What happens if I am cruising along and hit something hard with my outdrive?

[bruceb58]

Re: What happens if I am cruising along and hit something hard with my outdrive?

Up in the Northwest, many boats sink from hitting drifting logs. That was actually one of the advantages of OMC stringer drives. If you hit a log and it yanked off your drive, you wouldn't sink.

 

[drrpm]

Re: What happens if I am cruising along and hit something hard with my outdrive?

Hitting something hard at speed will break off the bottom of the outdrive. Slow and soft will push a Merc Alpha up and you'll probably be OK. I'd guess the Volvo would be similar.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: What happens if I am cruising along and hit something hard with my outdrive?

the OMC cobra, and all the Volvo drives with hydraulic trim are desined to kick up, however if you hit a very solid object at 40-50 MPH there is a good chance your drive is going to detach from the shield.
No manufacturer offers drive protection from strikes going backwards.
hit it going backwards and bad things happen quick.

 

[scooper77515]

Re: What happens if I am cruising along and hit something hard with my outdrive?

So, in that video, I see chunks of stuff flying out behind him after he hits that van.

So, what next, I know he lost his steering, but did he lose his brakes too?

 

[642mx]

Re: What happens if I am cruising along and hit something hard with my outdrive?

So, in that video, I see chunks of stuff flying out behind him after he hits that van.

So, what next, I know he lost his steering, but did he lose his brakes too?

That was a Skater with twins, so he made it back in, but not at 80 mph....lol

 

[scooper77515]

Re: What happens if I am cruising along and hit something hard with my outdrive?

Yeah, He appeared to be haulling some buttocks in that video...

 

[45Auto]

Re: What happens if I am cruising along and hit something hard with my outdrive?

I've had 2 strikes with my Bravo 3 at about 40 MPH. Both times it broke the gimbal ring. I've become extremely proficient at changing B3 gimbal rings!

First one was with a sunken log.

I have no idea what the second one was, it happened about a year later. The water level was extremely low in the bayou and it bounced off something metal and heavy, probably ended up in there after hurricane Katrina. Chewed up the skeg, the front of the outdrive, and broke the gimbal ring again.

 

[642mx]

Re: What happens if I am cruising along and hit something hard with my outdrive?

Yeah, He appeared to be haulling some buttocks in that video...

I said Skater... but its actually a 29' Redline Cat.. prolly a triple digit boat, he was just cruising in that video.

The diver said there was 30-40 cars underwater in that area... I guess the crooks dump them off a nearby boat ramp...

 

[erie_guy]

Re: What happens if I am cruising along and hit something hard with my outdrive?

We ran over a "dead head" (a dock piling that rots and rolls over into the water) in the SC intercoastal at 30 mph. We were in our 20' Lund (fiberglass) with a merc 888. It pulled the plug out of the boat and after we got out on the ocean, we began to sink. Bilge pump was not capabable of draining the boat, but we had sufficient power to get back on plane and it bailed itself right out. After we got back to the dock, we found the gimble ring was broken and we could not raise the drive.

Do not hit things with a stern drive !!

erie_guy
Port Clinton , OH

 

[scooper77515]

Re: What happens if I am cruising along and hit something hard with my outdrive?

Do not hit things with a stern drive !!

Trust me...I am not doing it on purpose. In fact, in our lake, we mark all logs and stumps with a floating bottle, so we stay away from all floating bottles in our lake.

But that being said, I just worry about what would happen if I hit something that wasn't marked.

So far, haven't hit anything but mud, but I know there is plenty floating around out there.

 

[MDG1957]

Re: What happens if I am cruising along and hit something hard with my outdrive?

I remember reading something about Mercruiser outdrives which said the rams are pressurised on both sides, which holds the outdrive at a specific angle. If you were then to strike something hard, a valve on one side of the ram is actuated which allows it to pop up, aided by the pressure on the other side.

There are experts here with far more knowledge that I which can chime in with exact details, but I'm sure Volvo has done something similar.

I actually had this happen running down the Chesapeake right after Hurricane Debby. I was running about 28-30mph in my Formula 350 SS, with Bravo III outdrives, when suddenly lost pull on my port side. I suspected I'd struck a submerged object, but still able to make way to get home. The props appeared to be fine. Then I read this comment and realized this is what happened. Did a trial run next day, and all was good. What a great protection that I didn't even know I had!