beerfilter
Petty Officer 1st Class
- Joined
- May 11, 2007
- Messages
- 305
Some years ago , I had taken my litle jon boat out for a cruise up the river .
The little Johny 4 horse pushed it ok , despite a cracked fuel line(found later..) . Nice day with a cool breeze , few other boats around , and , in 50' of water .
What could POSSIBLY go wrong?
All of a sudden the motor kicks up and SCREAMS at max RPM's .
I utter a few choice curses while wondering what the hell I could of possibly hit to blow the shear pin .
I see the bright blue marks on the LU ,from the obligatory plastic drum floating just below the surface(caught a glimpse of it later , just below the surface.. ) .
No problem , I think to myself , since I have spare pins by the dozen stowed in my tackle box .
I tilt the motor all the way up , dig out my wrench , pliers , and , spare pins .
I pull the cotter pin securing the prop nut(got lots of these as well..) , and , start unscrewing the prop nut .
Just as the prop nut clears the last thread on the prop shaft , it MAGICALLY leaves my fingers for the murky depths below !
A few more choice expletives are uttered ,nothing to remarkable , as I have the forsight to have a stash of 2 spare prop nuts , in my tackle box .
A brief search of my spare kit reveals spare prop , dozens of shear pins and cotter pins , the little drift/punch for stubborn pins , spare wrench , and , NO PROP NUTS !
I then proceeded to some real cursing , as I realized that it was trolling motor only from this point , all 5 miles back to the launch point ,with minimal current and a head wind .
A mile from the ramp , my battery dies ,but , the wind had also quit .
I reached the ramp as it was getting full dark( no moon ) .
The next 2 days were spent in a fruitless search for new prop nuts .
Eventually , I had to buy 6 stainless steel nuts of the appropriate size , and , drill them for the cotter key ,then use a grinder to cut a groove around each 1 for the cotter key .
Where did my spare nuts go ?
Turns out , My BIL borrowed my tackle box some time before , and , used them for sinkers !
Despite the fact that I had plenty of sinkers in the tackle box , he went with his redneck instincts...
Probably couldn't find any spark plugs ........
The little Johny 4 horse pushed it ok , despite a cracked fuel line(found later..) . Nice day with a cool breeze , few other boats around , and , in 50' of water .
What could POSSIBLY go wrong?
All of a sudden the motor kicks up and SCREAMS at max RPM's .
I utter a few choice curses while wondering what the hell I could of possibly hit to blow the shear pin .
I see the bright blue marks on the LU ,from the obligatory plastic drum floating just below the surface(caught a glimpse of it later , just below the surface.. ) .
No problem , I think to myself , since I have spare pins by the dozen stowed in my tackle box .
I tilt the motor all the way up , dig out my wrench , pliers , and , spare pins .
I pull the cotter pin securing the prop nut(got lots of these as well..) , and , start unscrewing the prop nut .
Just as the prop nut clears the last thread on the prop shaft , it MAGICALLY leaves my fingers for the murky depths below !
A few more choice expletives are uttered ,nothing to remarkable , as I have the forsight to have a stash of 2 spare prop nuts , in my tackle box .
A brief search of my spare kit reveals spare prop , dozens of shear pins and cotter pins , the little drift/punch for stubborn pins , spare wrench , and , NO PROP NUTS !
I then proceeded to some real cursing , as I realized that it was trolling motor only from this point , all 5 miles back to the launch point ,with minimal current and a head wind .
A mile from the ramp , my battery dies ,but , the wind had also quit .
I reached the ramp as it was getting full dark( no moon ) .
The next 2 days were spent in a fruitless search for new prop nuts .
Eventually , I had to buy 6 stainless steel nuts of the appropriate size , and , drill them for the cotter key ,then use a grinder to cut a groove around each 1 for the cotter key .
Where did my spare nuts go ?
Turns out , My BIL borrowed my tackle box some time before , and , used them for sinkers !
Despite the fact that I had plenty of sinkers in the tackle box , he went with his redneck instincts...
Probably couldn't find any spark plugs ........
