Ditch Bag! Whats in YOURS?

[PileDriver]

One thing I have thought of getting and tossing is some flippers, I was thinking if you do have to ditch, it should would take less engery to swim if you had them. I do have a pair of google on board in case I have to un-foul a line around the prop.

[saltydawg]

I have always enjoyed climbing on the transom with my big fat butt and trying to untangle the prop while hanging on ...makes a great show and some colorful dialog for anyone on the trip

[PileDriver]

Originally Posted by saltydawg

I have always enjoyed climbing on the transom with my big fat butt and trying to untangle the prop while hanging on ...makes a great show and some colorful dialog for anyone on the trip

LMAO, it is 6 am here, waiting on my buddies to get here to head offshore and just got that as a visual! Oh what a day it shall be!

[saltydawg]

glad I could help out....just think about it every time you look back at the outboard. I won't tell you about the time I was leaning over it like that and my hand slipped and over i went into about a foot of water and three foot of silt/mud........I invented new words for that trick

[Thfireman]

Well I am still working on putting togather a ditch bag and this thread is a great resource for info to help me figure out what I need. I am not heading into the ocean very soon and the lakes here are congested so I would be helped quickly here. However I do have a short story of a personal disaster I had when I was younger.

I borrowed a 14 ft. jon boat with a tiller drive 20hp OB motor. It had a 5 gallon plastic tank. I had fishing rods and a tackle box. I also took a bottle of water, beef jerky and a coke with me. I had an old vest that was moldy. I went up river about 8 miles and then started drift fishhing back towards the parking area. The sun was harsh and temps were 95+. I soon drank all my coke and half my water. After 3 hours of slow drift I decided to head in. I went to start the engine. It wouldnt fire up so I pumpe the bulb a few times and noticed a small leak in the hose. I took a rag and wiped up the spill and then pulled the start rope again. At that point I felt intense heat blast from the engine and fill the jon boat with a flash of flame. I should mention I had removed my shirt before and my vest was on the front bench seat. Well I was on fire and I dove overboard while still hanging onto the side of the boat. The fire raged at the back of the boat. My skin was bright red and had a weird tingle but cool in the water. The boat was getting hot and I had to let go and head for shore. I am not a great swimmer and I had only 150 feet to swim but I was burnt, shocked and my eyes were singed so they started bluring. I made it to shore and sat there watching the boat drift and burn along with my last bit of water. After an hour a boat came up the river slowly towing my boat behind. The aluminum had melted at the transom and sides, and the guys on the tow boat wer yelling "Are you there?" "Hello!" I stood up and waived my arms, water was pouring off me, it was fluids from my skin burns, I was dehydrated and spent the night at the hospital and a week recovering. Lessons Learned the hard way.

Roger

[NCangler]

Wow! What a story thfireman. I hope that's not where the username came from. Glad you're still with us!

[saltydawg]

ouch dude!

[Thfireman]

Originally Posted by NCangler

Wow! What a story thfireman. I hope that's not where the username came from. Glad you're still with us!

LOL, No I am a firefighter. This was years before becoming a firefighter and really had nothing to do with my career decision. I suffered from 1st and 2nd degree burns but was lucky that I recovered quickly. I was on antibiotics for almost a month but was back in action within a week. My eyebrows grea back in a couple of weeks,lol. It was a long time before I got back in a boat but not because of that, it was because I didnt have money to buy a boat and no body would loan me a boat for some reason. I should mention that the authorities cited me $200.00 for various violations. One was not having an extinquisher. It would not have mattered cause I had 1/2 a second to bail. Keep those bail out bags where you can get to them even if you are flying over the side. It happens super fast...

[nocturn]

That story alone made this thread worth it.

[MolarBoater]

Guess the word "Ditch Bag" means you are getting in the water fast and the only other thing you can grab other than a life vest is the "ditch Bag".

I keep mine in a dry bag full of air and tied to 10' of line so as if the boat were to capsize it would hopefully float around the boat and not away....other than if the boat blew up, can't figure too many senarios where you'd have to ditch a virtually unsinkable boat.

A sat phone would be the only other thing I could think that I would like to have. Cost is just kinda high.

My worst boating experience is a clogged bilge in a Bay 190, hope to keep it that way!