desmobob Posted August 30, 2015 Posted August 30, 2015 I was cruising along at about 23MPH this afternoon when a boater coming from the other direction started acting indecisive about what side of the channel he'd be using; he started across from my left to right - like he was coming into my lane if we had been on the road. I moved out of my line of travel and headed right to give him plenty of room and then, BAM! I heard the impact and the motor tilted up briefly. (2014 Mercury 40HP four-stroke EFI) I stopped immediately to check things out and saw no visible damage, no leaking lubricant, and not even any prop damage. I went back to see what I hit and found a big Y-shaped tree limb floating just under the surface. The part I hit was about 5" in diameter (it broke off). Now, I have a noticeable clattering sound above 4K RPM. It's not horrible, but I can hear it. I fished the rest of the day and probably ran the motor for another half-hour or so. It runs and functions fine, except for the slight noise, which has me worried. Do any of you Mercury experts out there know if there's anything I can check myself? Does it need to go the shop immediately? Thanks for any information. Tight lines, Bob Quote
FinCulture Posted August 30, 2015 Posted August 30, 2015 I don't know much about outboards but i'd say give it a look or have it inspected. It could be many thing. maybe the prop is loose? Quote
Super User Hi Salenity Posted August 31, 2015 Super User Posted August 31, 2015 Look the prop over good. Quote
Super User slonezp Posted August 31, 2015 Super User Posted August 31, 2015 Call your insurance company 2 Quote
Super User F14A-B Posted August 31, 2015 Super User Posted August 31, 2015 Sink the boat then call your insurance co. 3 Quote
desmobob Posted August 31, 2015 Author Posted August 31, 2015 I looked everything over very carefully... no visible damage anywhere; the prop is perfect. The speedometer pitot was jammed full of wood fibers; that's it. I don't have insurance on the boat. I guess I'm going to have to bring it in and get it checked out. I was curious as to what kind of damage a minor impact like that could have. Tight lines, Bob Quote
LuckyGia Posted August 31, 2015 Posted August 31, 2015 Stand behind the motor and spin the prop by hand. Look for a bent prop shaft. It happened to me and it's not a cheap fix. Luckily for me, it didn't make any noise. Quote
desmobob Posted August 31, 2015 Author Posted August 31, 2015 Stand behind the motor and spin the prop by hand. Look for a bent prop shaft. It happened to me and it's not a cheap fix. Luckily for me, it didn't make any noise. The prop shaft looks like it spins true. I'll pull the prop off and check it with a run out gauge though. I can't imagine an impact hard enough to bend the prop shaft wouldn't do any damage at all to the prop itself.... The sound the motor makes is very similar to the sound it makes when you're cruising along and suddenly pull the gearshift into neutral and the prop is freewheeling. It isn't anywhere near as loud, but the sound has the same quality, making me think the same parts are involved. I'll do some more research before I bring it to the shop. I work on everything else I own or have owned, from snowmobiles and motorcycles to cars, trucks and lawn tractors, but for some reason, I'm afraid to start tearing into the lower unit on the one-season-old motor. If I had a service manual of some sort, I'd dive right in. Does Clymer, Haynes, or some similar company sell outboard service manuals like the car and motorcycle manuals they sell? I'll have to do some Googling.... Tight lines, Bob Quote
Super User gardnerjigman Posted August 31, 2015 Super User Posted August 31, 2015 Gotta get insurance bro... Trust me when I tell you it makes boating way more relaxing. Quote
desmobob Posted September 1, 2015 Author Posted September 1, 2015 Gotta get insurance bro... Trust me when I tell you it makes boating way more relaxing. I live in NY, where there are a million rules and regulations. It seems like insurance is required on everything BUT a boat. I never had an expensive boat, so I never got insurance. And I guess I never realized it covered things like running over logs... I thought it was just for liability and medical coverage in case of an accident. I will have insurance next season. Tight lines, Bob Quote
Ski213 Posted September 1, 2015 Posted September 1, 2015 I think seloc does the marine manuals. They may well be somehow affiliated with haynes or clymer. Better than nothing for sure but if you have mechanical knowledge you'll be better off if you can get a factory service manual in my opinion. With an outboard that new factory manual may be your only option Quote
Super User Fishes in trees Posted September 1, 2015 Super User Posted September 1, 2015 I don't know about where you live, but in Missouri, where I live, you get stopped for anything while you are towing your boat, and you don't have boat insurance, they go all "cop" on you real quick. Nothing good ever happens at this point. There isn't any future in towing your boat anywhere if you aren't insured. Pay to play. Quote
desmobob Posted September 1, 2015 Author Posted September 1, 2015 I don't know about where you live, but in Missouri, where I live, you get stopped for anything while you are towing your boat, and you don't have boat insurance, they go all "cop" on you real quick. Nothing good ever happens at this point. There isn't any future in towing your boat anywhere if you aren't insured. Pay to play. In NY, your small trailer and trailered boat is covered on your auto insurance. Tight lines, Bob Quote
