleaning area for your boat. The one they showed was on the Gull Lake Chain, I suppose since the Lindner's are from the Brainerd area. But at these cleaning stations they have a pressure washer with 140 F water to wash your boat.

By the time they get these set up everywhere they're needed though it may be too late!

yeah, its a lot easier to let everything dry out...

i find this thread incredibly interesting, and maybe a bit frustrating, at how little my fellow anglers are willing to do to stop/slow the spread of invasives.

If we were doing more you wouldn't see so much action by lake owners associations and the DNR. I hope these common sense steps works as the next step is to close down the public accesses. That would be the real tragedy.

[JeffS]

I've seen these wash stations on Gull Lake, the problem is last year the DNR guys would shut them down around 8:00pm. This was the case last summer when my wife, kids & i took our boat over there. I let my boat dry out for 6-7 days inbetween outings, along with rinsing the livewells out with boiling hot water. But there is still a small amount of water that sits below the drain plug in the transom.

I'm skeptical that self service car washes use water that is 140 degrees F. I think this because i am able to touch the water with my hand & it does not feel too hot, with my hot water tap at home, i'm not able to tolerate it on my hand for more than several seconds.

[JeffS]

I think most people are willing to help prevent spreading inasives. I am questioning how many people keep their hot water heaters at or above 140 degrees F. Moreover, just how crucial is the temperature of the water when removing zebra mussels from the hull of a boat. If indeed it is the combination of pressurized water & water over 140 F, then there will not be many people who comply with the rules.

One more thought is the smartcraft gauges on new outboards have a small hose that samples water from the lake, these gauges always have water in them & i don't know if they can be drained without running the engine out of the water.

[SkunkedAgain]

My last boat was a 1985 Fisher. When the trailer was flat, the bow belly was much lower than the transom. If I cranked the jack all the way up, it wouldn't get out all of the water. If I removed the 35hp motor that I had on it, used a hydrolic jack to lift the boat higher, and then lifted the tongue onto my shoulder, I could finally get all of the water out...with the boat at a 45 degree angle it just got the belly higher than the transom. There are many boats and motors out there where no matter what you do, there is going to be water transported between lakes.

I'm not making excuses and do everything to clean out my current boat. However, my brain tells me that all of our lakes will be infested within the next couple of decades.

[Finns]

My last boat was a 1985 Fisher. When the trailer was flat, the bow belly was much lower than the transom. If I cranked the jack all the way up, it wouldn't get out all of the water. If I removed the 35hp motor that I had on it, used a hydrolic jack to lift the boat higher, and then lifted the tongue onto my shoulder, I could finally get all of the water out...with the boat at a 45 degree angle it just got the belly higher than the transom.

Wow! I'd like to see a picture of that!

[amateurfishing]

and here is a back side question regarding this matter... if all are required to clean said infested water with boiling water from watercraft, i assume it is going down the local drain somewhere or in my case a backyard retention pond where wildlife habitat. does this "cleaning" process only spread the problem further by releasing said infested risidual boat water to sewer or other drainage areas?