Fishing line in props...

[Triton]

No, I'm not one of those guys who runs over other's fishing lines. I'm one of those guys who runs over my own! Outboards were always easy, but this weekend, I backed over 2 of my lines when gently reversing the boat. I now have twin inboards. 30 lb mono is the culprit. I cut the lines, retied and began fishing. Problem is, the turbos didn't spool up later in the day until I applied a generous amount of throttle in reverse. From that point forward, no problem. Ran home 55 miles at 29 kts with the temp gauge holding steady the whole time. The boat is running perfectly fine. Do I need to pull the boat??

Thank you in advance for your advice.

[Captain Rich]

Get a mask and snorkel and go under the boat and see if you still have line wrapped around the shaft. The problem is that the line can cut into your cutlass bearing. Fishing line on the shaft will not affect your temp gauge and will not cause vibration, you need to visibly inspect the shafts. If you do have line wrapped around the shaft, the easiest way to get it off is to slide a fillet knife under the line and cut it free. Save yourself the quick haul fee, you should keep a mask/snorkel on the boat anyhow, suppose you pick up rope on a prop when running?

[Triton]

Thanks Captain. Will definitely take a look before running again. I appreciate the advice. I am also going to buy a mask/snorkel asap.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Good advice above by Captain Rich.

Braided line can be the most harmful since it is very abrassive and for that reason can do a lot of harm to your shafts. You want to be sure to clear it off before getting underway... I believe it was Mike on the Mi-Jo who told me that he picked up some braided line on one of his shafts. It actually wore a grove into the shaft that was deep enough to cause him to have to pull the boat and replace the shaft.

[tautog]

Must be luck of the draw with prop damage as a boat like the Paramount must collect about a hundred yards of braid per trip.

[Captain Rich]

Tog- It's not the props that suffer, the line will dig into the cutlass bearings and ruin them causing shaft wobble, or wear into the shaft as Jerry mentioned and either cause wobble or weaken the shaft to the point that it is unreliable. If there is minor scoring the shaft can be "splatter welded" and then lathed, if there is deep grooves then the shaft has to be replaced.