Hit bottom on Maiden Voyage!

[TwoBallScrewBall]

The prop doesn't "unwind". There is a rubber bushing in the hub, and it is designed to slip and spin on an impact. The prop should stay on the boat, it will just be unable to push you since the rubber hub 'breaks'. <br /><br />Was there anything at all left on the prop shaft? Bolt? Pin? Prop Hub? If not, something wasn't secured properly, likely there was no cotter pin in the king nut.

 

[krasavage]

Hit bottom on Maiden Voyage!

Am new to boating and would appreciate some help. Hit bottom in shallow water today on our first trip out and spun the prop off. So I'm just getting over the fact that my $550 stainless steel turbo prop is resting peacefully at the bottom of the Fox River but am now wondering what to do about the "bite" that was taken out of the vertical "fin" below the prop (please let me know what this part of the lower unit is called). It is actually just like a small child took a bite out of it and there are several other smaller gouges along the edge. My quesion is: (1) will this impact performance at all? and (2) what are the options for repair? The boat launch manager indicated that it could easily be welded and returned to like new. Is this true? About how much does that cost? Thanks very much in advance for your help.

 

[QC]

Re: Hit bottom on Maiden Voyage!

Bummer dude. Been there. We've probably all been there . . .<br /><br />First it is called the skeg.<br /><br />I have filed mine down before and made it very smooth without welding. I doubt that there was any difference with performance and it looked pretty good too. I have seen a welded unit that was very good. I'll have to leave it to others for the cost. And there is a deal you can buy thgat covers it called Skeg Guard. Personally, I think the right way is the weld, but a nice file job can look fine with a little paint.

 

[project hunter]

Re: Hit bottom on Maiden Voyage!

First lets find out why you lost your prop in the first place. Did it have a cotter pin in it and was the nut and washer torqued down? Did you put it on or did someone else? The prop shaft itself is still there right? Yes you can repair your "skeg" by getting it welded and painted however it probably wont effect how the boat runs anyhow. Then there is always a product called skeg guard I have never used one but it might not be a bad option. I would also get a depth finder if you dont have one.

 

[krasavage]

Re: Hit bottom on Maiden Voyage!

Thanks for the quick replies. Regarding why I lost the prop in the first place: The prop was properly secured with the bolt and retaining washer (with three tabs bent down). I was told that if the prop is prevented from turning and in order to prevent the engine/transmission from damage, the prop will "spin off" meaning the bolt simply is wound off by the torque of the engine. This seems to be what happened because there was no damage at all to the shaft or threads. But it does seem like there should be some sort of retaining device so that if the prop "unwinds", it remains attached to the lower drive for retrieval. I do have a depth finder and depth was OK..found out later that they have not yet put all the bouys (sp?) along the river to mark the schoals. <br /><br />Regarding filing, it would be too much filing to make the entire edge even with the depth of the "bite" that was taken out.<br /><br />I'll look into the skeg guard thing.

 

[dka1ser]

Re: Hit bottom on Maiden Voyage!

I agree with the proj. hunter. Props don't just fall off because they hit something. You lose a chunk or hte whole blade, break off the prop shaft, something, they're designed to slip around the rubber prop hub when they hit something underwater. Only time i have ever lost a prop is when the cotter pin sheared off because I was a moron and reused it (it was brass too!) and presto, everything fell off in the lake. Needlesstosay I learned that one the hard way and use SS pins on the Johnson OB, and replace the nut/star washer every season on the Mercruisers. <br /><br />If you lost the prop, then how the heck did the prop nut and star washer fall off? <br /><br />I bent the fool out of a skeg at the ramp pulling it out one day, and had a new one welded on at the marina, I forget the cost, but it wasn't unreasonable..

 

[krasavage]

Re: Hit bottom on Maiden Voyage!

I'll check my prop shaft but I don't think there is a hole for a cotter pin. The outdrive is a Mercruiser Alpha 1 Gen II. I just pulled out the owner's manual and it shows the following: prop shaft: thrust hub first (stepped side towards hub), then Flo-TorqueII drive hub (fits inside hub side of prop), then prop, then drive sleeve adapter (fits in outside of prop and has the notches that the tab washer is bent into), then tab washer (shaped like nut so when nut is tightened against it, they turn together), then nut. Doesn't show a cotter pin. So the concept that was explained to me is that if the prop is stuck and will not spin, and the prop shaft continues to turn (because engine is in gear and driving), the thin metal tabs on the tab washer will bend allowing the nut to simply unscrew itself which then allows the prop to slide off the shaft.<br /><br />I guess there's a chance the prop wasn't tightened down enough to start with and hitting the bottom caused it to spin all rest of the way off? I can't imagine it was loose. I watched the prior owner (very knowledgeable) install it myself using a prop wrench.

