Joined The Club This Weekend.... (Sucked up ski rope) How to know all is good?

[Bonfiggy]

Hey folks,

So, we joined "the club" this weekend. Took the wife and kids out to ride their kneeboards and my wakeboard. Everyone got their turn, and it was finally time to test out my new wakeboard. Wife is pulling me, all is going well, turns back to get me after I went down and she drove over the rope. I saw it happen, yelled for her to cut the engine, but I'm pretty sure it stopped itself before she could turn the key.

Long story short, I spent the next hour in the cleanout port cutting and unwinding rope. Got it back to the dock and trailered home. Slid under it and can't visually see anything in the cleanout or from underneath in the impeller. It ran okay going back to the dock after it happened, fired right up, but I was also being ginger with it just in case.

I've read every post on here about sucking up ropes, and the responses range from "no big deal" to "apocalypse". I crawled around under the boat and opened up the aft compartment, and don't see anything amiss.

What should I be looking for that could cause me trouble down the line? Want to address it early if something is indeed an issue. If not, then hopefully a lost rope and an hour is enough for us to learn the lesson.

Thanks all

 

[Dave burke]

Welcome to the club!

As one of those people who experienced both extremes (no big deal and apocalypse - almost), my guess is you’re probably fine. But a good easy test to do is run a garden hose into the engine bay to be sure you have no leaks where the drive shaft comes through the hull.

My boat was leaking there and almost sank the boat. But this is close to worse case scenario and it’s unlikely this is your case. But worth checking just in case.

 

[Bonfiggy]

Welcome to the club!

As one of those people who experienced both extremes (no big deal and apocalypse - almost), my guess is you’re probably fine. But a good easy test to do is run a garden hose into the engine bay to be sure you have no leaks where the drive shaft comes through the hull.

My boat was leaking there and almost sank the boat. But this is close to worse case scenario and it’s unlikely this is your case. But worth checking just in case.

Copy that, thanks for the instruction. Simple enough to check.

I figured I'd go ahead and drop the pump and get used to what that process is like while I'm at it to be sure nothing is on the other side either. Grateful for loads of info on the forum.

 

[Dave burke]

No downside in doing that. You can see way better than lying underneath the boat

 

[HawaiiBreeze]

Use a flashlight and camera phone to see if any windings/strands of rope made it behind the leading edges of the blades. If there are you may elect to dismantle the pump and remove or let it go and let it deteriorate over time. Typically if you suck up something and the boat starts to shudder or feel like its spinning and not going anywhere you'll have to drop the pump and remove the foreign object.

 

[Mesa50]

I sucked up a rope on the same day I decided to fill the ski locker ballast bag for the first time. The vent cap fitting wasn’t screwed on very well, and the ski locker was filling with water. I thought the rope that I sucked up had damaged the hull, and I was sinking. Turned out everything was fine, and I just didn’t know how to fill the ballast bag properly. I felt dumb for a few days, and then payed way more attention to where tow ropes were.

 

[sunbyrned]

 

[Bonfiggy]

Thanks for the video link. I hadn't seen this one. I'll likely need to watch it a few more times to feel comfortable, but honestly doesn't look too bad.

 

[Dave burke]

I’ve pulled the pump several times. Really pretty easy.

 

[sunbyrned]

Super easy. I would recommend once you figure out all the tools you need, to keep a set in your vehicle. I’ve had to pull them at the ramp a time or two. It saves the day.

 

[ncnmra]

After 8 years of owning this boat, I too joined the club recently. . Sucked in a fat tube rope.

I got complacent, and didn't realize that my daughter had pulled herself closer to the boat on the tube and rather than pulling the rope in, she let it hang on the water.

I went to start the engines and didn't realize that the starboard engine shut off, probably due to the rope stalling it. It was wrapped around 5-6 times and it took the better part of 45 minutes to clear up. I tried from both above and below the boat and the access is limited in both cases. I was able to free everything up (we were 10+ miles from the port, so it would have been a very slow hobble home on one engine).

I had to cut the line in several places, but the knife I had (despite being very sharp) was hard to navigate. The rope was wound up around the inner side, rather than the impeller side of the shaft.

Once clear, the engine started up without issue and ran fine, upto full throttle. I was worried about bending the shaft, or worse. Anything else I should check for?

