Public thanks and a helpful tip

[Dave R]

John and Diane in the green and tan 21' Crownline fron Channel Marine,

Thanks for giving us a tow to Downing's Landing yesterday when our starter failed at the Alton town docks. I wish I got your last name...

It's half fixed, just need to put get a new starter and new exhaust flappers and put them in this week.

Helpful tip:

If you have an inboard/outboard, inspect your exhaust flappers. It's quite easy to do (at least on a big block Mercruiser) and may save you from serious water ingestion damage. I lucked out and only damaged a $142 starter that I can repair and keep as a spare. Could have easily wrecked the engine.

[secondcurve]

Dave:

I had a similar experience two seasons ago. I spun a prop with about 12-hours on my new motor (the mechanic used the old prop since it was steel). I had no idea what was going on and I was floating aimlessly in the washing machine area off of the weirs. My wife and I were both getting concerned as we were floating toward Govenors Island. I had no idea what to do since I was brand new to boating. Out of no where came a family who quickly and efficiently towed me into the weirs docks where I was able to get Sea Tow to help me out. I gave the guy my card and asked him to send me an email with his address. Of course I never heard from him.

By the way, I'm surprised that this happened to you, as you seem to be one of the most knowledgable boaters on the board. I thought you would have had this maintenence done!

[Dave R]

Originally Posted by secondcurve

Dave:



By the way, I'm surprised that this happened to you, as you seem to be one of the most knowledgable boaters on the board. I thought you would have had this maintenence done!

Thanks for the compliment.

I knew better, just assumed that since the boat was never overheated, there'd be no reason for them to fail and they looked harder to inspect/replace than they are. Apparently they wear out... I'll be checking the anually from now on. Live and learn.

[ITD]

I suspect sabotage, those island people want less boats on the lake you know.

[White Rook]

"save you from serious water ingestion damage"

It's called hydrostatic lock. The backwash enters the open flappers and the water flows into the exhaust manifolds attached to the cylinders heads. As the valves move up and down, water enters the cylinders and since you cannot compress liquid, catastrophic engine damage instantly occurs. Things like bent valves, bent or broken piston connecting rods, etc makes for an expensive lesson.

By the way, hydrostatic lock is a common occurrence in automobiles when driving through deeply flooded streets too fast. The water can enter the air duct work for the air filter box and be ingested into the intake manifold.

Originally Posted by Dave R

John and Diane in the green and tan 21' Crownline fron Channel Marine,

Thanks for giving us a tow to Downing's Landing yesterday when our starter failed at the Alton town docks. I wish I got your last name...

It's half fixed, just need to put get a new starter and new exhaust flappers and put them in this week.

Helpful tip:

If you have an inboard/outboard, inspect your exhaust flappers. It's quite easy to do (at least on a big block Mercruiser) and may save you from serious water ingestion damage. I lucked out and only damaged a $142 starter that I can repair and keep as a spare. Could have easily wrecked the engine.

[Dave R]

In my case, the water puddled up in the starboard manifold and only went into the cylinders after the engine was shut off.