How a Shrewd Fix Prevented a Boat Stranding

Sometimes, survival means sticking things where they don’t belong. Weird? Maybe. But trust me—this trick just might save your life.

Over 30 years ago, back when I was a teenager, my buddies and I ditched school and headed to Everglades National Park in search of snook and redfish in the backcountry. It was a perfect South Florida winter day, and we were fired up.

It was 1990—there were no such things as cell phones and no GPS. The GPS existed, but it was expensive and only spit out coordinates, which would not have helped us much anyway. Either way, we sure as heck didn’t have one.

We ran a 1972 17-foot Mako powered by an old Johnson 115 outboard that had seen more work than Donatella Versace. But hey—it ran… sometimes. We’d put in the effort to make it look like a flats skiff, and if you squinted really hard, it sort of did. That boat gave me the freedom to fish and dive all over the state, and to top it off, we were probably the only 15- and 16-year-olds who had a boat and were actually allowed to take it out on our own.

So, we made our way to Chokoloskee Island—a wild place today, but even wilder back then. I’ve got plenty of stories about that place, but I’ll save those for another time. We launched the boat and ran deep into the backcountry, heading for a remote creek I’d spotted on a chart. The ride was about an hour through some of the toughest water you’ll ever navigate—oyster bars, rocks, sandbars, and downed trees lurking everywhere. Even with today’s high-tech equipment, hitting something out there is a real possibility.

After a few hours of exploring and fishing, we started working our way back. We caught some small snook and ladyfish, but I had another idea. I suggested we stop at a tarpon spot I’d found a while back, and everyone was on board.

Not even five minutes into cruising, we heard a loud BANG—and lost power.

Cue the choice words. Lots of them.

Since I had the most mechanical knowledge (not saying much), I popped off the cowling to assess the situation. Thankfully, I was taking marine mechanics in school, so I had some idea of what I was looking at. And let’s be honest—this was before engines got so fancy.

It didn’t take long to find the problem. My buddy’s dad (rest his soul) had a habit of avoiding real mechanics, instead relying on a mobile “mechanic”—a title I still question to this day.

Well, a while back, this guy “fixed” a problem with one of the heads by installing a Heli-coil. Turns out, the fix didn’t hold. The Heli-coil shot out, taking the spark plug with it, leaving us with no compression and a cylinder down.

So there we were, deep in the Everglades backcountry on a weekday, with no cell phone, no way to summon help, and no chance of another boat passing by. We did have a VHF radio, but being so far from the ramp, we were on our own.

We tore through the toolkit and hatches looking for a solution—and came up empty. That’s when I had a thought; I glanced over at the mangroves and saw a bunch of propagules hanging.

If you don’t know what those are, they look like thick, green beans. The motor couldn’t hold compression, so I figured—why not jam one in the hole? It was a long shot, but if it worked, we might be able to limp home on two cylinders instead of floating out there waiting for the gators to start circling.

After a couple of failed attempts, I got one to fit snug enough to hold.

It Worked!

There was no one on board more shocked than me. It was like Wile E. Coyote finally getting his Acme rocket to work and actually catching Road Runner.

We limped back to the dock, avoiding what could have been a full-blown rescue operation.

So now, if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, remember—your solution might be sticking something where it really doesn’t belong.

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• This story was featured in the May 2025 issue of Florida Sportsman magazine. Click to subscribe.

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