Props installed backwards!

[Cincy Aquaholic]

I always hate to pay shops and mechanics for any kind of work so I really hate when something happens that I can't fix because it seems more often than not they screw something up! I was just reminded of this again to start the year. Here's what happened. Last fall my outdrives started to not raise and lower correctly. When I went to winterize I couldn't get one drive down to drain the gear lube. So, I took it in to the Sea Ray dealer. Both props were taken off by me. They were to change the prop annodes, drain and refill the one drive gear oil then reinstall. Work was done and the boat was put away for a 6 month nap.

fast forward to saturday and our first outing. Go to reverse it off the trailer and the boat goes forward! I have the set up with separate shifters and throttle levers. Thinking I was still attached to the strap I yell at the admiral. :smt021 Put it in reverse again and give a little throttle on one engine and the boat begins to push forward and turn. Uh oh! Thinking am I THIS rusty!?!? :smt100 Quickly decided to push shifters into forward and the boat moves as expected. WTH!?! Call the dealer and of course they are of no help. I can't fathom why this is happening. Never occurred to me that the props could even be installed backwards but that is exactly what was wrong.

Long story short, once again a dealer let me down. But here is my question, they said if the boat is running fine and I'm ok driving it like that (which proved to be a little hairy around the dock) then go ahead. Does anyone think there is an issue with the drives engaged in "reverse" to go forward at normal speed? I know some things are not designed to operate in reverse at full speed or power but I would think an outdrive being just gears and shafts it shouldn't matter?

 

[Lazy Daze]

I guess that falls under the "oops" category for whomever installed the props. :smt001 Other than having a fun story to tell friends, I'm glad it was at least nothing that caused any damage. Yes, because you have Bravo drives, there are no issues with using it as is. Alpha drives... another story. Just be VERY careful around the slip - as I'm sure you will be. Here's an interesting thought... see if you notice any differences while up on plane since the props are spinning the opposite direction, now. In theory "they" say you might...

Oh... and thanks for sharing the trailer event. You explained it so well I can see it happening!

 

[Cincy Aquaholic]

I guess that falls under the "oops" category for whomever installed the props. :smt001 Other than having a fun story to tell friends, I'm glad it was at least nothing that caused any damage. Yes, because you have Bravo drives, there are no issues with using it as is. Alpha drives... another story. Just be VERY careful around the slip - as I'm sure you will be. Here's an interesting thought... see if you notice any differences while up on plane since the props are spinning the opposite direction, now. In theory "they" say you might...

Oh... and thanks for sharing the trailer event. You explained it so well I can see it happening!

Thanks for the reassurance Dennis. My frustration with the dealer comes on the heels of an issue with my Ford dealer who left my oil fill cap off my truck which I noticed 200 miles later. I had to resort to a dealer oil change because I was headed out of town and didn't have time to deal with it.

I honestly didn't notice anything different with how the boat performed. However, I hadn't driven it in 6 months either. Is there some logic or science to this belief?

 

[Lazy Daze]

Is there some logic or science to this belief?

It has to do with something about the props spinning clockwise or counter clockwise...spinning away from each other, or spinning in towards each other. But I've wondered just how much of a difference there really is. Meaning, I'm sure there's some science behind it, but is it one of those things that's not really noticeable in "real life"?

 

[Tonka Boater]

Do you mean the props were flip-flopped? Meaning, the port prop installed on the starboard drive and starboard prop installed on the port side?

I'm assuming this is the case and that my brain misinterpreted your meaning because it sounded like the props were literally installed inverted which I can't see being a possibility. I have a single Bravo I and I can't see how any prop could be installed backwards (the way my brain pictured it).

 

[fwebster]

It depends upon how close together the props are and the speed at which they turn. I think handling could well be affected because of the reversed props. Why not just load the boat on the trailer, move up the ramp and reverse them…..or am I missing something here?

 

[Ozshadow]

I would want them swapped as soon as possible to avoid the "oops" when you try to operate it as if it were normal. Wouldn't the cup of the prop be reversed? One of these days I'm gonna buy the two monster prop sockets for my B3 - which will probably be right before I move the inboards.

 

[Strecker25]

I guess that falls under the "oops" category for whomever installed the props. :smt001 Other than having a fun story to tell friends, I'm glad it was at least nothing that caused any damage. Yes, because you have Bravo drives, there are no issues with using it as is. Alpha drives... another story. Just be VERY careful around the slip - as I'm sure you will be. Here's an interesting thought... see if you notice any differences while up on plane since the props are spinning the opposite direction, now. In theory "they" say you might...

Oh... and thanks for sharing the trailer event. You explained it so well I can see it happening!

Curious about the alpha comment. Are the reverse gears in an alpha different from the forward gear? (aside from the obvious spinning the prop in the opposite direction :smt001)

 

[Strecker25]

I always hate to pay shops and mechanics for any kind of work so I really hate when something happens that I can't fix because it seems more often than not they screw something up! I was just reminded of this again to start the year. Here's what happened. Last fall my outdrives started to not raise and lower correctly. When I went to winterize I couldn't get one drive down to drain the gear lube. So, I took it in to the Sea Ray dealer. Both props were taken off by me. They were to change the prop annodes, drain and refill the one drive gear oil then reinstall. Work was done and the boat was put away for a 6 month nap.

fast forward to saturday and our first outing. Go to reverse it off the trailer and the boat goes forward! I have the set up with separate shifters and throttle levers. Thinking I was still attached to the strap I yell at the admiral. :smt021 Put it in reverse again and give a little throttle on one engine and the boat begins to push forward and turn. Uh oh! Thinking am I THIS rusty!?!? :smt100 Quickly decided to push shifters into forward and the boat moves as expected. WTH!?! Call the dealer and of course they are of no help. I can't fathom why this is happening. Never occurred to me that the props could even be installed backwards but that is exactly what was wrong.

