i pushed 24 volts to my starter by accident the other day and it was turning then some smoke! now all i hear is clicking. is it a good chance i have to replace my starter or should i just take it in to have it looked at by a outboard mechanic. ordering and putting on the starter myself will be a lot cheaper, but wanted everybody's opinion if this is the right decision. thanks!

doesn't look too good...electrical things just won't work without their smoke, and once the smoke escapes it's nearly impossible to put it back in.

starters are usually bolt-off/bolt-on. Slight possibility it could be rebuilt -- that's a lot cheaper than new, just look for a starter/alternator rebuild shop in your area.

Don't rule out the possibility that the solenoid burned up & saved the starter. couple ways to figure it out...measure the voltage at the starter motor terminal with key turned to "start" -- if you get 12V (plus or minus half a volt or so) then the starter is bad; but if there's no voltage at the starter and the solenoid is clicking, replace the solenoid. No voltmeter, you can always just use a jumper cable to power the starter directly from the battery -- just be prepared for a spark shower.

I won't even ask about how it happened..........

almost forgot: once you get it running, ya might want to make sure your battery is still charging, on the chance that you blew out the rectifier -- kinda doubt it though.