What have you hit, and what did it do?

[exx1976]

Attachment 408403

Had a similar issue with my old Stratos. Doe ran smack into the side of the boat. Narrowly missed the truck. Ended up wedged between the hull and the fender, damn near split her in half. She was still alive when I got out of the truck, and flailing wildly. Waited for her to die, pulled her out & threw her on the shoulder. Had to bend the fender back out with a tire iron so I could drive it home since the fender had collapsed onto the tire. That was quite the adventure.

No damage to the boat though.

[exx1976]

hitting poorly designed boat ramps while power loading. .

No sympathy from me. Power loading destroys launches.

[cwilt]

Hit an alligator running about 30 mph. He decided to surface right in front of the boat. No damage just a hard thump that slowed us down a bit.

Me too. But my boat at the time was a flat bottom jon. Was only gound about 20ish at night. It got stuck between the motor and the transom. When i hit it, i looked back and its tail was flopping around. After i slowed down it disappeared.

[Louie]

In the fall of 2010, I hit what we later deduced was a submerged log at 50+ mph in my '09 Triton 19X3 and ended up shearing the motor totally off the boat with absolutely NO damage to the hull or transom. I kept that particular boat for another nine years with no structural problems.

Lower units and props, however, are another story!

Yea we had a big event on Santee last year, and a few motors got ripped off pre fishing, people running stump fields when the water was 2.5' low. The log I hit in mine glanced the skeg at 70, I almost went over it, but it felt exactly like hitting a speed bump in a car at a high speed, solid thud. Fiberglass does not like that lol.

[SteezMacQueen]

I backed my skeeter off the trailer and right into a big angle iron on a dock. Punched a hole smooth through the sponson. I actually had to put the motor in gear to drive it off the iron. It was stuck like chuck.

[XingEyeballs]

Attachment 408403

That’s a first

[KRC18D]

Hit a flock of coots running down the lake on a foggy morning. 3 disintegrated on impact with the bow and trolling motor and multiple got sucked under the boat and we felt them hit the prop. They felt like speed bumps. Left a trail of carnage unintentionally of course didn’t see them until it was to late. They covered us with blood and feathers. We both jumped in the water to wash off afterwards. Had to spend a whole day scrubbing the boat to get all the blood.

[Such5]

Last fall I hit a smallish log that came out of no where. Amazing how fast those logs can travel when you are going 70+ mph! ;-) Broke the Prop Shaft off inside the lower unit. I instantly backed off the throttle. I figured I'd have a vibration when I fired the motor back up, but no, just nothing. Thought I must have spun the hub so badly that it had no friction to spin the prop. Trimmed the motor up top take a look and my brother was like, "There's no Prop damage back here." I asked what the problem was and he said well, there is NO PROP!

I am obviously lying to you all about this story, because Progressive Insurance has told me I did not hit anything! And the proof I have is at the bottom of the Grand River! It's a very, very long story. Fought them for weeks and weeks.

One of the Highlights is the Progressive guy said that there computers say that 12 feet of water is a safe depth. So, I must not have hit anything! I was like, even if I was in 400 feet of water a floating log is a floating log! He couldn't even understand that!!!!

P.S. Don't use Progressive Insurance!!!!!!!!!!

[1stindoor]

Just did this last weekend...have no idea what I hit...or when. Found it when I pulled out of the lakeprop 2.jpg

[DaveTTN]

Many years ago took out a prop tilling an underwater garden before I learned to navigate TN river channels using the buoys. This winter I hit a submerged floater and took out my lower unit, first time for that. Luckily have a whole new lower replaced by insurance.

[EL Skeeter]

Few boats ago another's wake caused me to run my Skeeter into a bridge piling causing $10,000 in damage,needless to say Progressive DID NOT
drop nor raise my rates.

