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Maybe practicing with that family what you would do if the engine stops would make everyone feel more secure. On my boat our 3 and 6 year old have a specific place they are supposed to sit during docking, tricky maneuvers, or during an emergency. They know to sit and wait for instructions. If my engine quit and I couldn't quickly get some sail out, I would put my wife on the helm and go forward to drop the anchor. I think practicing this would help everyone remain calm since they would know what to do. If they remain calm they will probably realize they are not in grave danger.
It sounds like you have more work to do. The starter not engaging properly should be fixed. It's totally unrelated to the engine stopping, and in my opinion is a safety issue itself.
While working through a maintenance checklist is a good idea for general upkeep, it's not a great approach to trouble shooting. You would be better served knowing why the engine stopped in the first place. That way you can be sure the problem is fix and wont return. A contaminated fuel tank is a good theory here, but you need to further investigate the tank and see if that's true. If so it needs to be cleaned. Also, you could install a vacuum gauge on the primary fuel filter. That way you would know for sure when it's getting dirty or clogged.
If you have a borderline fuel connection somewhere and your filter clogs, you likely will pull such a vacuum on the system that you will start sucking air and the motor could just quit suddenly. If your connections are top notch, you may notice a low power condition before it quits.
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