Hit a piece of submerged wood

I agree with the comment that you haven't been boating a lot (all relative) if you haven't hit something--especially in the PNW. In over 230,000 miles of boating, I have hit a lot of things, with a lot of different props. This includes a whale shark, a large sea turtle, logs, cables, nets, tarps, tree limbs, some rocks and outcroppings, etc. One boat I was sailing on hit a shipping container, and impacted the hull. Most boats would have been holed and sunk--but this boat had a 3" thick balsa core, which impacted and the inner layer of glass was not breeched. One might say, how would you not see a shipping container, log etc--these types of things happen at 0 dark 30, often in winds over 50 knots and seas which are much higher than one wants to be in.....but bad things can happen.

I have changed both outboard, and inboard props when in the water--not fun, but at time necessary. I used to change a folding prop which I had on a sailboat for racing, to a solid cruising prop for powering, at least once a week, in three free dives--this did involve a net bag to hold parts etc.

The easiest way to change a C Dory outboard prop on the water is from a dinghy. One of the reasons to carry a dinghy, even if you never need it to get to shore. Changing an outboard prop in shallow water at Powell is like changing it on the trailer.

RobLL, there are some very basic mechanical things you need to be able to do on a boat like the C Dory--changing a prop is one of those. Also changing the lower unit oil is in the category. Also I consider knowing some basics of 12 volt electrical systems is also essential.

I agree with those who say that having a kicker of some type is also essential. Some will argue that some towing policy is enough. Many places the tow boat cannot not get to you in a timely fashion, and you may save your boat and self by having an engine to keep way on. One might argue throw out an anchor--but many places the water is too deep, too close to the shore, to get an anchor to hold in time...
 
Hope your outboard is fine after hitting 2x2 .Last season at Cayuga after heavy rains a lot of floaters always afraid of hitting something we go slow and watch,but eventually after days you pick up speed again.After learning repairs then it seems easy,its the not having expierence before hand and attempting it. Wish I could learn everything about maintaining my boat and outboard ,just don't have connections to learn.
 
As usual, Bob give excellent advice. I have never changed one in open waters, getting close to shore in the shallows, or even beaching makes it a real snap. I'm sure I can change one in less than 5 minutes or so, even on the dingy. This is something that is no big deal, but can be if you lose the parts and don't have extras. To get back to the original posting, I really don't think you hurt anything, but if you do have a vibration, the likely culprit is your prop.
 
I finally found discussions where the urethane or delrin piece in the XHS system (and similar systems) is destroyed when saving the prop. Spares are $20, which makes it cheaper than prop repair, but no good if you don't have a spare urethane piece. It's possible to move with a damaged prop. I'm not sure that the prop would even spin if the urethane piece was stripped.

I think that the XHS system would be a little easier to change simply because there is no need to yank the prop off of possibly corroded splines. There is no metal-to-metal contact. The urethane piece just slips in and out of prop.

I've never changed an outboard prop on the water without a dinghy, but I assume that the motor is raised, I would then climb on to the motor like Slim Pickens riding the atom bomb in Dr. Strangelove, and then change the prop while upside down and backwards. I can now see that hitting something isn't the dangerous part.

Mark
 
Mark, it just dawned on me, I was confusing hub systems. The system I was talking about, was Rubex's RBX hard rubber hub. The XHS hubs with urethane, are a hard plastic. The plastic will break apart if the prop hits something, but I think once it's "spun", the prop will continue to be disengaged from the engine's output shaft. The Rubex RBX rubber hub can flex up to 10 degrees, but I'm not sure how much torque it would take to "spin" it. I've used both systems, and to be honest really can't tell much difference, other than shifting with the rubber hub seems to be maybe a little smoother. I did have one of the XHS hard plastic hubs crack, but it was still driving the prop. Colby
 
Best plan for changing a prop on the water is a dinghy or kayak. Get to safety and anchor up then give is a try. worse case would be to get in the water and do it. Easier then reaching around the motor.
 
Haven't had to do it yet but my swim platform (aka: "the back porch") is large enough to reach the prop on the main engine. The kicker is another story.
 
Back
Top