Grounded Boat....HOW bad is it?

[LiquidAssets]

Ok so here's the story- My Wife's family has an exchange student staying with them from Spain, and they wanted to take her out on my boat for an evening cruise. So I go out with them attempting to be a good host. Well things took a turn for the worst when the depth went from 9ft to under 3ft within seconds. I later learned that there's a "reef" that only becomes a problem when the water depth on Lake Erie is low. There were no markers whatsoever....not even close. So I completely lose my prop, it's totally shot. Still on, but the ends were chewed so bad it's not even funny (SS prop too). So I have no drivetrain either, boat will still start, but will not move. Now in the part of the lake we're in, the current is quite strong and we had to anchor quickly. Luckily I got a good anchor in. Coast Guard came up to us and said "hit the reef huh" (as if this is quite common)...I said "yeah I guess so"....he said "it's not marked very well", I replied "Ummm yeah it's not market at all"...they were very nice and made sure we had a tow on the way and charged cell phones. We waited for close to two hours before getting a tow. And props (no pun intended) to the iboats members who recommended tow insurance, saved me about $400. All this was probably not a fun experience for the exchange student, who speaks little English and probably had no idea what was going on. We did get to see a nice sunset though and I put some Jimmy Buffett on to try and make the best of a bad situation. Anyway, I'm pretty concerned about the cost of repair....I don't have a lot of $$ (2 month old at home) and I'm worried this is going to be a 4 digit expense. The SS steel prop was about $400, it's totally done, so I need a new prop. Even worse, the bottom of the outdrive completed broke off. And even worse than that, when I try to put the boat into gear, either forward or reverse, I don't get that "click" sounds like it's going in and out of gear. I know it's tough to gauge without seeing pictures or more detailed information, but someone out there has to have been in this situation before....what do think? The tow boat captain had little hope for a cheap fix as I could spin the prop clockwise with my hand, but not counterclockwise.

 

[The Famous Grouse]

Re: Grounded Boat....HOW bad is it?

Very sorry to hear you wrecked some gear. It's a bummer, but it does happen.

On the positive side, you were very wise to have towing insurance. Most boaters are blissfully ignorant of just how costly a tow is, especially if you're talking about the ocean or Great Lakes. It's absolutely nothing to run up a $500+++ towing bill.

There's no way to tell what's wrong with your drive or what it's going to take to fix. I have a couple of ideas that could help minimize cost:

1. Given that your boat is an 89, depending on the number of hours and assuming the drive has never been replaced before, you may want to ask about just replacing the entire outdrive with a rebuilt unit without spending any time and money at all assessing all the things that are wrong with it. Talking about a 20 year old drive, you could be near the end of its usable life anyway, so it's worth talking to your mechanic about going directly to the "replace" phase with a rebuilt unit and thus avoiding spending time trying to diagnose the problems.

2. You can cut a few hundred dollars off the prob cost by getting by with an aluminum prop for a while. Obviously there are disadvantages, but to minimize cost. . . Also, when you do have cash later on to upgrade to stainless, you'll then have a spare prop which is always a good idea.

3. Is there any chance your boat insurance will cover the repair? I don't know what the requirements are out there in NY, but thought I'd mention it as a possible avenue to explore.

Unfortunately, IMO it's going to be unlikely that your repair bill won't reach into the four digit range. Sorry, but the downside of boats is that when bad things happen, it can be very expensive to put them right.


Grose

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Grounded Boat....HOW bad is it?

You haven't told us what drive you have. An aluminum prop is like $100, you don't NEED an SS one. In fact, if you'd had an aluminum one you may have had less damage. It does sound to be like you need a new lower.

 

[LiquidAssets]

Re: Grounded Boat....HOW bad is it?

Thanks for the replies....the lower unit is a Mercruiser.

 

[slag]

Re: Grounded Boat....HOW bad is it?

Sounds like a call to SSEI might be in order..

 

[lncoop]

Re: Grounded Boat....HOW bad is it?

Do you have comprehensive boat insurance? If so, I would expect it to cover this.

 

[hungupthespikes]

Re: Grounded Boat....HOW bad is it?

