OK...this is embarassing but I need some advice from anyone out there who has done or might know someone who has done this. while cruising up river at about 35-40mph we hit a sand bar at the lower Colorado River on Saturday. The water levels had dropped and this particular sand bar was only about 8-12 inches below the surface. Nobody was hurt and we were able to anchor the boat overnight until the water levels came back up in the morning. <BR> <BR>What a crazy thing it is to see your boat totally surrounded by sand. It's almost like seeing someone get stuck in one of the dunes at Glamis. When I got out of the boat I immediately sank to my knees the sand was so soft. <BR> <BR>We managed to float down river in the morning and get it off the sand bar since the water level had come back up a little. <BR> <BR>We checked for damage to the prop, shaft, rudder and hull and found none. The bilge didn't come on either so we figured we were good. I started the engine up and everything felt normal (no vibrations, weird noises, etc.) I let it idle for a while to check the temp and it went right to 159-160 so we started to idle our way back home. The temp then started to rise and got up to 209 before I shut it off. We sat for a little while longer then fired it up again. This time it would not go over 110 degrees. So we puttered back to the launch (about 3/4 mile) &amp; trailered it. <BR> <BR>I pulled the impeller and it was fine so we called it a weekend and headed home. <BR> <BR>So I need to know what I should check (I'm thinking something to do with the thermostat) to fix this problem as well as any other issues that I might come across that I can address now.

if you were sitting on a sand bar check your strut as well. I would almost say it is bent.

What sort of idiot drives there boat up a sandbank? <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/613102.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/613103.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/613104.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/613105.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR>I did zero damage to our boat, just tweaked the prop a little.

Smart idea with the fat sacks! I'm impressed that the pumps generate that much pressure.

No Pics Joe?

Nice looking CC Ralph. I'll second the smart idea comment.

Joe, <BR>I would say you sucked up some sand/dirt into your engine cooling passages and such (transmission cooler?). I would try to completely flush the system and check to see if the thermostat is stuck open due to debris. Some engine gurus will hopefully help on how and what to flush in detail...

I pumped them up before the tide went out so the boat wasn't actually putting much weight on them. Funny, the wife didn't agree anything I did that day fitted in "smart idea" category.

Again I would say... be glad it was sand and not the other material boats have been known to hit... <BR> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/613137.jpg" alt="Upload">

Yea, right. <a href="http://www.jksquared.com/galleries/whitewhale/" target="_blank">This kind of thing almost never happens.</a>

Bill K, that is one crazy a$$ picture story!

You got that right, Jesse. The long version of that story played out early last year on <a href="http://www.mastercraft.com/teamtalk/showthread.php?t=14984&amp;highlight=helicopter+sa nd" target="_blank">the Mastercraft forum</a> <BR>I didn't know the owner personally, but knew a few of his friends, who took the opportunity to have a party during the extraction. <BR> <BR>Anyone who thinks this will never happen to them had better have really good luck. <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/613144.jpg" alt="Upload">

Not the first or last...Lower Colorado is full of sandbars. Where were you, north or south of the 10fwy?

Yeah Darren I'd say your wife doesn't look to impressed in the picture.

i got my jetski trapped on a sand bar in the middle of the lake last winter.. it went from 40 feet to about 4 inches in about 2 seconds. i flew over the bars but i was fine. it was fun dragging it across like 25 feet of sand by myself, but i have to say it was a cool feeling standing in the middle of the lake. <BR> <BR>btw no damage was done

trans cooler trans cooler trans cooler. take off both hoses and run water at high pressure through it backwards. feel up in it for any "stuck in grate" debris with your finger or screwdriver

Was there sand in the impeller housing? When I stuck our boat into an oyster bed (it was a combined effort, but mostly my fault, trying to pull my mate out again after he fell quite close to shore) she sucked a lot of mud up. Good thing it's a Volvo stern leg, hard as nails, and then some. Closed cooling helps too, you can remove the radiator and flush it no worries. A wee ding in the prop and a 6" piece of the keel guard broken loose was the total damage. Still pulls well, we had a lot of flushing to do after we got back though. <BR> <BR>At least you guys weren't up to your knees in mud eh? I'm used to the smell from living there for the last 12 years, but still not nice, especially when you're parked on an oyster bed... <BR> <BR>(Message edited by jtnz on August 11, 2008)

Thanks for all the replies &amp; advice. Makes you feel a lot better knowing that you're not the only one who's gone through this. <BR> <BR>Chris - what exactly is the strut so I can check it? <BR> <BR>Dan - you're going to have to come down and help me fix it if you want to see pics... haha. Of course you'll get the first pull (what else is new!). <BR> <BR>Darrel - We were out of McIntyre park south of Blythe. Been going there for years and we love it b/c it's so chill. Way more mellow than Parker, Martinez, etc. <BR> <BR>Ringo - Are you talking about the 2 hoses at the thermostat? That was going to be my next thing to check once I feel like going back out into the garage to mess with it... <BR> <BR>Jos - no water in the impeller housing. I was actually quite surprised at how good the impeller looked. Not a single ding in it which is great considering how many hours we've put on it. I guess there's something to be said for actually using your toys - keeps them in better condition. <BR> <BR>I'll be working on it more tomorrow so any other ideas would be greatly appreciated. I'll post the outcome once I have one. Thanks again Wakeworlders!!

