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Hit sunken tree-like object


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I was out this last weekend at Lake Jordan (NC) and had the unfortunate experience of running over a sunken tree-like object with my 98 sportster.

I was about 40 feet away from some friends that had been tied up for hours hanging out and a good 30 feet away from the shore when I heard and felt a terrible sound as something passed under the boat from front to back.

I was only going ~10mph or less but it twisted up my new prop bad:

13939899579_5493287409_s.jpgUntitled by eyekode, on Flickr

The vibration is pretty awful and I had to crawl back probably a mile to the dock. I went very slow (below 10mph) trying to avoid damaging anything else.

Luckily the rudder and the 3 tracking fins look ok. There is no play in the prop shaft side to side or top to bottom. I think the prop shaft and strut are ok too but the prop seemed harder to turn by hand then I remember. It was never super easy to turn by hand. I think there is some drag in the transmission because at neutral the prop turns. And I may be imagining things on the difficulty of turning the prop. I am just not sure.

I plan on floating her tomorrow and seeing if there is any vibration with a new prop. Any other recommendations on how to inspect it?

Also any recommendations for prop repair? (ACME 515)

Thanks!

Salem

Edited by eyekode
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I frequent Jordan and I'm about to start my season this weekend or next. Can u share with me where it happened as I could try to be aware and avoid the same thing? Also did u by chance inspect where u hit to try to determine what it could be? Same happened to me at Sharon Harris and I had to get my prop replaced. Had to limp back to dock due to terrible vibration,,, went like three mph and it took forever.

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I frequent Jordan and I'm about to start my season this weekend or next. Can u share with me where it happened as I could try to be aware and avoid the same thing? Also did u by chance inspect where u hit to try to determine what it could be? Same happened to me at Sharon Harris and I had to get my prop replaced. Had to limp back to dock due to terrible vibration,,, went like three mph and it took forever.

My best guess is here: https://www.google.com/maps/place/35°41'48.7"N+79°00'56.0"W/@35.6959532,-79.0165483,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0

I know there is a field of stumps where it splits into the two coves. I was nowhere near the field of stumps.

When I looked out the stern I saw a tangle of limbs and a cloud of mud. I didn't have the guts to limp around there long. I wish I had taken a closer look. But honestly it scared the crap out of me :).

The worst part is I can't think of anything to do different to help avoid this type issue!

Also any suggestions on where to send my bent prop?

Thanks!

Salem

Edited by eyekode
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Salem,

Sorry to hear about your bad luck...it happens. I sent back my mangled prop to Acme. I can't remember the name of the fellow I spoke with

there but he was very knowledgeable and helpful over the phone. We talked about my prop and the weight I was running. He suggested that I

could have mine re-pitched to pull a little better with the added ballast I was running. I have the repaired prop but have not ran it yet this season.

It looks great in the box, lol. I still have my spare on from last season. I have heard good things about Acme for repairs. I think they send them out to be

repaired.

Good luck with yours.

Tim

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There are many good places that can repair almost any damaged prop. No worries at all, what you need to be concerned with is the shaft. If you have Fake-a-lake or the like, you can have someone put her in gear while looking at the shaft, if bent you can probably see it while it's rotating.

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There are many good places that can repair almost any damaged prop. No worries at all, what you need to be concerned with is the shaft. If you have Fake-a-lake or the like, you can have someone put her in gear while looking at the shaft, if bent you can probably see it while it's rotating.

You may already know this, but before putting it in gear on the trailer, spray water into the strut bushings. These are water lubricated and not meant to run when dry.

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Whenever your prop strikes something you should double check the alignment between the transmission and shaft flange for additional damage.

Normal flange tollerance is 0.003 inch or less, and a little wider than that can be adjusted out which will reduce the friction (lateral stress) from the strut and transmission bearings back to normal. But if that gap is suddenly wider after the hit, it could mean the drive shaft and/or strut is also bent. If the steel drive shaft is bent bad enough to require rebalance work or replacement, the brass strut is most likely also bent and should be replaced at the same time. The drive shaft tollerance is very precicely balanced from the factory, sometimes within 0.001 from end to end. Standard copy machine paper is roughly 0.004 inches thick, so it isn't diffuclt to understand how challenging it would be to visually rule out any damage while still installed on the boat. So check the flange gap for proper alignment and then listen for abnormal sounds and sense vibration for additional clues. If you still suspect something is wrong, have it professionaly inspected.

It helps to have a low deductable insurance policy because it could pay for itself just fixing the prop.

  • Like 1
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Thanks for the comments guys. I put a new prop on it and took her out. She feels smooth! But I still feel the shaft is too hard to turn by hand.

I assume you have to loosen the bolts to check the flange spacing?

Thanks!

Salem

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By the way I did use a dial indicator in the output shaft and it was within .002 below the strut. But that just means there is no play in the bearing. It doesn't mean everything is aligned. Note I could not turn the shaft by hand (the prop was off). I had to use a strap wrench.

Edited by eyekode
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I assume you have to loosen the bolts to check the flange spacing?

Yes, loosen the four bolts because there will be no gap when they are tight. I remove 3 of the bolts and keep try to keep the flange faces touching, then use the feeler gauge to find the gap. There is a small lip that helps keep the coupling flanges centered while you work. The nut on the remaining bolt is very loose and that bolt just keeps the faces from slipping while you rotate the shaft between measurements.

Your prop didn't look all that bad from the picture. Unless the thicker part of the blade got bent, I would be really surprised if it couldn't be repaired.

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Iran?????

Same thing happened to me. You have to put the longitude in for google to show it right.

That spot doesn't look bad, but I do see some stuff a little closer to the shore.

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eyekode,

If you want someone closer than Wilmington to fix that prop so you have a spare, there is a guy up close to Greensboro. Blue Ridge Propellers. I just had him redo mine this week. Did good even though, I think my problem may end up being shaft related.....will know later today once I try a virgin prop on it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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