240 Sundeck stuck in gear

[Belercous]

Greeterings, I'm a FNG here. Boat is new to me. Over the Labor day weekend I ran it into a submerged sand bar (which didn't use to be there). Eventually got it off, engine ran fine, no vibrations.
About 15 minutes later the engine made a shrill noise; cut power, lifted rear seat & saw blue smoke. Killed engine & dropped anchor.
Engine did not overheat, but the starboard riser did. Port riser was warm. I let it cool, then pulled a hose & figured I'd start the engine & blurp out the sand. [Also something popped, sounding like a firecracker; no idea what it was (yet).] Tried to start engine, but it would not go into neutral. Was towed back to my slip (Thank Neptune for Boats.us insurance). Disconnected the shift cable, but it will not come out of fwd so problem isn't in shifter/throttle.
While aground on the sand bar it shifted fine, but the riser wasn't overheating then. While the shifter linkages attach to the starboard riser, nothing on them appears to be melted.

Any ideas on what happened?

 

[Southern Pirate]

Sounds like you have several things going on. The stuck shifter sounds like a Bravo 3 clutch problem. If you did some fast forward and reverse shifting, the cone clutch could weld itself to the gears.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Bravo 3? Shifting while the engine isn't running damages stuff (shift cable connection, etc). Pull the outdrive and then see if you can get the engine running (and/or figure out what went "pop"). You don't need the drive to run the engine - stick a hose in the water intake at the transom. Pulling the drive also allows to shift and inspect the cable connection.

 

[Belercous]

Alpha drive. Got the boat out of the water & got the rear unit off. Cable is froze. Found both flapper valves. Notified ins. company & opened a claim. Got a boat mechanic on the job now. While the engine didn't overtemp, everything from the risers on back did. Melted a hole in the exhaust aft of the riser on starboard side. This won't be a cheap easy fix. I'm done boating for the year.

 

[Jimmy Buoy]

Sorry to hear that, but it's possible that while stuck on the sand bar your drive ingested sand into the water intake. That could have caused a reduced flow of water to the engine which may explain your burnt rubber exhaust hose - too much hot exhaust and not enough water to prevent burning. Hopefully there was enough water to prevent the engine from getting critically hot. Your outdrives water pump will also need to be inspected for damage from sand.

A bit more info about "running into a submerged sand bar" would help. Were you on plane when you hit bottom? How did you "get off" once grounded? Was the engine kept running the entire time while grounded? If so, how much throttle was applied and did you stay in Forward the whole time?

It is possible the "shrill noise and blue smoke" was your engine coupler failing. That's the part attached to your engine's flywheel. The outdrives drive shaft fits into the centre of the coupler and spins constantly when the engine is running. The coupler is actually set in a rubber mount so that if something prevents the prop from turning (like being slowed by heavy sand or hitting an obstruction) the drive can essentially "break free" of the engine by tearing up the rubber mount to save both components from extreme damage.

Unfortunately, the coupler can only be replaced by removing the engine from the boat. So not a cheap fix.

Tough day on the water...

 

[Lazy Daze]

The blue smoke, as you probably have now figured out, was likely from the exhaust boot.

The shift cable wraps down around the exhaust - the sheath melting onto the inner cable is probably better terminology than froze.

I doubt you did any damage to the engine, itself. But it may be necessary to pull the engine to fully flush it out - it'd just be easier. And, truthfully, at this point - it'd only take an hour or two to pull it out. Besides, you need to pull it to put new flappers back in.

I hear what Jimmy is saying about the coupler, but the prop hub would let go well before the coupler.

Now's the time to throw some new parts (maintenance) at it while everything is apart... bellows, trim senders, etc. At this point, you're only paying for the parts and not the labor.

 

[Scott215]

How hard did you hit, and was it just sand

 

[Belercous]

Sand most certainly was sucked up into the engine. Apparently it clogged the starboard riser & semi-clogged the port one.

We were going about 14 mph when we hit. It stopped the boat dead & killed the engine. I trimmed the engine up as far as it would go (3/4, why not all the way I dunno), started the engine & when put in gear (reverse) it stopped the engine. I had the paddle out & was trying to push us back, with not much luck until a boat came by (on plane) veered around us close to one of the islads were we between & I used his wake to push us back a bit. Shortly thereafter, another bosat did the same thing & I moved us back a bit further. Then I started the engine & could back out (slowly so as not to suck straight sand into the intake). I continued on my way & then the problems started.

The temp gauge stayed at 180, where it has always rode (at least since I got the boat & changed the thermostat; could be an indicator problem). A hole was melted in the starboard exhaust tube. I believe that was the blue smoke.

The engine coupler is fine.

Shifter cable disconnected at both ends (rear unit pulled) & is still frozen, so it did melt somewhere behind the engine. I should clarify when I said I found both flapper valves: I found them where the exhaust connects to the rear unit.

Prop has no damage, but I'm going to replace it with an Aluminum one since I run on the Mississippi.

