Hit some logs and possible damage to prop and/or rudder

Subject: Hit some logs and possible damage to prop and/or rudder

Today when out I accidentally ran over one or two fairly large logs. At first blush apart from the
bumping noises all seemed to be OK.

However, I now notice a slight vibration at the wheel and in the boat's structure at all speeds that was absent
before running over the logs.

I did drive some 7 miles back to home port at 12 kts without any issues.

My guess is that maybe a prop blade or the rudder took a hit.

I quickly checked the bilges and boat was not taking on any water.

What advice do you have for me to figure out what damage may have occurred.

Can an underwater inspection be done to get a better idea of what may have been damaged ?

If the prop or rudder had some damage will it be best to lifted the boat out to make a fuller inspection ?

If prop has to be replaced can this be done with the boat in the water ?

Can a prop blade be straighten or will a new prop be required ?

How much does a new prop for the R29 CB NW Edition cost ?

Bummer…. I’m told you’re not a boater until you’ve driven over a log…..

Thanks for any advice…..

Any good boat yard can deal with this for you. If it were my boat I would have it hauled and inspected. You quite likely bent the prop somewhat. Until it is inspected there is no way of knowing if the prop is damaged or if it can be repaired. The prop is small enough that it can be removed and installed in the water, by the time you pay for that the yard could have hauled it and given you a much more thorough inspection.

As well, the shaft might not be true anymore, after the boat being driven with a potentially out of balance prop. Get it hauled out and properly looked after. Props can be rebalanced if slightly out of balance.

Do you have insurance? You may want to file a claim.

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baz":27e2yk2i said:

Can an underwater inspection be done to get a better idea of what may have been damaged ?

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A underwater inspection could be done to confirm you did hit the prop and damaged it. Depending on the damage found that would determine lift the boat for further inspection or not.

baz":27e2yk2i said:

If the prop or rudder had some damage will it be best to lifted the boat out to make a fuller inspection ?

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If it was my boat and found damage to the rudder ( bent post) or a prop blade bent or damaged severely I would want a complete inspection of prop, rudder, and prop shaft (runout check).

baz":27e2yk2i said:

If prop has to be replaced can this be done with the boat in the water ?

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Yes this can be done I'm the water by a diver equipped to do prop removal. The fact that your boat is new the prop should "pop" off the taper easily. If this is done a compete in the water alignment should be performed. Actually what ever route you choose I would do an engine alignment.

baz":27e2yk2i said:

Can a prop blade be straighten or will a new prop be required ?

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A prop can normally be straightened and trued along with balancing. In many cases the prop after being repaired is better than original. A good prop shop will custom build you prop. Tuning it to a very close tolerance. If you give the prop shop your engine information, your loaded boat max RPM, the shop can tune the prop to give you best performance. On small high speed Diesels (over 50 hp per liter) I always shoot for 100 rpm over Max to assure that the engine is never over loaded at any rpm.

baz":27e2yk2i said:

How much does a new prop for the R29 CB NW Edition cost ?

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The prop used on my C26 is an Acme prop. You can go to the Acme website and enter your specs to get a list price. My 17"X17" 3 blade list for 1495.00

marcham":2bagwt6v said:

As well, the shaft might not be true anymore, after the boat being driven with a potentially out of balance prop. Get it hauled out and properly looked after. Props can be rebalanced if slightly out of balance.

Do you have insurance? You may want to file a claim.

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So, I've never made a claim on any of my boats before. This would be a first. I'm assuming if Ins Co. takes on my claim I'm subject to a deductible.

Is it best to submit a claim before any boat inspection for damage ?

Is a boat claim similar to auto insurance where a 'claim professional' is assigned to the claim ?

What advice from others is there on how to proceed with my Insurance Co. to ensure an orderly and proper process takes place ?

I keep my boat at the Port of Edmonds, WA marina that has a good boat yard, and will now search for a boat yard, company etc that can make any repairs necessary. For boaters in my area are there any boat yards, companies, etc that would be recommended ? I will be checking with my local yard that is adjacent to my marina ASAP.

