Outboard/Prop?

[holy mackerel]

am going down to the shop today to talk about my outboard, but thought I'd run this by your guys...

My boat runs flawless... until yesterday (Sunday)... I did 110 NMS on Saturday, no problems, but when I got back to the SI dock, it was CROWDED... so, against my better judgement I tried to moor up between the dock, and he jetty rocks, and hit some rocks... (yes, I am an idiot )It sounded... TINK, TINK, TINK... engine cut... we were able to just pull the boat into the dock by hand... It started up fine, when I had to put the boat on the trailer...

I inspected the prop, and all three blades are scratched, but not dented, nor malformed.

1.) Do, I need to get these scratches pounded out/machined?

2. Stainless steele prop, do you think any internal damage happened? The engine immediately cut when I hit the rocks.

so yesterday, I decide to take a test run... Seems to run fine... But on the way in, I projected just outside MB, I had about 2-3 gallons left, it kept stalling out... not sure if it was just at the end of the gas. It took a while to turn over each time, would get going, then stall again... I had to crawl back through Mission Bay...

Anyone think this has to do with the prop causing internal damage? Or my estimates on how much gas I had left might have been wrong. Actually it has a digital gauge hooked up to the outboard.

I got home washed down the boat, hooked up the muffs, boat started right up, and flushed it with fresh water...

Any ideas? Break out another thousand?

thanks, chris

[furniture 4 me]

i would say that you are just out of fuel and maybe low on oil. prop i would say have it rebalanced cheap insurance. if it was just nicked at idle you should be fine, but i would have the prop checked for balance. call hill props in OC.

[bunker hill]

Originally Posted by furniture 4 me

i would say that you are just out of fuel and maybe low on oil. prop i would say have it rebalanced cheap insurance. if it was just nicked at idle you should be fine, but i would have the prop checked for balance. call hill props in OC.

No worries at all!! My family is "Hill Prpellers" You prop has a rubber hub, designed to take up shock an to protect lower unit gears. Nicks, scratches etc. don't really matter much. In fact, some of our better racing propellers have been nicknamed The Nicker." One thing to before running is to see if you bent your prop shaft... highly unlikely at low RPM!! you can do so right on the trailer by hand spinning the prop, while in neutral of course, an eyeball the center of the prop shaft, you will be able to see any wobble! Finally after your next run, carefully inspect the gear oil for signs of metal filings, this may indicate gear damage... also unlikely from a low RPM impact

Best of luck...

Bunker Hill

[Fishnut]

Chris; It sounds like fuel. Tanks leave about 3 to 5 gls left in tank that won't get picked up on the water but will on driveway.

[Russianhook]

It happened to me too in SI ramp.
I dinged the prop, not scratched, but lower unit was in-tacked, the rubber hub helped. Even if you have a digital gauge on fuel, you boat is rocking and if air comes in the hose your motor will shut. I think too that you had your fuel low...

[holy mackerel]

Thanks for the replies, everything looks ok... probably fuel, I never run it that low, but I am now learning, I cannot fill my tank to capacity sitting on the trailer, because of how it sits... only 40 on the trailer ~9 more at the fuel dock if I want to run very far... I'll just make sure I have at least 10 gallons more than I need of fuel...

thanks,

chris