Coulda been way worse
Posted: July 10th, 2021, 1:52 pm
Made it about 20 yds out from the marina when I noticed my steering was really sluggish. I said something to my new fishing pal (his 1st time on the boat), and we both looked back to see smoke coming from just next to the engine. I had hung a stretch 30 back there and one of the treble hooks had found its way into 2 electrical cables. Shorts, sparks, smoke, and then the hydraulic line caught fire. We quickly put it out, but not before it had started to melt the fuel line as well.
We paddled back to the dock, and I counted all the ways this could have gone from a minor mishap to a majorly dangerous bad day. The fire that could have happened if that fuel line had burned through. The one thing that could make me jump in the water from my never-sink Wahoo offshore would be a major fire onboard. What if I'd been offshore 20-30 miles when it happened, as I had planned that day? What if I'd been alone (as I had also planned) with no one else to spot the smoking hydraulics before it really blazed up?
Re-checking my fire extinguisher and PLB and my ditch bag. Finding a better place to secure my trolling plugs.
Paying for minor repairs instead of a burned out boat.
Counting my blessings.
We paddled back to the dock, and I counted all the ways this could have gone from a minor mishap to a majorly dangerous bad day. The fire that could have happened if that fuel line had burned through. The one thing that could make me jump in the water from my never-sink Wahoo offshore would be a major fire onboard. What if I'd been offshore 20-30 miles when it happened, as I had planned that day? What if I'd been alone (as I had also planned) with no one else to spot the smoking hydraulics before it really blazed up?
Re-checking my fire extinguisher and PLB and my ditch bag. Finding a better place to secure my trolling plugs.
Paying for minor repairs instead of a burned out boat.
Counting my blessings.
Glad you saw it before it was too late and got back safely. 