 diary of a hopeful sailor....
june 27
I couldn't wait to go out in my sailboat after work today.
Since I don't really know how to sail, I figured I'd just use the outboard motor to buzz around until sunset in Tampa Bay.
But when I got to my boat I ran into the limitations of my boating knowledge pretty quickly. For starters, I couldn't figure out how to tilt the motor down into the water. I kind of messed around with the levers and knobs and stuff, but after a while I figured I better go home and get the owners manual.
I came back fifteen minutes later with the handbook and managed to get the engine straight up and down in the water.
Then I read the directions on starting the thing: Put it in nuetral. Choke out. Throttle on slow. Pull the cord.
To my delight, the engine started almost right away. It rumbled along for several seconds while I tried to figure out what to do next.
But then, suddenly the motor died. I pulled the cord several times more, but nothing happened.
Then I figured I'd start the whole process over. Again nothing happened. I pulled the cord several dozen times.
Then I just started fiddling with everything on the motor. Then I pulled the cord fifty more times. Nothing. A hundred more times nothing.
I read through all the trouble shooting parts of the manual and then pulled the cord a bunch more times. Choke out. Choke in. Choke half-way in. But still nothing.
I looked around the marina at all the bobbing boats. I must have look like a very incompetent boater, I thought.
Finally I had to pack it in for the night.
8:38:42 PM 
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