Dumbest things!

[Hydro Junkie]

I can't compete with the CA stories either. My worst one was running my first boat in Blackfoot Idaho. I stopped at the store to buy batteries and headed for the lake. Upon arrival, I unpacked everything, fueled up the boat and installed new batteries in the transmitter. All was looking good at this point, boat was starting to get up and I felt it was time to turn the boat just to keep it close, then it happened. The boat started to turn and then......nothing. NO throttle, no rudder and a pile of rocks directly in the boats path. All I could do is watch as it hit the pile of rocks at close to full throttle, breaking the boat in half. For some strange reason, the boat was deflected back toward the beach I was standing on with the engine still running. It ended up beaching itself 10 feet away, making retrieval easy. I found the drive shaft had held the boat together enough to get it back and AFTER I changed the receiver batteries found that even the soaked radio gear still worked. After a sad 15 miles home, all I could do is strip out the radio and running gear and trash the hull

 

[Ron Olson]

I sure can't beat Kentley's but nice to know that even the most highly respected guys in here can do the same things that we without years of expertise can do!

I've done a lot of the above, grabbed the wrong TX's and hooked up the glow ignitor to 12 volts on my power panel.

On my OB tunnels I put pressure fittings on the lower unit to grease the cable. After filling the tank from the carb line, I hooked up the fuel line to the grease fitting then wondered why it wouldn't start.

Sealing up the radio box on my 7.5 OB tunnel I noticed a little piece of green wire sticking out of the bag that the RX was wrapped in. Not really thinking anything about it I got the boat fired up while my son had the TX. I launched it then he yelled that he had no control! The boat flew across the pond, missing the channel to the river but going airborne over the embankment into the river. I had to chase it downstream in my little inflatable stroke boat. I learned 2 things that day. One, the green wire was what was left of an FM RX wire and two, rivers move a lot faster than they look.

 

[TCHedOff]

I'll offer one (though I've done so many I now wear a "Gilligan" hat to the club races!).

When running on the lake behind the house, we have a sandy beach area, so on hot summer days, I like to wade in a couple feet to stay cool. Neigbors had some friends w/kids over and they were watching my boat w/fascination. So I move down by them for the next run and wade out. After a lap or so I take a step deeper into the water and into a mucky hole and sink up to my knee. Off balance and trying not to fall in, I yank my stuck leg back... so hard that I fall over backwards into the water. Managed to keep the receiver up, but at one point that was the ONLY thing above water. I was squeezing the throttle WOT during all this.... THEN I remembered my boat.... it had already run into some bulrushes and died. Snapped a boom tube....

 

[TERMINATOR]

I'll offer one (though I've done so many I now wear a "Gilligan" hat to the club races!).

When running on the lake behind the house, we have a sandy beach area, so on hot summer days, I like to wade in a couple feet to stay cool. Neigbors had some friends w/kids over and they were watching my boat w/fascination. So I move down by them for the next run and wade out. After a lap or so I take a step deeper into the water and into a mucky hole and sink up to my knee. Off balance and trying not to fall in, I yank my stuck leg back... so hard that I fall over backwards into the water. Managed to keep the receiver up, but at one point that was the ONLY thing above water. I was squeezing the throttle WOT during all this.... THEN I remembered my boat.... it had already run into some bulrushes and died. Snapped a boom tube....

man am i glad i have never done anything dumb, just always people doing it to me ...lol...todd remember next time man ..kill the boat.

tk