Towed to Marina today

[Mr Happy]

Thank-you before hand if any can help diagnose the problem. Had the boat out today for first time in 3 months, too busy.

Took some friends from Germany who had never skied. A lot of start and stop, 3 of them 5 to 10 tries with tubing in between. The last run of the day (6 hours, 3 running) put the boat in drive and it would not go anywhere. It does clunk/thunk when engaging the gears, as usual with a Mercury (Alpha One) out-drive.

There were no alarms going off, nothing. Looked and spun the prop seemed OK. When I put it in drive or reverse the prop does spin and the boat will move forward only enough to keep it going straight. Going into the wind it would not go forward but it does seem to stay the direction I'm pointing. When I put the drive in "trailer mode" for a few seconds water flies like a rooster tail.

Got her home and put the muffs on. First took prop off and everything seemed OK, no metal shavings or worn parts. Believe me I know, replaced the lower unit 3 years and have kept the worn gears as a reminder. Lower unit has fluid, usual color.

Indiana DNR stopped when I flagged them down and I told them the problem and he replied "a broken hub." Anyways I knew the answer before I asked "can you give us a tow?" No, liability but he was starting to get a rope out when I asked another boater who helped.

 

[SevenTeas]

The DNR guy makes a good point. Could be a spun hub. How did the hub and shaft look when you got it off. Is it a rubber hub?

 

[Mr Happy]

Honestly, I do not know. I did look down thru the opening but did not see anything unusual. Went back out and took off the prop. This time the rubber hub stayed on the shaft and I have the prop in my hand. I have no idea how much I should expect to pay. It is a steel prop.

I never felt the boat/lower unit hitting anything. No major changes/dings in the steel prop. What I do know, it is better than replacing gears in the lower unit.

Great news for me. We will be camping at Charles-town State Park (Indiana) on the Ohio River Labor Day Weekend.

Hope you and yours have had a great summer and a safe fall.

Wild how it the site says "last edited at 1:30 A.M. Yet, it is 9:30 P.M.

 

[johnsross3]

Your problem does sound like a spun prop; there is a rubber bushing between the hub of the prop and the prop itself. When they get spun, they will still turn the prop but only at slow speeds. At anything over a no wake speed, the hub loses contact with the prop and the prop won't keep up with the hub. Your best bet is to take the prop to a prop shop; one that services props. They should be able to determine whether it's spun, and if so, they can replace the rubber. I don't recall if that its part of the hub or not, but I know they can be fixed.