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Items that you have sucked up.....

scokill

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Location
Rowlett, TX
Boat Make
Yamaha
Year
2008
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AR
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There may already be a thread on this but I didn't see one...

So last night we were leisurely cruising back to the ramp and one engine started vibrating ever so slightly. Sometimes you suck something up and it works itself out, so I kept going a little ways. Of" course my wife says "I think you sucked something up" so I stopped. I pulled the first plug and nothing, pull the second and there was about 1/2" of rubber band wedged between the impeller and housing. It sure doesn't take much to disrupt balance and the water flow.

I thought it might be interesting to hear what others have sucked up. Here is my list:

Hair tie, water bottle cap (multiple times believe or not), trash bag, ice bag (multiple times), rope (numerous times), wood (sticks, twigs, etc. numerous times), fishing line, of course grass and other water plants, and now a rubber band. Rope and fishing line (depending on how much) is difficult to get out followed by a piece of wood that gets wedged.

I think I remember someone actually picking up a golf ball and needing to pull their pump to get it out. I'm sure there some more uncommon items that others have picked up.
 
Ive sucked up something once per season the last 2 years. Both times I tried the reverse trick, no luck. And couldn't find anything in the cleanouts. Both times I kept feathering the throttle to near WOT, eventually I popped the zit and things were normal. Shakes the boat to a very uneasy level, but worked. I just wonder if I dont know how to use the cleanouts. I put my hand in there and can feel the blades. My thought is that i have a twig wedged in the intake grates and can only get it by going underneath. Both times was at the beginning of the season and water was too cold.
 
  • Rope (of course)
    • Pretty bad too - I thought I had damaged the shaft or bearing.
  • Sea grass
    • We were visiting family in PCB, FL and sucked up a lot of their sea grass
    • This one was bad because we were exiting a rather busy ramp that had rock jetties around it when both my motors started to shake and give high-temp alarms. So I just them off... and started to drift towards the rocks!!
    • Thankfully my cousin was there and could tow me out so we could anchor and fix the problem. Another jet boater even stopped and assisted with a homemade tool of his that looked like a small sickle with an axe on the back of it. WORKED WONDERS!!
  • Jelly Fish
    • Hanging out in Orange Beach, AL last year and went to pick up a friend in a rather dense marina in the back of the bay.
    • Apparently this is where all the jelly fish go to die - IT WAS FRIGGIN PACKED!!! I mean I felt like we were riding on top of them.
    • Then to top it all off this HUGE boat came in to dock. (for anyone who has been to Orange Beach, AL and seen that huge pirate ship... yeah that one)
    • Limped my way out of there - tried the reverse method but other than that, I didn't do SH*T. I am NOT sticking my hands into that!!! haha
    • It took it about 20 min of no-wake for them all to work their way out - then all clear.
 
Evil Milfoil...almost every trip out of the marina for the past three seasons of low water. That's the main reason I only looked at Yamaha for my new boat...without reaching down into the front of the impellers, getting all of it off the shafts as well as the intake grates would be impossible. It's gotten so common now that I don't even announce what I'm doing to the crew. When there's a newbie on board and they ask "what's he doing" the regulars know the drill and explain it to them...makes me glad I have a good crew.
 
I boat on a river and cringe every time I have to do a clean out, you never know what's floating down the river. I usually get small twigs, but have sucked up other people's rope a time or 2, I have also sucked up a plastic 6 pack holder. I'm waiting for the day where I have to pull out a dead rat or some other animal.
 
Pictures - or it didn't happen!

Here is the usual stuff, every once in a while, this was in my 190:
upload_2017-5-22_14-51-29.png
 
Y'all may laugh but I have used my lawn care services plastic sign stakes as a tool for getting debris out. It has a hooked end which can help grab sea grass and similar debris plus it floats so no biggie if I drop it. It stays in my tool kit on the boat and so far has helped me clear tall grass. Whatever works right :D?

@Bennie a jet pump full of jelly fish would be a sight to see and something I would never want to mess with!! If churn those suckers at max RPM before sticking my hand in there :D. I can just imagine lol
 

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When I was wet slipping I sucked up catfish on 2 different occasions! I'm pretty sure they decided that hanging out in the intakes was a perfect place to surprise smaller fish from. Then I'd start the engine and you have a mess! One I was able to rev it through and liquify it. The 2nd one was bigger and required pulling out the remaining part of the body. After that, I had my daughter (and friends) do the "catfish dance" on the swim deck BEFORE I started the boat, and I'd pulse the starter as one last chance! Never had a catfish after that.....
 
Ewww lol.... I want to see vids of this blender action!
 
Ewww lol.... I want to see vids of this blender action!

I thought about taking photos of the catfish mess...but it was all over MY hands....and all the girls were too grossed out to take photos! :rolleyes: The turtles on the other hand...they were happy!
 
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