Vibration problem, please help.

[whitlock87]

I am having a very small vibration problem.
Its only when I pull a rider or a tube.
This is what is going on.
When I first take off from a dead stop, I will get some vibration for about 1 or 2 seconds.
You can hear it and feel it in the steering wheel, but can’t feel anything on the floor.

If I am just riding around, (taken of slow) it will not do it.

On our last trip, the boat drifted into a sand bar, the rudder hit and we pushed it off.
When I checked the boat on the trailer, I can not see any dings or nicks in the prop. But the rudder does have some play.

Any thoughts on what it might be, and how to fix it?

Thanks
David W

[dogbert]

The rudder's probably not causing this. My guess is that you did bend your prop ever so slightly. It should be easy to fix by a reputable prop shop. The one I use here in Austin probably wouldn't even charge me for something this minor because it literally takes them a couple of minutes to fix.

It's also possible you messed up your alignment ever so slightly.

One final comment. The heavier you load up your boat, the bigger the strain you put on it when you take off. I've noticed under extremely heavy loads, my boat will vibrate as we're taking off. Sometimes I can avoid this by pushing the TAPS plate down all the way (to 0) to help plane out faster. I've noticed this more since I down-pitched my prop (i.e., my prop has more bite and is cavitating less).

[chpthril]

I'd look for a slight tweak in the prob causing some prop slip on hole-shot

[whitlock87]

Thanks
I have a new prop. (got it when i got the boat)
I will put it on today, and try to take it on Sunday.

My old prop has been on for 4 years, hope i can get it off
David

[dogbert]

Thanks
I have a new prop. (got it when i got the boat)
I will put it on today, and try to take it on Sunday.

My old prop has been on for 4 years, hope i can get it off
David

Do you have a prop puller? I change mine out at least 2-3 times a season and it's really on there. Prop puller makes it a piece of cake.

[whitlock87]

Think so
I got one of the weekend bag things from acme, I think there is one in there.
Find out when i get home.

[gaspony]

if you have time it would be awesome to see some pictures of you pulling and placing the prop for future reference. Thanks.

[balair]

dog why do you change out your prop 2-3 times a season?
I'd think after a while you would have figured out where the shallow spots are

[dogbert]

dog why do you change out your prop 2-3 times a season?
I'd think after a while you would have figured out where the shallow spots are

I have actually only hit one thing that's under the water (we were in 20' of water and I got a submerged log that was floating by jammed in between the rudder and the prop). Usually it's because there are slight bends in my Acme prop that are caused by fat friends sitting on my swim platform after the boat has swung around into water that's too shallow. About half of these were at Tige owners reunions on Lake Austin. It's hard to get a good anchor set with all the hydrilla and the wakes of other boats pushes you into shore. I used to get wound up about it, but Nettles almost never charges me for minor dings, so I just grin and bear it.

[whitlock87]

I have actually only hit one thing that's under the water (we were in 20' of water and I got a submerged log that was floating by jammed in between the rudder and the prop). Usually it's because there are slight bends in my Acme prop that are caused by fat friends sitting on my swim platform after the boat has swung around into water that's too shallow. About half of these were at Tige owners reunions on Lake Austin. It's hard to get a good anchor set with all the hydrilla and the wakes of other boats pushes you into shore. I used to get wound up about it, but Nettles almost never charges me for minor dings, so I just grin and bear it.

that how i bent my prop, but i was the fat freind
Very small bend in the prop (about ¼ “) made a huge impact on performance.

[whitlock87]

if you have time it would be awesome to see some pictures of you pulling and placing the prop for future reference. Thanks.

Sorry, but by the time I read this, I was done.
Her are a few links I found for you.
http://www.wakeoutlaws.com/howtochangeyourprop.php
http://www.wakesiderides.com/viewArticle.php?id=163

In both of these, they said it will pop off. I had to use a dead head hammer to help get my prop off. It just took a few good hits, and then it pop off.

David