Got stuck in shallow water...help needed

[CLS550]

Sooo, we got stuck in shallow water. Since I am a complete rookie, tried rapid forward/reverse only to get the throttle stuck in reverse and stopped the engine. Now the throttle is firmly in reverse and I can’t restart the engine.

In addition, looks like the navigation lights are on the same engine circuit (why???) as they are inoperable.

So, what is the likely reason the throttle is stuck and what shall I do to try to fix it? The boat is at a marina and I can move it to a work dry dock. Or is this a marina shop job?

Why did the navigation lights die? So weird.

2005 SX230

TIA

 

[Julian]

The boat is stuck in reverse because you blew gravel into the gate mechanism. Disconnect it with the spring loaded connector at the top of the gate, then move the gate back and forth by hand to dislodge the debris.

No clue what is going on with the lights....fuse?

 

[CLS550]

The funny thing is that my son’s name is Julian. Julian, his friend, and our 5 year old were making tons of noise while I was trying to get out of the way of this local cruise ship. Took my eyes off the chartplotter and found myself in 1 ft of water.

 

[Scottintexas]

Same thing happened to me 2 weeks ago

Disconnect theue bucket and it will be good
Don't muscle the throttle because you could break the cable

10 minute job, no tools needed

 

[Gym]

You may also be able to stand behind the boat and remove the debris blocking the bucket by hand.

 

[tdonoughue]

Ok, and I know this sounds obvious, but I missed it when this happened to me:

When you are in 1' of water, you can get out of the boat. Then the boat floats higher in the water and can come off the bottom. So you can push it to a safe depth and restart.

I will restate @Julian more strongly: the nav lights are definitely not connected to the engine or it running. Separate problem there. You should be able to have anchor light or nav lights with or without the engine running. Did you check them before you went out? Have they worked before?

 

[CLS550]

Yep, lights worked fine in the morning when I tested them. To be clear, the rocker switch does illuminate, but both the bow and all around lights don’t function.

So one thing at a time. Will get the throttle unstuck and then deal with the dead lights.

 

[tdonoughue]

It is dark. I would equip a crew member with a flashlight. Point it up. At least that is the 'at anchor' for a smaller boat. If you are nearby cruise ships and such, you don't want to be unseen.

 

[sunbyrned]

I'm curious how this worked out. Hope everyone's okay.

 

[CLS550]

Today I went to the marina and had the boat on the dry dock. As everyone guessed, there was a seashell and three pebbles that got stuck and prevented the jet cover to go into neutral and forward. Fiddling with a long screwdriver solved this problem. The starboard engine runs again.

As a note to everyone, I think it is very helpful to have a long, thin, and strong tool to stick in there (some sort of piece of steel or a flat fine file).

With respect to the navigation lights, I found the bow light to be dead. It was already on my to-replace list and I had a new LED Atwood stainless steel light. The new light, however, is about 1/4” shorter than the old one and I will have to drill new holes and fill in the old hole on the front.

The all around light is a total mystery to me. The bulb is fine (I tried another one), but no light. Since that pole is also on my to-replace list, I will replace it with a new 54” LED pole as well as replace the base.

So, mostly success. I hope to fix the all around light next weekend.

In general, since the boat is a 2005 model, I am slowly replacing components that are either old or likely to fail. The port side engine is less than 200 hours while the starboard is brand new, so the replacement list is simple- size 31 marine battery (got the X2 AGM rated at 1150 amps), bilge pump, navigation lights, rocker switches, etc.

Thank you everyone who chimed in! Have a fun and safe summer.

 

[Gym]

Great news @CLS550 It is not uncommon for our boats to kick up small rocks & shells in the shallows. You need to operate very slowly in that environment to prevent that.

 

[Todd Kyle]

Great info! Thank you @Julian - I got the drive control error and sure enough I was stuck in reverse after being I shallow water - there was gravel stuck in the reverse bucket. I disconnected the spring loaded hinge and all the little pebbles fell out and now I am back in business. I am grateful as this info save me a trip to the marina...love this forum!