Scary situation and I am at a loss..

[azirish77]

I was out on the lake this past weekend for the first time this season. I have a 20 ft reinell 200 and was carrying 3 adults and 4 small children. The boat was running great all weekend long until about midday on Sunday. I was cruising along at about 2/3 open throttle and all of a sudden out of nowhere the boat jerked to an immediate stop, throwing the children to the front of the boat.

It honestly felt like I had run aground or hit a sandbar, yet I was in a very deep area of the lake near the dam where they release water.Other than a few bumps and bruises, nobody was injured, but it was scary as hell.

My question is, what could possibly cause the boat to "jerk" like that and basically stop on a dime? There was alot of debris in the lake as they we filling the resivoir, but I am not sure if that would cause it? Could it be something with the engine? Are there nets or something that could catch the boat near a dam? I was about 20 yards from the bouys near the dam..

The boat started right up after that and I eased it back to our campsite. I took it out by myself a few hours later and had zero issues at WOT. It ran perfectly fine the next 2 days.

I want to make sure beofre I get the kids back on there that there is nothing "wrong" with the boat and that it must have been something in the water. (there was no visible damage or scratching on the hull when I pulled it out)

Any advice is appreciated..

 

[Toddavid]

Re: Scary situation and I am at a loss..

Boats don't have brakes, so even if it were engine related, you would not have stopped on a dime.

Definitely sounds like you grounded it.

Did you inspect the hull? Get out the dive mask if you don't have a trailer.

(Nevermind, you say they were no scratches when you pulled it.)

Did you inspect your drive for evidence of nets, rope, or contact?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Scary situation and I am at a loss..

Hit an old rusty crap pot once and that felt like hitting a brick wall. However, there was then an incredibly obvious wire crab pot wrapped around the prop so it wasn't exactly a mystery :disturbed:

 

[Don S]

Re: Scary situation and I am at a loss..

A large log, just under the surface? Or worse, a large lake monster (now mad)?

 

[rogerwa]

Re: Scary situation and I am at a loss..

I would guess a submerged log. The boat slides over it and it hits the outdrive. At that speed it would pitch the nose down and if the prop struck it would kill the motor.

I wouldn't be surprised if you go out and really examine the prop that you may find some evidence. If it is a stainless prop there may be no evidence.

 

[agallant80]

Re: Scary situation and I am at a loss..

I hit a log two years ago and it felt like that. Though there was a loud bang so I knew that I hit something. You may have hit a sand bar. They do tend to form when there is allot of water movement like after a storm or perhaps after a damn filling.

 

[rbh]

Re: Scary situation and I am at a loss..

If you had hit debris it would have been a heck of a "THUNK" and possible damage to the hull, but I do not think it would have brought you to a dead stop.
Check the skeg and prop for damage and or scrapes, if you did not drag the skeg through a gravel/sand bar you could have hooked something.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Scary situation and I am at a loss..

I'm with the "hunk of wood" theory. After a significant rain, the impounds here in TN get a bunch of floating & semi floating debris in 'em. It doesn't have to be a really big piece, nor will it seam to hit the hull hard and it will still foul the outdrive. I've hit one once - no damage, just a thud and a stop.

Though Don's lake monster theory is interesting :croc:

 

[tomhath]

Re: Scary situation and I am at a loss..

It sure sounds like you hit some kind of debris. Not necessarily a plain log, more likely a big branch, roots on a stump, or something like that which would snag the outdrive.

 

[Captain Caveman]

Re: Scary situation and I am at a loss..

Are there fish in this artificial lake? I hit a musky once that almost knocked my tiller off the transom. The boat took a nose dive, the motor flip up, and I scrambled to figure out what had happened. After a minute of getting settled and tightening down the motor, I noticed the large musky on the surface, big mouth gasping for water, and a fresh prop wound behind its head.

Hitting a big fish wouldn't leave any damage to your boat or lower unit, most likely

 

[PapaBB]

Re: Scary situation and I am at a loss..

Sounds more like you temporarly snaged or hooked into an old mooring rope instead of a deadhead log?? You would have certainly felt a 'knock' if you had hit a log or other semi-submerged object,,, whereas your bottom end could have caught a rope until it went tight,,, which would feel like you put the brakes on when you ran out of slack??? Once you stopped the rope could easily just slipped off again without leaving any tell-tale evidence??

