Finally happened - Stranded at Sea !!!

[MercGuy]

Sunday evening I was out cruising on the Ohio river with a buddy. It was a little overcast and my buddy suggested that I put my stern light up. So I shut the engine off, fished out the stern light and installed it.

I sat down in the captains chair, turned the ignition key and... everything went dead. All electronics went off, but the tach swung around to 6K rpm. Not a peep from the starter motor.

So, I sat there, scratched my chin and got to work. I checked all fuses, no problem there. Checked to see that the starter Bendix wasn't jambed, no problem there. Hmmm...

By this time we were starting to drift towards the shore, and my bud was getting nervous.

Fortunately I had an ace up my sleeve, because I have an old 2 stroke hanging off the back of my boat (1998 Merc 115). So, I got out the factory supplied starting rope, wrapped it around the flywheel and bingo - running in a single pull !!!

My buddy, who owns an inboard which is in the shop, was stunned when he saw me fire up with a rope pull

Turned out that my battery suffered an internal short when I hit the key, and a new battery fixed everything.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, no inboards for me.

These old 2 strokes are the only practical form of power for a pleasure boat.

 

[coolguy147]

Re: Finally happened - Stranded at Sea !!!

cant replace a good running outboard

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Finally happened - Stranded at Sea !!!

Its alawys nice when plan "B" kicks in and works perfect.

 

[coolguy147]

Re: Finally happened - Stranded at Sea !!!

not for me one time. my starter rope broke i wrapped a rope around the flywheel it started the motor first pull. but it got stuck and jerked the magneto and broke some throttle assembly and then fixing it i broke another thing.
long story short i immediately replaced the rope and fixed it properly

 

[AguaSki]

Re: Finally happened - Stranded at Sea !!!

My starter was working great, but one time I convinced myself to try the rope so that I had an idea how it would work in a contingency situation. My mistake was doing this at the ramp. I ended up loosing my balance on the first pull and my but hit the floor of the boat. Everyone at the ramp saw this happen. With my pride severely damaged, I ended up putting the motor cover back on and started the motor with the key. Have not tried starting with rope since, so I still have no idea what to do if I get in a contingency situation.

 

[chumslinger]

Re: Finally happened - Stranded at Sea !!!

you should carry a portable jump start battery. i have used them many times on cars, work like a charm....but i always forget to bring one on my boat, so who am i to talk....happy boating

 

[MercGuy]

Re: Finally happened - Stranded at Sea !!!

you should carry a portable jump start battery. i have used them many times on cars, work like a charm....but i always forget to bring one on my boat, so who am i to talk....happy boating

Uhhh, why would I do that when I have a $0.29 rope start that works perfectly. That's the whole point

 

[triumphrick]

Re: Finally happened - Stranded at Sea !!!

Hmmmm...can't comment about the Merc, so what brand battery was it??

 

[MercGuy]

Re: Finally happened - Stranded at Sea !!!

Hmmmm...can't comment about the Merc, so what brand battery was it??

Interstate, 5 years old.

 

[skargo]

Re: Finally happened - Stranded at Sea !!!

Wow, I have an I/O but I have 2 batteries, OMG, who would of thought of that?!?!?!

No OB for me, who wants rope burn on their hands?

 

[Cricket Too]

Re: Finally happened - Stranded at Sea !!!

you should carry a portable jump start battery. i have used them many times on cars, work like a charm....but i always forget to bring one on my boat, so who am i to talk....happy boating

I only had one battery on my boat for a while and I kept one of these jumper boxes in my cabin, until I got a two battery setup. Not sure one of those jumper boxes would work on a shorted battery though, probably just put extra voltage through the short in the bad battery, probably wouldn't help getting the engine going.

I probably would have thrown the anchor while I was checking everything though. Good job with the rope pull. I should probably get one for my '97 Johnson 115.