Damaged the prop :-(

I went into an area I knew better and before I knew it I was in 1'-0" to 1'-5" of water.

Anyway the boat has a vibration to it now and there are some definete dings in the prop. The shaft seems to be straight when I spin the prop. One of the dings is about the size of half a quater.

What are my options to fix this?

How hard is it to remove the prop?

Thanks

kelly, talk to your dealer... i know my dealer will remove them and send them out some place to be refurbished. If they cant do it, check out skilimited.com (i think) they have prop refurbishment. Or you can buy a new prop.

Good investment is definitely a prop puller kit and always a spare prop. I am always "coping" with prop issues due to varying water levels at our private lake. You may want to have the shaft, strut and alignment inspected professionally? It may feel easy to manually turn shaft, but even a minor bend with further oscillation can throw a tranny coupler over time. Not to mention the increase in vibration, even with a new/refurbished prop. Advantage to prop kit is that it allows you to change to your spare right at the ramp. Simple job: Nut wrench, prop puller, and piece of wood or whatever to keep prop from turning. Just my opinion, but I have never had any luck with sending a prop to get repaired? Cost, downtime and not returning always right--have been my justification for the additional prop expenses. Can usually find these kits/props online at Bart's, Overton's or any quality dealer. Good Luck.....

I just sent me ACME 4-blade back to them. It costs $85. I hit a piece of wood.

prop puller is a good thing to own. taking the prop off is pretty easy with the right tools. it's a good thing to know how to do, a spare prop can save you big headaches on the water.

a prop shop can check that out and re-work it for you. what kind is it?

if you took a good look and don't think there's any other damage, get the prop fixed and see if the vibration is gone. be careful though, you dont want to cause more damage if something else is busted.

do you know someone who can show you how to take it off? if not, email me and i'll break it down or it's probably in the archives too.

A guy at work put me on to a good shop that can probably fix it. He said he and his family have sent them many props over the years with great success in getting them repaired.

I have no idea what brand or the pitch it is. It came with the boat. It's a 4 blade thats either bronze or brass. That's all I know.

Salty87...let me get the puller and see what it looks like from there.

Thanks

cool, you can probably figure it out, its not difficult. one piece of advice, leave the nut on the shaft (loosen it but don't take it all the way off) while you're working the prop lose. the nut will stop the prop from popping off and shooting across the driveway.

if you have the money, few things make as big of a noticeable difference as a nice new prop! i'm partial to the acme 3-blade, it's smoooooth.

these guys did the most incredible prop repair I have ever gotten (and I've had a few!).

http://www.boatpropellers.com/

Good luck on the prop repair. ACME attempted to repair my twice. No luck. I am out $329. And 4 weeks of waiting. ACME told me if there is damage in the center of the prop it cannot be repaired, and it very very difficult to tell if damage is in that area.

Kelly:
If you have the tools removing the prop is usually a breeze. Without the tools it may be easy, or it may be impossible.

Check with your local boat store to see about a prop puller. These things kind of resemble a C-clamp, should cost around $100. You take the nut off the shaft, slip the base of the puller behind (ok, its really towards the front of the boat) the prop, the big screw thingy centers itself into the dimple at the end of the prop shaft. Wedge a 2x4 between a prop blade and the hull to stop it from turning, then tighten the screw on the puller.

Sometimes, you apply just a little torque and the whole thing comes sliding off. Sometimes, you pull and strain and curse and then POP!: it slides off as you crash into the trailer frame. Either way, once it starts goes all at once.

Take the prop to your local boat store and ask them to get an estimate on having it repaired. they will send it out to a shop that does this sort of thing. You could probably go directly to the shop, but it might not be any cheaper.

I would expect that your prop should be repairable, but it might come back just a tad smaller than it was. Since it is the start of prime season, buy yourself a new prop and get your boat running ASAP. Use the old prop as a spare, as I doubt this will be the last time this happens.......