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crank yanked
- Thread starter cowboy
- Start date
Aces over 8s
Well-known member
marshmaster pat
Well-known member
Did it lose the prop?
marshmaster pat
Well-known member
I going to guess that the crank snapped right at the rear main. If she lost the prop they were lucky, because the rudders are in good shape and motor mounts not torn free.
cowboy
Moderator
Did not mean to keep everyone in suspense.
I really don't know the story.
I found this picture and others of this boat being recovered. They were posted on the citrus county airboat site.
I was hoping one of those guys would jump in here and tell the story.
I just hope no one got hurt.
Still a bad deal if every one was ok.
I really don't know the story.
I found this picture and others of this boat being recovered. They were posted on the citrus county airboat site.
I was hoping one of those guys would jump in here and tell the story.
I just hope no one got hurt.
Still a bad deal if every one was ok.
floridacrakr0470
Well-known member
10 bucks says there was a powershift prop on this boat. Ive seen this same thing before on direct drive big blocks. and they All had powershifts on them at the time. I dont know what that means, cause i know plenty of people who run them, and have never had any problems.
A
Anonymous
Guest
Cowboy, doggonnit, you're gonna make me buy a gear box :twisted:
fatboy0054
Well-known member
Y-ALL GO TO CCAA IT TELLS WHAT HAPPEN ! ----CITRUS COUNTY AIRBOAT ALLANICE WEB SITE ! THEN GO TO -PHOTOS ..10 BUCKS FLORIDA CRAKR0470 :lol: .
floridacrakr0470
Well-known member
well i was part right. it was a direct drive big block. i wasnt tryin to stir the pot about powershifts, ive just seen three boats that the same thing has happened to. and they all had powershifts. since i was half right, i only owe 5 bucks, right?
fatboy0054
Well-known member
THATS COOL , RATHER U OWE ME -THAN ME OWE YOU! ..THE PEOPLE WAS VERY LUCKY . THAT WAS A GOOD DAY FOR THEM, THEY DONT THINK SO .BUT A GOOD DAY ANYWAY!! :shock:I BET THEY ARE HUMPS IN THEIR CUSHIONS 
swampjet
Well-known member
Sorry it took me so long to respond to this topic. (This is SwampJet's wife posting. I do the newsletter and the website for the club. ) Yes, you can see all the photos and read the story at our website: http://www.citrusairboat.org/photogallery/rescue.html
A few points not made on the website or in the story below:
1. We know the prop exploded, but there were questions as to whether that was "cause" or "effect". A couple of onlookers speculated that the crank may have been the initial failure, causing the prop to explode.
2. Talk about IRONY AND COINCIDENCE!!! This incident happened on Sunday, April 3rd, just minutes before Bob and I arrived at Skeeter's for a late lunch. (That's Bob in our blue Dodge 4WD pulling the sunken boat out of the water.) But less than 48 hours earlier, Skeeter's OWN AIRBOAT HAD ITS WOODEN PROP EXPLODE, throwing a piece of wood through the bottom of the hull in much the same manner. Skeeter was luckier than this guy, in that his boat didn't sink -- he was just a few feet from shore, and got to dry ground safely. Also, his motor wasn't damaged, nor was the transom. But the prop cut through 2 or 3 of his stringers. In fact, the reason Skeeter was outside on Sunday afternoon when this boat sank was because he had just lifted his motor and rigging off his own boat, and flipped the hull over to begin repairs in the backyard of the restaurant. Bob and I had gone to Skeeter's on Saturday night (the night before) for dinner (yes, I don't cook at that home -- we're remodeling), and had looked at Skeeter's damaged boat that was sitting in the same place as this one when these pictures were taken!
3. Skeeter's (Armante's Restaurant) was also the setting for the Florida Airboat Association meeting this past Saturday (April 9th), and fortunately, no props were harmed during the great trail ride after the meeting!
4. The story below refers to the "Emergency Call List" which the Citrus County Airboat Alliance has produced for members and friends of the club. (We give it out at CCAA meetings.) It's a list of airboaters with phone numbers who are willing to come help out if called. It's divided by waterways within the county, so if you're on the Floral City pool, or the Hernando pool of Lake Tsala Apopka, and your airboat breaks down, you've got numbers to call with your cellphone. It also states that club members monitor VHF channel 68. Wonder if other clubs have similar lists?
Here's the story, as it was written up in the CCAA newsletter last week:
THE CCAA CAVALRY!
I want to thank all those who helped rescue the SUNKEN AIRBOAT last Sunday about 250 feet offshore behind Skeeter’s (Armante’s Restaurant).
The boat was owned and operated by out-of-towners who aren’t (yet) in our club. They had just had lunch at Skeeter’s and were headed back out onto the lake, with driver and three passengers, when the prop exploded, went through the hull, and quickly sank the boat. Skeeter saw it happen, and immediately jumped in his bass boat and rode out to rescue the people, who were, by this time, in the water.