The bellows is like new, likely recently changed when the previous owner had it serviced earlier this year. The U-joints are new too. I'm still going to replace the bellows since it's apart. Also being replaced will be all the rubber hoses & exhaust connectors. I'm going to have the mechanic remove the exhaust manifolds & have them pressure tested along with the risers.

My insurance company is not gonna love me.

 

[Lazy Daze]

LD, while you know more than I can ever know, you are wrong on flappers. I replace mine with every manifold and riser replacement and have never pulled an engine. Very easy to get to with M & R off. Actually, the mans dont need to come off.

You're correct - not sure what I was thinking when I wrote that!

 

[Yendor]

You're correct - not sure what I was thinking when I wrote that!

I'd guess you were still thinking in the coupler mode.
Not a difficult mistake to make when discussing such things on a forum like this one.

Nobody can remember everything all the time.
Hell . . . I can only remember some stuff part of the time.

 

[JayhawkCurtis]

Sand most certainly was sucked up into the engine. Apparently it clogged the starboard riser & semi-clogged the port one.

We were going about 14 mph when we hit. It stopped the boat dead & killed the engine. I trimmed the engine up as far as it would go (3/4, why not all the way I dunno), started the engine & when put in gear (reverse) it stopped the engine. I had the paddle out & was trying to push us back, with not much luck until a boat came by (on plane) veered around us close to one of the islads were we between & I used his wake to push us back a bit. Shortly thereafter, another bosat did the same thing & I moved us back a bit further. Then I started the engine & could back out (slowly so as not to suck straight sand into the intake). I continued on my way & then the problems started.

The temp gauge stayed at 180, where it has always rode (at least since I got the boat & changed the thermostat; could be an indicator problem). A hole was melted in the starboard exhaust tube. I believe that was the blue smoke.

The engine coupler is fine.

Shifter cable disconnected at both ends (rear unit pulled) & is still frozen, so it did melt somewhere behind the engine. I should clarify when I said I found both flapper valves: I found them where the exhaust connects to the rear unit.

Prop has no damage, but I'm going to replace it with an Aluminum one since I run on the Mississippi.

The bellows is like new, likely recently changed when the previous owner had it serviced earlier this year. The U-joints are new too. I'm still going to replace the bellows since it's apart. Also being replaced will be all the rubber hoses & exhaust connectors. I'm going to have the mechanic remove the exhaust manifolds & have them pressure tested along with the risers.

My insurance company is not gonna love me.

I still quite cant see how this is possible, the water intake is above the skeg and prop on the drive, you must have buried the entire lower in some kind of muck. I boat on a very shallow sandy bottom lake, and I do not think it is possible to bury a drive in sand.

 

[Lazy Daze]

I still quite cant see how this is possible, the water intake is above the skeg and prop on the drive, you must have buried the entire lower in some kind of muck. I boat on a very shallow sandy bottom lake, and I do not think it is possible to bury a drive in sand.

Actually, it's easier to suck in sand than one might think. Even just being shallow water (with the skeg close, but not touching the sea floor) can allow sand/muck to be sucked up. Between the suction being created, the flow of the boat and the prop spinning... that all can stir things up. We see it all the time - boats that are used in shallow water have to have their impellers changed on a more regular basis... and then we find things like the "quick" engine block drain hoses are clogged with sand... meaning, they don't actually drain and people that don't take the extra step to check and clear the clog run the risk of a cracked block over the Winter.

And... yes... it's QUITE possible to bury a drive in sand

 

[JayhawkCurtis]

Actually, it's easier to suck in sand than one might think. Even just being shallow water (with the skeg close, but not touching the sea floor) can allow sand/muck to be sucked up. Between the suction being created, the flow of the boat and the prop spinning... that all can stir things up. We see it all the time - boats that are used in shallow water have to have their impellers changed on a more regular basis... and then we find things like the "quick" engine block drain hoses are clogged with sand... meaning, they don't actually drain and people that don't take the extra step to check and clear the clog run the risk of a cracked block over the Winter.

And... yes... it's QUITE possible to bury a drive in sand

Boating on this same shallow lake for 35 years, with 4 different boats tells me otherwise. We beach our boat every weekend we boat. Change impellers every 5 years. I don’t see how what happened to the OP resulted from hitting a sand bar, but I guess it doesn’t really matter, damage is done.
I respect your knowledge, my experience on this subject is different than yours.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Boating on this same shallow lake for 35 years, with 4 different boats tells me otherwise. We beach our boat every weekend we boat. Change impellers every 5 years. I don’t see how what happened to the OP resulted from hitting a sand bar, but I guess it doesn’t really matter, damage is done.
I respect your knowledge, my experience on this subject is different than yours.

Believe, I'm not saying your experience is invalid. Far from it. Heck, there are variables even in the type of "sand". All I'm saying is that it DOES happen as I've seen plenty of times. This is one of those times where just because you, personally, haven't experienced it doesn't mean it can't happen to others

 

[Lazy Daze]

I'd guess you were still thinking in the coupler mode.
Not a difficult mistake to make when discussing such things on a forum like this one.

Nobody can remember everything all the time.
Hell . . . I can only remember some stuff part of the time.

you give me too much credit...