Uh oh....dog clutch?

[redfury]

So, I was out with the 25hp Johnson on my 14ft Bluefin with the kids today....think I mucked something up...in the muck.

Lost a bobber in the shallows, the electric trolling motor was on the blink and I used the Johnny to get me in there...without putting it into shallow drive. Soft muddy bottom and I got it all little tight in there.

Well, a day of frustration with the kids has me pull the "stupid" out and I plowed my way back to deeper waters, churning up a nice black ink cloud of bottom muck along the way.

Decided to move to a different spot and took off....only I didn't. The motor started a horrible surging. Could only get to 5mph. Any faster and the surge started right off, really bad. 5mph and it was fine, but that was tops for it. Got to the dock and felt some clunking as I was trying to maneauver, though it could have easily been just clipping the bottom of the ramp ( some small river rocks )

What's a good way to determine if I did any mechanical damage to the lower unit?

 

[JB]

Re: Uh oh....dog clutch?

You most likely spun the prop hub, RF. If the dog had broken you wouldn't have gone anywhere.

Prop shop can rehub the prop for you.

Always a good idea to have a spare prop aboard, even a cheap plastic one.

 

[redfury]

Re: Uh oh....dog clutch?

You most likely spun the prop hub, RF. If the dog had broken you wouldn't have gone anywhere.

Prop shop can rehub the prop for you.

Always a good idea to have a spare prop aboard, even a cheap plastic one.

Hmm, I have the other prop...guess I'll have to switch it out and see what happens then. I could use a new or rebuilt prop anyway. Boy, I hope it's that simple. Out of the water, I rotated the prop back and forth by hand and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary with the lower unit...no tactile feedback other than engine compression.

 

[redfury]

Re: Uh oh....dog clutch?

Well, good news! Motor runs fine. I must have just overheated the motor a little bit in the muck and engaged the S.L.O.W. function. It ran fine with both props on, which I'm glad, because the suspect prop is my best pitch for the boat. The spare is slow on holeshot and top speed to boot! 24mph ( just me in a 14ft aluminum ). Hit 30mph and planed much faster with the other prop.

I'm back and running ! Woot!