Of the boating season that is….
Yes, so far I have found the worst part of boating is the end of the season. I took the boat in to the dealer to be winterized a few week ago. It does get a bit cold here in Oregon and although I could probably store it fine without winterizing, I am uncomfortable taking the chance. My dealer drains all the water out of the motor, checks the fluids and a few other things. It’s cheep insurance I guess.
While they were working on it, some water was found in the outdrive oil. For the non boaters, this is on the back of the boat where the propeller is. This is not a good thing. Upon further examination they found that the prop shaft (similar to a drive shaft) was bent which caused a seal to fail. It wasn’t much water but any amount is not good.
When I first heard this all I could see were dollar signs. Trust me, nothing is cheep to fix on a boat. Then John, the service manager told me that my insurance should cover it. He asked me if I hit anything this year but I had’t. Then I remembered hitting a six foot long submerged 2 X 6 last year. I was going about 30 MPH on the Columbia river and cut it right in half. I stopped and checked everything which seemed fine. Double checked again when I back home and didn’t see any problems.
Chaparral Prop Shaft
That was early last season and I ran all this year, about 70 hours with no problems. Anyway, I submitted a claim to insurance and except for a $250 deductible all was covered. I was very happy because the repair cost came to $4300.00. I had them save the prop shaft for me. I think I will put it on one of the shelves in my office. It was only bent by 16/100th of an inch. Just amazing how such a small bend can be so damaging.
I also got a little gouge in the hull of the boat this summer. It happened when I was at Lake Billy Chinook. The last night of our vacation I went out to the island which is just across from Three Rivers Marina. I wanted to get some sunrise pictures the next morning so I slept on the boat. It was late when I went out and when I tied up in the slip I didn’t do as good a job as I should have as you can see for this photo. The bow of the boat was hitting the dock and caused the gouge. Looks like I didn’t have the stern line tight enough.
Oops
The damage was not terrible and I hadn’t planned on having it repaired for a couple of years. Actually I was going to get a fiberglass repair kit and do a temporary repair myself until I could afford to have it fixed professionally. The dealer however was able to get it included in the outdrive repairs so I was very happy. Just that small repair came to over $500.00. Looks good as new though. I did get some good pictures in the morning…..
