My Vermont Experience: The Flying Motor

In my family’s Vermont house, we have two boats. We have a speed boat meant for pleasure cruises and water-skiing and we have a second boat meant for fishing. The fishing boat or the “little boat” as we call it, is a simple aluminum boat with a twenty horsepower outboard motor. Because my brother and I were the first ones to the house this summer, we were responsible for putting both boats in the water. The little boat is usually turned over and left in the woods during the winter months and we store the little boat motor in a safe, indoor facility.
On the day I chose to put the little boat in the water, the lake was especially choppy. There was a strong north wind and the waves were big. Still, the process is not too difficult and with a little help, I had the motor attached to the boat and I was taking the boat on a test drive. Now the little boat was very old and the wooden frame on the back of the boat, which holds the motor, had been deteriorating for years. The boat should have been replaced years beforehand but most of the family, me in particular, had grown much attached to it. For me at least, the boat held countless fond memories of my childhood. It was these memories that I was pondering with a smile as I took the old trusty little boat for its annual test drive. Suddenly, the boat hit a big wave and my left arm, which was gripping and steering the motor, was forced high into the air. I quickly turned around to see the little boat’s outboard motor 2 feet in the air, completely detached from the boat. This was not good. Apparently, the little boat’s wooden frame was so week that it could no longer support the heavy motor. Now, I had an extremely sharp propeller violently turning out of the water about 3 feet from my face. Needless to say I was terrified. My right arm instinctively came around and I grabbed the top of the motor, holding it up with all my strength as I tried to find some way to hit the stop button. Luckily, I was able to lean the motor on the little boat and shut the propeller off without cutting any of my limbs off. I pulled the motor into the boat and sighed at the thought of the long, motor less trip back to the dock.