Thank you.... 🙂

Yes it is very similar to an auto claim. Find a boatyard that does that type of repair and I am sure they have dealt with insurance claims before. For the only one I ever submitted that sent a person out (surveyor) to verify the damage and repair plan. Once agreed to they sent a check and want to see invoice that it was fixed. I would see how much it is going to be and compare to deductible before submitting a claim. These claims have a way of hanging around in your file.

The recent policy that I bought with Chubb includes coverage for inspection haul outs after grounding or striking an object at a zero dollar deductible. You should call your agent.

Sorry to hear of your mishap. The Prop Shop in Mukilteo is considered the best place in our area to take your prop.

The Doghouse 2":2o3tveq5 said:

Sorry to hear of your mishap. The Prop Shop in Mukilteo is considered the best place in our area to take your prop.

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Thanks.... Mukilteo is a short distance north of me so that's good to know.... Thanks. 🙂

Will goto to boat shortly to hopefully find it's still floating. Will check as much as I can looking into engine area for potential issues. Suspect I'll have to wait to Monday to get any inputs from boat yard etc. I'm tempted to have boat lifted ASAP for a quick inspection of the hull, prop and rudder. If trim tabs bent that's not any real issue I suppose.

Dang, sorry to hear this. I hope it is an easy/cheap fix and you will be back on the water soon. I know you love this boat over the 27OB, but it is starting to look like it is spending more time in repair than underway. Good luck.

ixlr8":2qcbo0dr said:

Dang, sorry to hear this. I hope it is an easy/cheap fix and you will be back on the water soon. I know you love this boat over the 27OB, but it is starting to look like it is spending more time in repair than underway. Good luck.

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Between you and me I think the 'damage' is going to be minimal. Today I checked everything I could; rudder attachments to transom, stern thruster attachments, no water build up in aft bilge, prop shaft stuffing box drips at around 40 drips per minute, trim tabs intact, no hull damage above water line and what I could just see below this line, engine runs up normally when in Throttle-mode only, boat still afloat.... :lol:

I've scheduled a haul out on Wed at 10 AM and my local yard owner who deals with props etc will be on hand to make a visual inspection for me. If necessary prop, if damaged in any way, will be removed and sent off for tuning/fixing or whatever and will use the haul out to give the hull a light pressure wash as it does have some slime on it.

I do have to go out to retrieve my crab pots on Monday and will just gently cruise up to them and back.

I'm expecting to see some prop damage as there was a very slight vibration felt at the wheel after the log collision that was not evident prior to the collision. This tells me that the prop is out of whack some. The keel protects the running gear somewhat but if the log was length-wise as I drove over it it could hit the prop's outer edges.

I hate to think what damage the R41 would be exposed to with its unprotected forward facing dual props. 😱

I'm trying to recall what the stuffing box drip rate should be.... I timed it today at around 40 drips per minute. Is this acceptable ?

baz":30tntc8v said:

I hate to think what damage the R41 would be exposed to with its unprotected forward facing dual props. 😱

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You don't want to know. Depending on extent of damage it could be as little as $3K or up to $100K for a new pod, at least those were the numbers I heard for the Saber I worked on.

3 drips per minute is good. 40 drips per minute needs to be tightened. Probably not much. If it has never been tightened probably no more than 1/16th or 1/8th of a turn. That would be a good start.

BB marine":tpp9b15g said:

3 drips per minute is good. 40 drips per minute needs to be tightened. Probably not much. If it has never been tightened probably no more than 1/16th or 1/8th of a turn. That would be a good start.

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Thank you.... I just researched this and read that no drips should be evident while the shaft is stationary but when rotating 3 drips per min is about right.

My stuffing box is dripping at around 40 drips per minute while shaft is not in motion!

I guess it will need tightening..... boat is only 3 months old from factory.

