NiBrl prop blade failure

cbuckman5

New Member
Oct 17, 2015
9
Detroit River/ Lake Erie
Boat Info
1999 Sundancer 450DA
Engines
Twin CAT 3126TA
Cruising smoothly at 20knots across the middle of a lake in depths greater than 25ft. All of a sudden I feel a bang and strong vibration. Take it to shore on one engine and haul it out to find one prop blade gone. No other damage to the hull or other blades. Looks like a poor casting. Insurance said they won't cover it cause i didn't hit anything. What can I do here?
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Hard to tell, is that rust/corrosion inside the broken area?

Wondering if it was only partially attached, just finally gave out,,,
 
20 knots with something just under the water is hard to see. How do you know your really didn't hit anything? How does the insurance know you didn't hit anything? I assume you told them you didn't hit anything. Either way, that stinks..
 
20 knots with something just under the water is hard to see. How do you know your really didn't hit anything? How does the insurance know you didn't hit anything? I assume you told them you didn't hit anything. Either way, that stinks..

My dad always told me: Never squeal on yourself and don't fix it if it's not broken.
 
Have you got anymore photos?

Do you know the complete history of these props? Have they ever been significantly repitched?

There is undoubtly porosity in the casting but I can't see it being the primary cause of failure, only a contributing one. That defect would have been there from day 1.

The scuffing visible near the hub suggest you may have hit something....
 
It's definitely possible an impact finished it off but that thing has been cracked for a while. I'd guess there were cracks that could have been seen it the props were clean and looked at closely.
 
I think you hit something, and the poor casting made it a little easy to break. That looks terrible. Have you brought it to any prop shops and asked them?
 
Since you don't have the broken blade, your options are only to buy a new or used prop.

What caused this isn't important at this point because losing your no-loss credit on a marine insurance policy is probably going to equal the cost of a prop by the time you rained it back.
 
It's hard to imagine a blade just breaking off without hitting something, but it's certainly possible. Just be glad it wasn't worse. Last summer a guy at my marina was out with his 56' Carver and hit something while he was idling through a channel. He destroyed a propeller, bent the 2.5" driveshaft, and bent the strut. The 150-lb bronze strut had to be sent to a shipyard in Florida to be straightened. Repairs cost well over $20k and he was without use of the boat for most of the season.
 
Threw a blade, just like that, a few years ago. No other damage. Was not worth even trying for insurance, since I had no other damage. Could not prove I hit something, and I did not think I did. I have hit things in the past, and you normally feel that hit.

It certainly gets your attention when it happens! I thought a tranny had exploded. Scared the hell out of my wife.
 
Threw a blade, just like that, a few years ago. No other damage. Was not worth even trying for insurance, since I had no other damage. Could not prove I hit something, and I did not think I did. I have hit things in the past, and you normally feel that hit.

It certainly gets your attention when it happens! I thought a tranny had exploded. Scared the hell out of my wife.

Haha. My wife screamed when it happened. Never felt an impact, just going from smooth cruising to a massive vibration. I don't think I've ever moved so fast in shutting down the throttles. Thanks for all the input!


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You know, I did call my insurance about it, let them know, just in case some other driveline damaged surfaced later. They told me to take good pictures, just in case.

You might consider it, a CYA, just in case.
 

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