GypsmJim
Well-Known Member
- Aug 8, 2018
- 1,173
- Boat Info
- '19 SPX 190 OB, 150 & 5 Mercs
'17 Whaler 150 Montauk
'15 Yamaha FXHO
'60 Mulray Dinghy
'52 Lyman 15'
- Engines
- Mercury 150 4-stroke
72 Outboards representing 12 manufacturers
This is my embarrassing story. I’m posting here just in case it helps someone else.
I’ve been a boater for 67 years, and have owned my own boat for 53 years. I consider myself to be proactive and thus always prepare ahead. In my youth I did a stupid trick and lost power once. But the boat had oars, so with a little elbow grease I was back home. Shortly thereafter I installed a kicker and have had one ever since. In all these years I NEVER needed a tow.
Until yesterday…..
A beautiful day in the upper Niagara River….just above Niagara Falls. Without warning, the engine dies. No problem. The kicker was dropped in the water and minutes later I was in the shallows safely at anchor.
Turned out the positive terminal came off the battery. In my defense the dealer installed the battery when the boat was new. My bad that I didn’t check it. The bad part was that apparently it touched another wire and tripped a circuit breaker. The breaker was not readily accessible.
Insurance threads are common. Yesterday I became a believer in BoatUS and TowBoat. The Captain met us and we were on a side tow in less than 30 minutes. Along the way we had a nice discussion with him as we traversed the waters. He maneuvered us withing 6 inches of our dock. He charges $190 and hour and out tow was about 2 hours. In the end I had to sign his paperwork, but the tow was 100% covered due to our membership and insurance as well.
A common question is about Owner’s Manuals, with the answer being there aren’t any. The SeaRay Owner’s Manual DOES exist, and with the wiring diagram located within it, once back home I was able to locate the breaker and now all is well again.
I thought the wife would be perturbed with all this. But she kept saying “What an adventure!” throughout the ordeal. (I guess 50 years ago this Summer I picked the right Second Mate.)
So, the moral of the story is always check your mechanic’s work, always keep the Owner’s Manual aboard, and always use BoatUS for your insurance.
I’ve been a boater for 67 years, and have owned my own boat for 53 years. I consider myself to be proactive and thus always prepare ahead. In my youth I did a stupid trick and lost power once. But the boat had oars, so with a little elbow grease I was back home. Shortly thereafter I installed a kicker and have had one ever since. In all these years I NEVER needed a tow.
Until yesterday…..
A beautiful day in the upper Niagara River….just above Niagara Falls. Without warning, the engine dies. No problem. The kicker was dropped in the water and minutes later I was in the shallows safely at anchor.
Turned out the positive terminal came off the battery. In my defense the dealer installed the battery when the boat was new. My bad that I didn’t check it. The bad part was that apparently it touched another wire and tripped a circuit breaker. The breaker was not readily accessible.
Insurance threads are common. Yesterday I became a believer in BoatUS and TowBoat. The Captain met us and we were on a side tow in less than 30 minutes. Along the way we had a nice discussion with him as we traversed the waters. He maneuvered us withing 6 inches of our dock. He charges $190 and hour and out tow was about 2 hours. In the end I had to sign his paperwork, but the tow was 100% covered due to our membership and insurance as well.
A common question is about Owner’s Manuals, with the answer being there aren’t any. The SeaRay Owner’s Manual DOES exist, and with the wiring diagram located within it, once back home I was able to locate the breaker and now all is well again.
I thought the wife would be perturbed with all this. But she kept saying “What an adventure!” throughout the ordeal. (I guess 50 years ago this Summer I picked the right Second Mate.)
So, the moral of the story is always check your mechanic’s work, always keep the Owner’s Manual aboard, and always use BoatUS for your insurance.
