Repairing damage and a leak caused caused by a rope being sucked into the impeller

[Dave burke]

Finally did it, sucked up my bow rope last week. Wrapped around the shaft enough to stall the engine. Didn’t know what the problem was right away then took out the clean-out port and saw the rope wrapped around. Pulled the boat out of the water and had to cut the rope in multiple places until I got almost all of it out. The plastic housing on the outside of the hull is also cracked.

See attached picture. Here’s my issue - a small (I believe) piece is still stuck between the shaft and the housing where it enters the boat. I tried different ways to pull it out but couldn’t. I don’t think it causing any stress on the shaft as it seems to be turning freely and the rope did not move when I had somebody crank over the engine. I put the boat back in the water and ran it slowly up to about 4000 rpms and it seems fine.

Should I just leave this alone or try to remove it? I was thinking I could pull it out in pieces with some needle nose pliers but there’s no guarantee that I’ll get whatever is stuck in housing. Also, do I need to replace the white plastic housing? Doesn’t seem to be doing much.

Any advice is appreciated. Thx

 

[buckbuck]

It is an easy 15 minute job to pull the pump and get the rest of that rope off. The rope has a high probability of causing cavitation problems if left. I would recommend you replace the white plastic.

 

[Joshua Miller]

Congrats! Make sure you update your profile and get a trophy

 

[Dave burke]

I gone onto several parts sites and can’t seem to find the white plastic fitting. Anybody know what this fitting is called and the best place to get it. Thx

 

[Ronnie]

Check out the parts on the screen shot of jet unit 2.

 

[Dave burke]

Thanks. Which part number do you think it is? It looks to me like all these parts are on the inside of the boat but I really can’t tell.

 

[Ronnie]

I’m thinking part 9. Part 4 is the bearing housing which is in the engine compartment.

 

[Ronnie]

It could also be part 13 in the screen shot below.

 

[Seadeals]

Well, after six years I finally sucked a rope too. For our first camping trip with the boat, I set an anchor at just the right spot and attached a bumper to the end so I could connect/disconnect easily with a stern line to a shore spike keeping the boat in exactly the right place. It worked great for a couple days until we were rushing to get to the “Tiki Hut” for dinner before a storm hit. I disconnected from the anchor and pulled in to “beach it” so the fam could easily board. As I was reversing away from the beach, the anchor line had followed me into the shore and thwump, starboard engine to zero.

I used the good port engine to maneuver back to the sand and unload the fam. I then moved out and anchored away from shore (I keep two anchor setups and a shore spike on board). The bumper acted like a cushion in the intake grate and I only had about four wraps of the anchor line. I still had to cut it away and go under the boat to persuade the bumper and the hook loose (which caught on the grate). I was able to get everything cleared just as the downpour started, but had to swim well to shore anyway since I anchored safely out from shore with the increasing winds. So....new idea...bumper (small mooring buoy) with a tiny 2-3’ tall flag so you know where that booger is! Even so, using an anchor like that is always a risk until the slack settles out of the anchor line. No tow rope for me, the anchor line did me in!

 

[Jgorm]

You could put a weight on the line 6'down so the bumper stand straight up.

 

[Seadeals]

Thanks. That is a great idea and one I wish I thought of. It was luckily no big deal.

 

[WetWillie]

Does this count???

 

[Dave burke]

Buckbuck, took your advice and pulled the pump and was able to pull out the remaining rope. Also got a much better look at the broken piece of white plastic. Definitely needs to be replaced.

Here’s something else that happened which I believed is related - when I went down to look at the boat yesterday (its wet stored), there was water up to the exhaust manifold. I last used it a week ago.

My brother said the bilge was cycling off and on for a few days but then stopped. I thought the batteries were dead but when I powered up the Connex (didn’t start the engines) and turned the bilge on, it worked fine. I thought I’d have serious engine issues but I drained all the water (it took quite a while), both engines started up, although the starboard cranked over for 30 seconds before starting.

I let the engine compartment dry out overnight, started the engines this morning, no problem. I checked the oil carefully and didn’t see any evidence of water infiltration so took the boat out for a slow run. It performed flawlessly.

