240 Sport Jet - Sticks in the Impeller

[Freebird]

Hi guys, I just recently bought this aluminum Kellehan river boat modified from and outboard to a 240 sport jet. Pretty much for the sole purpose of being on the Fraser River here in Hope, BC Canada. Love the boat so far and the motor as well. Twice now I have picked up a small stick the size of your finger and it gets wedged in between the leading edge of the impeller and the housing, rendering my top speed to about 3-7 mph. Theres no way to rectify without the boat on the trailer. It's easy to pull it out once its out of the water and it doesnt do any damage but its a pain in the ass. I'm wondering if anyone has dealt with this and come up with any fixes. I have a couple ideas such as building a new grate for the intake with slighty less space between the steel slats, without restricting the flow too much. Or possibly pulling the impeller out and just in that certain 1 inch section of the edge of the impeller blades, sharpening it slightly so that it has a better chance of cutting through the stick and spitting it out the back. Obviously not a knife edge, but maybe a 45 degree angle leaving enough meat so it doesn't abrade too badly. Any thoughts??

 

[akozar]

I've had it happen a couple of times and yes it is a pain in the ass. I try and shut the engines down as soon as I stop now and try not to idle in place. Hasn't happened since I started doing this.

 

[Bilmon]

Thats not a Mercury grate that I.ve ever seen. Maybe a after market stomp grate missing something? It looks like it is articulated. There is a stainless rock grate that has less gap between the tines. I run one and very little gets though but it will clog with weeds pretty easy, never been a problem where I run. Can't even get my pinky finger in it. The one on the left.