Broken shaft

Not sure how this happened but tonight during the last wakeboarding pull of the night my shaft snapped. Anyone ever have this kind of problem? I was in deep water 40-50ft and no gators where I live in WI. I just got the wakeboader outta water about 3K RPM and then then with no warning the RPM's went through the roof. I know I didn't hit anything but my shaft broke about an inch inside the strut. Very clean brake and no damage to the rutter or boat(not sure how with the Prop spinning that fast). Any how I am thankful no one was hurt and the boat was not damaged. Except for the lost 4 blade OJ. But the big question is how long of shaft do I order and is SKIDIM the best place to get one or does anyone have a spare or a deal on one. My boat is an 86 Martinique with a 351W and a velvet drive 1:1 tranny with a 1" shaft dia. I just put gt40 heads and a edlebrock intake on, could the extra torque snapped the shaft?

Martinique wrote: I just put gt40 heads and a edlebrock intake on, could the extra torque snapped the shaft?

No way no how.

Likey fatigued from misalignment or a bottom strike sometime in its life.

somewhere maybe on the internet you may find a chart to look at to deternmine what broke the shaft, it shows diifferent types of breaks such as twist, stress so on that is if your curious, the chart illustrates the broken ends and you compare yours to this, i know this because i had a warranty problem in which the man lost a $8000.00 rolla prop which snapped close to the taper. by using the chart we determined the problem to be the shaft

Chris, FYI

Dennis is no longer at MWCC, Bruce is the only guy left with any experience on the older boats. I know Bruce's son is working in parts with him and some other guy but they're relative newbies.

There was no vibration at all so I don't think is was misalinged. The break is super clean I will put up a pic as soon as remove it. My guess after 20 years of service and 1100 hrs it was time to break. Just seemed odd the 1st time in the water after the intake and heads upgrade the shaft broke.

alot of times with mis-alignment you may or may not get a vibration, i would look for that chart i talked about earlier, I cant remember what causes a clean break. a twisting break i believe one side woul be higher. i will also look tonight for that chart it is really informative

andy,call me with year model,i will call one of my vendors to check price...........boat dr

Andy, ain't nothing but a thang,this is what i do for a living,buy parts ,work on boats,and try to make my clients happy. glad to do a good deed for a CCF,also saved you a lot of money in the process.it ain't BS if you can back it up. Advice is cheap;Knowhow is expensive.............boat dr

not a bad idea if you have the cash and the time. We were one of two boats out and luckly were able to get towed all the way across the lake and back to the dock. I was without outta paddle

boat dr hooked me up with an incredible deal

p/allen my prop and shaft guru says;we offer the following shafts,#17, #19,#22. the higher the # the more resistant they are to corrosion,that tells me #22 contains more nickel and other alloys making it softer but more expensive.#17 is the stock material and specs for C/C. they are the OEM for all of C/C boats.
shaft is 41 in. single taper........boat dr

when asked about the break"every part has a service life,w/the clean break sounds like metal fatigue, end of subject"

for the price of the shaft i was quoted and the fact i just bought 2 Austals 4 blades,sounds like cheap insurance to the boat dr........... but i could be wrong

since your replacing the shaft might as well looking in to replacing the packing gland with a dripless seal as well. Always nice to have a clean water free bilge.

I have a question.
Do they make, or could you get a collar to put on the shaft above the strut so in the event the shaft was to break;

a; You wouldn't loose your $350 (+ -) prop?

b; Reduce possible rudder and hull damage?

I guess there is a reason this isn't done. Perhaps a balance issue....Anyone? d

You can buy a 2-piece egg shaped zinc anode that will bolt on the the shaft at that location. I had one on my 1967 when I got it, the previous owner must have added it because he was storing the boat in salt water, if he hadn't painted over it, it might have been some help. I tossed it since I run in freshwater and hoist the boats at night but it would save the prop in the case of some shaft breaks.

Is there a tool to help remove the shaft from the coupling? I have the coupling unbolted from the tranny and the set bolts removed but I cannot seam to loosen the shaft from the coupling. any ideas?