I had engine troubles on a trip out yesterday and would like to get everybody's thoughts given that it may be days/weeks before a mechanic gets out to my boat. At less than 1 year, I'm a newbie to boating and, admittedly, probably made a couple of rookie mistakes that may have lead to the engine troubles. The events of the last 36 hours are as follows:<br /><br />1. Took out boat and filled up with gas.<br /><br />2. After departing the gas station and travelling along for about 10 minutes, I noticed that I forgot to put the gas cap back on. I slowed down and put the gas cap back.<br /><br />3. 10 minutes later, I put down anchor near some reefs. Given that there are some shallow areas near by, I decide to bring the engine out of the water.<br /><br />4. About 30 minutes later, I decide to move. Not thinking, I start the engine without putting it back in the water. It's on for only a couple of seconds before I turn the engine off and lower it back into the water. I restart the engine but it only runs for about 5 seconds before cutting out. I can't get it to restart and subsequently require a tow back to my mooring ||Ay carumbah!||. <br /><br />5. The next day ||today||, I prepped the engine for a test. The engine started but emitted some fairly thick smoke. Having let the engine run for no more than 10 seconds, I turned it off. Some wispy smoke continued to flow from the exhaust. I become convinced that I need to call in a mechanic before running the engine again.<br /><br />6. Finally, in checking the oil, I notice that the tank is fairly low. This is odd to me since I filled it up quite a bit a month ago and I don't believe that I have used the engine enough over the last month ||approx 12 hours|| to warrant that much oil usage.<br /><br />I am interested in hearing what people's thoughts are as to the cause of the engine troubles and how much damage may have potentially been done. Any comments will be much appreciated.<br /><br />Thanks.
