The Mothers of Invention

A one-way self-closing drain plug to keep boats from sinking is the winner of the first BoatU.S. Great Inventions and Ideas Contest. BoatU.S. members Jerry Warner and Chris Palm, of Shalimar, FL, invented the plug after they found Palm's boat sunk at the dock last July 4. A patent is pending on the device, which includes both a check and shut-off valve to replace the standard transom drain plug. If the operator forgets to close the plug before putting his boat in the water, the check valve prevents water from entering the boat; when the boat gets underway, the movement of the water automatically pushes the shut-off valve to the closed position.

The contest asked boaters to come up with a "great idea" to make boating even better. The responses went into two categories: recent inventions and ideas that seemed feasible but, to the best of the judges' knowledge, had not yet been invented.

The best "idea" was submitted by BoatU.S. member Burl Romick of Portland, OR, who thinks someone should invent a marine enunciator to identify which electronic alarm on a boat is sounding. "On our boat we have alarms for the engine temperature, oil pressure, engine fire alarm, autohelm off-course, depth sounder, GPS, radar and bilge high water -- and they all sound alike," he wrote. How about it, electronics firms?