Last boat ride of the year...not too good
10-13-2002, 03:00 PM
#1
Registered
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: st. clair shores mi ,us
Posts: 1,620
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Last boat ride of the year...not too good
Went for a ride in a friends 31 Larry Smith Scarab (N/A 565's 700hp ) yesterday.
We get about a half mile from the launch and he sees a boat that he wants to race so we are running at 5200rpms (30's, 1:35's no idea of how fast) to catch this boat when all of a sudden we hear this huge CLANG and next thing I know the boat is doing a 180 !!
The only thoughts I had was "I'm not going to get launched out!" and I held on as tight as I could.
Well it looks like we might have hit something that was underwater because the whole gimbal ring and part of the transom assy was destroyed ! The drive was just hanging by the steering ram and tie bar. The u joint assy was basically gone and the end was still sticking into the coupler with just the u joint showing. When we got the boat out of the water we could see that the side of the drive had a big scuff mark and two blades on the prop were hit. So it had to be and underwater object that caused it.
I'm definitley buying life jackets for next years season.
So far I've had a prop blade come of at 90mph (no mishap ) while behind the wheel of a friends cat
I hooked my boat at 77-78 and hurt a buddies ribs and then this.
It just kind of makes me think , the more often I go fast the more opportunities there are to get hurt. I'm really going to try and be safer next year.
My bad, the boat has 1.50's gears. I forgot that he put XR's in at the begining of the summer.
We get about a half mile from the launch and he sees a boat that he wants to race so we are running at 5200rpms (30's, 1:35's no idea of how fast) to catch this boat when all of a sudden we hear this huge CLANG and next thing I know the boat is doing a 180 !!
The only thoughts I had was "I'm not going to get launched out!" and I held on as tight as I could.
Well it looks like we might have hit something that was underwater because the whole gimbal ring and part of the transom assy was destroyed ! The drive was just hanging by the steering ram and tie bar. The u joint assy was basically gone and the end was still sticking into the coupler with just the u joint showing. When we got the boat out of the water we could see that the side of the drive had a big scuff mark and two blades on the prop were hit. So it had to be and underwater object that caused it.
I'm definitley buying life jackets for next years season.
So far I've had a prop blade come of at 90mph (no mishap ) while behind the wheel of a friends cat
I hooked my boat at 77-78 and hurt a buddies ribs and then this.
It just kind of makes me think , the more often I go fast the more opportunities there are to get hurt. I'm really going to try and be safer next year.
My bad, the boat has 1.50's gears. I forgot that he put XR's in at the begining of the summer.
Last edited by 26scarab; 10-14-2002 at 10:21 AM.
10-13-2002, 03:10 PM
#2
Registered
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: On the river
Posts: 3,372
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Good to hear your still kickin 
most of the time I have a lifevest and my lanyard on, problem child is just to little and sometimes you can't predict how she'll take a wave. Nothing has happened yet (knock on wood). I still have a few more good runs in the bay this year. Hopefully nothing breaks or happens to end this year short, not bad 88 hrs so far this year and only one piston problem.. 68 hrs since then 
and like i told macdad260 we ran in the bay for around 45 minutes at WOT (5400) and she is still running, I have been trying to scatter the motor to end the season but I just can't break it, guess we built her pretty good 
Hopefully next year there won't be as many accidents as this year, this year had some tragegys (spelling) that could have been avoided
You still running your boat?
Travis
most of the time I have a lifevest and my lanyard on, problem child is just to little and sometimes you can't predict how she'll take a wave. Nothing has happened yet (knock on wood). I still have a few more good runs in the bay this year. Hopefully nothing breaks or happens to end this year short, not bad 88 hrs so far this year and only one piston problem.. 68 hrs since then and like i told macdad260 we ran in the bay for around 45 minutes at WOT (5400) and she is still running, I have been trying to scatter the motor to end the season but I just can't break it, guess we built her pretty good Hopefully next year there won't be as many accidents as this year, this year had some tragegys (spelling) that could have been avoided
You still running your boat?
Travis
10-13-2002, 03:45 PM
#4
Registered
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: On the river
Posts: 3,372
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It takes about 20 mintues to winterize, do it during lunch tommorrow 
LOL!! there should be 2 seasons.. "boating season" then when it gets cold " Hang over season "
I could get use to drinkin all winter long... opps I already do that
LOL!! there should be 2 seasons.. "boating season" then when it gets cold " Hang over season " I could get use to drinkin all winter long...
opps I already do that
10-14-2002, 08:52 AM
#5
Wow! your lucky nothing happened! Good to hear everyones ok and nothing terrible happened.
