I haven't ever had a day like this. I was going to help out a couple of friend's of mine catch bait for a fishing tournament they're in tomorrow. I meet the owner of the boat where he keeps it, and I leave my truck there, and we ride to the ramp in his F-350. We get there and meet up with my other friend. We splash the boat in the water and we go to start the engines and the starters barely kick on. This is where it all starts. My friend has one of those jumper packs in his car so he runs and grabs it. He doesn't even know how it works and we never get it too. Next I run to the guys truck and grab an extra battery out of the bed and a set of jumpers. We attach that and still nothing. I remembered that I have a battery at my house, which is only a little over a mile away, so my friend and I hop in his car and go grab it. We put the jumpers on it and still nothing. The owner's had enough so we turn the boat around and drag it engines first into the ramp until they hit. He goes and hops in his truck and drives it truck first down the ramp so he can jump his battery to the boat. He slowly brings it down until the fan is splashing water every where and stops it. The only problem is the truck won't stay unless he keeps his foot on the brake. He tries to back it out, but all he ends up doing is smoking his tires. He can't move, and nobody's at the ramp to help us. I tell my friend to give me his keys so I could go get my truck. I run and get his car, Toyota Celica, and rush over to get the F-150. This car didn't have any power. I grab my truck, driving like a mad man, when I get a call saying they cleaned the ramp, and deflated the tires and manged to jump the engines, and get the truck backed out. It was good news, but I was a little upset I wouldn't get the chance to pull him out. We got enough bait and they're going to start fishing a midnight.

This was all in saltwater, and mysteriously the guys F-350 looked almost identical to Zaairman's super duty. Interesting.

 

Haven't been around boats much have you?

Any boat owner knows that thats just how it goes occasionally. We've all been there or atleast in similar situaiton. EVERYONE has been at the ramp and thier boat not start...... It's just the nature of the beast. You cant use an engine only once a week or so let is sti all winter and expect it to be good everytime. Boat engines and batteryies have the hardest life. The averag boats expected life span is 15 years, in that 15 years the average boat only has 280 hours on it.... thats less than a total of 2 weeks of use in 15 years.

Let me ask you this though....
If you had a good battery that you brought down and tried to jump....... why didnt you just put that battery in the boat for teh trourney? Or put it in, start it then switch it out and let it charge the orginal dead battery, while keeping yours in there and a wrench incase you need it once out there?

 

I've been around boat's all my life, but I've been relatively lucky so this was a little more hectic. Tuesday I had to rewire my batteries so I could take mine out. Believe me I've seen plenty of "events" with boats.

The batteries were good, but they just weren't powerful to turn over a 225 Mercury. Once they were running the original batteries charged right up.

 

If your battery was good then it would have started it if it was installed inplace of the dead one. Then once started could have switched them back while it was still running.