Very common around the west side of Lake Erie near the Islands so don't feel alone. Hope your boat insurance covers, most do. We did the sunken log trick about 8 years ago and the insurance covered the upper unit gears, prop was repairable. Just the deductible, but that's not cheap either.

 

[The Rooster]

Re: Grounded Boat....HOW bad is it?

Hey "Liquid", sorry to hear about the grounding. Have to agree with the others, it should be covered by your insurance minus deductible. At least you didn't have any real hull damage. Good luck, let us know how things turn out. Maybe the Spanish embassy will foot the deductible???

 

[shrew]

Re: Grounded Boat....HOW bad is it?

We did the sunken log trick about 8 years ago and the insurance covered the upper unit gears, prop was repairable. Just the deductible, but that's not cheap either.

Please tell me you are not admitting, advising or condoning insurance fraud in a forum. I'm sure your not, however I'm at a loss at to what the 'trick' is.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Grounded Boat....HOW bad is it?

Think he accidentally hit a sunken log but is referring to the incident in self deprecating and colloquial terms. Seems like there might have been a thread on it in days past, but I wouldn't swear to it. In any case it's legit.

 

[nlain]

Re: Grounded Boat....HOW bad is it?

If you go replacement, look right here. http://www.boatmotors.com/motorpart...2&manufacturer=2&disp2=5.7&cyl=&submit=Search

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Grounded Boat....HOW bad is it?

your insurance probably would have paid for the tow, too, up to $400-600.

 

[shrew]

Re: Grounded Boat....HOW bad is it?

BTW- legitimately hitting an unmarked reef 'should' be covered under a comprehensive insurance policy minus the deductable.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Grounded Boat....HOW bad is it?

personally I'd hit up craigs list for a complete outdrive..... should be able to find one for $500 or less with a bit of searching..... OR if the upper is ok, a lower can be bought for $300 or less.... Takes @ half an hour to swap .... put in a new impeller while you are at it.

 

[LiquidAssets]

Re: Grounded Boat....HOW bad is it?

Ssei?

 

[LiquidAssets]

Re: Grounded Boat....HOW bad is it?

Mabe I'm being bit arrogrant, or just in a grumpy mood , but shouldn't these reefs be marked? And yes, I probably should've found some maps for the area....but I honestly had no idea I could ground my boat 500 yds from shore in Lake Erie. And I sure didn't think there would be a sunken ship to deal with! (not market either)

 

[hungupthespikes]

Re: Grounded Boat....HOW bad is it?

Please tell me you are not admitting, advising or condoning insurance fraud in a forum. I'm sure your not, however I'm at a loss at to what the 'trick' is.


NO!!!!!!!!!!! Just bad choice of words.
No fraud at all. Just a lot of rivers flow into lake Erie and the logs get water logged and float just under the surface, you don't see them until it's too late. Just a bang and you look back to see what you hit and the drive is gone. I was lucky it was just the gears, seen the out drive ripped completely off more than a few times. I stay out 5+ miles to run hard now and never around the islands because of logs, sand bars, traffic.

 

[drrpm]

Re: Grounded Boat....HOW bad is it?

I hits a sumberged object a couple years ago and broke off the bottom of the lower unit and dinged my SS prop. It was covered by my comprehensive insurance. You'll need a new or rebuilt lower unit and prop. I got a rebuilt lower unit and had the prop repaired and its worked fine since. I think the total bill was in the $1,500 range and I was glad that I had the insurance.

 

[haley]

Re: Grounded Boat....HOW bad is it?

Insurance and charts! I boat Lake Ontario and have charts and fishing maps (handier). I also invested in a NYS fishing atlas that has contour maps of all of the finger lakes (as well as Ontario & Erie). I line up the chart with what i am looking at and steer clear of shallows and creek outlets.

With that said - I still hit a log! But it was a simple prop repair (aluminum).

jh

 

[slag]

Re: Grounded Boat....HOW bad is it?

Ssei?

I'm sorry, one too many letters

SEI.

http://www.sterndrive.cc/
Not sure what you have though, alpha or bravo