Another story about a boat

A peaceful sight

If you’ve read my first book then you know a little about my love/hate relationship with my boat.  I love the feeling of being behind it on a waterski.  I hate everything that can go wrong while operating a boat.  I believe it is true that the more things change, the more they stay the same.  Let me elaborate …

Having recently replaced the hydraulic motor that lifts the propeller to the tune of about $700, we finally put our boat in the water on July 3.  Work schedules and other demands of life kept us from enjoying our boat earlier in the year.  Needless to say, we were a little out of practice.  The hubby and I headed to the hills and Lost Lake, hoping to set up camp in time for our boys to arrive after they were done with work.  That wasn’t a problem as their work lasted several hours longer than anticipated.  Unfortunately, our much desired camp site was already overrun with other campers, so we left the boat and trailer near the boat ramp and went in search of another site that would be close to the water and hopefully uncongested.  We found a suitable site on the opposite side of the lake, dropped off some coolers to save our spot, and returned to launch the boat.

After much discussion as to who would drive the boat and who would drive the pickup it was determined that I would take the boat across the lake while hubby unhooked the trailer and drove around.  I would wait for him to help me beach the boat. He backed the boat into the water, it started nicely, he backed it in a little more, hit the brakes and the boat did not go anywhere.  I gave it more gas and it did not go anywhere.  He jumped out of the truck and unhooked the strap and chain that was holding the boat on the trailer at which time I thought perhaps I should have him retrieve my phone from the truck. A silly thought.  He knew where I would be and I knew where he would be. After a successful launch I moseyed on across the lake. 

Upon reaching the opposite shore I began searching for our coolers that marked our camp site. I could not find them. Certain that I knew the general area I began to panic, afraid that someone had taken all of our food!  I decided to move along the shore until I either spied the coolers or saw my husband and his pickup.  Alas, I was too close to the rocky shore and about the time I spied my hubby, I contacted a rock with my propeller and killed the motor at the same time. That hydraulic motor we just replaced?  I forgot to use it.

Meanwhile, back at the ramp …

About the moment I was successfully launched into the lake and the hubby pulled the trailer out of the water, he realized there was no plug in the boat. (This has happened before.  See Gold Pans and Iron Skillets “No More Boat”) Glancing down he spied my phone safely inside the pickup and knew there was no contacting me.  He unhooked the trailer in record speed and with what he described as a very helpless feeling sped around the lake in hopes of rescuing me and the boat arriving at the exact moment I contacted the very large rock.

As he was yelling at me to get into shore, I was certain I was in trouble for damaging the prop. I began explaining that the motor died and blah, blah, blah, when I heard him yell, “THERE IS NO PLUG IN THE BOAT! GET TO SHORE!”  I glanced at my feet that were wading  in rising water and hurried to start the boat!  At his moment he began wading out to the boat and I began searching the glove box for the plug.  Hallelujah!  I found the plug. 

As I was taking a calming breath my hubby yelled, “I dropped the plug!” Remember that hydraulic motor I forgot to use? The prop was in the way of the drain and, alas, the plug was gone. I searched frantically for some kind of makeshift plug.  A roll of paper towels and a screw was the best I could do.  As he was attempting to plug the hole, I began searching for another plug.  You see, we buy them often. I was hoping that the boys had not left home and I could call them to purchase another plug on their way.  Guess what?  I found another plug!

The prop looks terrible, but it did the trick and pulled everybody out of the water and around the lake as desired.  I didn’t really get into trouble about the prop, because after all, I could have sunk the boat.  I got another boating story out of the deal.  Best of all, we don’t yell as much as we used to.  I guess after all these years we are getting conditioned to boating catastrophes.