I did not check the drip rate prior to the log collision so I'm wondering if the collision has contributed to the excessive drip rate ?

ixlr8":2b9fdtxm said:

Dang, sorry to hear this. I hope it is an easy/cheap fix and you will be back on the water soon. I know you love this boat over the 27OB, but it is starting to look like it is spending more time in repair than underway. Good luck.

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I blame myself for this collision. Normally, I'm a 'stickler' for watching and scanning for logs as I cruise as well as the numerous pot buoys around at this time of year. I must have been briefly distracted and blame myself. Things just happen...

The worst dead heads are the ones lurking just below the water surface and difficulty to see. This sort of collision can happen to anyone IMO, so I don't count myself as being a bad lookout. My son who was able to see the logs from astern thought the logs (there were 3 of them in a cluster) were around 4" to 5" in diameter and several feet long.

baz":2amtb2m8 said:

My stuffing box is dripping at around 40 drips per minute while shaft is not in motion!

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If you do not adjust the packing and use the boat at the 40 DPM. I would inspect the engine compartment when running the boat above 1000rpm. It may be ok but I have experienced the shaft slinging water at a lesser drip rate that you have. In salt water that can cause some issues with rust and corrosion as you well know. A few weeks ago I was cruising and saw my bilge pump switch light was on. At first I thought I accidentally hit the switch. It was on because auto bilge pump sensor was activated. I have never noticed this before. I opened the hatch and the shaft was slinging a fine mist of water. I slowed down and inspected packing leakage, it was 9 DPM. I marked the packing nut DTC and turned 1/8th turn. It then slowed to a less then 1 dpm. ( engine running shaft turning) The next time out I checked it after running up to speed . I recorded 2 to 3 DPM and shaft log was running cool.

The increase DPM could be from the prop vibration if damaged but it also could be from the new packing wearing in and the need for a slight adjustment. You will know when you pull the boat.

Thanks... apart from the log collision all the various things I've had to deal with are IMO normal for a new boat. For me, it takes about a full boating season to get things ship-shape and in order, and if nothing else I get to know my boat in personal terms and subsequently know more about my boat's operations and idiosyncrasies. 🙂

I'm thinking ahead here some....

Let's say there's no visible damage to the prop, rudder, trim tabs, keel, hull, etc when the boat is hauled and inspected.

Given, as I mentioned, a very slight vibration was felt at the wheel after the collision with the logs, what else should be looked at that could explain the wheel's vibration.

Prior to the collision there was absolutely no wheel vibration of any kind at all speeds.

if the log(s) were end on as the boat ran over them and they hit the prop but somehow did not damage the prop or rudder could the prop shaft have been dislodged in some way ? I need to take a look at the shaft connection to the engine and suspect it's bolted. Could the impact of the log against the prop somehow move the shaft and engine just a bit to aft maybe ? I did look at the engine mounts and do not see any shift in their position.

I know I should wait for the boat to be hauled and inspected before jumping to any conclusion, but I'm a bit concerned if the inspection shows no visible damage what else needs to be inspected etc. Engine alignment maybe, shaft alignment, prop appears undamaged but has been pushed a tad amount aft off its splined connection.....(causing it to wobble some).

Thanks.... 🙂

Both shaft ends are tapered. The engine Coupling is tapered and keyed and the prop is tapered and keyed (Hubs to shaft). If properly installed I doubt they released from the taper. Regardless of the condition of running gear it would be advisable to do an in the water engine alignment. If there is no viable damage to the prop I would still do a run out of the prop shaft. I have seen props with very little damage, the shaft not bent but twisted. I'm sure the yard that you are having service the boat are fully aware of this. If you felt a noticeable vibration chances are you have a bent blade and all other components are fine. If it was my boat, a prop inspection, prop removed taper and key inspected, runout check with indicator, cutlass bearing/shaft end play inspected, keel extension visual inspected, After any repairs, final engine alignment checked and adjusted if needed.