Remoinds me of the first season i had the Scarab. Two of us out for the last run of the season before putting her away. Running about 60ish in about 1-3's at a 45*
Boat launches up and gets thrown a little sideways and comes down crooked and hooks a hard right. My buddy almost went over. luckly he was holding onto the grab bar by his seat. I endind up sitting in the middle of the boat!! On the way down i bent both throttle sticks at a 45* and was holding onto the wheel!! The scarriest part was that when i forst got the boat there were no kill switches! Had we both been ejected the boat would have just kept going! That winter it was the first project to get done for next season!
Remoinds me of the first season i had the Scarab. Two of us out for the last run of the season before putting her away. Running about 60ish in about 1-3's at a 45*
Boat launches up and gets thrown a little sideways and comes down crooked and hooks a hard right. My buddy almost went over. luckly he was holding onto the grab bar by his seat. I endind up sitting in the middle of the boat!!
On the way down i bent both throttle sticks at a 45* and was holding onto the wheel!! The scarriest part was that when i forst got the boat there were no kill switches! Had we both been ejected the boat would have just kept going! That winter it was the first project to get done for next season!
__________________
-Wally
Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy horsepower. And I've never seen a sad person hauling a$$!
-Wally
Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy horsepower. And I've never seen a sad person hauling a$$!
10-14-2002, 08:55 AM
#6
Registered
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Lake St. Clair
Posts: 353
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It was something else
I have to agree with ya Chuck. I was in the boat at the time when this happened. Driving my old boat, I've blown plenty of drives, but this was definitely not a typical chucking of the drive.
After the big "clang" and the jolt like we hit a speedbump at however fast we were goin (he was actually not on the throttle, he pulled back just before it happened). I just slipped a little in the bolster, and was able to grab the grabrail in front. But when I looked over, I could see our friend fighting the steering wheel with both hands for a split second before he reached over to bring us back to an idle. The guy is a great driver, and managed to get things as under control as possible, I could have easily seen someone panicing (not sure of spelling) which could have led to a lot worse outcome.
All I have to say is that things like this make you think. I remember doing 70 plus in my last boat without good steering. It was more than a handful. So for all of you that are on "that edge" debating on should I spend the cash on the steering, or makin it faster (like most of us do at first).................consider the steering. I have to believe if there wasn't steering on this boat (after seeing how hard our friend was fighting the wheel to get the thing under control), a few members on this board could have been wrecked up a little (to say the least).
Just my $.02
RJ
After the big "clang" and the jolt like we hit a speedbump at however fast we were goin (he was actually not on the throttle, he pulled back just before it happened). I just slipped a little in the bolster, and was able to grab the grabrail in front. But when I looked over, I could see our friend fighting the steering wheel with both hands for a split second before he reached over to bring us back to an idle. The guy is a great driver, and managed to get things as under control as possible, I could have easily seen someone panicing (not sure of spelling) which could have led to a lot worse outcome.
All I have to say is that things like this make you think. I remember doing 70 plus in my last boat without good steering. It was more than a handful. So for all of you that are on "that edge" debating on should I spend the cash on the steering, or makin it faster (like most of us do at first).................consider the steering. I have to believe if there wasn't steering on this boat (after seeing how hard our friend was fighting the wheel to get the thing under control), a few members on this board could have been wrecked up a little (to say the least).
Just my $.02
RJ
10-14-2002, 09:34 AM
#8
Charter Member
Charter Member
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Roscoe, Illinois
Posts: 754
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Geez, reading these events, I feel lucky with the way my boating season ended.
I was running in the ocean off of Pompano Beach with the Thunder Run group. ( What a sight btw the way, 10 or so Active Thunders all heading down to Miami... ). I was running pretty hard to show off a little for the helicopter when all of a sudden the port motor when right to the rev limiter....yup you guessed it, blew a drive. Thats all. Just the fact it was the last time I'd run the boat this year pissed me off. Oh well, what you gonna do 'cept fix it for next season.
I was running in the ocean off of Pompano Beach with the Thunder Run group. ( What a sight btw the way, 10 or so Active Thunders all heading down to Miami...
). I was running pretty hard to show off a little for the helicopter when all of a sudden the port motor when right to the rev limiter....yup you guessed it, blew a drive. Thats all. Just the fact it was the last time I'd run the boat this year pissed me off. Oh well, what you gonna do 'cept fix it for next season.
10-14-2002, 09:44 AM
#10
Registered
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: st. clair shores mi ,us
Posts: 1,620
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Yes , it could have been allot worse. We could have been racing that boat and end up turning right into it.
He has had allot of bad luck with that boat this year. I think everytime he took it out it broke. The only positive is the Bravo/XR conversions never broke. That was the problem last year , he kept breaking drives.
He has had allot of bad luck with that boat this year. I think everytime he took it out it broke. The only positive is the Bravo/XR conversions never broke. That was the problem last year , he kept breaking drives.
