Been there, done that, long time ago. 1980 the boss and I blast out of the launch at Conger Bay Drive and head to Metro to meet up with some friends. About 1/4 mile short of Metro the engine stalls, and no restart. Until that time the fuel guage has worked fine, it still showed 1/2 tank, but both were empty
After taking turns paddling I decide enough is enough and jump out and start swiiming behind the boat, pushing it a lot faster than we were paddling. I got it over to the seawall just about the time the people we were meeting showed up.
Fuel gauges don't work so well when the ground wire is disconnected