A relaxed camping trip with some excitement thrown in

[campn4walleye]

We went up to the lake for a few days of camping and fishing. The weather was so perfect...low 70's, the fishing fantastic. We took long walks with the dogs and relaxed. On our 3rd morning, we went out in the boat as usual.

I'm the one who takes the boat off and on and DH backs the truck and trailer. It normally starts on one turn. (A 115 HP Mercury '08). Anyway, this time it took 3, and I heard a faint ping. DH gets in and we travel slowly in the no wake zone. DH listens to the sound and turns the motor off. It does not turn off! We head out to open water to see if he can get it to turn off. He removes the cover and all of a sudden he says, it's on fire...or starting to be=lots of smoke! He grabs the fire extinguisher and sprays the hot area.

He disconnects the battery and examines everything. Now is still smoking badly and smells horrible with a combination of plastic and extinguisher powder. I keep wondering if it was something I did wrong. He keeps assuring me...things break. What a sweetie.

I call our daughter (thank goodness for a signal on the lake) and have her look up the boat dealer's # to ask how to raise the outboard manually. They explain how to do it and we creep back using the trolling motor. The kicker motor couldn't be used because the battery was disconnected.

DH climbs in the cold water and manages to get the outboard raised, we load it on the trailer and get back to the campsite. He never once cursed or got upset. He was calm and efficient. I must admit, I was scared and a bit in shock. He spent the rest of the day rinsing the powder off and checking other fuses and such. Seems that the starter is stuck in the UP position. I had to back the trailer down the ramp as he was soaking wet, holding the boat in place. I knew I should have practiced, but I did it!

We had a nice campfire that night, enjoyed blueberry cheesecake pudgie pies and could laugh at what could have been a worse disaster. The boat is his baby. We took it in yesterday right after we got home and are waiting for it's diagnosis.

Hopefully, it will be back on the water soon...the fish are biting.

[mowin]

missourijan wrote:
Sorry about the Mercury engine, but isn't anyone else going to ask, what is a blueberry cheesecake pudgie pie?

You beat me too it. They sound yummy. Oh ya. Glad everyone is ok.

[campn4walleye]

A blueberry cheesecake pudgie pie is:

take 2 slices of cinnamon bread, spread the outsides liberally with butter, spread 1 inside slice with cream cheese, spread the other inside slice with a heaping tablespoon of blueberry compote. Put them together and place in a pie iron and cook as usual. Ours took about 9 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

I made blueberry compote by cooking blueberries and sugar to a thick consistency. Add a bit of water if needed.

They are YUMMY!!!

[missourijan]

Sorry about the Mercury engine, but isn't anyone else going to ask, what is a blueberry cheesecake pudgie pie?

[magnusfide]

Glad you made it back safely. As campers you two are pros: no panic, just got it done.:C

[wa8yxm]

Engine fires are bad but it could have been worse.

I was once travelling between campgrounds and there was an RV fire, of sorts, down the road a ways, FD already on sceen.

Serious smoke damage to the outside of the Travel Trailer, (Nothing a real good bath would not cure however) Tow vehicle was toast.

Not what you thought it was right... Now that.. Was BAD.

Oh by the way.. You mentioned the smell of burnt plastic mixed with extinguisher powder.

There are basically a few different powders, one of the most common is white in color and is..... BAKING SODA

[BigSkyFamily]

I have no advice but I can offer some sympathy. We have 2 boats and whoever said BOAT is just another term for a black hole in the water that you keep throwing money into was exactly right.
Our SeaSwirl sits in the garage waiting for me to replace a headgasket, and our pontoon boat just shredded a water pump impeller.