First grounding out with the boat, need damage assessment

Of course, this happened while I was away on vacation, but my Dad (and co-owner) managed to do at least some damage...

His story is that he took it out at low tide, kept stalling the engine (probably didn't let it warm up enough), and drifted into the nearby mud flats, then had to be towed out. He says that's all that happened.

How I found it: prop (4 blade aluminum that I put on 3 weeks ago) is chewed up (I'll add pics later). Each blade has a good bend to it, and one blade has a chunk missing. Also, I found what looked like oil (emulsed in water) in the bilge, although the engine oil level is fine. So I can't wait to see what happens when I drain the drive oil.

The problem I'm really concerned with is the trim. The hydraulic oil was almost empty in the tank, and the pump makes a strange uneven noise. It still went up into trailer mode, but it wasn't pretty. I'm guessing I have a leak somewhere, but where do I start on diagnosing that?

At this point, if I blew a seal in the drive, I'm either done for the season, paying someone to fix it, or buying a replica drive (I've had other issues with this including a persistent knock). So we'll see. but the trim issue needs to be addressed now. Any advice appreciated!

BTW, on inspection, the hull appears fine, so I don't believe there was any large rock collision, unless it hit the drive alone. My Dad SWEARS he didn't hit any rocks, but who knows what was buried in that mud.

Re: First grounding out with the boat, need damage assessment

You can't do that to a prop and not hit rocks. Unless those are some really hard weeds he was stuck in. Nah. Best of luck on your fix.

Re: First grounding out with the boat, need damage assessment

I would pull the drive and pull the prop and inspect the splines to see if maybe the propshaft got twisted, it apparently hit something without a doubt. Next, I would seperate the drive and inspect that shaft also for signs of any twisting. You might even pull the top cap and check the gears up top. good luck, maybe a new SEI from I boats is in your future

Re: First grounding out with the boat, need damage assessment

alloy props are designed to fold up when you hit an object.if the skeg is on your lower it was probably only a light grounding of the prop.get yourself a new one and if there's no vibration count your lucky stars.a stainless prop normally ends up bending the shaft on a hard grounding.fill trim pump up and perge oil and keep a close eye on it for leaks.how long had it been low on oil as you should give it a look every 50 hours.

Re: First grounding out with the boat, need damage assessment

Well, I spent the day working on it, with the following results.

The prop is shot, as I said. I put on my backup prop, a 3-blade aluminum that should work fine. Didn't have time for proper prep, but gave it a quick spray with antifouling.

I first drained the gear lube from the drive, and it looked fine. I then pulled the drive, inspected the upper driveshaft (propshaft was fine), and noted no damage to the splines, no apparent damage anywhere. Bellows looked fine, no water or drive oil, just leftover grease. I greased all the zirks.

I then went and dropped the engine oil filter and sucked out the old oil... This is where I get a bit shaky. The oil was mostly dark, but it did seem a bit streaky. It's hard to say whether this might be due to the suction pump churning it up and spitting it out, but I definitely took note. I supposed water in the engine oil would indicate head gasket failure? I replaced the filter and refilled the engine with new oil.

I then took a closer look at the trim pump (it's REALLY hard to get to, let alone mess with). From what I could see, the fitting for one of the hydraulic lines at the pump is split, and that seems to be where fluid is leaking from. The fix, I think, is to replace the line, but this requires tearing apart the whole back of the cockpit, and I don't have time for that this summer. So, I hose-clamped the fitting nice and tight, and refilled the reservoir with trim/tilt fluid. The pump still doesn't sound right, though... I'm wondering if the pump's going bad now because it was run on low oil? A proper service is definitely in order there.

After putting everything back together and running it on the muffs everything sounds OK, but I'm skeptical until it's been running in the water for a bit. Dropping it back in now, so we'll see!

Re: First grounding out with the boat, need damage assessment

If you grounded hard, which is what it sounds like really happened, the outdrive will try to kick up. It induces a high pressure in the trim lines which is supposed to open a valve and bypass fluid so the outdrive comes up, limiting damage.

My guess is the hyd line ruptured before the valve opened due to shock pressure in the system. Replace the line and leak check for sure.

Also, check the 4 hyd lines from the distribution block to the trim cylinders on the back of the boat for damage/leaking.


The uneven sound is likely not the motor/pump dying, it has sucked in some air...when it hits the air it speeds up until it grabs fluid again. I think it is self bleeding. Go up and down a bunch of times...if it still hits air you still have a leak.

C

Re: First grounding out with the boat, need damage assessment

Glastron_V210 said:

If you grounded hard, which is what it sounds like really happened, the outdrive will try to kick up. It induces a high pressure in the trim lines which is supposed to open a valve and bypass fluid so the outdrive comes up, limiting damage.

My guess is the hyd line ruptured before the valve opened due to shock pressure in the system. Replace the line and leak check for sure.

Also, check the 4 hyd lines from the distribution block to the trim cylinders on the back of the boat for damage/leaking.


The uneven sound is likely not the motor/pump dying, it has sucked in some air...when it hits the air it speeds up until it grabs fluid again. I think it is self bleeding. Go up and down a bunch of times...if it still hits air you still have a leak.

C

Click to expand...

Ok thanks... Unfortunately I can't get any deeper into it right now, so I'm going to hope my hose clamp reduces or stops the leak, and monitor the levels carefully. If it becomes a much more serious problem, I'll pull the boat from the water and look at it when I have time. Otherwise, it has to be this winter. The firewall completely limits access to the back of the engine (and thus the hydraulic lines) so I'll have to pull the aft seats and firewall to get access, making this a full day affair. SUCH a poor design element from Wellcraft, as far as I'm concerned. I'm seriously thinking about redoing it to give myself better access for the future.

Re: First grounding out with the boat, need damage assessment

The firewall completely limits access to the back of the engine (and thus the hydraulic lines) so I'll have to pull the aft seats and firewall to get access,

Click to expand...

Ayuh,.... If you can reach the Pump,...
The aft end of the hyd. lines are accessed from outside the hull, under the transom housing...

I'm seriously thinking about redoing it to give myself better access for the future.

Click to expand...

That's the 1st thing I do to Everything I own,....