Old and Stupid

[KXCam22]

I hate being old and stupid. Hate it!! First day out.....
Mistake #1: I left one of the transom straps on when launching. Luckily I had done this once before about 10 years ago so figured it out quickly. Also lucky that no one else noticed.....except my wife.
Mistake #2: Left the tow valves closed after running the engines in the driveway. Was a whitecap day, very windy but decided to go for a short run since we had driven 3 hours to get there. Boat ran just long enough to get us out of the marina and into the waves and wind and the both engines flamed out. A nice feeling for the first time out for the year (with a boat load of people) to see both engine start to belch huge smoke at mid- throttle and then stop dead. I was horrified and all the worst possible engine failure scenarios ran through my head. The wind did its best to blow us onto some rocks but I was able to anchor while I figured out the issue. Both engines would turn over but not start. At least that told me good news. I eventually figured out from the overheat light that both engines has thermally protected themselves and shut down due to lack of cooling water. What could cause that?? Aha.....some stupid old guy probably left the tow valves closed. Waited for a long time for the engines to cool without luck so eventually had to remove main battery power to reset the engine computer and the thermal lockout. Got one engine running but the second would not start. Limped back to the marine on one engine while pondering the cranky non-starting starboard engine. Once tied up I pushed the clean out hatch switches a couple of times and the like magic the engine would start. Whew. I later figured out that the huge smoke was from the fogging oil collected in the engine intake that idling in the driveway doesn't burn up. Rest of the day wasn't too bad. Lessons:
1. I am a dummy
2. Always carry the very excellent JB.net troubleshooting guide in the boat. Like me, it does no good at home.
3. Carry the owners manual too since the repair book, while it would be very handy to help do an on the water engine rebuild, has no real useful info for troubleshooting situations like that.

Hope the rest of the seasons is a bit better. This day trumped our first-day-out-ever sucked up a tube rope in 10 minutes day. Hope my tale entertains and passes on some knowledge. Cam.

 

[bobbie]

Wait....July 9th and it's your first day out??

 

[Britboater]

Sometimes, especially if you have a few guys with you, your mind can lock out of level thinking. Experience is everything, don't cut yourself up too much, learn from your mistakes and move forward, it can only get better, can't it?....

 

[Ronnie]

I forgot to undue a transom strap for the first time ever earlier this year, it took a few attempts and snapping at my son on a crowded launch ramp before I figured it out. I didn't beat myself up too much about it and you shouldn't either. Chalk it up to "$hit happens" no one got hurt and nothing was permanently damaged so it was a cheap lesson that you will not likely ever forget. By the way great job on the trouble shooting, I wouldn't have known how to reset the ecus but I do now thanks to you.

 

[Big Shasta]

That sucks. Glad it worked out in the end.

Not to beat you up even more but to help others learn from this also. I would warn against starting a HOT engine with no water in it and shocking it with cold water. The overheat is bad enough but the rapid cooling could have cracked something. Sounds like you're fine but don't roll those dice more than once.

Does the boating season really start that late up there?

 

[Gym]

Pretty tough on yourself @KXCam22. Ok for your penance I want you to do 3 hull cleanings and 2 engine foggings and never let it happen again. Remember, jetboaters.net forgives you.

 

[buckbuck]

And get back to the wakesurf board you are building. We want to see pictures of it in action.
It is comforting to know how robust those MR-1 engines are. I have also done some things to them I wish I hadn't.

 

[Julian]

I'm thinking of making a simple 8x11 sign and laminate it, then put it on a lanyard. The non child friendly version will say--

DUMBASS!!!!
THE PLUGS ARE OUT!

When I take the plugs out, I'll just flip the laminated sign onto the swim deck (attached by its lanyard). I'll also make the sign double sided.

 

[Gym]

I leave a red plastic ribbon hanging out of the clean out hatch when the plugs are out and the tow valves are closed. This is similar to the red warning ribbons hanging from aircraft covers on pititot tubes and gust locks. It's just a glaring reminder that I have something to address in there. The ribbon gets tucked into the hatch when I've completed my chores.

 

[Bruce]

I also have left the transom straps on. It makes for an intresting show as you back farther into the lake and apply more throttle to try to get the boat off of the trailer.

Do you flush your engines while the boat is in the water?

 

[tdonoughue]

Transom straps? That's all you got? Lol.

I have certainly done that. And the best part is that I valet. So, what usually happens is that I will take the boat out myself somewhere, trailer it, and bring it back. Next time I go out normally with the valet, we get all the way to the water, put it in and the boat won't come off the trailer.

Hard to hide that when there is a pro on a tractor trying to put you into the water and get on to the next boat.

All I can say is that if that were all I messed up, I would be singing victory.

Now, the flush valves--that is a new one for me. But I appreciate your sharing your experience. Because it is only a matter of time before I do that one, too...

 

[Julian]

I'm curious why you closed the tow valves in the first place.....it isn't needed, and leads to serious issues like the one you created. Keep it simple....

 

[Gym]

I'm curious why you closed the tow valves in the first place.....it isn't needed, and leads to serious issues like the one you created. Keep it simple....

I close the tow valves for every flush out. It forces more of the Salt Away laden flush water through the cooling jacket rather than running out the bottom. I also get a much better flow out of the pee holes reinforcing this theory. Also it allows you to flush with fresh water even while sitting g in salt water.

 

[SCSTWG]

I'm thinking of making a simple 8x11 sign and laminate it, then put it on a lanyard. The non child friendly version will say--

DUMBASS!!!!
THE PLUGS ARE OUT!

When I take the plugs out, I'll just flip the laminated sign onto the swim deck (attached by its lanyard). I'll also make the sign double sided.

I don't have the sign, but I have a yellow string that is tied to the plugs the I leave hanging out of the locker so when I am getting ready to launch or loading back up for the day I remember to take them in/out. This of course after an incident where I launched without the plugs in. Returned back to the dock and went to get the truck and trailer. I got half-way to the truck when the light bulb came on.

 

[Zeus2013]

Ah hell, everyone does those things. I left the safety chain on and took me 20 minutes to figure it out. Just have a cheat sheet checklist to go over. And remember it's not a race to get your boat in the water.

 

[KXCam22]

Yes July 9th and first day out. It was 100F here in April and then it has rained every day since. Typical week is nice weather mid-week and full rain/wind/cold all weekend. Been doing this all year. Worst summer on record when we were expecting the best. Normally we are out late May. My area is desert and our hillside cactus are drowning. I only close the tow/flush valves once a year when I fire it up in the driveway in the spring. Cam.

 

[robert843]

Lol transome strap did that once a few years back trying to get my skis of the trailer the damn things wouldn't come off didnt figure it out till I realized the trailer was floating even then it took a few seconds to comprehend why the heck the trailer was floating lol.

 

[itsdgm]

Not to worry @KXCam22 being old and stupid myself I find that I forget about most dumb things that I've done. Only when I read post like yours does it jog my memory of the dumbassery that I've partaken in

 

[2nazt]

I've done the bow safety strap as watched my wife try to pull the boat off at the dock. I was laughing and then I was in the doghouse for it the rest of the day. At least I got a chuckle for it.

 

[bumpy]

Well, if you want to hear stupid, how about pre-season this year I couldn't get the starboard engine to start. Went thru battery wiring, lanyard, checked the plug access deck locks, nothing. I unscrewed and removed the tray in the plug access compartment and dis-assembled the starboard safety switch, still nothing. 2+ hours into this, and I looked and saw the freaking throttle lever for the starboard engine wasn't in neutral! Talk about old and STUPID!!!