Getting out of shallow water?

[pappacherry]

A lake in my area the water level tends to be very shallow on the south end of the lake. Unfortuantely the south end is where the boat launch is. I pretty much idle my way to the north end of the lake. I have an inboard/outboard and I have to trim up almost all the way up just to avoid sand and muck.
Is this bad for the outdrive to run it at the most 1500 rpm in the almost up position?

 

[searay3]

Re: Getting out of shallow water?

You don't say what drive your running, but you will ruin it running full up or almost full up. 50% is about your limit. I/O's cannot go where outboards go simply by design. (shallow). Once the knuckles let go it's big bucks if you have them. Not sure of the consequences of stringers, but I'm sure they don't like it either...

 

[pappacherry]

Re: Getting out of shallow water?

The boat is a 75 slickcraft w/ an 888 outdrive. Do you mean the universal joint when you say knuckles?

 

[Alumarine]

Re: Getting out of shallow water?

There's a difference between maximum "trim" up or maximum "tilt" or "out".

If you are just trimmed then it's ok.

Anything beyond that and it will damage stuff.

 

[searay3]

Re: Getting out of shallow water?

Yes...sorry about the verbage. The ujoints will break when beyond their designed limit and take out hardware that is attached to the transom. If you can hear or feel shaking or knocking, you are destroying the joints, they will fail very soon and when all that starts slapping around who knows how much damage or money that will cost.

 

[Don S]

Re: Getting out of shallow water?

It will be hard on the ujoints and gimbal bearing when running at ALMOST full up. At FULL UP, that is where the ujoints can, and will hit the transom shield (aka gimbal housing) and destroy it and the ujoints, and usually the upper part of the drive.

FULL up it the determining factor. A little bit down usually clears the transom shield