Two lessions learned.

[ajp]

1. There is a reason that we have wire brushes and red battery terminal spray.

2. There may be enough power through a corroded terminal to provide lights but not enough to trip the main solenoid on a motor making it seem dead.

At least I figured it out myself. Too bad it took 24 hours and a tow

 

[JVM225]

I'll give you a third one.
Always keep a can of WD 40 aboard. A good spritz of it on a crudded up connection will usually clean things up enough to get you started and get you home when you don't have the light, tools, or other means to clean things up out on the water.
I also spray down all connections I can get to as part of my winterization process, and once or twice a season when I'm puttering around on the boat looking to tinker with things.

 

[walterv]

You learned something today!!!! It was a GOOD DAY

PS
Duct tape is another great thing to always have on a boat

 

[Tommyfmu]

...and any metal tool with an isolated handle such as pliers or screwdriver...to short the solenoid terminals to get the engine going in a pinch...had to use that technique over the weekend, after successfully having to do it once last year.

 

[pdecat]

many battery and running isues can be solved as you described but it seems too obscure for folks to see.

 

[CurrentSea]

Why were you towed? They couldn't jumpstart it?

 

[ajp]

We both thought it was the motor that crapped out as all accessories were working fine and lights did not dim when trying to turnover motor. Hint should have been that the power trim was out too. Realized that I should check battery connections after 24 hours although did think to "jiggle" them a little when suck. Just not enough jiggle alan