Beached on rocks during storm, repair checklist?

Long story short: on the last day of my Michigan vacation, I tried to drive my 82 SN across the lake to the launch site during heavy rains and rough water and ended up being driven in to the shallow rock bottom. It was stuck about 30 min on the rocks scraping as the waves raised it up and down.

I still needed to leave after we got unstuck, so I then had to drive approx 10 min @ 2000 RPM after we got it off the rocks to the landing when the storm calmed down.

There was no opportunity to tow the boat to the landing or pull the boat out where it was on the lake. I was worried that banging against the bottom could have really F'd up my shaft alignment and caused more damage by driving it, but it was my only option at the time.

It definitely had a different tone driving it with the damaged prop, but nothing sounded too alarming.

Results of the damage after pulling the boat out:
- All 3 tracking fins are bent
- Prop is really banged up

I plan on taking the entire driveshaft assembly apart for inspection. I also will check to see if the strut is still aligned with the shaft log.

Is it hard to bend those fins back straight?
What else should I be checking for damage?

Here are some pictures of the damage and one of the type of rocks I hit.







This is actually about 6 ft deep, I was taking a picture of how clear the water was

Thanks for the tip on the fins. Yeah I definitely figured I'll be buying a new prop for next season.

It was Crystal Lake up near Sleeping Bear Dunes. Gorgeous lake, but a little too big for my preference. There were only 2 launches that were deep enough to drop a boat in to and they were on the other side of the lake from where we stayed. It wasn't a problem until you try and cross it in a storm fighting waves from the Bering Sea.

What is your deductible? a new prop is probably around $410.00... each fin is around 100-150 bucks... gel coat work if needed is very expensive. Shaft alignment and tune... rudder issues...

I would get a new prop and have that one tuned for a replacement if possible.

I hate to involve insurance, but you might be looking at $2k or a lot of man hours.

Good luck!

And if any of those guys above will be at Benjamins this weekend they could hand off to Alan or Kostas and have them back here in Chicagoland by Monday or Tuesday.

Been on Crystal, that's a huge lake and can get really insane during storms. If you like that area go about 20 mins further north to Glen Lake which is right at the Sleeping Bear Dune Climb, launch is good and between big glen and little glen you can typically find good water, and its also mostly sand bottom throughout.

If you do end up making a claim, include everything and anything, a claim is a claim, amount does not make a difference.

I only have liability insurance so unfortunately I'm on my own for this one.

Thanks for the advice guys! I have access to a full machine shop at work so I'm going to take a stab at straightening a fin tomorrow. If it's a failure, I'll get in contact with those guys and see about sending some paypal $$ for those extra fins.


If anyone has a decent used prop for my '82 let me know, otherwise I'll be watching the parts for sale section

Matt, I don't think you'll have a problem straightening those fins out. I had to do the same to mine after I bent two of them. One was worse than what you have it they didn't crack at all. I used a hydro press without heating them up and they are fine. SNObsessed (Chris) made a press using a bottle jack. Not sure what you have access to but I'd try going that route before buying new ones.

Orlando76 wrote: Try a BFH on the fins.

The BFH may get some of the bend out but what's really needed is even pressure at strategic points in a press.

I have fins for a 83 SN if you still haven't fixed em.

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