strokeoluck
Petty Officer 1st Class
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2009
- Messages
- 353
I have three main questions: 1) what happened?; 2) how do I remove this prop?, and 3) can this prop be salvaged?
Long story, but I think I did two bad things to my prop and/or engine today. First, we were going slow through a channel and hit "something". I still don't know what we hit but it was a good solid thud on the lower unit. About 50 yards later I tried to open it up a bit and it felt/sounded like I had seaweed on my prop (high rpm, very little movement), even though I was pretty sure I had a prop issue. We moved slowly to some shallower water where I hopped out and checked out the prop. Sure enough, it was pretty chewed up (see pic below; this was a new prop - had seen water 3x). I had a spare prop with me, but my utility tool wasn't big enough to get around the nut to loosen it (yes, lesson learned). I already had the wife in the boat along w/my son and his buddy and all our stuff, so I decided to just slowly make our way to the beach and have a little fun. After all, at that time I figured it was just a heavily beat up prop but we still had power. There would be no tubing, but we could move.
Fast forward 90 minutes, I drop my wife off at the dock so she can take off and I head back out the channel to the lake to take the kids back to the beach. As we approach the beach I see a fisherman working on his outboard so I pull up and ask if he needs help. He does, so I haul him about 200 yards over to a dock in some very shallow water (only other option would be to haul him back through the long channel and I didn't want to leave the young'uns out of eyesight that long; they asked to be left at the beach). I cut him loose early enough, but by the time I get done screwing around w/unhooking the rope the wind had pushed me into the really shallow stuff. I raised the lower unit a bit and tried to gently power my way out of there, but the lower unit was in the muck and I know I stirred up some of the muck before I shut off the engine. The fisherman was kind enough to give me a shove out and I fired her up again and motored out carefully, again w/the drive somewhat raised (yes I know this is not good for the unit, but I don't know what other choice I had short of walking the boat out 100 yards in muck, and into the wind). I make my way over to the beach area and drop anchors and wait for the kids.
Fast forward 45 minutes and we start to head back to the channel to head home. I can't get her above 1300 - 1400 rpms or I get that same "seaweed wrapped around prop" feeling/sound. I stop several times and pull a bunch of seaweed off the prop. I'm still feeling like it's just a beat up prop, and seaweed. Because I have power, and no odd sounds, engine is not overheating, etc. But the fourth time I hit the gas a bit and we don't move; hit it again and don't move. I shut her down and go back to pull weeds off the prop and...there are no weeds. A few more tries but no luck, we ain't moving. So we drop anchor again until someone comes over to tow us to the dock.
My questions (sorry for the long message, but I felt the info was important):
1) any ideas re: what happened here? Why did I lose power? And what do you think I should do about it? My son thinks I should just replace the prop and give her another shot in our local pond/lake. Then again, he's just 9 years old.
2) how do I remove this prop? I loosened the tabs on the "cotter pin" star shaped thing around the nut, but when I go to turn the nut counter-clockwise the threaded bolt turns with it (???), so it doesn't come loose.
3) can this prop be salvaged?
Thanks everyone.
Long story, but I think I did two bad things to my prop and/or engine today. First, we were going slow through a channel and hit "something". I still don't know what we hit but it was a good solid thud on the lower unit. About 50 yards later I tried to open it up a bit and it felt/sounded like I had seaweed on my prop (high rpm, very little movement), even though I was pretty sure I had a prop issue. We moved slowly to some shallower water where I hopped out and checked out the prop. Sure enough, it was pretty chewed up (see pic below; this was a new prop - had seen water 3x). I had a spare prop with me, but my utility tool wasn't big enough to get around the nut to loosen it (yes, lesson learned). I already had the wife in the boat along w/my son and his buddy and all our stuff, so I decided to just slowly make our way to the beach and have a little fun. After all, at that time I figured it was just a heavily beat up prop but we still had power. There would be no tubing, but we could move.
Fast forward 90 minutes, I drop my wife off at the dock so she can take off and I head back out the channel to the lake to take the kids back to the beach. As we approach the beach I see a fisherman working on his outboard so I pull up and ask if he needs help. He does, so I haul him about 200 yards over to a dock in some very shallow water (only other option would be to haul him back through the long channel and I didn't want to leave the young'uns out of eyesight that long; they asked to be left at the beach). I cut him loose early enough, but by the time I get done screwing around w/unhooking the rope the wind had pushed me into the really shallow stuff. I raised the lower unit a bit and tried to gently power my way out of there, but the lower unit was in the muck and I know I stirred up some of the muck before I shut off the engine. The fisherman was kind enough to give me a shove out and I fired her up again and motored out carefully, again w/the drive somewhat raised (yes I know this is not good for the unit, but I don't know what other choice I had short of walking the boat out 100 yards in muck, and into the wind). I make my way over to the beach area and drop anchors and wait for the kids.
Fast forward 45 minutes and we start to head back to the channel to head home. I can't get her above 1300 - 1400 rpms or I get that same "seaweed wrapped around prop" feeling/sound. I stop several times and pull a bunch of seaweed off the prop. I'm still feeling like it's just a beat up prop, and seaweed. Because I have power, and no odd sounds, engine is not overheating, etc. But the fourth time I hit the gas a bit and we don't move; hit it again and don't move. I shut her down and go back to pull weeds off the prop and...there are no weeds. A few more tries but no luck, we ain't moving. So we drop anchor again until someone comes over to tow us to the dock.
My questions (sorry for the long message, but I felt the info was important):
1) any ideas re: what happened here? Why did I lose power? And what do you think I should do about it? My son thinks I should just replace the prop and give her another shot in our local pond/lake. Then again, he's just 9 years old.
2) how do I remove this prop? I loosened the tabs on the "cotter pin" star shaped thing around the nut, but when I go to turn the nut counter-clockwise the threaded bolt turns with it (???), so it doesn't come loose.
3) can this prop be salvaged?
Thanks everyone.