 

[Grub54891]

Re: Scary situation and I am at a loss..

Around here-LakeSuperior-we call them deadheads. A log or stump bobbing below the surface. Hard to spot,sometimes they ruin the drive. When struck they sink and come back up later waiting for the next victum.Just a chance ya take when havong a good time....

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Scary situation and I am at a loss..

How about a sheet of plywood? i've seen them floating at or just below the surface, and hitting one will product the results you are talking about. It won't be quite as sudden as a log, as the motor will dig into the plywood a little before the wood spins. It will NOT leave any marks on the hull generally.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Scary situation and I am at a loss..

you said "The boat started right up after that...." I think that's the answer. Your boat engine stopped while running and in gear. That causes a very sudden stop.

If you had hit something that literally stopped you at the place of impact, you would have torn off the motor and either ejected or seriously hurt the passengers. I know it felt that way.

My second guess would the the sheet of plywood, or maybe even a plank, but I think you would have seen it after you hit it--old wood under the surface, when hit, often lies on the surface a bit until it goes back down, lurking. If you have a speedometer intact in the front of the LU, see if it has wood in it. I hit a submerged 2x10 and cut it in half, but it didn't affect my forward speed much (the guys on the tube, however...) It was very rotten so that's why it didn't slow me down.

problem is, if I'm right, you probably won't duplicate it, but you will worry forever. Check the ignition and kill switch connections stem to stern--could you have bumped the key?

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Scary situation and I am at a loss..

Only other thing I can think of, which was briefly touched on, was some sort of old rope/line. He said he was running off of the buoys, so is there a chance that he caught a rope or cable attached to it? Obviously not all lakes/dams are the same, but I would find it hard to believe that a sandbar was present near the dam unless the lake level was seriously low.

Perhaps the OP can tell us what lake he was on when this occurred?

 

[azirish77]

Re: Scary situation and I am at a loss..

Bartlett Lake in Arizona. Not too many big logs floating but alot of branches and such. Whatever happened immediately killed the engine, key was still in on position.

 

[dizzy1]

Re: Scary situation and I am at a loss..

Since your from AZ was this Canyon Lake? This early in the year that lake is a mine field of wood, logs and debris. Even have seen a full tree floating once. I hit a good piece of log few years back and motor died and boat slowed fast. Took a good chunk off the outdrive along the cavitation(sp?) plate. Worried like you did about doing it again but few years now and never did that again. Just try to stay away from Canyon until May if that is the lake this happened at. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Fishin Magician]

Re: Scary situation and I am at a loss..

you said "The boat started right up after that...." I think that's the answer. Your boat engine stopped while running and in gear. That causes a very sudden stop.

If you had hit something that literally stopped you at the place of impact, you would have torn off the motor and either ejected or seriously hurt the passengers. I know it felt that way.

My second guess would the the sheet of plywood, or maybe even a plank, but I think you would have seen it after you hit it--old wood under the surface, when hit, often lies on the surface a bit until it goes back down, lurking. If you have a speedometer intact in the front of the LU, see if it has wood in it. I hit a submerged 2x10 and cut it in half, but it didn't affect my forward speed much (the guys on the tube, however...) It was very rotten so that's why it didn't slow me down.

problem is, if I'm right, you probably won't duplicate it, but you will worry forever. Check the ignition and kill switch connections stem to stern--could you have bumped the key?

First thing I thought after reading the OP... kill switch at 3 quarters throttle will stop your boat quickly..
I have done it... spilled my drink too... home cookin nailed it.... good luck with that multimeter... look for ohms

 

[azirish77]

Re: Scary situation and I am at a loss..

First thing I thought after reading the OP... kill switch at 3 quarters throttle will stop your boat quickly..
I have done it... spilled my drink too... home cookin nailed it.... good luck with that multimeter... look for ohms

Iam not even sure where my kill switch is. Assume it is on the throttle but I have never seen it..

 

[frantically relaxing]

Re: Scary situation and I am at a loss..

I've had this happen a couple of times, boat just stops cold like the hand of god just grabbed the thing. No "thunk" whatsoever.

First time I was clueless, as I too just started up and drove off...?

Second time there was evidence...

A big wad of seaweed. The crap totally stopped the engine, and there was enough of it that it acted like an underwater parachute.