I’m guessing the seal around the shaft where I sucked in the rope is leaking but I couldn’t see anything. I’ve pulled the boat from the water pending replacing the white plastic cover (it looks almost like Teflon).

Anybody have any advice?

Also, regarding the bilge, I think I’m going to replace it with a Rule 500 with a float switch. The Connex cycling off and on every few minutes does not give me much confidence given what happened. Thank God there does not appear to be any engine issues.

What have others done with their bilge pumps? Thx as always.

 

[swatski]

Buckbuck, took your advice and pulled the pump and was able to pull out the remaining rope. Also got a much better look at the broken piece of white plastic. Definitely needs to be replaced.

Here’s something else that happened which I believed is related - when I went down to look at the boat yesterday (its wet stored), there was water up to the exhaust manifold. I last used it a week ago.

My brother said the bilge was cycling off and on for a few days but then stopped. I thought the batteries were dead but when I powered up the Connex (didn’t start the engines) and turned the bilge on, it worked fine. I thought I’d have serious engine issues but I drained all the water (it took quite a while), both engines started up, although the starboard cranked over for 30 seconds before starting.

I let the engine compartment dry out overnight, started the engines this morning, no problem. I checked the oil carefully and didn’t see any evidence of water infiltration so took the boat out for a slow run. It performed flawlessly.

I’m guessing the seal around the shaft where I sucked in the rope is leaking but I couldn’t see anything. I’ve pulled the boat from the water pending replacing the white plastic cover (it looks almost like Teflon).

Anybody have any advice?

Also, regarding the bilge, I think I’m going to replace it with a Rule 500 with a float switch. The Connex cycling off and on every few minutes does not give me much confidence given what happened. Thank God there does not appear to be any engine issues.

What have others done with their bilge pumps? Thx as always.
View attachment 76730

I just saw your post. That sucks. I do not think your intake tunnel is cracked, but there is more than likely damage to fiberglass around the shaft/pipe joint. If your intermediate bearing housing is busted that is a pretty major repair job as you will need to move that engine forward to remove the housing...

Do you have a good dealer? For me, this would be one of those times where I would take the boat to a good shop. I would think the engine will need to be moved and the bearing housing possibly replaced, and there is some tricky fiberglass work to fix and enforce the tunnel to be done.

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[buckbuck]

Put it in the water and take a go pro on a stick and examine the hull where the shaft comes through. See if you are leaking. I would do it with engine running and not running. The white plastic part does not seal anything but I think you are wise to replace it.

 

[Dave burke]

Thx for the comments guys. I’m hoping (maybe against hope) that the piece of rope I pulled out was causing the problem.

I’ll also take off the broken white sleeve to see if there’s damage underneath. I realize the picture I took is not great but unfortunately the boat is at my cottage and I won’t be back there for a few days. I’ll take better pictures when I remove the white sleeve.

Buckbuck, I like your GoPro idea but unfortunately I don’t own one. I could buy a cheap knock off (some have some very good ratings on Amazon). Do you think I’d see the leak on the outside of the boat? I want to make sure i understand what you’re thinking.

 

[buckbuck]

I think you need to watch from the inside. You could lean over the running engine but that gets uncomfortable. This is where I would watch.

 

[Dave burke]

Thx, got it. I’ll check it out this weekend.

Any recommendations on where to get the broken part? I looked at yamaha sports complex as Ronnie suggested and I think he’s right that it’s part number 14 on Jet Drive 3. But it’s really hard to tell.

 

[Dave burke]

Sorry, meant part 13.

 

[swatski]

Thx, got it. I’ll check it out this weekend.

Any recommendations on where to get the broken part? I looked at yamaha sports complex as Ronnie suggested and I think he’s right that it’s part number 14 on Jet Drive 3. But it’s really hard to tell.

It's definitely part #13 for $15, I'm confused about the part #16 - clamp though, never seen it.

I have been buying parts from Babbitt's more recently - really good service, very fast shipping, and easy to talk to. Also - best parts finder.
https://www.babbittsonline.com/oemparts/c/yamaha_sport_boat/parts

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