No one was hurt, but the boat sure was damaged!
You can see photos of the boat and the rescue on our website. Pay special attention to the piece of that wooden prop stuck through the bottom of the boat, and to what happened to the back of that Buick motor!
But notice also the photo showing all the different airboats and people involved in the boat-raising operation.
I can’t get over how much I was reminded of those old TV Westerns where the Cavalry comes riding in flying their flags and coming to the rescue.
That’s what it looked like after just one phone call to someone on our Emergency Call List, and within minutes, the downed boat was surrounded by “Good Samaritan� airboats flying yellow CCAA flags!
Then with a little ingenuity, a lot of rope, and four-wheel drive, that sunken airboat was running dry ground again � water weeds and all.
I sure am proud to be part of this club!
Bob
A few points not made on the website or in the story below:
1. We know the prop exploded, but there were questions as to whether that was "cause" or "effect". A couple of onlookers speculated that the crank may have been the initial failure, causing the prop to explode.
2. Talk about IRONY AND COINCIDENCE!!! This incident happened on Sunday, April 3rd, just minutes before Bob and I arrived at Skeeter's for a late lunch. (That's Bob in our blue Dodge 4WD pulling the sunken boat out of the water.) But less than 48 hours earlier, Skeeter's OWN AIRBOAT HAD ITS WOODEN PROP EXPLODE, throwing a piece of wood through the bottom of the hull in much the same manner. Skeeter was luckier than this guy, in that his boat didn't sink -- he was just a few feet from shore, and got to dry ground safely. Also, his motor wasn't damaged, nor was the transom. But the prop cut through 2 or 3 of his stringers. In fact, the reason Skeeter was outside on Sunday afternoon when this boat sank was because he had just lifted his motor and rigging off his own boat, and flipped the hull over to begin repairs in the backyard of the restaurant. Bob and I had gone to Skeeter's on Saturday night (the night before) for dinner (yes, I don't cook at that home -- we're remodeling), and had looked at Skeeter's damaged boat that was sitting in the same place as this one when these pictures were taken!
3. Skeeter's (Armante's Restaurant) was also the setting for the Florida Airboat Association meeting this past Saturday (April 9th), and fortunately, no props were harmed during the great trail ride after the meeting!
4. The story below refers to the "Emergency Call List" which the Citrus County Airboat Alliance has produced for members and friends of the club. (We give it out at CCAA meetings.) It's a list of airboaters with phone numbers who are willing to come help out if called. It's divided by waterways within the county, so if you're on the Floral City pool, or the Hernando pool of Lake Tsala Apopka, and your airboat breaks down, you've got numbers to call with your cellphone. It also states that club members monitor VHF channel 68. Wonder if other clubs have similar lists?
Here's the story, as it was written up in the CCAA newsletter last week:
THE CCAA CAVALRY!
I want to thank all those who helped rescue the SUNKEN AIRBOAT last Sunday about 250 feet offshore behind Skeeter’s (Armante’s Restaurant).
The boat was owned and operated by out-of-towners who aren’t (yet) in our club. They had just had lunch at Skeeter’s and were headed back out onto the lake, with driver and three passengers, when the prop exploded, went through the hull, and quickly sank the boat. Skeeter saw it happen, and immediately jumped in his bass boat and rode out to rescue the people, who were, by this time, in the water.
No one was hurt, but the boat sure was damaged!
You can see photos of the boat and the rescue on our website. Pay special attention to the piece of that wooden prop stuck through the bottom of the boat, and to what happened to the back of that Buick motor!
But notice also the photo showing all the different airboats and people involved in the boat-raising operation.
I can’t get over how much I was reminded of those old TV Westerns where the Cavalry comes riding in flying their flags and coming to the rescue.
That’s what it looked like after just one phone call to someone on our Emergency Call List, and within minutes, the downed boat was surrounded by “Good Samaritan� airboats flying yellow CCAA flags!
Then with a little ingenuity, a lot of rope, and four-wheel drive, that sunken airboat was running dry ground again � water weeds and all.
I sure am proud to be part of this club!
Bob
Waterthunder
Well-known member
I’m a car motor guy and I hate too see direct drive car motor airboats. The thrust bearing in a car motor is for only controlling crankshaft end play It’s not designed nor intended for a continuous thrust load. Most car motors like Dodge, Ford, Oldsmobile and Pontiac all have the thrust bearing located in the center of the crank. When you bolt a prop on the motor this allows the forward force of the prop to compress the crank before reaching a thrust surface. The picture in this thread is what results from the crankshaft deflection. A small block and big block Chevy both have their thrust bearings located at the rear of the crank just like an aircraft engine. Even though it’s not truly a thrust bearing designed for a continuous load it is superior to most all other car motors for a prop application.