o.k i did something stupid........

[johnnieboy]

first of all this is my first post on this site. <br /><br />my dad had a 19 foot seaswirl which we used every summer at lake powell. i have very fond memories of those vacations. i have not been boating since the age of around 20 (i'm 40 now ) i just bought a searay 230 overnighter with a 7.4 litre mercruiser i/o. i'm wanting my kids to have the same fun i had growning up.<br /><br />o.k. so i'm working on my boat today and am in the process of storing it. the spot i have for my trailer has a very slight slope to it. as i was jacking the trailer off the ball of my hitch it got stuck. i thought i just needed to move the truck back an inch or so to release it. after having done so continued to crank on the jack. the coupler kind of popped off the ball. the trailer immediately started to move backward! at which point i realized i had forgotten to chock the wheels! i was helpless as the trailer rolled back about 3 feet until the outdrive (in the trailering position) struck a solid steel fence. after hooking up again and pulling it back and chocking the wheels i checked for any visible damage. the only thing i could see was a small 1 inch scrape on the back of the rudder area. prop was not touched, no cracks in fiberglass and no hydraulic leaks. the outdrive moved down and back up with no binding. i could hear some creaking but i think that was more associated with normal movement.<br /><br />next week i plan on running it for the first time to check for any damage. do any of you have any thoughts as to the damage i may have caused. any suggestions before starting it next week? how tough are these lower units? guess i'm looking for an optimistic opinion if it is out there.<br /><br />thanks in advance,<br /><br />johnnieboy

 

[ebbtide176]

Re: o.k i did something stupid........

hello. i am not as experienced as others who will reply to you probably in the morning. there is alot of knowledge here. <br />but i would say that since you haven't noticed much damage, you should put it in the water while still on the trailer. ck for leaks at the transom seal-from inside boat. i've not heard of any special weakness in construction- if thats what you mean. boats are tough, but require routine maint, and may develop mechanical problems from harsh environment. i guess a steel fence might fall into that category, but you might be ok, since visual is everything, until you can fire that puppy up, and float it. maybe the only serious damage was in your underware

 

[ebbtide176]

Re: o.k i did something stupid........

good luck, hope you fix it

 

[wimpie]

Re: o.k i did something stupid........

The outdrive got bummped one time ours while heading to the water by a car from behind visibly everything looked good so went on to the water. Everything seemed fine the drive worked good but got away from the dock a couple hundred yards and the out drive fell off, It sheared some of the bolts that hold the bottom on and the others weren't strong enough to hold the weight. My suggestion would be to pull those bolts out and check them, these are the ones that hold the lower part of the unit up. Just my opinion and this may be a once in a lifetime typ of deal. Hope it is for us !