www.iFourWinns.com

Well its official, we got our new H190 on saturday and it is unbeleavable!!! The dig cam failed to work so we couldnt get any pics but I will get some soon. So let me ask you guys, for those of you who know your lake very well how many of you have never seen that big rock in open water? See, I had my searay on our lake for a few years and between that and kayaking I know the lake pretty well. So yesterday we were clipping along at 25 and the depth was 18' open water shore on one side small islands on the other channel about 300yards wide. Ive done a lot of fishing thru here and been up and down both shores many times. The depth gauge literaly went from 16 to 2.5' in a blink and WHAM! the outdrive bounces off this unseen unmarked rock. I stopped checked the motor checked the prop and to my chagrin found the bottom of the skeg has a nice new divit in it just at the bend. Prop is fine. Started it up no funny noises no bilge water no oil in the water so I start off again and she is running fine...I guess I got lucky although hitting a rock at 3 hours with your new boat doesn't feel lucky.... You guys ever wonder how many rocks like this we all just miss by inches all the time and not know it??

Anyone ever feel liek this much of an ass with their new boat?

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Guns kill people like spoons make people fat.
2007 Horizon 190 Gxi
97 Pathfinder SE 4x4
73 International Scout II

Well, I haven't hit a rock with it, but I have felt like an ass with our brand new boat! My first trip from the boat launch to the slip at the marina, and I almost wedge the boat in sideways between the two finger docks trying to back in with a strong wind crossing the bow. Sure felt like an ass after that one.

Look at it this way, you got the first ding in it, now you should be good for a while! Heck, you didn't even scar any fibreglass!

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2009 H180 w/3.0 Merc
Homebuilt Minimax Hydro
2011 Zodiac Cadet 310

Man, don't sweat it. If any boater ever tells you he never has an issue docking...well, let's just say, don't buy the bridge he is offering to sell you!

As to the rock...#@!$ happens! Look at it this way, at least it was something you had no control over unlike the person who leaves out the plug, shoves off the dock before starting the boat to find a dead battery, etc.

If you ever feel like you pulled a "stupid human trick" on your boat, spend a hour at your local ramp and watch the comedy....you'll feel like your a frigin' genius in no time!

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Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

Submerged rock stories make me glad I boat on the Chesapeake! That and grateful I've got a chartplotter with accurate depth readings. In the bay there's not many places to actually hit something hard enough to break things. But you can get stuck solid in mud in a whole bunch more, wrecking your impellers in the process. But then there's always storm debris and crab pots..

Yea I remember one time. My dad was driving at night and going around 20 he could see the buoys but misinterpreted one and we ended up on the wrong side of the buoy and hit bottom. He immediately stooped the boat and got out of it. We checked it in the morn and amazingly nothing happened. BTW, we didn't have a light because the light blew, and a huge storm was rolling in AND our canopies were in the shop for a camper top. Other than that it was a good night. lol.

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2000 Four Winns 214 Funship
Volvo Penta 5.0 SX
85 Hours
Bimini Top Extension
Full Camper
Full Mooring Cover

Water's low on the lake this year, and we hit a rock where normally we'd have cleared.....took a chunk out of the skeg and bent it towards starboard, and bent both props pretty bad......fortunately during testing the drive shaft is ok.... Hit it so hard we nearly took water over the bow, and we weren't going all that fast...

.....covered by insurance, so it will only be the deductible....only bummer was that the rest of the week was shot.

Dealer wants to cut off and then weld on a new skeg....anyone had that done before?

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JustBreathe
'05 230 Horizon

Did the same thing 3yrs ago in my 205 Sundowner. It was our first outing of the season on Coventry lake and the wife was driving. We hit a rock that must have pushed up over the winter. The rock was in a spot that we had gone over many times before in the last 20yrs. Cost me a new prop, skeg, and drive shaft. But the biggest cost was 3wks in the shop.

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07 Tiara Sovran 4300
07 338 Vista - SOLD

JustBreathe, sorry to hear about that! Having the week shot is the worst.

Skegs get bent back and welded all the time. It's important, though, to make sure whoever does it knows what they're doing. Too much heat in the wrong places can distort the drive case and really screw things up. Also, if much more than the skeg needs to be repainted, there's a specific process to be followed, with specific products.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

theres this rock near where i boat a bit. for 364 days of the year, its nearly always about 1-4ft out of the water. On this one day, before i knew of its existence, it was about 1.5 ft below the surface. It was one of those king tides...

At first i thought it was a dumped car. we hit one once in a mates boat. the kids like to steal them and see how far they float. BMW's with open sunroofs dont for long..

Now this rock is less than about 50ft from a large marina, and is not marked at all... Only a bit of damage not visable after repair by a mobile boat repairer.

still, i go past that point a bit, and every time i wonder how on earth did we hit those rocks. surely the tides arent that big !!!

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thanks for the words of wisdom, Mike, and for helping me not to feel alone assie_sundowner and BarryBoats. The place we took it to seems to know their stuff, and was recommended by another Volvo Penta shop that we've been to in the past but was too busy to take us.... we picked up a backup toy earlier in the summer so we could continue to waterski -- a Yamaha Waverunner. Can't take the whole family, but we still were able to tow the kids and ourselves..... we'll have to make up the time on the boat with a few more days off in September...

Ernie

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JustBreathe
'05 230 Horizon

I just bought my boat on Saturday and took it out late that day and no problems. Took it out the next day with a friend and we ended up dragging the prop and fin through some mud and muck even though it was tilted up a bit.

So second day out on my first boat and the prop is already scratched up..... no dents though.

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2006 Yamaha R6S
2007 Four Winns 180 Horizon with Volvo Penta 4.3
2010 GMC Sierra 1500

ah yes, Mud and Muck...and sand and other soft bottom stuff...... we see that all the time in surprising spots where we boat in NJ. A normal hazard when dealing with tides and shifting sand bars. Lakes usually scare up more rocks. Usually you can power thru it (assuming you have stainless props and were'n't going too fast). You've earned your few scratches...

...but I know the feeling, especially when she's new, but don't feel bad...the stomach feels a LOT uglier when you hit a rock.

btw...I have friends who've completely destroyed their aluminum props on soft stuff.

Update on JustBreathe.... the lower part of the skeq is fixed (replaced) and painted (some special primers were used --- I forgot the names of them, but it sounds like they knew what they were doing), and they're just waiting on the props from volvo. Should be around a 2k job when it's all over.

Ernie

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JustBreathe
'05 230 Horizon

Ernie, that sounds about right. The props alone are $1,300.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

...boat's back. Not in the water yet, but hopefully before the w/e is out. Final tally was 1900 and change. Newly welded and painted skeg looks great.... they're also giving me an estimate on repairing the props to keep as spares "just in case." .....anyone repaired stainless props before? is it worth it if they're 1/3 the price of new ones (or less or more?)...

Ernie

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JustBreathe
'05 230 Horizon

A good prop shop can make them good as new. Did they give you an estimate to have it done?

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic