Did I hit something or suck up sand?

[gemajean]

I have an 03 Four Winns 268 with Volvo Penta I/O and I went out the other day and made it a point to stay as far away from an area that's potentially shallow but it was a little windy and needless to say, I think I either kicked up sand or did something else, which I'm not sure of...

I was going very slowly through this area and my depth gauge showed me comfortably at 10 ft, then all of a sudden it dropped down to 2ft, then I slowed down to almost full stop but then I felt the prop slow down and then I could see from the back a big air bubble come out from under the swim platform then big circle of brown water (sand, mud?) formed.

The prop, engine and boat seemed to be slow to respond (I was still in forward but very, very slow) but then after a few seconds, it seemed to be ok. I had cleared the area without a problem and tried to engage the throttle in both forward and reverse and it seemed to be ok, but slow at first.

Afterwards, it seemed fine and I went back to the marina.

Can anyone tell me what they think happened? Did I simply kick up sand into the engine intake (which I'm sure wasn't a good thing?) or does it sound like something else?

I checked the prop when I went back in and it looked ok to me. No nicks, dings or any indication of any stress on the edges.

And if it was only sand, does it sound like I sucked up the sand in the impeller where I should replace it?

Thank you all for your advice!

 

[dvan1901]

Re: Did I hit something or suck up sand?

sounds like you drug your skeg through some mud, potentially your prop too. Only thing to worry about is the possiblity of having spun the hub on your prop and also keep an eye on your temp for the next bit as you will have sucked mud into your cooling system so your impeller could go out sooner than later; or you could form a clog in the system.

 

[gemajean]

Re: Did I hit something or suck up sand?

Thanks dvan for your quick reply.

Would you recommend changing the impeller anyway just to be safe? And if I did spin the hub on the prop, would I notice it by feeling not enough power from the prop or the engine would get hotter as you've mentioned?

Thanks again.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Did I hit something or suck up sand?

Thanks dvan for your quick reply.

Would you recommend changing the impeller anyway just to be safe? And if I did spin the hub on the prop, would I notice it by feeling not enough power from the prop or the engine would get hotter as you've mentioned?

Thanks again.

As a precautionary measure, if you have not already done it, flush out the motor on the hose. Should be good to go after

Personally wouldn't worry about the impeller. If I changed my impeller every time I kicked up sand I'd spend the entire summer changing impellers instead of boating. Just keep an eye on the temp gauge for a while.

A spun hub acts very similar to a bad clutch in a car. The motor will race and you go nowhere. A hub is either spun or it is not. If you don?t have the symptoms described above then there is nothing to worry about

 

[gemajean]

Re: Did I hit something or suck up sand?

As a precautionary measure, if you have not already done it, flush out the motor on the hose. Should be good to go after

Personally wouldn't worry about the impeller. If I changed my impeller every time I kicked up sand I'd spend the entire summer changing impellers instead of boating. Just keep an eye on the temp gauge for a while.

A spun hub acts very similar to a bad clutch in a car. The motor will race and you go nowhere. A hub is either spun or it is not. If you don?t have the symptoms described above then there is nothing to worry about

Thanks for your thoughts dingbat. How would I go about 'flushing out the motor on the hose'? I'm still new to boating (learning everyday) and I sincerely appreciate all advice. Thanks again.

 

[gemajean]

Re: Did I hit something or suck up sand?

Thanks for your thoughts dingbat. How would I go about 'flushing out the motor on the hose'? I'm still new to boating (learning everyday) and I sincerely appreciate all advice. Thanks again.

Actually, I just researched your suggestion and understand your thoughts. Would you think it's still recommended even though I still ran the boat a little afterwards? Would it be the same thing? Thanks again.

 

[cribber]

Re: Did I hit something or suck up sand?

It's a good idea to make flushing the cooling system part of your end of day boating routine. I boat on lowland lakes where the water depth can go from 10 feet to 2 feet with little warning. When I get the boat home I'll throw on a set of muffs with fresh water from the hose and idle the engine until it comes up to full temp. That way I know the thermostat opened and fresh clean water is rinsing out the entire cooling system.

Or in the engine compartment you should have a blue hose connector where you can connect a water hose directly to the cooling system and flush it out.

 

[gemajean]

Re: Did I hit something or suck up sand?

It's a good idea to make flushing the cooling system part of your end of day boating routine. I boat on lowland lakes where the water depth can go from 10 feet to 2 feet with little warning. When I get the boat home I'll throw on a set of muffs with fresh water from the hose and idle the engine until it comes up to full temp. That way I know the thermostat opened and fresh clean water is rinsing out the entire cooling system.

Or in the engine compartment you should have a blue hose connector where you can connect a water hose directly to the cooling system and flush it out.

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I'll get a set of muffs and flush out the cooling system as soon as I can.

And I'll be sure to try to flush it out as often as I go out as it can only help! Thanks again.

 

[WAVENBYE2]

Re: Did I hit something or suck up sand?

Just remember Gem when ever you start the boat out of water always to use your muffs to, NEVER run your boat out of water without using your muffs ! You had mentioned you were new to boating, and wasn't sure if you knew that or not. I have seen people start there boat and rev it up to impress there freinds with out running water through, then they wonder why there boat is't running right. Just trying to help.