I'd definitely check the screens and give it a good flush, run it for a while on the trailer to see if it still gets hot. Maybe take off the hoses and give them all a blast to clear out any debris in there first if you're feeling keen. <BR> <BR>When we pulled the hoses off after our unexpected beaching we found some interesting stuff in there, including river stones that definitely didn't come from where we ride. Someone had stuck her into the bottom long before we owned the boat. <BR> <BR>(Message edited by jtnz on August 12, 2008)

Thanks Jos...I was planning on doing that today but didn't get to it. I'm going to flush everything out and check the thermostat. Since the engine won't heat all the way up, I think there's a pretty good possibility that the thermostat is stuck wide open. <BR> <BR>That's pretty wild about the stuff you found in there when you cleaned yours out. I wonder what kind of stuff I'm going to find...?

Well I finally got some pictures...It doesn't look that bad b/c of the angle of the pictures but you can definitely see how shallow the water was... <BR> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/613903.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/613904.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR>That's me in the background setting the anchor... <BR> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/613905.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/613906.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR>After we stripped her bare in case the anchor came loose.

I drove mine onto a sand bar. Had to wait like 6 hours for the tide to come in to get it off. Luckily I did right in front a friends house, they gave me a ride home and then brought the boat back when the tide rolled in. No damage whatsoever. <BR> <BR>Happens to the best of us.

The strut is what is holding the drive shaft in place. Mine was slightly bent and i did not know it. when i tookk it in for the seal job, it was leaking too bad(packing) when they unbolted everything it would not go back together thats when they found it was bent

Thanks Drew, so far no damage detected. I'm going to water test it this weekend. <BR> <BR>Chris - thanks for the info. I will def. have that checked.

no problem. for sure when they un couple the v drive you will know if it is bent

Joe you can somewhat ell if it might be bent, try to turn the prop, if it is ahrd as hell to turn that might be a sign it is bent

Thanks Chris...I was able to turn the prop pretty easily. Hopefully it's not bent - the sand that I was on was really soft (I sank to my knees when I first jumped out of the boat).

good luck bro. hope everything ok with the rig

WOW! must be shallow, I can see the swim step and the whole "MALIBU" decal.

OK...so I just flushed everything out and still the same problem. I can't get the engine temp to go over 108 degrees. I haven't pulled the thermostat yet b/c it's a PITA getting the hoses off - they won't budge an inch! <BR> <BR>I pulled all the hoses from the p/u to the V-Drive back to the impeller and both sides of the tranny cooler. There was a little bit of lake weed in the intake of the tranny cooler but nothing out of the ordinary. <BR> <BR>I guess what I'm trying to figure out now is if the thermostat is closed b/c it thinks the engine is cold when it's not or if it's stuck wide open so all that water is circulating through and actually keeping it at that temp (108). It's supposed to run at 159 (at least that's what it's been at for the last 2 1/2 years since I've owned it). I've got good water flow coming out of both pipes so I've got to think it's some kind of temperature regulation issue...

Sounds like it's stuck wide open Joe, replace the T-Stat, and sounds like you're ready to roll. <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/happy.gif" border=0>

Yep! I've done it..30-35 mph. Hit the sandbar and yess..I had a beer in my hand. Bent my strut, strut holder and my prop.

Tonysdad sorry to hear this. Where exactly were you? North of Martinez Lake it looks like. <BR> <BR>I have a great guy who can fix your boat and deals with insurance, etc. <BR> <BR>You still riding in Temecula?

Thanks Slipknot...yep, still riding in Temecula at Vail (whenever the wind dies down and the power turners go home). <BR>I'll definitely hit you up for that info on the repair guy if it comes to that. Hopefully not. We were riding just out of Mcintyre Park which is quite a ways from Martinez. Never had a problem before this... <BR> <BR>Andrew...I wish I had a beer in my hand - at least I'd have an excuse. Actually, I think the reason I hit the sandbar was b/c I DIDN'T have a beer. Somehow, we managed to run out at about 3:00 so it had been about 4 hours with no beer...talk about a rough day<img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/sad.gif" border=0>

Andrew, you didn't spill your beer did you? That would have been a tragedy <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/biggrin.gif" border=0>

Here's an update: <BR> <BR>I got a new thermostat &amp; gaskets for $19 (thanks to Paradise Watersports) and swapped them out, flushed everything out again and took her out on Sunday. Everything worked perfect! Temp right at 160 or so, no weird noises or vibrations. I wasn't planning on riding but everything was working so good that I filled all the ballast and the engine ran fine. <BR> <BR>When I first hit that sandbar the first thing that went through my mind was "how much is this gonna cost me?". Well, 19 bucks ain't bad. I guess it goes to show how well these boats are made. <BR> <BR>I'll have to make sure to get an extra t-stat/gaskets and keep it with the spare prop and impeller in case it happens again.

glad your boat got fixed!! next time call me, i live in yuma, and ill show you around the river ;)

Lucky, Very Lucky <BR> <BR>3 people got airlifted from the Shuswap lake in B.C. when they ran a F23 Tomcat into a sandbar. The 3 people flew out from the cockpit, over the windshield and head first into the bow. They all a reported to have very serious spinal injuries.