LT. COL. RICHARD HAMBY
Joint Force Headquarters
Arkansas Army National Guard
North Little Rock, Arkansas
I grew up in southern Arkansas fishing backwater lakes for pan fish, crappie, smallmouth bass and catfish. As a youngster, I cut my teeth on several different aluminum jon boats my dad owned over the years. These early boats had a few things in common: they were all 14 feet long, narrow and equipped with a small outboard motor. Fast forward several years and I was looking to purchase my first fishing boat. I opted for a shorter but wider model than I grew up with, settling on a 12-foot-long, 36-inch-wide jon boat. Being a red-blooded, southern-American male, it should be no surprise that I also purchased the largest outboard motor rated for the boat. The salesman offered to have the outboard set up and mounted — for a small fee, of course — but I declined. After all, I grew up in a jon boat and had changed out outboard motors dozens of times.
The next day was a bluebird, mid-April morning in Arkansas. I mounted the outboard on my new boat, checked the fluids and headed out for the water. After I launched the boat into the Red River, I checked the engine throttle and worked my way through shifting gears. I then headed up river so I could float back down to the boat ramp if I encountered any issues. Right away I noticed each time I rolled the throttle up on the tiller arm to increase acceleration, the front of the boat would rise up higher than expected. In fact, it was high enough that it blocked my view of where I was going. As the boat picked up speed, however, the front leveled without issue.
I continued up river, stopping from time to time to inspect the boat and enjoy the day. Each time I started again, the front of the boat rose up and blocked my view before leveling out again. I traveled about two miles to the low-water dam, where I turned the boat around, opened the throttle wide open and headed back down river.
I was flying (actually I was only running about 15 mph, but in a 12-foot boat it seemed much faster) down the middle of the river with the wind in my face. The only thing in the water was the outboard’s propeller — at least that’s what it felt like. The river was relatively smooth and the boat was skipping along, the front bouncing lightly off the water. I was the only one out and it was great. Continuing down river, I turned the boat with the bend and into the wind. That’s when it happened.
Without warning, a strong gust of wind lifted the front of the boat straight up and, in a blink of an eye, I was looking at blue sky. The boat spun 90 degrees before the front end dropped and I realized I was headed straight for the river bank still running wide open. I had enough time to release the tiller arm, grab the sides of the boat and hang on for dear life.
Fortunately, in this area, the muddy river bank gently sloped upward. As the boat slid halfway up the bank, I hurdled the seats and landed in the mud. As I stood there in front of my boat, I took a few minutes to survey the situation. The boat and motor were both OK, and, luckily, so was I. I’d dodged a bullet. I eased the boat back into the water, cinched up my life jacket, hooked the outboard’s kill switch tether line to my belt loop and continued down river — this time at a much slower speed. Once I reached the boat landing, I loaded up and headed home.
On this day, a lot of little issues aligned to create a dangerous situation. I’d set up the outboard motor improperly, which created a downward force on the back of the boat and rose the front end. As the boat bounced off the water, an unexpected wind gust lifted the front end ever higher, sending me out of control into the river bank. It was the classic Swiss cheese model of accident causation.
The moral of this story is there is a right way to set up an outboard motor, even on small jon boats. Make sure to read your outboard owner’s manual to ensure you set up yours properly. In case you didn’t know, the cavitation plate, that horizontal fin just above the propeller, should be mounted to the lower unit of the boat. In addition, wear an appropriate U.S. Coast Guard-certified life jacket any time you go out on the water and ensure you attach the outboard’s kill switch tether cable to your person. Most importantly, always operate your boat responsibly. If you’re one of those people who is less concerned about proper setup, I recommend you carry along a small shovel in your boat. It will come in handy when you have to dig your tennis shoes out of the sticky mud. Boat safely!