Fishing line on the prop... what do I look for?

[stephentyler20]

Hi all,

Pulled the boat out this evening to bring home for some routing maintenance/upgrades (putting the bimini on because the sun's back, new stereo components, water sealing, etc). Was only planning to have it out for a couple days.

She's been running great lately, with the only exception being the last few days I've noticed a strange problem. When going from neutral to forward, it's been hanging and not wanting to carry over to first. I had to add more throttle than usual until it grabbed, and then it's fine.

So when I pull the boat, I happened to glance at the prop and, lo and behold...

I couldn't believe it... I never even noticed! If I hadn't randomly pulled the boat, it would have sat there, and I would have run it repeatedly until figuring this out.

So my question is, what damage should I be concerned about? I assume this must be related to my shifting change. Is the line causing excess resistance for the prop, which is why I need more throttle to get it into gear? Could there be any long term damage caused? Seals perhaps? I just redid all the UPPER seals on my drive over the winter, but haven't touched the lower unit.

I'd appreciate if anyone has tips on what I should investigate while she's out. Tomorrow, I intend to pull the prop, remove the line and have a look with a flashlight before doing anything else. Then I'll probably do a quick gear lube change, which I'd typically do anyway just for good measure.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Fishing line on the prop... what do I look for?

Heck, that ain`t nothing. Heres real fishing line,Oh Yea,customer complained of a vibration.

 

[stephentyler20]

Re: Fishing line on the prop... what do I look for?

Heck, that ain`t nothing. Heres real fishing line,Oh Yea,customer complained of a vibration.

Ha, well thanks for the comic relief... but are there any concerns here for real? Or just pull the line and go?

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Fishing line on the prop... what do I look for?

Remove the prop , try to unwind as much as you can verses just cutting it.
If an excess amount is forced under the seals and you find a drip when pressure testing it, then the carrier is removed to replace the 2 seals.

 

[stephentyler20]

Re: Fishing line on the prop... what do I look for?

Little update here... Removed the prop, and all the fishing line came off with it. Nothing was stuck in any seals. The only damage I found was that the line had rubbed a good chunk of paint off the prop itself, and possibly on the drive too, but none of it was stuck in any seals or anything. I also changed the drive oil, which was clear green still (yay!) with no apparent debris or milkiness or anything.

Next up, this afternoon, I'm going to run it on the muffs for a few minutes to test the shifting mechanism and see if that's better now that the prop is free. My guess is it will be, but only one way to make sure... One thing for certain, the prop spins a lot more freely without all that line on it!

 

[Bondo]

Re: Fishing line on the prop... what do I look for?

Next up, this afternoon, I'm going to run it on the muffs for a few minutes to test the shifting mechanism and see if that's better now that the prop is free. My guess is it will be, but only one way to make sure...

Ayuh,... My guess is, it'll shift just Fine on the hose,+ go back to poor shifting in the Water....
Your lower shift cable is on it's way out....

 

[stephentyler20]

Re: Fishing line on the prop... what do I look for?

Oh man, that would be SO RIDICULOUSLY ANNOYING. I just did my upper unit, bellows, gimbal, etc. etc. this winter. I could have so easily replaced the lower shift cable!!!

Is there anything I can do to further diagnose that before I go tearing everything apart again? Are there any adjustments I can make where the shift cable mounts first?

 

[stephentyler20]

Re: Fishing line on the prop... what do I look for?

Also just to clarify the problem I was observing... When shifting into forward gear, it would seem to ratchet and not actually get into forward until i pushed the throttle harder and harder, and then finally it would kick in (and I would get a bit of a jolt because the throttle was higher). It might be my imagination, but when I was trailering the boat out and I raised the drive up a bit for shallower water, it *seemed* to shift much more easily.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Fishing line on the prop... what do I look for?

I could have so easily replaced the lower shift cable!!!

Ayuh,... I can't believe you Didn't....

You can Try adjusting it.... Just don't get your Hopes up,...
Especially if you can't remember when it was last Changed...

 

[stephentyler20]

Re: Fishing line on the prop... what do I look for?

OK soooo... I decided to "adjust" the control cable. Put it back in the slip tonight. It shifted beautifully into forward, and STAYED there! Felt perfectly normal in forward, I'm cruising toward the dock (I'm in a V-shape dock area, heading toward my slip, surrounded by outboard motor props on both sides...) and I decide to switch into neutral to drop my speed. Speed doesn't decrease. Still in gear. Gut-wrenching feeling setting in.

Go into reverse with the handle. No shift, boat starts going FAsTER in FORWARD motion. Sh!t!!! So I dropped the throttle and shut her down, and then went to the gunwales to fend myself off the other boats. Fortunately, no collisions. We got it reigned into the slip with no further issue.

So what did I screw up? Did I overtighten the throttle cable? Fortunately I only messed with the shift plate on top of the engine, so I decided to leave the boat in the water and fix it that way.