BENT PROP SHAFT?

[Indian Falls]

How easy is it to bend the bronze prop shaft by getting a dock line fouled in your prop?

[Stephen Butler]

Very easy, particularly if the shaft appears "reddish," i.e., corroded.  Go stainless

[karista]

Had a crabpot line wrap around my prop, stalled out the engine. The shaft was not bend, so I suspect yours will be just fine.

[Ron Hill]

Dan : It is possible, but if the line tangled around the prop behind the strut - it isn't likely to have bent the prop shaft. 

My thought

[Roc]

do you find more vibrations after the incident?  Or any unusual noise when in gear?  If not, you're probably ok.

[Stu Jackson]

Oh, heck, I did that in 1998, in December after we bought the boat in July.  Good thing the water was hot and there was enough brandy to go around!  Go underneath and look, unless you've already "been there - done that" from disentangling the line.

As Roc said, only YOU can determine what the end result may have been to what you are used to hearing.

My "wrap" has lasted 13 years.  So far, so good...

Good luck.

[Indian Falls]

The first time it happened, we had no idea what happened.  After the third stall I went below and grabbed the prop shaft and couldn't turn it.  That's when I yelled: where is that "gosh darn" spring line?!  Ended up diving on it 6 times in the dark to get it off.  Just recently while at another marina a long dock line was overlooked and trailed in the water.  Soon as the air was gone we started up the motor and immediately stalled.  Knew right away what it was.  The first time is the event that may have bent something because the spring line was hanging from the midship cleat not the bow cleat as in the second time and it was in front and behind the strut and was wrapped and  rewrapped using reverse.   There is a clatter like the engine is smacking the hull at low rpm and a similar noise that is hard to get rid of using different rpms.  Well maybe the engine mounts moved a bit from vibration as well.  The weather lately has been too nice to spend a few hours below decks...

[Ron Hill]

Dan : Unless it is VERY obvious that the shaft is bent (along with some real vibs) the only way that you can easily check a shaft for round - is to remove it and roll it on a flat surfice.  A thought

[Ralph Masters]

I wrapped  line in ours one time too.  Was able to reverse the prop and almost got it all out.  Still had to do the dive in the water thing, and in San Diego bay that is iffy at best.  When we had the boat hauled for paint I checked the shaft and it looked straight as I turned it over by hand, no noticable movment from center on the machining dimple in the end of the shaft.

Ralph
Ciao Bella