Third time's...

a bitch. Switching a prop out on your everyday, run-of-the-mill inboard ski boat is supposed to be a 20 minute job, max. Well, after three attempts in three days, and nearly five hours total of fruitless straining, all I have to show for my effort is a cut on the side of my head (damn anti-cavitation plate of '97 Moombas).

About two months ago, I borrowed an OJ prop puller form Rick


I popped the prop off in about ten minutes, with minimal tension.

Our three-blade is bent is needs to be replaced with a reconditioned four-blade.




This time was a little harder.

Wednesday. 2 hours of struggling, and reattatching the prop puller about 10 times netted nothing. Lubricant didn't help either

Thursday. After another 1.5 hours of cussing, bumping my head and endless frustration, the prop still wouldn't come off. Hitting the puller bolt, the piller end and the propshaft itself didn't work for shit.

Friday. One last shot. I would bring out sir Isaac Newton's secret weapon; Thermal expansion. Firsrt, I wiped off the excess shaft lubricant (it is oil-based), and liberally dusted the prop with sodium bicarbonate (that's baking soda in the common tongue). I then took a creme brulee torch and ran it up and down the other propshaft until it was too hot to touch. Then I cranked on the prop puller once again. Nothing. I have officially given up. Time to let Mid river have a shot at it.

Notice how I wedged the prop with a section of railroad tie.


Yeah, that didn't work either.