straight up operator error...

[hammerhead_77]

Not too proud to admit that sometimes I find boat handling in tight spots to be a challenge with my recently acquired '88 Bayliner 2450. Way, way harder to maneuver at slow speed than my buddy's Parker 2310 which I've been driving for years. Especially in reverse, there are times that big beast just will not respond unless you give it some throttle...which is normally something you don't want to do right then.

So, on Sunday I'm out with the fam and we're getting ready to trailer back up in a very busy launch that gets really, REALLY tight at low tide. Add in a hefty cross wind, me being tired as hell and i was struggling. at one point, I tried to shift from reverse to forward while looking over my shoulder...and I ended up firewalling the throttle instead. As I snatched the gearshift back and heard one hell of a bang out of the drive. I seriously thought I had hit a boat behind me with the sudden surge backward based on the sound.

Luckily I didn't hit anything. the motor survived the sudden rev just fine and the drive shifted back and forth just fine as i got it onto the trailer in short order.

Here's my question....did the sudden full-power reverse damage something that I don't know about or did the pawl that holds the drive down under normal conditions slip and the sound I heard was similar to what would happen if the skeg hit something (it's designed to kick up to prevent catastrophic damage to the lower)??

 

[Old Ironmaker]

I'm not familiar with that model Bayliner. outboard or I/O? If an outboard I would drain the bottom end gear lube and look for steel shavings. I have never had an I/O but I know someone here will be along shortly to help. I would say that if it is engaging well now without any play nothing major was done.

Don't be too hard on yourself. We all have done something we regret later with our boats, especially tired at the end of a long hot day on the water. Like the day I'm pulling into my slip and I have the motor tilted so far up I don't have any steering and I'm heading straight for the breakwall, I guess I woke up in time to realize what I was doing, I got lucky. It can be very stressful to say the least.

 

[Fun Times]

Hi there, what engine and stern drive model/manufacturer do you have on your boat?

 

[Alumarine]

I don't see how going to full power in reverse would hurt anything unless your throttle advances before it goes into gear.

 

[JASinIL2006]

When I was first learning to retrieve my boat onto the trailer, I had a similar experience. I hit the throttle in forward pretty hard, causing the stern to drop just enough to nick something on the bottom (maybe the ramp? I never knew for sure). In my case, it didn't damage anything, but it was loud enough and caused the boat to jump enough, that I thought I'd really broken something. Mine is a smaller boat, though, so I don't know if yours would respond so much to a sudden burst of power.

 

[hammerhead_77]

Fun Times Its a volvo penta 225d (small block GM) and a AQ280.

There is no doubt that I shifted under power...not something I would ever want to do on purpose. There was a loud BANG from the stern that sounded like a collision, but there was nothing behind me and I did not actually hit anything with the drive or the hull. The drive shifted smoothly afterward, and I had to make a few fwd-n-rev cycles before I got all the way on. I'm thinking that I may have jerked it hard enough to make the pawl release and the drive jack up under reverse, and then slam back down.

Old Ironmaker yessir...I have been bound up tight about this since it happened.... That launch was the size of a postage stamp and it was by God's own Grace that some jackwagon hadn't decided to try and slide through the 10 feet of water behind me right at that moment. How I could grab the wrong lever is just beyond me... I was already really tense trying to get in there without drifting into anybody or driving up on the trailer at 5 knots. had been working at it for a few minutes with a nasty cross wind and only about a boat length between me an the rock jetty to work with at low tide. Kinda shook my confidence and now I'm wondering if there is damage that I can't find or if I just got insanely lucky.

 

[rallyart]

As a one time event it may not have any issue. Basically it puts a hammer load on the gears and could crack one but more likely it will just look a little like it got hit with a hammer and be fine. You have a big advantage of being on the water ant the prop is not connected to anything solid. If something did crack you will have an issue in the future which will start with noise. You are probably just fine.

I always recommend, to people not confident in their boat handling, that you take your boat into a lake and drop a float. Then spend time driving up to the float at the bow and at the side to become familiar with how your hull handles at low speed and how much inertia you deal with. Soon you'll be parallel parking that thing.

 

[NYBo]

Check the u-joints for damage, drain the lower unit oil and check for metal chunks. But you are probably okay.

 

[bluecollerboater]

I had a 1985 ciera with a 350 motor and a 280 outdrive. One time I put it in reverse and the reverse pawl did not engage. It hit
The transom assembly so hard that the top of the outdrive dipstick made a dent in the aluminum of the transom assembly. Unfortunately for me the rubber bumper stop that was supposed to be there was long gone. That was just in clutch. You might want to check and see if this is what happened. It sounded like someone hit my transom with a bat. I was definitely puckered.

 

[JonBrown]

The Bayliner 2450 is a heavy boat for its short size and tall in the center. A cross wind makes a single engine like that hard to control. And you cannot compare it to a Parker. Those are light and are made for tight spots , They are well known for the way they handle. With you bayliner it will take more than skill, a little luck has to come with it in windy conditions.
Jon

 

[frantically relaxing]

I had an old Chrylser (Volvo) 270 drive go into reverse at somewhere north of 2000 rpm due to the shifter shoe breaking while going into neutral... Pushed the vertical shaft up thru the top of the case about 4"...

If you're lucky, the engine coupler absorbed the brunt of the driveline shock---without damage.

 

[JonBrown]

Not sure if it posted although I posted a wrong reply to this discussion . In edit I hope it deletes it.
Although I like that you are awesome enough to admit you kinda screwed up. Happens to us all. 18' to 50 ' it just happens. I have a few customers that cannot drive and they bang around al of the time until they get on the trailer or in the dock. Kills me.