 

[krasavage]

Re: Hit bottom on Maiden Voyage!

The only thing left on the hub was the "thrust hub" which is the first thing that slides on the shaft and is a large washer sort of thing that has one end tapered slightly (so it only goes on one way). <br /><br />Again, there is no cotter pin indicated in the operators manual in the parts breakout diagram. And if there was, what would the purpose of the tab washer be? <br /><br />The "rubber bushing" you are referring to is probably what is listed as the "flow-torqueII drive hub (inserts in the hub side or "front" - side facing front of boat - side of prop). However, this is steel and has steel ridges that line up with matching steel grooves inside the hub of the prop so that they turn in unison. There is nothing rubber.

 

[project hunter]

Re: Hit bottom on Maiden Voyage!

Okay the reason those tabs bend over the prop nut is to lock the nut down the washer has groves in it so that it doesnt spin in turn the tabs will keep the nut from turning. I have seen your drive set up before and no I dont think it uses a cotter pin it uses these tabs we have been talking about. Now what prop do you plan on using to replace the old one?

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: Hit bottom on Maiden Voyage!

NSR210,<br />I am with the others, the prop should not "spin off" I would look further into that. As for the skeg, I knicked mine several years back and went the Skeg Guard route. Works great and looks good.

 

[Purebreed]

Re: Hit bottom on Maiden Voyage!

NSR210<br />Are you doing your boating on the Chain o lakes in Illinois. If you are there are many problematic spots to watch for. The river has hidden sand bars that can do a lot more damage to your boat than you have done already. IMHO there is no way you broke your prop off. It was not installed correctly. Having the skeg welded on is a typical repair and will be as good as new. I would be more than happy to give you some pointers on places to avoid that look very safe.<br />Purebreed

 

[mercrewser]

Re: Hit bottom on Maiden Voyage!

There is no cotter pin, I cant imagine how a propeller could come off a Merc drive. Propellers are not designed to come off. Usually when they come off from hitting submerged objects, they take the hole lower gearset and chunks of aluminum housing with them. Most Propellers have a rubber hub to absorb strike impacts. Be sure you have a maintenance manual for this engine before you use the boat and make sure you read and understand most of it, if you havent already. This will save you money, time, and lots of migraines.

 

[tommays]

Re: Hit bottom on Maiden Voyage!

this is one of the reasons i prefer alumiumun props at about 25% of the cost it hurts much less and its less likely to damage the drive gears in a hard hit<br /><br /><br />for some reason i find the bottom with my prop depth finder several times a year<br /><br /><br />tommays

 

[ddaigle]

Re: Hit bottom on Maiden Voyage!

I did not think you could spin off a prop either. But it seems if you reverse hard with a stuck prop you can. Did you try to reverse off the obstruction? A guy here spun the prop off his honda outboard reversing at high power while stuck in the sand. No other damage, just no prop. Depending on direction of shaft rotation forward will tighten the nut on the shaft, reverse will loosen it or vice versa after you destroy the rubber hub.

 

[robandking]

Re: Hit bottom on Maiden Voyage!

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...001&langId=-1&catalogId=10001&productId=91928 <br /><br />If you do any boating in potential shallows, you should add this to you outdrive, depending how big of "bite" you lost, this might even cover that...Good Luck.

 

[wake5150]

Re: Hit bottom on Maiden Voyage!

SKEG: My dad ripped his ENTIRE SKEG off his outdrive and had a new one welded on. I don't remember how much it cost, but I think it was pretty cheap.<br /><br />The Point: When I went to check it out, it looked brand NEW! This is definitely the best option, I wouldn't bother with patches, have it welded!

 

[jeff13601]

Re: Hit bottom on Maiden Voyage!

After you get it fixed spend ten dollars and get maps of the areas that you are going to be boating. It sounds like you got out of it pretty good though. Study these maps and learn the shoals, rocks etc. Trust me when I tell you it could have been a lot worse.

 

[bigbrownbuku]

Re: Hit bottom on Maiden Voyage!

never ever seen a prop spin off. sounds like baloney to me. especially with a flo torque hub. with that impact it would have shattered and had no drive. at the worst.

 

[tommays]

Re: Hit bottom on Maiden Voyage!

even if you did not use the lock ring the last piece on the flow torque hub is on the splines and cant turn to move the nut<br /><br />tommays

 

[ddaigle]

Re: Hit bottom on Maiden Voyage!

New boater, probably couldnt get out of throttle very fast. Hit something hard and fast enough to destroy rubber hub allowing prop to slide back on hub and tilt, catch nut and spin it off, regardless of locking mechanism, nut gone ,whole assembly slides off. No prop.