[rjshelley]

I was boating on the Intercoastal Waterway today, when I struck something. It broke all three blades off the prop & the skeg off the foot of the stern drive. A friend came to me & we put on another prop. The questions is, I had a 21 pitch prop & the one we put on was a 22 pitch prop. The boat had trouble getting out of the water & once it planed out, it turning turning more rpm's then before. Is there that much difference between the two props or did I possible damage something else?

[mikeyt]

Originally Posted by rjshelley

I was boating on the Intercoastal Waterway today, when I struck something. It broke all three blades off the prop & the skeg off the foot of the stern drive. A friend came to me & we put on another prop. The questions is, I had a 21 pitch prop & the one we put on was a 22 pitch prop. The boat had trouble getting out of the water & once it planed out, it turning turning more rpm's then before. Is there that much difference between the two props or did I possible damage something else?

Ouch! Its quite possible you did some other damage with that impact. Hopefully the hub did its thing and separated though before any internal damage occurred. You might want to get the outdrive pressure tested though just to be sure you didn't damage any seals. Was there any vibration with the new prop? Your rpms should have dropped with the increase in pitch, not risen but that may be due to the significantly different rake in the two props. What was the holeshot/planing like prior to the damage? If it wasn't as good as you would like i would suggest dropping to a 20" - 4 blade or a 19" - 3 blade.

You can check out WetWilly's tutorial on skeg repair & refinishing here if you are thinking about doing the repairs yourself.

[SEMIJim]

When we did something like that last season, our insurance company insisted we immediately take the boat in to a qualified, certified Mercury service center and have her checked out. They said they'd pay for the cost of that. Good thing they did. Tho it turned out there was no damage to the outdrive, the bottom of the boat, near the stern, had two long gashes in it that were so deep they required glass work.

We only knocked our stainless High-5 out of whack, which a prop repair place fixed, spun the hub and knocked off only about 1/3 to 1/2 the skeg.

Total cost of the mechanical work, fiberglass repair and skeg replacement was about about $1500. Prop reconditioning was another $200 or so. $45 for the hub kit.

The reason the insurance company insisted on the immediate check-out was that the claims adjuster had had another boat, the previous season, have much the same thing happen. The owner was a commercial operator who didn't want to miss any of the season, so he and the insurance company agreed they'd address the damage later. Well, there was lower unit damage, and, by failing to address it in a timely fashion, that led to further damage, doubling or tripling the cost of the repairs.

Do you have any idea what you hit?

Jim

[garyg]

rishelly Sorry to here about you prop and skeg. I put just a skeggard on my outdrive.I took some pictures of it. Check out the Prop I would check with my insurance company about the damage?? I wiped out a lower unit years ago and they paid to have it repaired. Good Luck Gary G

[nglauer]

I just purchased my boat, however the Previous Owner had to have the complete lower unit replaced. He told me that the insurance company covered it 100%, but that the bill totaled over $4000.00? No damage to the hull.. I guess he hit a large rock at a high rate of speed. They bought the boat new in 02 and had boated in the same area every season, and had no clue that a large cluster of rocks existed where the accident happened. The area on the river is now marked with buoys.

Hopefully all is well.. that had to be scary.

[simpleaz]

Last Sunday I smacked a rock in an area of a lake I didn't know was shallow and rocky. I was not going fast however I broke the skeg and had the skekgard holding on with one bolt and bent 45 degress to the left. I looks almost like the first photo in this thread (once skeg off).

I dropped the boat off Wednesday and picked it up Friday night after having the skeg repaired and the prop reconditioned. I am pleased with the results. Like new now. The sad news is I had to cancel my swimplatform install since I spent some cash on this repair.

I also had the bolt holes for the hydrofoil filled in at the same time. I put smarttabs on tonight.

[rjshelley]

Thanks guys, I feel better knowing that it can be repaired without having to replace the lower unit. MikeyT, I was planning on going to a 4 blade 19 pitch prop, but your suggestion of a 20 pitch make good sense.

[rjshelley]

Gary,
I was looking at the skeggard but I'm not sure if there is enough skeg left for it to secure properly.

[simpleaz]

rjshelley

I spent about $465 for all the fix.

1. full skeg repair - part and weld service $200
2. prop redo since it was chewed up a little.
3. 1.5 hours labor to drop lower unit for repair, lube, and shop supplies.

I got my boat back without even being able to tell it was welded. All painted and like new. The Prop looks really good and polished up. Blades like new.

I will probably put a skeggard on it down the road if I have damage to the skeg. For now, I am leaving it 'naked'.

Happy overall and hoping I don't have to repair or chunk the new skeg anytime soon.

[garyg]

Rjshelley I called the Skeggard factory and talked to a very helpful person and I got a new Skeggard with a blemish on it,very small and hard to see for $ 75 plus shipping. I had a skeggard on my old boat and it saved my prop more than once if I didn't have the the lower unit high enough when I pulled the boat of the water. Gary G