Any recommendations on a good knife to use in the future (hopefully never!!)?

 

[Bonfiggy]

After 8 years of owning this boat, I too joined the club recently. . Sucked in a fat tube rope.

I got complacent, and didn't realize that my daughter had pulled herself closer to the boat on the tube and rather than pulling the rope in, she let it hang on the water.

I went to start the engines and didn't realize that the starboard engine shut off, probably due to the rope stalling it. It was wrapped around 5-6 times and it took the better part of 45 minutes to clear up. I tried from both above and below the boat and the access is limited in both cases. I was able to free everything up (we were 10+ miles from the port, so it would have been a very slow hobble home on one engine).

I had to cut the line in several places, but the knife I had (despite being very sharp) was hard to navigate. The rope was wound up around the inner side, rather than the impeller side of the shaft.

Once clear, the engine started up without issue and ran fine, upto full throttle. I was worried about bending the shaft, or worse. Anything else I should check for?

Any recommendations on a good knife to use in the future (hopefully never!!)?

Welcome to the club!

I also had a very sharp knife on board at the time, but it was ill suited to the task. Mine was wrapped TIGHT, maybe 8 or 10 wraps. It took every bit of an hour to cut mine free, with a few trips under the boat to hack away at it.

After my ordeal, I grabbed some of these hook blades from Harbor Freight: Utility Knife Hook Blades, 5 Pack , pretty sure they sell them at most major big box tool stores though, or on amazon. They slide into a utility box knife.

Crawl under the boat once you get it back on the trailer, and check where the impeller shaft meets up with the hull, to make sure the plastic fitting didn't crack (sounds unlikely in your case). Other than that, check for any leaks in the aft area, you can put a garden hose in the engine bay and see if anything comes out as @Dave burke suggested to me.

If you fired back up and ran alright with no issue, then you're probably fine. Yours was an easier lesson on the scale of them

 

[Marvin willis]

I got off my ar240 to tube behind a 26’ skiff with a 300. He immediately sucked up the rope and cleared it so easily. I was so jealous. But i still prefer my boat.

 

[Bonfiggy]

I got off my ar240 to tube behind a 26’ skiff with a 300. He immediately sucked up the rope and cleared it so easily. I was so jealous. But i still prefer my boat.

Heh. Pros and cons to both, but I certainly prefer my boat to many others out there. I'm hoping it only takes the one time of eating a rope for my crew to know how big a PITA it is - and we never have to deal with it again

 

[tabbibus]

You will never know if it is ok. Get a new boat.

 

[Jmorris195]

After 8 years of owning this boat, I too joined the club recently. . Sucked in a fat tube rope.

I got complacent, and didn't realize that my daughter had pulled herself closer to the boat on the tube and rather than pulling the rope in, she let it hang on the water.

I went to start the engines and didn't realize that the starboard engine shut off, probably due to the rope stalling it. It was wrapped around 5-6 times and it took the better part of 45 minutes to clear up. I tried from both above and below the boat and the access is limited in both cases. I was able to free everything up (we were 10+ miles from the port, so it would have been a very slow hobble home on one engine).

I had to cut the line in several places, but the knife I had (despite being very sharp) was hard to navigate. The rope was wound up around the inner side, rather than the impeller side of the shaft.

Once clear, the engine started up without issue and ran fine, upto full throttle. I was worried about bending the shaft, or worse. Anything else I should check for?

Any recommendations on a good knife to use in the future (hopefully never!!)?

Ran into a linoleum/vinyl flooring knife recommended on here

 

[tdonoughue]

That's the one. You will find many with a stronger hook on the end at Lowe's, Home Depot, Ace or your hardware store of choice.

I went for the stubby (which is the other option). Can't find it on Amazon right now, but has short 1" or so fat blade with a grip (rather looks like half of brass knuckles). And a lanyard. Lanyard is important in case you try to drop it. The short blade length won't let you grab the rope like the longer hook, but it will let you get into smaller spaces and maneuver more, which is why I chose it.

 

[SantaFeTrailer]

Renewed my membership this weekend. Byrd rescue knife made quick work of it. Ordered a new tow line yesterday.

 

[ncnmra]

Thanks for all the great feedback. Gotta love this forum!

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

built my own 20 inch long knife