When the Outboard Won’t Start

This afternoon we tried to go kokanee fishing for real, without a guide to help us. It’s been a lot of work preparing the boat and gear for this day. Just today we removed the sun top (it gets in the way of fishing rods) and installed more rod holders. We took it to Lake Stevens and put the boat in at North Cove, but the main engine wouldn’t turn over. Nothing but silence when I turned the ignition. All the rest of the electrical system worked. The kill switch is usually the cause of this problem, but I tried flipping it both ways with and without the lanyard to no avail. I figure that the shop must have messed something up when they put in the outlet for the crab pot puller.

I at least took the opportunity to drop the new kicker motor in and try it out. It doesn’t have a starter; it’s just a pull start like a lawn mower. After some fiddling with it I got it to start. I have to say I was really impressed with how quiet it was. I could have taken it out fishing with just the kicker; after all, that’s what it’s designed for. Our guide a couple of weeks ago had barely used her main engine when we went out with her. However, by that time the wind had picked up and it was getting pretty choppy on the lake. I didn’t feel comfortable going out and trying to dock again in a strong wind with just tiller control, when I’d never tried it before. So, I just took the boat out again. Still, it was an enjoyable afternoon, sunnier than expected, and a good dress rehearsal.