Monofilament Line in the Motor- ruining lower unit

[wacotiger]

Has anyone else had problems with monofilament line getting entangled in your motor/prop? We have had to replace our lower unit on our Yamaha 200 motor twice in the last 3 years and now we have been told that it has happened again (third time in 4 years). The first 2 times, insurance covered it (almost $3,000 per incident) and then our insurance company dropped us. Now, we are dealing with a new insurance company and we hope there is no issue. We only use our boat on Big Lake. Keep it on our boat lift in Old Settlement. Tell me we are not the only ones having this problem. If it has happened to you, how do you prevent it? We store our boat on the boat lift, but I am not sure how we check to see if there is any line around the prop, other than a visual inspection. It just doesn't make any sense to me. Any advice?

[Top Dawg]

The line around the prop will ruin the seal. If u change your lower unit oil regularly you will notice funky oil (water in oil) maybe kinda glittery (shavings) this means your seal is bad. If you keep running with a bad seal and bad oil you will ruin the bearings and gears. You can take your prop off and check for the line on the prop shaft in front of your prop. That is where the seal is located.

[PaulMyers]

Danny, being y'all keep it on a lift. Pull your prop off every second or third trip and check for line wrapped around shaft.

Some people just throw old line over the side as opposed to throwing it in a trash can.

[wacotiger]

Yea, we might start putting it on the trailer each time we leave our camp so that checking the prop would be easier on dry land. Pretty hard to get in the water while on the boat is on the lift and removing the prop without risking losing a nut or shear pin, but we will have to do something. I just can't believe we have to do that and that someone has not come up with another solution. How many people check the prop for fishing line regularly? Maybe we are just in the minority. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Gerald]

I have had boats for about 40 years and never had fishing line on my lower unit.


About 1/3 of my boating has been on Big Lake.

[jopete]

I pull my prop when I change my lower unit oil and look for line. more often if I catch something in prop while fishing.
it's not that uncommon to melt/cut a prop seal. especially in south la.

[Jadams]

I've lost several bc of the same reason


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[tigerhead]

I don't have any scientific data to back up my theory, but I believe the braided lines are going to be harder on props than the mono. Smaller diameter and tougher line doesn't bode well for prop seals. The only up side is that maybe people won't break it off as easily, so less of it in the water. I have already found some behind my prop. Luckily it hadn't made it into the seal when I caught it.

To the OP, you may be having more issues due to the fact that you keep your boat on a lift. People fishing from piers cannot motor over and retrieve their line or lure when they hang up. So they often break off long lengths of line. Those are the most danger to seal because they can really get wrapped up good. If you have people fishing from your pier or adjacent piers, you could be picking it up when your motoring in or out of your slip. If you pick it up on the way in, you should be able to spot it when you lift your boat. But on the way out you would just run till you pull it into the seal. I would recommend a visual check once you get out into deeper water away from the pier. Taking a couple of minutes to stop and tilt the motor up could save you a lower unit.

[TroutSupport.com]

it will certainly happen. That's how I lost mine.

I think if you catch it early enough by checking your fluid often is the key at that point it only requires a seal kit and drain and replace fluids. If you're LU fluid is at all opaque, then it's sick and needs help fast.

[wacotiger]

How do you check your LU fluids?

[ratherbefishing186]

real easy, just unscrew the bottom screw enough for oil to come out and screw it back quick so you don't lose a ton. I did it my last trip down there...take 60secs on a boat not in the water.

[wacotiger]

Thanks.

[tigerhead]

Somebody needs to invent a line cutter or seal shield that goes on the backside of a prop and cuts the line into little pieces that won't wrap up on the shaft.

[rardoin]

Originally Posted by wacotiger

How do you check your LU fluids?

Actually, puling the lower plug will only tell you if you have any oil in the gearcase, not an indicator of oil level. The oil level should be flush with the upper plug hole when filling the case. It may drop a little after several months of use, but only a little. I would check it by taking about 6 inches of insulated wire, 12g or so and bending a 70-90 degree 'hook' about 3/4 of an inch in 'dipping' it into the top hole. If the oil does not coat the tip of the bend then add I would drain the case and look for contamination.

[rardoin]

Originally Posted by tigerhead

Somebody needs to invent a line cutter or seal shield that goes on the backside of a prop and cuts the line into little pieces that won't wrap up on the shaft.

They are available for shafts on inboard powered boats but I have not seen any for outboards currently available. In the past there was a company that made small blades that were epoxied on to the LU case at the aft edge that were supposed to cut mono. I don't know if it worked...but...I don't see that the company is still in existence..so....

[perchman]

Just left a shop where fishing line was wrapped around a pro shaft. Messed up the whole lower unit. Got so hot it ruined the whole thing. New one was 3,800. It comes the people fishing in that boat most of the time. They will try to keep in the boat but then some how it finds its way back to water.

[BeastMan]

Picked some up in my trolling motor in Leeville while fishing a cpl years ago. Looked down and there was a birds nest on green mono dragging behind it. No green mono in our boat. Figured a big red, jack, or shark spooled somebody and we were just unlucky to find it. Obviously trolling motor is easier to deal with but same thing.