Sailing Axioms

“Sailing: long periods of boredom, punctuated by periods of terror.”

As we were pulling out of our slip at Makah Marina, Neah bay, WA, the engine suddenly raced, then quit. The wind pushed us towards the fish cleaning dock, we were able to hale some hands to fend us off. I was able to get the engine restarted, and discovered that if I didn't rev the motor up to much I could get steerage way back in to a slip.

“B O A T = Break Out Another Thou$and”

My first thought is that we stripped the transmission of the outboard. Time to buy a new motor. I climb into the dingy and hoist business end of the motor out of the water, while Cindy gets out the engine manual and starts reading. Key word: shear pin. Lord, please let it be a shear pin. (a shear pin is designed to break if the propeller jams, saving the engine and transmission from damage. They are relatively easy to replace).

“Cruising: repairing your boat in strange and exotic places”

I take apart the propeller assembly, being very careful not to “kerplink” anything. Yep, shear pin in three pieces. Praise you Lord Jesus! Then, I think, I'm in a marina on an Indian reservation in NW Washington, who's going to have a shear pin for a 27 year old Honda outboard (which are hard to get parts for anyway)?
Answer: There are two sets of replacements strapped to the side of the engine. I get one set installed without kerplinking, and we're once again on our way. I vow to stop saying negative things about my trusty motor. We motor out into the bay to set anchor, away from the noise and smell.