First, a little background:
When I was a kid, I saw two boats collide and one of the drivers didn't have his kill switch lanyard attached. He was thrown out of the boat, but his six year old son was not. The boat continued moving in a forward semi-circle at 40 mph until is ran aground on the shore while his father watched helplessly from the water. Luckily the kid wasn't seriously injured.
I always think of that boy when I attach my lanyard, and will always continue to do so - everytime I'm in the water.
With the beautiful weather, my son and I spent the weekend on the water. As our day drew to a close Saturday evening, I was approaching the dock prepairing to wait in the small line of boats that were to be loaded.
When it was our turn, I turned the key to fire up the outboard but she wouldn't start. Crank, crank,crank . . . . nothing. What's the deal? This thing ran great all day long!
Just to keep things moving, I used the trolling motor to get as close to the trailer as possible, then jumped into the 58? water and man-handled the boat into position so I could winch it on, then we were on our way. I was scratching my head the whole way home. 'It has to be electrical!', I said.
Once I arrived at home, I broke out the service manual and began checking things . . . . looking for continuity here and resistance there . . . What could it be? Then my son, who was sitting in the boat, noticed that I had a "red string" attached to my PDF. Aw crap! It was the kill lanyard. Apparently when I stood up, I forgot to unclip the lanyard and it closed the switch. That explains why I wasn't getting a spark!
At least it was an easy and inexpensive fix. Good job, son!
When I was a kid, I saw two boats collide and one of the drivers didn't have his kill switch lanyard attached. He was thrown out of the boat, but his six year old son was not. The boat continued moving in a forward semi-circle at 40 mph until is ran aground on the shore while his father watched helplessly from the water. Luckily the kid wasn't seriously injured.
I always think of that boy when I attach my lanyard, and will always continue to do so - everytime I'm in the water.
With the beautiful weather, my son and I spent the weekend on the water. As our day drew to a close Saturday evening, I was approaching the dock prepairing to wait in the small line of boats that were to be loaded.
When it was our turn, I turned the key to fire up the outboard but she wouldn't start. Crank, crank,crank . . . . nothing. What's the deal? This thing ran great all day long!
Just to keep things moving, I used the trolling motor to get as close to the trailer as possible, then jumped into the 58? water and man-handled the boat into position so I could winch it on, then we were on our way. I was scratching my head the whole way home. 'It has to be electrical!', I said.
Once I arrived at home, I broke out the service manual and began checking things . . . . looking for continuity here and resistance there . . . What could it be? Then my son, who was sitting in the boat, noticed that I had a "red string" attached to my PDF. Aw crap! It was the kill lanyard. Apparently when I stood up, I forgot to unclip the lanyard and it closed the switch. That explains why I wasn't getting a spark!
At least it was an easy and inexpensive fix. Good job, son!
