I have one to share,but I'll wait to see what you guys come up with.
Please share something you accomplished that's not in your normal "Wheelhouse" where you averted danger and/or extreme loss or expense and might showcase your quick thinking and creativity.

You go first......

I think i have told this story before but back in my jetski days a group of us just launched and were out monkeying around when my ski suddenly just died...crank but no start. Got towed in popped the hatch and was greeted to a carb sitting on its side with one screw holding it loosely in place the other sheered in half. Not even 30min into the day and it was over for me! I told my buds to continue their day and ill just sit on the beach and watch the girls and get a tan...no sense in ruining everyone's day. well that lasted about 20min when i was bored off my but and started thinking....walked over to the truck and took a look at what i had on hand....walked over to the marina just to see if there happened to be any mechanics working but there were not....but the store was open. So i bought a tube of black RTV and went to the truck got my zip ties and a few tools and went back to the beach....took the carb off and smeared RTV on both sides of mating surfaces....waited like 5-10 min for it to skin over slightly then took the good bolt to start aligning the carb onto the manifold....zip ties in strategic places to hold the other side down..then crank down the main main bolt and i just let it sit for another 15-20 min to try and cure....at least that's how long i had the patience to wait for it to dry. Buttoned it up cranked her over and bam! was back on the water and finished the day off the guys all thought i found a bolt at the marina untill they saw what i had done...not i still get razzed about it and they all laugh to this day but hey i saved my day!

there was another time i was in LOTO for a holiday weekend and there was a playboy cig at the dock just getting going for dinner that night. He was having an issue with his main white nav light on the deck not working.....i think it may have even been an OSO member if memory serves me right....anyway i was talking with them and said let me take a quick look....pulled the stalk and found the holes in the stalk were wobbled out a little and it would make intermittent contact as it moved around. Some quick thinking i pulled out some bubble gum wrapper (wrigleys with the aluminum wrapping) and tore off a piece and stuffed it into the hole...got it back together a whala! worked like a charm. I told him he would need to have this fixed but should last him for at least tonight if not the weekend.....never followed up with him but i assume it worked out good

We used to have a deal here called "ski day" very popular on the river... buddy had just gotten a 26ft deck boat so i thought what the heck - met em at the boat ramp and hopped in... there is a dam to lock through and we get in the lock an are almost out - belts start squealing a bit - raise the hatch "hit the bilge pump now"... shes taking on water - we exit lock and get on plane and head to the beach - walked the beach and found some broads with wine on board. Used cork and fattened it up with a hammer and drove it in the plug hole.

NEVER FOUND THE PLUG. We were Very lucky.

I carry 2 on board all my rigs now and have them safety'd on leashes.



2nd one isnt really too bad but could have been - running back to marathon from key west races in 2018... pretty rough but stayin on top and stayin dry.

Center console has a pullout shower / sink / bait station behind captains seat. Shower hose is metal snake like material fairly long

I smell somethin hot / burnin .... this line has jumped up and laid across 2 sets of battery terminals and looks like a lightbulb filament.

i made a bucket and trimmed it so the hose can only wrap up and go in the bucket now nearly air tight ! Haha.

Once again very lucky

Fun times.

Guys,

Not sure how much of a "MacGuyver" moment, but...

Took a buddy and his two kids out on the water several years ago in our old Rinker. We had just pulled up on a plane and out into open water when the engine just died; like you'd turned off the key. I had no idea what had happened, but I couldn't even get it to crank; all ignition was dead. I noticed the breaker button had popped out, so I pushed it in, and it stuck. I hit the key and it started. So off we went. Again, just up on a plane and a couple hundred feet and it died again; breaker popped out. Opened the hatch, start looking around, can't find anything. Sit there for several minutes trying to find a cause. I even pulled the dash panel to see if I could find an issue back there. Nothing. We finally give up and wave down a tow. While we've being towed, I continue looking at wiring here and there. Then I see it. I had been tinkering with something the week before and had apparently not buttoned up one of the wires, and it had gotten against the exhaust manifold, which then melted through the insulation and was grounding out. The boat had been through a lot of hands prior to our ownership and, seemingly, everybody had worked on the wiring in some way. The wiring was a mess, even if functional. I have no idea what the wire was for, but it was popping the breaker. After proving that it was the culprit by resetting the breaker and intentionally making contact, popping the breaker, I zip-tied it out of trouble and fired the engine up. After untying and thanking the family that had offered the tow, we spent the rest of the day beating the crap out of the kids on the tube. They all thought I was some kind of god after that. I'm pretty sure the zip-tie is still in place.

