Close call

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JacquesR
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Posts: 117
Joined: Fri Nov 17, 2017 11:13 am

Close call

Post by JacquesR »

Went sailing a few days ago. Everything was fine. Light wind, sun. After a few hours, it was time to head back. Pulled the cord on the outboard. No joy. Checked that it was in neutral, gave the bulb a few squeeze, checked that it was in the start position and tried again. I pulled and pulled to no avail. Got out the paddles.

Thankfully, the wind was pushing us in the right direction but we made little progress. A motorboat passed by and asked if we needed help. I accepted and we were soon under tow As we neared the marina the motorboat released the line and we figured we could take it from there.

We soon realized that the wind was pushing us toward the rocks of the jetty. In desperation, I tried the outboard and it fired after a few pulls and we made it back to our slip.

I don't know why it wouldn't start before. Could it be that the kill switch was stuck? It's a simple 2 stroke 4.5hp and has been reliable until then. Strange...
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Michel
Recognized Old Salt
Posts: 993
Joined: Thu Oct 07, 2010 6:25 pm

Re: Close call

Post by Michel »

I have been there too!... A few times! The only good thing is that there is often help around! A Sandpiper does'nt like paddles! You would need a set of proper oars to make real progress . 9½ foot would be a minimum for a boat like the Sandpiper on a lake. I have a pair of 12 foot oars on my boat because of the Saint-Lawrence current.
Michel Boulet
Ex: "Mari-Bell" Sandpiper 565 (18.5367454 ft)
Now: "Papou" Tanzer 16 dinghy
Montreal
"Let the world say what it will"
~~_/)~~
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