Boat Lessons Learned

I mentioned Eric's little boat purchase last month. He has high hopes for the 13-passenger deck boat and big dreams about the hours of family fun on the water. It needs a little engine work though. After putting it on the muffs in the driveway and it running just fine, he decided we needed to take it to the lake and give it a run to try to recreate the issue the previous owner told him about. Some valuable lessons were learned that lovely Sunday afternoon.

Lesson #1: If you are taking your boat out on the water to try and diagnose why the engine stops running after a few minutes, make sure there is someone else on the lake. If the place is deserted, you have no one to help give you a tow in when your boat, predictably, dies and refuses to restart.

Lesson #2: After buying a used boat, confirm that the anchor rope is actually long enough to reach the bottom of the lake.

Lesson #3: It's hard work to paddle a deck boat to shore by yourself on a very windy day.

Lesson #4: Your wife will refuse to take your two babies out on a deserted lake in a boat the you expect to die. Also, your wife will laugh at you once you're stranded in the middle of the lake with a dead engine, an anchor rope that is too short, and nothing but an oar to get yourself back to the boat ramp.

Lesson #5: No matter how many times you try in vain to crank the engine between paddling back, it will crank right up once it is back on the trailer.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com