Thanks. Brad.

I have two.

#1. My buddy and I took my new to me 24’ twin OB Sonic to a holiday party at a cove in the middle of an island in the middle of the Detroit River.
(I swear!)

The boat was rough when I bought it but I put several hrs on it at the local pond before trusting it for that trip.

After 3 days of mayhem we left the cove into some of the worst water I’ve ever seen on Lake Erie!

Other party attendees tried to get us to take cab back to the tow pig and come get the boat but would have made for a long ****ty say.

So 5 mins into idling out of the cove, the port motor dies and will not restart.
Cranked but no start.

Tracked to a brittle and cracked squeeze bulb in line on the fuel line.

Easy solution would be to remove the squeeze bulb and splint the fuel line back together.

But what to use for a splint???

Found a Bic pen in the glove box, left from the previous owner!

Removed the ink tube and jammed the outter tube into the fuel line ends.

Perfect fit!

Got really lucky and tucked in behind a big Searay and followed it all the way home!

#2. Back in my boat dealer mechanic days, I replaced the 460 Ford in a customers Taylor Jet boat.

Was a smart customer and had me replace all hoses while the motor was out.

When completed I did a sea trial w/the owner of the dealership on our favorite test pond.

Fired and ran perfect to our favorite waterfront pub where we had lunch.
It was work but why not make it fun?

I left the lounge lid/engine cover of so I could watch for leaks etc.

Theres a large no wake zone in the middle of the lake and when we dropped off plane approaching it, I looked back to ck the motor and the harmonic balance was throwing a 5’ rooster tail into the air!

I checked everything before leaving after lunch and all was good.

Had the boss drive while I snooped.

Was a foot of water in the bilge but couldn’t tell where it was coming from.

After a short time it was clear that it was a continuous leak and was coming in fast.

I made an executive decision and put my foot on the floor and headed for the trailer!

Byproduct of this was pissing off everyone else in the No Wake zone, evidenced by, multiple middle fingers!

I looked back to see the now, 2’ of water under the motor!

Leak was bad enough that the weight was slowing us down to about 30 mph and continued to slow!

I changed course and aimed for the beach.

When we got close, I had the boss stand up and yell at the swimmers to get out of the way!

They looked at us like we were crazing until realizing I was coming in!

They all ran like hell while waving their arms in the air,and I drove between them and put the damn thing on the beach!

When we hit the beach, all the water, empty beer cans, and the 6” x 9” speakers out of the seat base slammed against the windshield!

I had the boss throw all the empties under the bow before the man showed up.

Which he did, 5 mins later!

I knew the build quality of that boat was crap so had my story ready.

Johnny law showed up to see what the hell is going, w/our boat laying on its side, 20’ from the water, on his beach!

I told him our story and who we were (mechanic testing customers boat) and pointed to the fuel tank bolts that actually went through the bottom, from the factory!
(I checked another 20’ Taylor and it was the same!)

The cop shakes his head and says, get that piece of shhhiit off my beach and don’t ever bring it back and walks away!

The punch line was my bosses angst about if we should tell the customer!

He was a very large, urban fella (who paid in cash &#128521 who I reminded my boss, cruised that lake looking for non-urban women.

I volunteered to tell him.
(we got along great and taught me his line, when cruising for chicks, “never take a fish fishin!”

So the boss is mysteriously absent day customer picked up boat and he brought a friend!
Who was also a very large, intimidating urban fella.

I tell him/them the story and that I tracked it down to two OEM hoses, under the jet pump that I missed.

He laughed his Assss off!

I told him about the boss and that all I could think of was him taking his boat to the same lake and someone asking him if that was the boat they saw on the beach!

(sorry for the long stories, I don’t have any short ones!)

PS, I predict this becoming a huge thread!

Great idea!