Prop dings

[Guest]

Well, it finally hapened this weekend, one quick moment of poor judgement and I dinged the prop on the boat ramp. It is only a little bent but I can feel a slight vibration when driving. Really slight, my boat buddies could not tell but I can. Anyone know whether it is ok to keep running with a few slight dings/bends on the end of the prop blades? I am going to contact the dealer tomorow to chat but I figured I would get some other opinions.

[NICKYPOO]

BAD IDEA

[raythompson]

Get the prop fixed as soon as possible. You want to absolutely minimize the amount of vibration. How long you can get buy is a matter of the severity of the ding. V's and I's are much more sensitive to prop dings than an I/O or outboard drives.

I always have my prop tuned at the beginning of each season. The includes redoing the edges, recupping the blades, sharpening the edges, and balancing the prop. It is only about $120 and puts things back in shape for the season.

But any time there is damage to the prop, regardless of how slight, it needs to be repaired as quickly as possible. You will damage props if you use the boat so don't get too worked up about it.

[Guest]

Great, thanks for the info, I will pull it this week and get it fixed up. Any tips on pulling the prop? That is new to me also.

Also anyone know of a reputable place in Austin TX to get the prop retuned?

[dogbert]

You'll need a special tool. I got one when I changed to a 4 blade. There are two places in Austin to have this work done:

Propellers by Nettles
(North Lamar Blvd near Braker Lane)
512) 837-7707

Precision Welding
(Reed Drive in Volente)
(512) 335-7563

I've used Nettles in the past and they can definitely get you fixed up. I recently used Precision Welding for some other work and Steve Singer also does good work.

Hope this helps.

[Guest]

I just talked with Steve Singer and he is going to get me back on the water by Friday! Nice guy, gave me the full scoop on the situation and offered to pull the prop for me too. Thanks much for the info! Still can't believe I hit the bottom...

[Tequilasun]

Don't worry about hitting the ramp, worry about the prop hitting the trailer. Then your out trailer costs and prop costs. It is amazing what kind of damage a prop can do to a trailer.

If you have a boat, your gonna ding a prop, thats all there is to it!!

[dogbert]

Steve is a nice guy. He's the one that helped remove my telescopic pylon from the mount. To do so, he had to cut the pylon from the inside and use a press to push it out. What a mess. He even repainted the mount for me so it looked newer than the rest of the stuff in my engine compartment. The Ski Dock recommended him and from what they say, he can fix most anything that's metal, even if he has to custom fab it.

Glad it helped. It's been so hot here the last couple of weeks I can't imagine not having my boat on the weekend.

[jl470]

I can send you pics of what happens to the trailer when a prop hits! Be glad you hit bottom.Damage to the trailer: guide pole knocked almost off. Completely off would have been better. lots of missing paint! Fender diamond plate knocked loose step knocked loose fender loose etc... Damageto the boat: Prop Is Done! Shaft strut off about 3/4" various scratches to the hull. I don't know yet if the shaft is bent. I'll find out later this week!
Moral of the story, When you say "o.k. come straight on" tell her how much throttle! My fault.

[dogbert]

It may be time to teach her how to back up a trailer

[Original Wing Nut]

What prop?

I just about got to buy a new prop this last week. I had my boat on the dock at Powell, fishing boat in front and brothers cruiser behind. The tour boat came buy and didn't go wakeless. When the rollers hit I was at the side of my Brothers boat trying to keep it from getting creamed. My wife and kids were trying to keep my boat from getting hurt. After all the rollers came through the 16' fishing boat was under the dock, these were six foot rollers. My boat faired pretty good it bounced off the dock twice and got some minor gell coat scratches, but it also bounced off the ramp once. I dove down and ther was no prop or rudder damage the rudder was about three feet off the bottom. I think it just barely hit and is okay. This gets me thinking for the next big trip I may want a spare prop. What is the best prop. I have a 24V and ride mostly high altitude 4500 to 7000 feet.

[TeamAllen]

Definately, an ACME prop. call them and they will help set you up with the right one. It probably came with an ACME prop already. I decided to get a new prop because of all the information I learned from this site. Our trip to Powell was it's first trip. It was awsome! Smooth and powerfull.

Before I called ACME, I got a benchmark of my RPM with the oiginal prop. Do it with the boat unloaded at wide open throttle (WOT). They can dial in the new prop from there.

[TeamAllen]

I took a picture of the new prop installed.

[raythompson]

Re: What prop?

Originally posted by Original Wing Nut
The tour boat came buy and didn't go wakeless.

All boat operators are fully responsible for any damages they cause to other boats with their wakes. I would get the registration numbers of the tour boat, contact the state boating officials and find the owner. Then file a complaint with the state boating officials and request that the tour boat owner pay for damagaes. If they do not cooperate get the state water officials involved further. You can put a lein on the tour boat owners property for all damages plus any legal fees. The tour boat owner can also loose his operating license if they do not pay.

Also get the name and contact information for the fishing boat owner. If more than one files a complaint there is more strength in the claim.

[smendez]

I heard from a local Marina owner that a couple of years back a big boat with a big wake came by and damaged two or three boats that were refueling at his dock. One of them seemed to think that going through the hazzle that Ray describes above was too much, so he quickly stopped fueling, paid and chased after the bigger boat with gun in hand.

I think he got the other boaters attention