Found a few new rocks with my outdrive today...pics inside

[ping65810]

So I went fishing today on the lake I live next to (Long Pond in Dracut, MA) to do a little fishing with my Renken 20' bowrider. There are a few rocks which stick out of the water that everyone knows about, and I've been by many times. Well, with the draught we've been having out here the water level is a little lower then usual (around 3' lower).

Well, idling by trying to get near the rocks for some fishing I managed to find a few new rocks that I never knew about- When my prop and outdrive slammed into them. I threw it in neutral quick as I could and tried to raise the drive, but it was too late.

Now for the damage- the prop was a little screwed up already before, though nothing like this. The prop ended up getting totally destroyed, as did the skeg, which is non existant now, and I have a large hole in the front section of the drive. Of course, all the gear oil was lost as well when that happened.

So not only did I not catch anything on the water today, but I totally mangled the drive. FML. Now to figure out the best way to fix it, used outdrive vs new/rebuilt, and what prop to get. Either way its a nice "Howdy do" in the words of Bill Dance LOL

 

[NHGuy]

Re: Found a few new rocks with my outdrive today...pics inside

Ping PM me if you want, I live in the next town over and can help you get a lower section to install. Bummer.

 

[dsiekman]

Re: Found a few new rocks with my outdrive today...pics inside

Wow! That was at idle??? I guess I should consider myself lucky for living on a river that is mostly mud/sandy bottom. No real rocks to speak of. Good luck!

 

[flycaster]

Re: Found a few new rocks with my outdrive today...pics inside

DON'T throw the prop away. It can be rebuilt back to almost new.
Cost less than half of a new one. You can keep it as a spare after rebuild if you don't want to use it full time.

 

[RWilson2526]

Re: Found a few new rocks with my outdrive today...pics inside

DON'T throw the prop away. It can be rebuilt back to almost new.
.

Really? I havec no idea really but the way that thing looks I find that hard to believe.

 

[riptide09]

Re: Found a few new rocks with my outdrive today...pics inside

Really? I havec no idea really but the way that thing looks I find that hard to believe.

Take the prop to Russo Marine in Medford. They will send it out to the prop shop. If they can rebuild it, they will, else they send it back (no charge). It was $89 for an aluminum prop back in May.

 

[RickJ6956]

Re: Found a few new rocks with my outdrive today...pics inside

Our local prop repair guy told me that he'll put his repaired props against a new one anytime. He said he hand-balances them so they are generally as good or better than new assembly-line props.

The same people who can repair the prop may also be able to fix the hole in the outdrive. There is quite a bit of clearance between the housing and the transmission, so if the transmission is undamaged and the seals are intact all it really needs is a bit of metalworking.

If it is unrepairable, check out the SEI products. I can't speak from personal experience, but I've heard very good things about them from several guys at the marina.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Found a few new rocks with my outdrive today...pics inside

SEI makes replacement Alpha 1 ODs. Their low prices forced Merc to drop their prices. Merc always wanted $2500+ to rbuild the ODs, SEI sells new ones for 1/2 that. If you suspect the upper gearcase is damaged or just worn out, get a whole new OD.

 

[Alpheus]

Re: Found a few new rocks with my outdrive today...pics inside

I had a prop that looked almost like that. I had it fixed better than new for 65 bucks.

As for your outdrive. You can have it fixed or just throw a new lower at it. At this price and a 3 year warranty to boot, you cant beat it...

http://www.sterndrive.cc/index.htm

 

[ping65810]

Re: Found a few new rocks with my outdrive today...pics inside

Rest of the outdrive is fine, same with motor. And yes, this happened at about 1100 rpms... Its a pretty hefty boat for a 20' so it doesn't shock me that it did that much damage. That prop is pretty destroyed, but I agree that a good shop could repair.

For the outdrive, I am going to try to find a good used lower drive unit, and try to aviod having to spend the 695 on a new one from SEI. Does anyone know if the gear ratios are all the same for the lower units? I am not sure what gearing I have (3.0l Merc), and know some are different, but not sure if the different gears are in the upper unit or lower.

 

[Bifflefan]

Re: Found a few new rocks with my outdrive today...pics inside

Woof,

Looks a little faster than idle there...

I have been there and feel your pain.

 

[ScottinAZ]

Re: Found a few new rocks with my outdrive today...pics inside

ouch, thats harsh. Hopefully you can get that alpha-none back up and running and salvage some of the rest of the season

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Found a few new rocks with my outdrive today...pics inside

I was just reading about SEI outdrives. They advertise a 3 year "no fault" warranty. It specifies that it you break your outdirve, they fix or repair it free. Foul it with fishing line? Free. Run it out of oil? Free. A new Outdrive was $1300.

I haven't had any experience with them, just passing along what I read yesterday.