Fowled Prop on Alpha One ADVICE PLEASE

[Seawench]

Alright, as much as it pains me to air out dirty laundry, I need some help here. I have a 2010 Searay 185 Sport 4.3TKS Alpha One. While I was in the water stuck to my wakeboard my driver fouled the prop with the tow line. Bad news, towline was very high quality and wrapped round the prop and trashed it. I will have to replace that. I am very concerned about the lower leg. The line had to be cut to remove it and had stopped normal rotation, all of which happen at speeds just above neutral. The prop spins, motor is pulling water for cooling. There seems to be an extra quarter inch of play if I pull on the prop along the axis of the prop shaft. I slightly engaged the drive system out of the water with cooling in clear area, prop spins under power. There is a random knocking/click noise. I have never engaged the prop out of the water so I am personally unaware if this is a normal sound. When I rotate the prop by hand there is no feeling of resistance or anything abnormal. I am hesitant to take to dealer with $130 hour maint costs. Thoughts, ideas. I am prepared to spring for a new prop, though if I have to rebuild/repack the lower leg, that sounds nasty expensive and complex.
Aloha and any help/thoughts would be great.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Well, I can't tell you how many times me and my family have gotten a fouled prop due to lobster trap ropes over the years. I've never noticed any problems afterward. I'm not saying that it's impossible to cause a problem - just very, very unlikely.

When you ran it out of water, did you have the drive trimmed most of the way down?

 

[Seawench]

Update, just got back from storage area, the leg was most of the way down, FYI. I spoke with a owner replacing his engine there. He recommended changing the prop first and going from there. I hope that he is right. About to figure out prop replacement.

 

[LockedupXJ]

The best way to test it is to launch the boat and try driving it. If it drives fine then there probably is no issues. If you find something doesnt feel right or it doenst work at all then start trouble shooting. I always operate on the "Dont fix it if it isnt broken" principle. That always works out to be cheaper :thumbsup:

 

[sr330daguy]

Pull the prop and see if the plastic hub is broken,its designed to break in situations like you had.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Pull the prop and see if the plastic hub is broken,its designed to break in situations like you had.

Good point - I would suspect that would be the extent of a problem, if at all. It could explain the extra fore-aft movement (although some is normal on an Alpha).