Wasnt able to get out this weekend for the opener, had lots to do to keep me busy. Rain kept me in yesterday, so I had made plans with my father to go hunt this morning. Weather was looking good for a successful hunt with the front moving in. Got to the ramp and was the only person there. Launched and had a bit of trouble getting the motor fired up, problem with the fuel line, connection was loose, got fired up and on my way. Wind was up a little out of the north. Was almost to the place that i wanted to hunt, and the motor dies. I thought the fuel line had come loose. Dad says somethings on fire! At the same time I was looking at the motor when it shut off.

White smoke was comming from all around the motor. I immediately jumped up and took the cowling off, and orange flames illuminated the darkness. OH $H!* !!!! Not good. Couldnt tell what was on fire but immediately started digging for my fire extinguishier. Got it out and was about to spray the motor down when i realized that i was able to put the fire out by blowing it out pretty hard. I didnt want to cover the motor with the extinguisher cuase i knew it would make a mess.

Knowing that I would have to use my trolling motor to get back to the ramp, needed to save all battery power, I got out and pushed the boat, the water was only waist deep. Settled for a spot, got set up, only saw a handful of birds moving, shot at one woody that came by, and sent him on his way.

So to end this long vent, I had to drag my 17' boat as several hundred yards back to the channel, and used my trolling motor and fight the north wind to get across the open water and the river. Took and hour and a half to get back to the ramp to go almost a mile.

Lessons learned..... Keep you fire extinguishers where you can get them. Be prepared to use them. This was the firs time I had ever had a fire on a boat. It turned out to be and electrical problem that I believe will be an easy fix.

Carry a good paddle in your boat. I had one but it wasnt a very good one. And keep you boat maintained. I just ran mine the other day prior to going out without a problem.

Thankful to be back safely and glad to have another person there to help me.

That being said..... anybody know how to rewire an 02' Merc 2 stroke?????

Bust
Out
Another
Thousand.

Glad to hear the fire was a small one. One thing you left out was lake name, and gps coords of where not to setup.

Right now I'd give you every part of that lake and the cords to get there. It wouldnt do you a dang bit of good. I'll just say there ain't no birds in Southeast Texas.

i will agree with you there, no birds down here yet

sorry to hear about the bad luck. been there, not the fire part, but owning a boat is a headache waiting to happen. good to hear that no major injuries or accidents occurred. good luck fixing the motor and getting back at em.

Man glad ya'll are ok. Sorry to hear about the motor trouble.

Do you have pics of what burnt up on the motor?

I'll take a pic or 2 when the rain stops and post it up... It looks fixable, the motor still turns over, and trim switches still work.... i think it was the electric choke

Rough day.. grats on being safe & sound to hunt another day

WOW! Sounds like you paid some serious dues... I guess you've got some fantastic hunts coming your way, just hopefully soon

Hey Andy if major isht didnt go wrong it wouldnt be duck hunting, now would it? lol good luck in the future.

Last year I got stuck in the middle of the ICW at 4AM in pea soup fog. Was MILES from any civilization. No boats around, just plain wouldnt start. Sat there tinkering while my buddy called friends for help (apparently we had NO real friends). Ended up putting it on emergency lean fuel setting and finished the hunt. Ended up just being dirty carbs. We shot 2 birds that day.

Boudreaux did you move?

I asked the same question, but he didn't say.

http://www.texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1786966/2

Looks like he is in SE Texas, about to goto Cost Guard training for the second half of the season.

Glad you got back safe, buddy. You should also keep phone numbers of your friends handy and your phone in a water tight floating case so you can call for help.

I'd leave work to go help my hunting friends if they need it.

I'm sure you can expect a call from me sometime with my luck

I'm in Kountze, TX for right now. I'll only be here till the end of the month, got coast guard training for the next 5 months starting on nov 30. ...

Well here is a pic of the damage.... Its fixable.... I just dont know what I'm doing.






Inside of the cowling


Further inspection make me believe that the damage is not too bad. I think that I can fix it. I just have to replace the wires one by one.

From the looks of the pics, I'd say that is all thats bad. I do wounder what got them hot enough to start a fire.

If you are going to do the work yourself, you may want call Mercury and see if there is anything up with that particular year. Might be worth asking, incase they offer up some help with repairs. Long shot, but worth asking.

Are you coming back to Austin after the training, or have you relocated?

I'm not sure yet. I'm living with my parents again right now, just cause its the only permanent address. I'll figure something out later on.

Take it to a cert. mechanic. Being it is an electrical issue you may have damage to the CPU and if you attempt a repair you could do damage to the CPU if it is not already damaged.