42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

This is a pick of My buddys 42 Fountain. He said he thinks he hit something :eek: There is not a mark on the bottom of the hull or any damage to the other skeg or prop.Some of the studs are sheered off and pulled out.I bet he could of stoped and walked over and picked up the lower :eek:

He said he was coming off plane in Joes Bayou,Destin,FL




What ya think he hit????? :rolleyes:

click on
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/4...arge0iv.th.jpg

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

:eek:


http://img150.imagevenue.com/aAfkjfp...dium_438lo.jpg

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

A partially submerged log

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

I guess you're saying that it happened while trailering; if so going around a corner and hitting a center median or curb would explain it - no damage to trailer, hull or other drive. Also the turning velocity of the drive with the axle(s) being the pivot point imparts a lot more force to what's being pivoted (the drive). Keep us posted. -Jeff

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

:( maybe a mine...

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

Nope :eek: in the water comming off plane

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

Hey, save that rear annode. Those fookers are expensive!! :D

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

wow. :eek: :eek: :eek:

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

You can say that again..... :eek:

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

I'd say a manatee

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

Well at least I'm not the only one that brakes off outdrives.

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

NO, MUST HAVE HIT A CAT!

The cat killer business can be expensive.

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

I think the rest of the drive is probably still in the manatees back. :eek:

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

Ouchhhhh!

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

Now that's a shorty ! :evilb:

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

wow ive seen some bad hits but never THAT bad

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

Did He Feel Any Vibration Or Anything Out Of The Ordinary Before This Happened?

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

Does that right water pickup have the end curled up?

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

Im surprised it didnt come off at the gimbal ring, that seems to be the weakest point.. never seen one shear off at the upper/lower joint :eek: :eek:

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

Ain't never seen anything like that before.

Well Rob, go ahead and tell us what happened.

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

I'm no expert but I think that'll buff out.

Would something like that begin to flood the engine compartment or is there still a sufficient seal around the (?) gimbal?

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

lower gear case blew up taking the whole lower with it??

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

I've only see this happen 2 other times in person. First time my old boss hit a 55 gallon drum, it ripped the lower right off.... 90% of the parts in the lower were still good.

The other one that I worked on had Alpha's. The guy was loaded and was running 30 mph or so and hit a submerged sea wall. :eek: The guy said he felt the clunk and turned around, only to see the lower unit flying thru the air like a boomerang.

The next day I go down to the dock to have a look at it. At first I look in the water and can see the upper unit but due to mercky water I can't see any deeper. I start it up and shift back and forth..nothing... Then I stuck my arm in the water and felt down lower only to find out that the drive was sheered off 2-3 inches ABOVE the cavitation plate. The only thing left on the drive was the upper gear set... :eek:

After repairing I hung the upper up on the wall! :cool:

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

Years ago I read about a record run on a river.. St Louis to New Orleans, I believe. They made grea time except when they hit an old submerged concrete wall.. I guess they sheared the lower right of one of the outboads and they are suppose to kick up.. so

What ever it was, IT probably didnt move! Kinda like my first encounter with a bulkhead on one of USN's big steel boats and not ducking my head enough to get thru the hatchway... That is one thing I remember.. it didnt move..

Dick

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

He said he was just commimg off plane and there was a bang :eek: The ramp where we were taking the boat out is a very narrow inlet ,I figure he was out of the channel.I bet it had to be concrete..

boatman22 did it take on water ?:eek:

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

He had lost a prop blade the day before and kept running it like that ,He said it would vibrate getting on plane but wasn't to bad up and running :rolleyes: . He goes to the wood getting it on plane :eek: The boat is hard to get on plane normally.

The only other time I've seen them shear off like this is from a spin out/side load .But there is 2 separate Pisces of the lower still on the upper

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

:cool: :drink: :evilb:

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

Looks like the skeg monster got him.. :drink:

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

Well, there ya go, a thrown blade will kill that drive in a quick minute, the vibration is what did it. Now that was no too smart, even a ding in the prop needs to be fixed. The harmonics at speed will slowly loosen things and kill the drive.

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

How bout this one, then ! My first 50 Nor Tech exactly 3 yrs ago. It was in a part of Georgian Bay called the 30,000 Islands. While there are that many above the surface, there are 100 times that lurking just below. Happened in an area that I had passed thru many times before. Was travelling at minimum planning speed, watching chart plotter, chart in hand, had my eye on the bouy and BAM ! :eek: No hull damage. Within a minute of it happening a local tow boat idled over and asked " may we help you?" For a long time I was suspicious that someone (read towboat) had moved a bouy but may have been just my unwillingness to admit I screwed up. As you can see from the pics I still cruise those waters in my current Nor Tech. No problem since. It is just too beautiful to stay away. :D
btb

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

Wow, that's what ya call a BAD DAY! :eek:

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

Ouch ,that hurts even to look at :eek:Kinda like watching eye surgery.... Bob you won the prize :eek:


You still running B-Max's???

Rob :D

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

I'd say that was at least a $45K mistake... :eek: :eek:

Hopefully you had insurance.

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

...looks fine to me..always complaining... :D

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

No B Max after that. When I had my current NT built I spec'ed out No. 6 drives. That boat originally had bravo's on and I blew up lots of those - kinda disposable like you know, then I went to XR's and chewed up a bunch of them, then went to B Max and killed all three of those on the rock as you can see. My driving is way too agressive for that light stuff and now the new boat with the no. 6's are standing up ok.
I think I hold some kind of record for number of blown drives in the 18 months I owned that boat but that is a whole other story ! LOL :D

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

Close. $50K and insurance paid. Or maybe I should say I am still paying in the form of higher premiums. :rolleyes:
Bob

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

Yea it did. i got it to a ramp and water got to the motors. gen set was under water. Got the motors out and apart with no damage. But now i have bigger motors to go back in..... :eek:

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

I almost hit a piling in my fish boat after a storm. The piling was floating just under the surface but still drifting. The barnacles and crud on the lower end kept it in a near upright position just inches under the surface.

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

I bet that the vibration from the bad prop did it. I've seen that happen before. I was suspecting that to be the case as i read the thread and confirmed my suspicion when Strip reported the prop problem.

Re: 42 Fountain Bravo 1 Broke in Half
 

We have a lot of dredging out in the big lake (MI) sometimes the pipes break free, are not marked will or just plain driver error but these 3ft dia. pipes that are 6"s thick can clear your transom in a heartbeat :eek: It happens every year at least once a year but can be often if one breaks free after a storm. One time a tool overloaded a barge with 8ft logs, over 1000 of them. His barge capsized in a storm and they all went into lake MI near Leland and Frankfort, a big patch. These were just floating and bobbing on the surface, like a deadhead. Warnings went out but it was impossible to avoid them. I am sure the damage from them were huge.