KillerJ
Active member
So i decided to take the wife out fishing while the kids were in school today. Everything was fine until a nasty wind kicked up. I decided to call it a day. Left the boat at the dock and backed the trailer down the nasty steep ramp at Milner Reservoir.
My first bit of bad luck was my truck started rolling backwards when shut off even though I left it in gear (emergency brake has been inop for a long time). So instead of being able to throw a line to my wife to have her assist in getting the boat on the trailer, she had to sit in the truck with her foot on the brake.
Next bit of bad luck: I had to deal with a strong left to right wind while trying to get the boat lined up and on the trailer. My first attempt went horribly wrong and I missed the trailer. The boat bumped the ramp, motor died, and the stern immediately swung to the right due to the strong wind. In order to avoid running into the nearby dock, I restarted the motor and backed out until I hit a submerged rock with the prop. Motor died again.
I pushed away from the rock with a paddle and fired up my underpowered (especially on a windy day) trolling motor. By approaching the dock about 30 yards upwind of the ramp I was able to get enough of the boat on the trailer to crawl over the bow and get the strap secured.
The end result is the prop damage pictured. I plan on taking the prop into the local marine dealership/service shop to see how much a repair or replacement will cost.
I've heard aluminum props can be hammered back into shape. However, I'm concerned about any imperfections from my hammering job causing excessive vibration and/or damage to my motor. I'm very open to suggestions from the forum. Thanks.
My first bit of bad luck was my truck started rolling backwards when shut off even though I left it in gear (emergency brake has been inop for a long time). So instead of being able to throw a line to my wife to have her assist in getting the boat on the trailer, she had to sit in the truck with her foot on the brake.
Next bit of bad luck: I had to deal with a strong left to right wind while trying to get the boat lined up and on the trailer. My first attempt went horribly wrong and I missed the trailer. The boat bumped the ramp, motor died, and the stern immediately swung to the right due to the strong wind. In order to avoid running into the nearby dock, I restarted the motor and backed out until I hit a submerged rock with the prop. Motor died again.
I pushed away from the rock with a paddle and fired up my underpowered (especially on a windy day) trolling motor. By approaching the dock about 30 yards upwind of the ramp I was able to get enough of the boat on the trailer to crawl over the bow and get the strap secured.
The end result is the prop damage pictured. I plan on taking the prop into the local marine dealership/service shop to see how much a repair or replacement will cost.
I've heard aluminum props can be hammered back into shape. However, I'm concerned about any imperfections from my hammering job causing excessive vibration and/or damage to my motor. I'm very open to suggestions from the forum. Thanks.