Hit Rock!

[FishHawk11]

I did a pretty good number hitting a rock on Kabetogama this weekend. It took a good chunk of the skeg off and bent the prop shaft. I dont even know where to start to get it fixed. A marine?, do people specialize in this kind of stuff? The lower unit itself is not cracked. The resort owner and I were looking at it and he said I should be able to get a new skeg welded on, get a new prop shaft and prop. I'm crossing my fingers that is the case. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm in St. Cloud.

[SpecialK]

If you have insurance onthe boat, call your agent. They will tell you where to take it.

[crappiegetter]

There are places that specialize in that stuff one I know of would be formula propeller in Brooklyn Park

[Ufatz]

Remain calm. There are many places that can repair your motor. However you might want to make sure you did not do damage to the powerhead if you hit hard enough to bend/break stuff lower down.

Tou'll be back on the water in no time.

[BrandonN]

hopefully its not like my lawn mower where I hit a rock in the yard and bent the blade and crank shaft?! My advice would be to get a quote. You will prolly end up going threw your insurance company and getting a new lower unit.

[Down Deep]

Over many years of fishing northern MN and Canada I've hit the rocks several times and only once did I do anything except damage the prop or skeg. A couple of quick checks for damage would be to test for lower unit oil. Put a piece of paper on the floor and let your motor sit in the down position for a day or so. If there is oil on the paper you need to head to the shop. Turn the prop and check for any wobble. If the prop runs true then the shaft is probably ok. There are prop shops that specialize in prop and skeg repair. I'm sure you have one in St. Cloud. The shops here in the Duluth inspect the lower unit for damage. If you want more piece of mind take it to a dealer for motor shop for inspection. Your boat insurance should cover it.

[Fish Head]

I feel for you. I hit a rock on Lac Suel a few years ago and had to replace the lower unit. I have a stainless steel prop and although they are nice and strong, they can cause more damage to the prop shaft than an aluminum prop. My prop shaft broke, causing me to get a replaced lower unit.

My insurance covered all but the deductible and the claim was settled in about 30 minutes. If you have full coverage, call your agent to discuss. If you don't have full coverage, bring it to a qualified marina to have them make sure nothing is wrong with the shaft or head before putting money into the skeg.

Good luck!

[Rick G]

Ok being you are in St. Cloud. Take it to Ickler or Mumm welding to get it welded, If you go to Mumm tell them I sent you, he's my cousin. Then take it over to Westres Marine,they are sponsors here, tell them you belong to FM/HSO, our own Bass n Spear kinda works there They will help you out on the shaft and seal's.

[Tom7227]

Same thing happened to me but I was using a borrowed boat with a stainless prop. I didn't even check since I was going so slow and had hit rocks numerous times with my boat with no issues. Long and short of it the shaft was bent and you could see it when you rotated the prop by hand. The cost was over $750. The boat owner made an insurance claim and I paid his deductible. Odd thing was that there was nothing wrong with the prop. I would take it to a shop and talk to your insurance guy - if you have one.

[FishHawk11]

Thanks for the input. Westres is taking care of it for me, hopefully should have it back for the weekend. Thank god for insurance as this isn't cheap. I have an evinrude which is a liitle more spendy to fix because of the driveshaft. Needless to say I won't hit that rock again!