Last week we bought a new pontoon boat, not NEW NEW but new to us.  The guy told us everything worked perfectly…suuure it does.  

On Saturday we made some sandwiches loaded the cooler with snacks and headed down to the lake.  We fought the spring break launch madness and finally it was our turn to back the boat in.  I backed in, jumped out to start it and then go park it and guess what, I couldn’t keep it running.  I used the choke, I used the lever thingy, I revved the engine – I did everything I know to do.  I climb out and go tell Duane “You’re doing it wrong”.  I climb back in the boat and try again.  NOTHING.  I go back to Duane “Let’s go”.  I pull the boat out and we head home.  Once we get home I get him out of the car and climb into the boat to show him what was happening.  (Everyone that knows Duane knows that he thought it was user error, so everyone that knows me knows how happy I was when it still wouldn’t start! )  We work on it for about a hour and are convinced that when we go out on Sunday it will start.  We end up eating our picnic in the back yard.

Sunday morning bright and early we pack up our breakfast burritos and bloody marys and head back to the lake.  Back the boat in, climb into the boat and try to start it again, and again, and again.  Once again we were unable to get it to start.  Obviously pissed off he tells me to get in the car and go home.  This time he was so mad he didn’t even want to work on it.  We once again went to the backyard and ate our picnic in dead silence because Duane was so upset that he isn’t able to work on the motor.

After a lot tears and frustrated finger pointing his BFF Rhett showed up and helped us.  he flushed the carburetors and then we took the boat back out.  Having the extra person with us made it so I could stay with Duane and make sure he was ok and Rhett could slam the boat in reverse and just go for it!  

We had a great evening on the pontoon cruising through the canal, laughing at spring breakers and ending it by running out of gas – fuel leak!

– xoxo Victoria