Close call
Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2022 9:25 am
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...
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...