[rolopayne]

Hit a floating log in Lac Desallamands last year doing low 60's. never saw it. Put a goofball size dent in the bottom of my X-19. Scared me good for sure

[skennedy]

I ran over a BIG steel river channel marker that was hit by a barge and just under the surface running at 65-70 mph . It was on a ranger that was 2 weeks old . Ran over a wheel and tire . Ran over a sheet of plywood 4x8 . Ran over two deer one tore up 5he truck the other the trailer wiped him out only lite damage on the trailer . Ran over a 4’ long piece of barge rope 1.5 dia 30 miles from no where on the Mississippi River .It stops the eng in a flash ! It melted the rope under the prop washer crazy. When my wife and I where just dating I was teaching her how to drive the boat and didn’t know she could see worth’s a shit anD ran over some dudes ski rope . He was pissed . That s with just the bassboat . I have been thrown out of the duck boat twice from running a ground in the dark . The first time My lab and I skidded in mud and cockaburs face first . Poor lab had so many cockburs on him he couldn’t walk . My buddy’s still give me shit when there with me and we go flying by river markers . They like to point them out to me and laugh 😂 . But there just as bad .

[skennedy]

Add to the list . I love to run over coots . Ran over a beaver in the dark they will stop your motor also . Ran through a commercial fisherman’s net in the dark that was mess . Ran over a 2x4 on lake of ozarks . There’s more I’m not making this stuff up either . Good thing my best friend is an outboard mechanic .

[skennedy]

I ran over a BIG steel river channel marker that was hit by a barge and just under the surface running at 65-70 mph . It was on a ranger that was 2 weeks old . Ran over a wheel and tire . Ran over a sheet of plywood 4x8 . Ran over two deer one tore up 5he truck the other the trailer wiped him out only lite damage on the trailer . Ran over a 4’ long piece of barge rope 1.5 dia 30 miles from no where on the Mississippi River .It stops the eng in a flash ! It melted the rope under the prop washer crazy. When my wife and I where just dating I was teaching her how to drive the boat and didn’t know she could see worth’s a shit anD ran over some dudes ski rope . He was pissed . That s with just the bassboat . I have been thrown out of the duck boat twice from running a ground in the dark . The first time My lab and I skidded in mud and cockaburs face first . Poor lab had so many cockburs on him he couldn’t walk . My buddy’s still give me shit when there with me and we go flying by river markers . They like to point them out to me and laugh 😂 . But there just as bad .

[wareagle24]

In the fall of 2010, I hit what we later deduced was a submerged log at 50+ mph in my '09 Triton 19X3 and ended up shearing the motor totally off the boat with absolutely NO damage to the hull or transom. I kept that particular boat for another nine years with no structural problems.

Lower units and props, however, are another story!

I remember you posting about hitting that log. I think you said that after hitting it the boat done a 180° spin or something like that. I also think that you posted the GPS coordinates if somebody wanted a 225 hp Mercury lying on the bottom. I remember it was in Shoals Creek because I've hit logs on that stretch of the creek too.

[oldmanwinter]

Four years ago I hit a submerged rock with my 87 Nitro with a 90hp Johnson. No damage to the hull but bent the prop and also put a big crack in the lower end.
This was minor damage compared to the damage that my wife incured in this incident. She happened to be sitiing crosslegged and had her right foot on the left rod locker. As I hit the rock the boat came to a sudden stop and she rose of the seat and her momentum carried her body weight forword placing all the force on her right ankle. She said to me as I had shut the engine of as she was on the floor of the boat "honey I think my anle is broken" Sure enought broken in three places. Managed to get thje engine started and limped back a mile to the docks. Two plates and a dozen screws and a lot of time she is back on the water with a little nervous jitters.

[rakkc]

1st boat, 1989 hit something on Lake Mead NV, cowling landed on the front deck, motor was held on by steering cables. Not a sign of impact damage to lower unit or prop or boat. Insurance got me a brand new motor, hit fence posts in MO, Stumps in FL. Lake Powell in UT has rocks that seem to grow every year and will pucker you up when heading into a canyon, have not hit any of them (yet)

[Ckayak1]

surf and turf?

NEVER would have believed it without that pic! Damn

[Fishingchucknj]

Hit a bridge one time many years ago. I was running down a small channel and though I had plenty of clearance to get under bridge. As I got closer I realized that there wasn’t enough room. Killed the throttle fast and thought I was going to be fine until the big swell from my wake lifted the boat up and slammed the trolling motor into the bridge.