Newbie Mistake - Forgot to Tilt

[DamienJ]

I did this coming out of my boat ramp. How bad is it, can I still ride over the holiday weekend?

 

[BillK2632]

Ouch! Don't beat yourself up too bad - we have all done things like this - I've been boating all my life (decades) and I still make a bonehead move every now and then. This is minor, but you want to asses the damage.

1. The damage on the skeg is cosmetic, thousands of boats run everyday that look just like that. It has no impact on the performance of the boat.

• To repair you can have a new piece welded onto the skeg.
• Buy and install a stainless steel skeg guard (that's what I would do).
• File it smooth, touch up the paint and forget it. I would do that until you make a more permanent repair.

2. On the propeller.

• I would file the rough edges smooth
• Then go run the boat, if there is no new vibration I would say you are good to use the boat for now.
• If you do detect a vibration, you will want to have the props reconditioned.
• Even if there is no vibration, you might still want to have the props checked / reconditioned during the off season.
• Anything more than a very slight vibration can cause damage in the drive over time - a lot like driving a car with wheels out of balance. Annoying, but over time causes damage / excessive wear.

Hopefully there is no or minimal vibration and you can enjoy the weekend and address this later.

My 4th of July bonehead move happened about 5yrs ago. Had my inlaws and whole family out to our lake house. Heading out to watch fireworks - boat full of people - backing out of the slip I had not lowered the boat lift far enough. Steel beam, aluminum prop, end of boating for the weekend!

 

[Henry Boyd]

Damien,
I concur that the keg damage is cosmetic. I have a friend who did similar to one of his skegs and literally ripped the other side off and still drove the boat for years afterwards. Personally, other than some painting I’d do nothing to the keg. The last thing a B3 needs is more stainless in proximity to the drive, so I would definitely not use a stainless skeg guard.

As for the props, if there is no vibration I’d also do nothing at this point and wait for a time when you can conveniently get the prop set reconditioned. In New England that would run about $500 for a two prop B3 set. To get the props off you will need a Merc tool that is essentially a large deep socket to remove the inner bronze retaining nut. I recall the tool was less than $100 when I bought mine about 15 years ago, so about equal to the cost of having a tech R&R the props to send out.

 

[KevinC]

I did this coming out of my boat ramp. How bad is it, can I still ride over the holiday weekend?

Unfortunately your skeg actually did part of it job which is to bounce the drive before a direct hit to the props and the shaft. As mentioned above it is cosmetic and provides this protection. I concur with Henry that I would not add any more stainless to that drive.

But... it is very important to get that area painted and covered before putting it back in as the exposed aluminum will be subject to corrosion and will act like your anodes and eventual dissolve due to electrolysis.

If you want to get it repaired you will need to find a welder proficient in working with Aluminum and get a cast skeg to put on and then repaint.

-Kevin

 

[DamienJ]

Thanks guys for all of your input. I freaked out when this happened, I thought I just threw $k’s out the window. I will test the props out later today and hope I can still run my NJ to Fort McHenry (Baltimore Harbor) trip this weekend.

 

[Thornton69]

Unlikely with the minimal damage, but would definitely spin it buy hand and look closely at the end of the shaft for runout before attempting any kind of water test. It is likely the vehicle also rolled back a bit after putting it in park. Don't ask how I know please.