Swap prop in the water?

[phillyg]

Anyone ever successfully swap out their prop while still in the water? Trying not to have to have the boat hauled. I have a Bravo II outdrive and it can be raised in "trailer" mode which raises it fairly high, but the prop is still under water. I know how to change a prop ashore and I think if I properly grease the splines the water will be displaced when I install it. Thoughts?

 

[Randy J]

Re: Swap prop in the water?

get six of everything gonna loose about 5 of the six ,lolo dunno never tried that in the water repair old man murphey hangs around me all the time

 

[craze1cars]

Re: Swap prop in the water?

Yes. Harmless and easy to do, even underwater. You won't hurt a thing unless you drop something and it sinks forever....

I guess in my mind, shallow water is suggested. I'm not as worried as much about dropping cotter pin/nuts/wrench, but accidentally dropping a prop in 30 ft of water would be a bit of a bummer, eh?

 

[guy74]

Re: Swap prop in the water?

I change them all the time in the water, but mine lifts up above the water. Just as stated above, do it in shalow water, and have extra peices in case you drop something. One word of caution, make sure you don't pull the thrust washer off with the prop and let if fall into the water, and don't ask how I know that sucks :facepalm:

 

[robert graham]

Re: Swap prop in the water?

Could you get the boat over towards the bank, shore, sand bar, shallow area?...would be a lot easier if you can get out and do this standing up, even better if you drop something!

 

[lonemust]

Re: Swap prop in the water?

If you can trim it up all the way (with engine off ofcourse), it can be done real easily.. I just did it today myself.. What I did was to actually sit in the curve of the outdrive and reached down and took the one off and put the other on.. when removing the nut and washer just use both hands. one to turn the nut and the other to hold the washer.. took me all abiut 5min.

 

[Leardriver]

Re: Swap prop in the water?

Done it plenty of times.

As Robert suggests, get the rear over to shallow water. Flip up the speedo sender so it won't break off. I use a knee board as a floating table for the bolts and hardware.

Of course, disaster is possible, but that just adds to the fun!

 

[saintlee]

Re: Swap prop in the water?

tried 3 different props changing all in the water
i tied up to a piling to steady the boat
as everyone says - take your time to avoid dropping anything

 

[NW Redneck]

Re: Swap prop in the water?

Just get a stringer drive. Makes prop changes on the water a breeze!

 

[phillyg]

Re: Swap prop in the water?

Thank you all. I am going to replace the prop at my pier at low tide so I can stand on the bottom whilst doing it.

 

[natedog337]

Re: Swap prop in the water?

best to do on a sandbar =)

 

[boat1010]

Re: Swap prop in the water?

Have done it many times.. Not a problem.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Swap prop in the water?

I have done it many times, and I have had to go diving in with mask and snorkel a few times for parts.

a few key suggestions:
have extra hardware available (its really hard to find stuff in the silt)
if not in shallow water, tie a small line to a prop blade and on to your wrist
same goes for tools
make sure your buddies dont think its funny to give you a hand...or shove

Done it on Stringers and Alphas. the DP drive I currently have is a bit harder as the swim platform extends well beyond the drive.

 

[Cap’n Ray]

Re: Swap prop in the water?

Did a prop swap recently on the old Bayliner with a pre-Alpha drive. Did the work in a slip at the marina (no shore power in the area) so was able to stand in the water and use the walkway as a tool and parts table. Just keep two hands on everything, take your time and you'll be fine.

 

[natedog337]

Re: Swap prop in the water?

Did a prop swap recently on the old Bayliner with a pre-Alpha drive. Did the work in a slip at the marina (no shore power in the area) so was able to stand in the water and use the walkway as a tool and parts table. Just keep two hands on everything, take your time and you'll be fine.

Just did the same and i concur, keep two hands on everything

 

[captkevin]

Re: Swap prop in the water?

have done it a few times. If you have extra bodies on board have them go to the bow of the boat - will force the back of boat up - having them in the back of the boat only causes it to be lower & make changing harder. Don't ask me how I figured it out.

 

[250Gimp]

Re: Swap prop in the water?

Did mine this past weekend, no problem!

As mentioned, two hands on each part!

Watch out for the thrust washer in case it is stuck to the prop a bit and falls off as you pull it off the shaft!

Cheers

 

[Fishing Dude too]

Re: Swap prop in the water?

May I sugest try doing it at the ramp when it is not busy, I use a private ramp on Lake Erie so never busy. Have done reprop on several boats dragging it backwards into the ramp till almost bottomed out wit LU up.

 

[cribber]

Re: Swap prop in the water?

You might want to invest in a marine magnet too. Won't help retreive the brass stuff from the bottom but does help get your prop wrench and other steel tools back if they hit the drink.

 

[phillyg]

Re: Swap prop in the water?

This is a very late follow-up to my original post. I ended up having to have the boat hauled ashore for a totally other reason (but that's another long story I won't bore you with). I tried to install the prop myself while it was ashore. The hub was not perfectly aligned and prevented the prop from seating on the thrust washer by about 1/4". I've changed these props a couple of times and had never run into that problem before. Had I gone with my original plan to change the prop underwater as most of you agreed with, I probably would not have noticed it still needed to go that 1/4". The boat shop mechanic got it on somehow, but I was not there to watch what size hammer he used LOL. So, long story short is I'm glad it had to be hauled for that other reason.