Prop grabbed a fishing line. How to I check to ensure seals are still good?

I was towing in a disabled boat...I should know better than to be a boy scout.

Anyways, some jerk decided to try to hit my boat with his fishing line. Chunked it right in front of me and caught it in my prop. I heard it clanking (sinker flapping around), but had to get the disabled boat to the dock so we could get beat up by the waves and wind chop (and slice my foot open and tear up his trailer and scratch the side of his boat up!)

Anyway, told the wife to take our boat out to deeper safer water while we trailered the dead boat, and the clanking went away.

When I got my boat on the trailer, I noticed a leader, hook and sinker, and about 18" of braided line wrapped around the prop. I removed the prop and the line came off really easy. and wasn't wrapped up tight.

So, did I damage the seal? Is there any way to test it or check it?

Re: Prop grabbed a fishing line. How to I check to ensure seals are still good?

From the discription you got off easy.
usually the line gets wrapped around the shaft and goes under the seal causing a cut.
If you didnt have to pull it out of the seal your good.

Re: Prop grabbed a fishing line. How to I check to ensure seals are still good?

Awesome! I was hoping that if the line wasn't pinched and/or melted from friction, I would be ok.

Re: Prop grabbed a fishing line. How to I check to ensure seals are still good?

If you're a nervous ninny like me you could do a drive oil change and look for signs of water. Cheap insurance against failure from water in the lubricant.

Re: Prop grabbed a fishing line. How to I check to ensure seals are still good?

I would pressure test it if it was mine. Sounds like you ran it quite a while. Who know if at one point it didnt gewt under the seal then break or get torn back out. I would also go find the rock head fisherman and give him a 500 bill for a new seal and labor. It blows my mind how nasty some of the shore fishermen are. I guess they are pissy becuse they dont have a boat?

Re: Prop grabbed a fishing line. How to I check to ensure seals are still good?

I guess they are pissy becuse they dont have a boat?

Click to expand...

Yes, I was watching him and he was doing his best to get it loaded up as fast as possible so he could try to get us. We would have been in his way for maybe 30 seconds, if that, as we passed him. And we tried to stay far enough out that we didn't get in his way. But he had to MAKE it his way!

The boat ran maybe 3-5 minutes after we hit the line and never above 1000 rpms. It was in the no-wake zone the entire time. Not enough time (I don't think ) to allow any appreciable amount of water in if there was any damage, but today, before we go out, I will check it real close for any signs of oil leak, then when we get back off the water, I will let it settle and drop some and check for water.

I seriously doubt it had a chance to get damaged, but it never hurts to check.

How hard is it to do it myself? If it has to be swapped? I don't want to pay $500 for someone else to do it unless it is a tricky job.