Vibration from prop area on start up. Worsens under load....

[pm22v]

Hello All, And thanks ahead of time for any help. Had my 22V out on Lake Wylie for the 4th of July. I had stopped the boat after the person wake boarding dropped. Upon starting the boat under way again, I noticed a slight vibration coming from the prop area until the boat got up to speed. I hadn't noticed hitting anything in the water so, I thought something caught up in the prop like fishing line. I stopped and inspected the prop underwater just to find everything looking fine, it is an Acme 4 blade. So, thinking whatever it was had dropped off, I started up again only to find the vibration still there. I trailered the boat and closely inspected the prop but didn't notice any dings or nicks, not even any small ones. The only thing I did notice was the edges of the blades were a little rough and slightly burred. I have dinged my prop in the past and understand how sensitive they can be to the slightest imperfection but, the marks I found are very minuscule and even may have existed prior to taking the boat out but, can't be 100% sure. Does anyone know of a good prop shop in the Lake Wylie, SC area or around Charlotte that I can take the prop to see if it is out of balance? Any other ideas as to where the vibration may be coming from is also appreciated.
Thanks again for the help…..

[tnvolgrad]

I had a similar issue with my 08 - I got this weird vibration after stopping and then when I accelerated it did it again. I limped back to the dock and put it on the trailer to inspect and see if something was damaged - nothing. I call my dealer and explained what had happened and he stated it sound like I hit a piece of wood dead center on the tracking fin causing enough disturbance in the water flow to cause the vibration. I put it back in the water and the vibration went away (guess the stick/branch/wood came off when I loaded the boat) - surprisingly a little piece of wood can cause that kind of vibration.

Not sure if yours is continuing to vibrate after you took it out of the water to inspect, but thought I would share my experience.

[pm22v]

Thanks for sharing the info tnvolgrad. I failed to mention in my original post that when I first checked the prop in the water I also checked for debri/dings/looseness on the tracking fins and they were clean too. Once home I took a closer look at the uderside of the boat and still found nothing. So, last night I pulled the prop and sanded out all the tiny nicks and burrs. I will have the prop back on the boat and hit the lake later today for a test. "Fingers X"

Thanks again for the input.

[TeamAllen]

If you had a spare prop you could swap it out and try the difference with little downtime.

[kevin1tige]

Engine alignment? Last time it was aligned? Any hits to the prop or strut can cause the alignment to go out and cause a vibration. Alignment should be done every 100hrs or every other season.

You align the prop shaft to the transmission coupler.

[SPBFAN]

You certainly need to check the engine alignment. Also check the water bearing the prop shaft strut and make sure it is not coming apart on you. that could bet real bad if it is. I just fixed a Air Natique that had 500 hrs on it and the water bearing came apart and sized the prop shaft inside the strut. I had to replace the shaft, & Strut and do an engine alignment afterwards.

[pm22v]

Thanks everyone for the great feedback. I will add the items to my list of things to check. After cleaning up and reinstalling the prop, I took the boat out for a test drive. The prop clean up did slightly improve the vibration but, not completely. The vibration is more noticeable a certain rpm's under load. And seems to level out and go away once the boat gets up to speed and maintains a constant speed. One thing additional. The steering on my 22v while under load has slowly tightened over the last year or so. After verifying the steering cable was good, I began to check the rudder assembly. I found the rudder to have a significant amount of diametrical movement and a slight amount vertically. Surely, this is due to wear since I haven't hit anything. But, has anyone experienced vibration similar to what I am experiencing due to their rudder being loose?