desmobob Posted September 1, 2015 Author Posted September 1, 2015 I just put the muffs on the boat in my driveway. First, I ran the engine up to 5000 RPM in neutral; no noise. Then I put it in gear and ran it up to 5000 RPM. No noise. No vibration. I took off the prop and checked the shaft for run-out. It's straight and true. Then I checked the Flo-Torque hub to see if it was damaged; nope. Hopefully, it was just paranoia that had me hearing a new noise after my incident. I'll have the boat in the water again this weekend and see how things work out. I could have just been a bit paranoid after hitting the limb, OR, the noise is only evident when the prop is under load. Time will tell.... I found that a person can purchase Mercury service manuals direct from them. $85. I'll put that on my Christmas list if I don't have a need to pick one up sooner. Thanks for all the responses! Bob Quote
Super User Fishing Rhino Posted September 2, 2015 Super User Posted September 2, 2015 Regarding insurance. Why does it seem that most are concerned about covering damage/loss to their boat. Suppose you damage someone else's property or worse injure or kill someone else? The first priority should be to provide coverage for what you do to someone else. Losing a full fledged bass boat would be peanuts compared to what your liability would be if you cause bodily injury to others. 4 Quote
desmobob Posted September 3, 2015 Author Posted September 3, 2015 I had time to put the boat in the water after work today. All is well and no more strange noise. WHEW! I did a little bit of fishing and ran the boat around for an hour or so. It must have been the Flo-Torque Hub. When I took it apart and checked it out, I put it back together 180* from the way it had been installed when I hit the log. I don't know if it is a sacrificial or re-usable part, or how to tell if it needs to be replaced. I ordered a back-up to have on hand. My boating season will be over soon. I'll start next season with a good insurance policy and a Mercury service manual on my bookshelf. Tight lines, Bob 1 Quote
Super User Way2slow Posted September 3, 2015 Super User Posted September 3, 2015 One word of caution, unless it's on a Dino, in a tank with a test prop or pushing a boat down the lake, NEVER!!!!!!! turn a motor over about 2,000 rpm. Quote
Super User bigbill Posted September 4, 2015 Super User Posted September 4, 2015 Hope your motor is ok. While trolling for blues we missed a telephone pole floating in the waves. It wasn't a good sight to see. The waves kept it hidden in one direction. Quote
desmobob Posted September 5, 2015 Author Posted September 5, 2015 Hope your motor is ok. While trolling for blues we missed a telephone pole floating in the waves. It wasn't a good sight to see. The waves kept it hidden in one direction. My motor is fine; thanks! The lower end of Lake Champlain offers up lots of floating logs, trees, and limbs. You have to be on the look-out all the time, especially after a strong rain or wind storm. I have everyone has a safe boating season! Bob Quote
Super User WRB Posted September 6, 2015 Super User Posted September 6, 2015 Did you pull the prop off the shaft? Depending on the vintage some 40 hp have shear pins in liue of clutch hubs, you could have sheared a peace of the pin off and need to replace it. Tom Quote
Super User Further North Posted September 6, 2015 Super User Posted September 6, 2015 I live in NY, where there are a million rules and regulations. It seems like insurance is required on everything BUT a boat. I never had an expensive boat, so I never got insurance. And I guess I never realized it covered things like running over logs... I thought it was just for liability and medical coverage in case of an accident. I will have insurance next season. Tight lines, Bob Boat insurance is good for some things like you mentioned...your home owners likely covers some other things (I had a tackle box stolen out of my boat that was covered). It's worth a call. Quote
Super User Further North Posted September 6, 2015 Super User Posted September 6, 2015 I don't know about where you live, but in Missouri, where I live, you get stopped for anything while you are towing your boat, and you don't have boat insurance, they go all "cop" on you real quick. Nothing good ever happens at this point. There isn't any future in towing your boat anywhere if you aren't insured. Pay to play. Just curious...how does whether you have insurance on your boat matter? If there's an accident related to your driving, it'll fall under your car insurance...and it's none of any cop's business if you don't choose to insure your boat...unless you have an accident on the water...and even then... Unless Missouri is completely different from the states around here. Quote
Super User Further North Posted September 6, 2015 Super User Posted September 6, 2015 Regarding insurance. Why does it seem that most are concerned about covering damage/loss to their boat. Suppose you damage someone else's property or worse injure or kill someone else? The first priority should be to provide coverage for what you do to someone else. Losing a full fledged bass boat would be peanuts compared to what your liability would be if you cause bodily injury to others. Yup. That's what should be covered. Quote
RAMBLER Posted September 12, 2015 Posted September 12, 2015 Hit a floating but submerged log (?) but at an angle so that the keel did not hit the log and protect the prop. Didn't hurt the prop but did slightly bend the shaft. Brand new 25 horse 4 stroke. I have insurance and it covered the repairs. Over $425.00. One incident like that pays for a couple of years or more insurance. Quote
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