i had taken a bit of harassment about my 40+ seagull from the guys running evinrudes, johnsons and the like. Our club is also a chapter of the nat'l american outboard motor club so there's an impressive variety of motors. my wife and i had made a few runs prior to lunch, but it was after chow that things got "interesting"...
we figured we'd make one more run across the lake before loading the boat on the trailer to head home. we got in, donned the lifejackets and threw off the lines. i paddled out a bit, turned around, took hold of the seagull's starter rope, gave a yank, and just as the motor started i spun around and went overboard.
wife managed to get back to the motor as the boat was running in circles..."hit the &^%*& lever!!!" i yelled after i resurfaced..."what *&^% lever?" she yelled back...she then started slapping every thing that remotely looked like a lever and somehow managed to shut it down.
only thing injured was my pride. it'll take me awhile to live this down though.
after the nerves settled i gave the wife proper instruction as to how to shut the motor down quickly.
so here's a reminder to be careful! especially since many of these motors start in gear and don't have "deadman" switches.
what happened? i sit on a flotation cushion which was wet on the bottom. when i yanked the start rope it slid to the side. when it met the side of the boat it stopped, but i kept going.
i had been pointing out that my 'gull would start on the first pull. kinda wish it hadn't that time though.
