Ran Aground.....Hit Bottom

[FreeBeeTony]

Hit bottom on my way fishing today. Was just coming up on plane.........was probably doin ~35MPH or so. It was a sand bar.......fairly soft bottom. I imediately pulled the throttle back and raised the outdrive.......by that time the drive had already been kicked up by hitting bottom. I assume the trim cylinders have some sort of relief valve in order to let the drive raise up in this condition.

I actually had to get in the water and push the boat off the bar.......

Once I was in deep enough water I lowered the drive and everything seemd to be OK.

I was concerned about the transom......the action (hitting bottom like that) must put alot of stress on the transom.

On my way home I opened it up and it seemed fine.......no noises or vibrations.

Anything I should check?

 

[Don S]

Re: Ran Aground.....Hit Bottom

As long as your transom isn't rotted, there shouldn't be any problem. There are relief valves in the cylinders that allows the fluid to bypass during impact.
The one thing that may happen is mud getting into the cooling system and plugging things up. May also have caused some extra wear to the impeller, just keep an eye on the temp and replace the impeller this winter.

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: Ran Aground.....Hit Bottom

Thanks Don.........

The impeller in the leg is only cooling the outdrive..........the raw water pump for the engine is located on the engine.

Guess I am OK...........

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Ran Aground.....Hit Bottom

Did ya catch anything?.....​

 

[Dakota47]

Re: Ran Aground.....Hit Bottom

Keep an eye in the bildge for any excess water??

 

[Dakota47]

Re: Ran Aground.....Hit Bottom

look for stress cracks on the transom too..

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: Ran Aground.....Hit Bottom

Caught about 6 or 7 fluke............only 1 keeper.

I did watch the bilge..........didn't notice any additional water.