Out on the James last night, i hit a log or something. I dont think i was realy even plained out, i was just slowly cruising, then BOOM! Motor is free revving and i throttle down. Never saw it coming or going. Throttle back up and everything seems normal. Pull the boat out and check the prop and sure enough the tips are bent.

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...cat/500/page/1

Should the prop be replaced (i already have a spare), can i bend it back into shape (had to ask), or is it no big deal and just keep running it untill the river totally destroys it?

Heres an overall pic https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...cat/500/page/1

The scratches are from a minor bump on sat.

Also, anybody know if the motor kicked up when i hit that log? Isnt it supposed to if you really hit something? All i know is the motor free revved untill i throttled down and i thought i had lost the prop. I didnt see it happen though. What ever I hit shook the crap out of me and the boat. It was more than likely a large log because i found wood fragments jammed into some holes in the lower unit.

Heres a pic of the boat for your enjoyment
https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...cat/500/page/1

All pics are pending approval as of 4:30pm Mon.

Thanks for any advice guys -Jake

 

DZLPWR;

Take the prop to a shop that specializes in props. They will be able to straighten out the blades, take all the minor dings and scratches out and then they will balance it. Don't try to straighten it out yourself, you run the risk of breaking the tip off the blade. I'm guessing from the pictures that it is aluminum.

Something else to check out.... did you spin the hub? I did that once by putting my boat in reverse when I was going too fast in forward. I put the boat back in gear and hammered the throttle, but the shaft just spun inside the prop. If I slowly increased the throttle, I could get going again.

Just my .02 worth

DMH

 

Well, from what i could tell, i dont think the hub is spun. But, i was about 2 sec. from slowing down to dock the boat. So, i didnt go much farther after it happened to test it out. The boat did move like normal after it happened.

 

Check real good for stress fractures in the lower unit case and check the shaft, etc. too. Friend of mine found a crack in the case after already making a claim and had a heck of a time getting them to look into it again.

 

Get it fixed by a pro. An in-balanced prop will cause many lower unit problems far more expensive than a $50 repair.

 

you may not be able to tell if the hub is spun. If you hit some floating debris (brach or board probably) hard enough to bend the aluminum then you DEFINITELY effected the rubber hub. I'm in the Coast Guard and I can't count how many disabled boats we dealt with that had "good" hubs. If you don't have the $ to have the hub redone then use that prop as a backup.
(edit) when I said effected I meant that you may have sun it a little bit that will reduce the holding power. one time when you have a boatload of buddies and you try to jump up on plane it will give out all together.

 

Okay, i gottcha. Sounds good. I realy appreciate the help fellas. Thanks -Jake

 

here in grand rapids mich. there is a co. called michigan wheel we send alot of props (with friends that work there) in to be repaired. yours looks very miner compared to some we send in. but you should do it none the less. whoever does it will check the center hub, repair the blades, and balance it, up here the cost is about 25-35 dollars. good luck.

 

By the way, anybody know if the motor does kick up in a situation like mine? Just wondering why it revved up after i hit the log. Does it come up and lock back down or something?

 

Find a good prop shop. Mine would charge 40 to 60 bucks to repair the damage shown in your photo, assuming that the hub isn't spun. The shop I use turns repairs around in just a few days including a full balance and repaint. A good shop can also make minor pitch variations if you like to play with that sort of thing.

 

Could be several things. One could be that the hit caused more cavitation in the water around the prop, in that case the excess of air bubbles would cause the prop to start churning up the air bubbles rather than push water. Essentially it took the load off the engine, kinda like running down the highway at full steam and pushing in the clutch while still on the gas.

Or, the rubber hub did its job and broke free from the shaft to prevent shock damage to the gear train, lower unit and engine. When you throttled down the hub started to grab and hold the shaft again. If that is the case the hub will most likely fail in the future and possibly leave you stranded like VADSLRAM said.

BTW I am in the Coast Guard also and have seen something similar. A guy ran over some driftwood and it damged the prop but it wrecked his steering gear. He could spin the prop but the stern drive wouldn't turn.

 

I'd say you got pretty lucky. The last log I hit cost me 6 grand. Junked the upper & lower units (cracked broth cases and shattered all the gears), and broke a blade off my prop... it was a really nice stainless prop too. It took all summer to find the replacement parts, turned out OMC didn't make that outdrive anymore.

 

Another suggestion before getting prop fixed is to check out pricing on new one!

In my case $85.00 to fix prop and $85.00 for a new high speed version

As for the motor coming up? Are you sure that the motor was locked in the down position when you hit the log??

Rick

 

I'm assuming you have hydraulic tilt on it. When you hit something like a log or the bottom, the drive will kick up and the prop will cavitate at the surface causing higher rev's. Sometimes the prop will catch (water) and come back down due to the forward force of the prop. If you don't have power tilt, and the drive is not locked down, it will kick up and slam down as fast as nothing.

 

Thanks for the info guys. Yes ive got HYD trim. I inspected the case and it looks okay and dont see any oil seepage. Now knowing all the possiblities i guess either the hub spun when i hit the log causing the revving and then it just held again after i throttled down, or my motor kicked up and cavitated because it came up and out and back down. The prop is going to be repaired and the spare in on. I checked the prop shaft for any play too and found none. Thanks for all the help fellas. I realy can depend on DTR for all the answers. -Jake