hit rocks, broke skeg, bent shaft, ruined prop

_vn_

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Apr 23, 2012
Messages
131
hit rocks past weekend, prop was badly banged up, had it replaced temporarily with aluminum prop. didn't see bent shaft until took it to local prop guy.
bent shaft is visible without tools. i drove boat approximately 4 hours after damage happened (mostly trolling). boat is in the shop getting estimate for insurance now.
i have only noticed vibration on very low speed, thought i was paranoid at first.
how badly could i have damaged LU further by driving it? i was told by another shop that hit like that (40mph boat is 25ft) could have chipped gears and such LU would most definitely need replacement. could have metal shavings (if there are any) have gone to upper and start ruining it too?
it appears my insurance only covers half of some parts because of the depreciation ....

thanks !
 

Mi duckdown

Commander
Joined
Apr 14, 2007
Messages
2,575
A bent prop shaft and broken skeg is not Good. Guess you will you will have to look at the insurance you have. Don't be bullied by them, if you got good insurance??.
 

tpenfield

Moderator
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Jul 18, 2011
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It is hard to say without actually opening things up. Depending on the damage, it may be better to replace with a rebuilt lower unit.

What engine are we talking about?
 

_vn_

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Apr 23, 2012
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131
its a 6.2 MPI
i've got Seaworthy insurance trough Geico, spoke with rep yesterday who said that they cover pretty much half of the cost of internals ... that was my understanding. are there better insurance companies that would cover more?
 

Chris1956

Supreme Mariner
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Mar 25, 2004
Messages
27,036
Mercruiser Bravo drive? Maybe an SEI replacement would be a good idea.
 

tpenfield

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This thread should go to the Mercruiser forum rather than the Mercury Outboard forum. . . .
 

_vn_

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Apr 23, 2012
Messages
131
spoke with shop, prop shaft actually was twisted, not bent. was told gears aren't chipped or cracked. still having my doubts about it though, any thoughts? thanks!
 

Taxus812

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Aug 5, 2013
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173
You have to be careful when selecting insurance. Hitting the rocks is referred to as Partial Loss. Many insurance companies will pay a depreciated amount on a partial loss. It isn't a standard but many pay 100% of the loss (minus deductible) first two years of a boats life. Then it decreases 10% per year old until it hits 90% so a 12 year old boat will pay only $100 on a $1000 claim after deductible.

GEICO and Progressive use this model. BoatUS lets you select if you want depreciated or full replacement cost coverage but they put limits on what is covered (cushions for example are not). I use statefarm and they use replacement cost and cover 100% of a partial Loss (minus deducible)


http://www.unitedmarine.net/boat_ins...rtial_loss.asp
 
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_vn_

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Apr 23, 2012
Messages
131
thanks! very interesting, that's i guess where damn gecco is screwing me. my boat is 2004 so they cover half they said....
 

Taxus812

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Aug 5, 2013
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173
yeah
Most agents wont tell you unless you ask. I had to go back to progressive and GEICO and ask after I had a quote. BoatUS was VERY up front about it. (State farm went as far as sending me a page from their underwriters training manual :) so I could understand it)
 

_vn_

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Apr 23, 2012
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131
how are prices comparing to geico and progressive?
 

Taxus812

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Aug 5, 2013
Messages
173
For Me it was the same. US boat was a bit higher but they had more services which I would not take advantage of.
 
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