Bent Prop .. Bent Strut?

[zippCarlson]

Hi all,

Last Sunday while towing my 6 yr old wakeboarding in 15 ft of water we had a sudden thump on the prop followed by a noticeable but not horrible vibration. Upon getting the boat up on the lift it was clear that one blade sustained a slight bend in its out edge. There was no chipping or gouges out of the prop. So, on monday the dealer picked up the boat to perform some warranty repairs ( boat is only 6 weeks old)and I asked them to go ahead and put on a new prop and send the old one out to be repaired. I figured having an extra proplr couldnt hurt. Today I get a call from the dealer saying he has some bad news, not only is my prop bent but so is my strut. The good news he claims is that he has it in stock and can do the repair right away if I just authorize it over the phone. I will be the first to admit I dont know a whole lot about this but my thoughts are:

#1 We were going around 14mph and felt a single thump

#2 only one blade of the prop was damaged and it seemed very minor

#3The boat was a dealer demo and had about 20 hrs on it when I bought it.

#4 The prop is made of a relatively soft metal and I would assume the strut is likely made of something much stronger

My questions are:

Would it be normal to bend the strut on a prop strike?

Should I go and see this supposed damage before authorizing the work and what recourse might I have if I don't think it was caused by this prop strike?

Any idea on the cost of a strut replacement?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!


Zipper

[dogbert]

It's not only normal, but highly likely that you damage more than just the prop every time you hit something. I hit a submerged branch/log with my prop and it slightly bent the prop, bent the rudder, the shaft and the strut. I would check with your insurance company to find out what the deductable is. It's about a $1200-$1500 repair with labor. My insurance, State Farm, covered me both times when it happened to me.

[da.bell]

Do you trust the dealer? Like dogbert said, not unlikely to have a bent prop shaft. If the dealer does it, ask the dealer that you want the shaft and you can check to see if the shaft is straight by rolling in on the ground.

[zippCarlson]

Thanks

Thanks guys I just wasn't sure on this. He didn't mention the shaft being bent only the prop and the strut so I will see what it turns out to be. I will definately call my insurance company but I think I have a $1000 deductible so the claim may or may not be worth making. Thanks for the insight!

[chpthril]

Have him check the shaft, odds are if the strut is bent, the shaft is to. Sorry to hear on such a new boat. Welcome to the forum.

[chpthril]

Thanks guys I just wasn't sure on this. He didn't mention the shaft being bent only the prop and the strut so I will see what it turns out to be. I will definately call my insurance company but I think I have a $1000 deductible so the claim may or may not be worth making. Thanks for the insight!

Check into lowering your deductible, in most cases, its only a few bucks a month difference.

[zippCarlson]

Yeah but they tend to add up. I have a fishing boat, Two Seadoo RXPs and the Tige. Needless to say even the few bucks helps At least until you get popped for an actual repair. Turns out the strut replacements is only about $325 and right around $550 for the new prop and the labor. They are also doing my 50 hour service so thats another $280. The good news is they are taking care of all my little nick knack warranty items at this same time. They had to retap the screws for my Bimini top as they were coming loose from the tower ( 2009 Rz2 ) and I am sure hoping they do a good job because as beautiful as this tower is if it can't hold the screws long term its going to be a real drag! They are also comletely replacing my radio as the CNET interface has completely failed. So, I had a few problems from the get go but I will say this about my Tige, I haven't had to fight to get anything done. I show it to them and they fix it right off no excuses no arguing and that makes me a happy owner!