Prop repair
 

HI,

Got my boat for the first time out on the lake today. But the water level is pretty low, and a scarped the bottom. Doesn't seems major, but the prop got a bit of damage.

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q...05-10_2008.jpg

Can i drive my boat like that with no issues? Can i get this easily repaired?

No and yes

STOP driving it. And get it repaired as soon as you can, you might have to spend between $120.00 and $200.00 for your prop to get repaied

That looks pretty minor. If the lake is low, don’t you run the risk of hitting bottom again? I don’t see what the rush is as long as it still runs smooth and is not off balance. Then again, I'm not a mechanic or a prop manufacture so what do I know.

Damn man you're getting off to a rough start.Call Acme Propellers to see if they recommend a place in your area to fix it.You shouldn't use it like that,it could cause more dammage.

i got a prop with minor damage repaired here:

http://www.nettleprops.com/store/pg/21-Contact-Us.aspx

wasn't too expensive think it was around $80 and looks like new again

I would fix the prop right away and it should not cost more than $120. I would imagine that your boat is shacking pretty good and that will just screw up your drive shaft.

I'm glad i asked, because I would have used the boat all summer like that, the damage seems very minor to me like that.

Now i need to remove this to bring it to a repair shop. Do i need a special tool?
I tried to remove it before but couldn't do it, it seems to be stuck there.

BTW i didn't notice any shaking, but again i'm new to this...

While its unlikely to cause damage you could get harmonic vibration and dammage you shaft and/or cutlass bearing. Its best to have it fixed.

You'll need a prop puller.

This is what I have, and it works like a charm!

http://www.boardstop.com/product_inf...oducts_id=3346

^^^ I have that. Works like a charm. I would also try and pick up a spare prop. I always carry mine to the lake with me just in case. That way you dont waste a good day out on the water.

I have the same puller also... works good.

If you don't want to buy a puller and have a local shop. Give the guy $20 and I am sure he would be happy to pull it for you.

I would get it repaired for sure. If you were on holiday's or something and needed a couple more days out of it I would just try and bang it out a bit with a mallet and piece of wood to straighten as much as you could. Spare prop is a good idea. I keep a spare and my prop puller in my boat so I just have to waddle back to the boat launch to replace and get back out.

Well getting a new prop might be an idea. This way i could get a spare one. I expect this to happen quite often as the lake here is pretty shallow.

I have an acme 537 on my supreme v220 with a 330 hp scorpion.

Should i get the same prop or could i get another one and upgrade this one? What would you recomend?

You will wear out your vdrive packing pretty quick if you don't get it fixed & balanced

If you are thinking of upgrading call Acme and tell them what you are running for boat/weight and what you do wakeboard/surf and they will give you excellent recommendations.

Deff.callAcme and they will tell you what you need,cause if that one is like the one Supreme or whoever propped the boat put on put on mine,could use an upgrade.I got a ski prop with mine.

how shallow are we talking? i would find a deeper lake (unless you live right on this lake)

The cheapest solution for now seems to be sending my prop to acme and get it repaired there. And this way i'm pretty sure it's going to be done right.

But I might also buy a cheap spare prop, so if you have one for sale, i'm interested.

Looking for the same specs (or close, maybe lower pitch) as my acme 537 (13.5X16 LH 1 1-8)

And yes the lake i'm at is pretty shallow, It's actually the st-lawrence river on the south shore of montreal. The prop shops around the area are pretty busy with prop repairs.

oh the st lawrence river. was up there fishing about a month ago and the water was wicked low. also insanely rough its ALWAYS windy there

Believe it or not I have had some luck repairing props with that type of damage myself. Using a babbitt mallet and some dolly's measuring with my molding gauge I can get them pretty close. If I was in your shoes I would just replace the prop and either repair the damaged prop myself or find a shop like Nettle that does them for a reasonable price. Acme props cannot be repaired to original, close but they won't run as well.