Ouch!!!!

[BigDaddy]

Ok guys here’s the story. Driving home from fishing last night and got home backed into the driveway and heard a load noise looked back and noticed that the motor was not lifted up. What happed was there is a pin that broke on the transom saver and the lower end of the motor hit a curb and cracked. This is a 40hp 1985 hp Johnson. What are my options? Will it still drive? What do you think it will cost to get it fixed? If it weren’t for bad luck I’d have no luck!!! I hate this kinda stuff. Anyway ended up with 2 eyes pulling wire in Trenton.

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/1428Imag0015-thumb.jpg

OUCH!!!

Not sure how to make the picture larger. New to this. Thanks for any help....

[jpollman]

Oh man that sucks !

I you want to email me the original pic maybe I can size it and post it for you. It is kind of tough to make out much detail from that photo.

jpollman@comcast.net

[bluedevil]

That sucks.:(

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. I am quite sure it is not driveable now. I am not sure if it can be welded(braised) back on, but that fin has to be perfectly square or you will experiance some major handling problems.

Congrats on the fish though.:D

[salmonslammer]

I'm not a marine mechanic, but IMO.. It looks like the point of impact was below the prop shaft so you may have gotten lucky and not bent anything. You might be able to get away with just a new lower unit houseing.. I don't know about welding a skeg back on..never seen it done and I don't know squat about welding.

[7MM Magnum]

YES,... that can be repaired!!

Do you know anyone ( a GOOD friend) with a TIG welder or can Heli-arc ?? If you do it's a pretty easy fix.

Most places that do these types of repair see $$ signs coming their way. They know through past experience that if you aren't willing to pay what they request you'll have no other option other than to get a replacement lower unit.

That's why the "Good Friend" comment was made, if they have the knowledge and equipment it should be a easy task. Just remember though,... your gonna owe them BIG time for the help! ;) :D

[BigDaddy]

I just had an idea. I'm checking to see if my boat insurance will cover it. Anybody out ther know of anybody that can TIC weld?

[adjusted3]

Boat insurance will cover it, you will have a deductible involved.

take it to a repair shop and get an estimate for a replacement lower unit instead of trying to cobble it up and end up having issues with tracking, future breakage etc....

If you have any issues, I may be able to help

Mark

[jpollman]

Ok BigDaddy, here's a little bit better photo for everyone to see.
I would think that it can probably be welded back on with the right type of welder.

Good luck !

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/550/1200brokenskeg.jpg

[TimT]

That type of stuff is welded up every day in this state. Honestly, take it to a good marine repair place and they'll have it looking like new again. No offense to the "cobbled up" comment, but honestly, your boat can be set back to like new condition without ever experiencing any type of problem whatsoever. I'm really not sure what the cost is nowadays, but I'd guess it to be between 2 and 4 hundred bones.

Don't sweat it, guy, this happens every day in Michigan. My maiden voyage into the Lake Huron back in '91 had me running at speed too close to the shore near Caseville. Took off over half the skeg and tore up the prop pretty good. It was a used boat, and when I picked it up after the repair, the lower unit and prop were the best looking part of the whole rig.:p (By the way, that was Skiers Pier repair on Dixie that did the work.)

[Cable]

I have an uncle that had to have a new one welded back on four times from leaving the motor down when pulling his boat out. Ins. paid for it all four times.

[7MM Magnum]

As others have stated,... this repair is common place for a lot of welding shops. After the skeg is positioned and tig welded into place,.. any obscure looking welds are ground flush and dressed off so you wouldn't even know there was a repair. After a fresh epoxy coat, the color coat is laid down and the ONLY thing you will notice is that the lower end of the unit will look newer than the rest of your motor.

I myself have done these type of repairs, but unfortunately I don't have access to a TIG Welder anymore. :(

[POLARBEAR]

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jhtml?id=0001180011002a&navAction=jump&navCount=0&indexId=&podId=0001180&catalogCode=IE&parentId=&parentType=&rid=&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fcatalog%2Fitem-link.jhtml.1_A&_DAV=search&hasJS=true



http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/550/3506skeggaurd.jpg

if you do a "back yard job" you could add a skeggard to clean it up and protect it. they make some bigger ones also. sorry bout your bad luck. hope you get it taken care of soon. pb:)

[Fishcapades]

Thats An Easy Repair I Have Done The Same Thing On My Force 125 Motor........... You Might Wanna Try A Welding Shop To Do The Repair. It Will Be Cheaper. They Mostlikely Wont Warenty The Repair.... I Would Check In To The Insurance Bit... Depending On Your Dectuable It Might Not Be Worth It.

[BigDaddy]

Well called the insurance company and things are rolling. I took it to Oakland Marine Tech and Salvage in Highland he's done some other work for me in the past. He thinks the entire casing will need to be replace. I will let you know what happens. Thanks for the reply and thanks to Tonga for letting me ask him some questions. Should be back in action by early next week!!! :D

[PrtyMolusk]

Howdy-

I believe Trout was setting up a welding business...drop him a line.

[BigDaddy]

Well got it back this weekend. :bouncy: Ended up filing a claim with insurance with no problems. Called on Easter Sunday, by Tuesday it was approved. Please let me suggest to everybody out there, you should consider getting insurance on your ride. It was well worth it. The entire lower case housing was replaced. The cost of the part alone was $1,100. Never the less back in the saddle and ready to roll. Thanks for everybody and their help!! Now let's go catch some wally's. :D