Long story short, once again a dealer let me down. But here is my question, they said if the boat is running fine and I'm ok driving it like that (which proved to be a little hairy around the dock) then go ahead. Does anyone think there is an issue with the drives engaged in "reverse" to go forward at normal speed? I know some things are not designed to operate in reverse at full speed or power but I would think an outdrive being just gears and shafts it shouldn't matter?

installing the props wrong I suppose could be an honest mistake of someone working quickly. What I would be more concerned about was did they say they sea trialed the boat after the work was completed to verify everything? I would assume a tech would notice the boat moving in the wrong direction during a sea trial, but maybe they just did the work and layed her up.

 

[mjoplin]

I don't know the details of the drives or physically mounting props backwards, but besides the safety issue of reversed controls, they shouldn't be as efficient. Outdrive props share some physics with aircraft propellers such as the blades having a curved surface like an airfoil to create a pressure differential utilizing Bernoulli's Principle to generate thrust. With the blades working backwards I would think that you you would lose much of the props efficiency. Not a big deal for a short reverse run to dock or maneuver, but most likely a bigger deal for long runs with the props running in reverse.

 

[scoflaw]

Why would you think this was their fault ? Props were off when they received your boat, would you expect them to know if they rotated in or out ? The work they did for you wouldn't warrant a sea trial.
This is simple stuff. Maybe you should just swap the props before something much bigger happens. Crazy/stupid... driving around with the throttles reversed

 

[NotHerDecision]

Scoflaw. It's their fault. It's not up for discussion. Props only go one way and any reputable shop should know this.

As far as what you should do. They should correct it asap at their cost end of story.

It's like saying Walmart put your directional tires on backwards.

I wouldn't have taken anywhere like this personally. And I would advise you to get it back to them asap.

Not to seem harsh but this seems so unsafe it's almost unreal.

Josh

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[scoflaw]

Not up for discussion ? Really ? Way I read this is , the props were switched from side to side, not backwards.

 

[Mittens]

So just some FYI here.

Props spinning into each other (Port spining clockwise going forward and Star spinning counter) is normally faster top end, because of the lift it can have on the boat. a lot of the high performance boats you see spin them in, and on a normal go fast with bravo drives its normally worth 1-3mph. They also normally handle worse around the dock, because the reverse levera point is on the inside of each drive instead of the rear...

Betting your boat came with the props spinning to the out side (Port going counter clock in forward, and star going clockwise.) this is normal, handels better around docks.

A Bravo drive does not care which way you spin it. the gears are symmetrical. To fix this issue I would do one of 2 things, and not the third (third beling leaving it how it is.) one pull boat and swap props back to there correct sides, or 2 if you like them spinning in, or dont have the ability to pull boat easily, (even though the dealer should fix for free.) you can simply swap the location the cable connects tot he shifter...

on marine shifters, the cable connects to the shifted in 1 of 2 spots. one for left hand props and one for right. so if you swap props, you can swap the end the cable is connected to to make the levers act correct to that prop.

 

[rondds]

Can you even put an Bravo 1 prop on backwards? Curious as to what exactly happened here. If you switch props on counter-rotating outdrives does that automatically mean you'd go backwards in reverse?

I'd think the people who put them on wrong would be more than happy to correct the problem, and prefer to forget the whole thing.

 

[LTD.330]

I think the OP meant the propellers were installed swapped. It would be physically impossible to install the propeller inverted/reversed.

Put me in the category of peeps who think it is reckless to operate the boat in this manner.

I know very little about Bravo 1's, do they require special tools and knowledge to remove the prop? Assuming no, then If this happened to me, I would have immediately put the boat back on the trailer and swapped the props myself. A pair of pliers for the cotter pin, a big wrench and a 2x4 are all that is needed to get the boat back into an operational capacity.

 

[Mittens]

So n a bravo it woul dbe POSSIBLE to put the prop on backwards... but it would damage the hub and pretty sure noone would do that thats ever seen a prop... so can only assume the OP ment backwards, as in left on right and right on left... counter rotating boat but they got mixxed up

that being said, does a bravo take a special tool? no its a single nut with alocking washer with tabs. flat head screw driver to bend tabs flat, and clakt the prop with a 2X4 and lossen nut... thats it.

 

[Gofirstclass]

My $.02. No way I would keep the boat in its current condition. In an emergency situation you are going to revert back to the way you've always done things and with the props reversed you could put someone at serious risk of injury or serious damage to the boat.

Either swap the props yourself (That's what I would do) and forget it or take it back to the dealer and ask them to swap them. Then forget it ever happened and go have fun on the boat.

 

[NotHerDecision]

Either way my simple opinion is this. You paid for a service. It was incorrectly done. It should be corrected. Props switched is different then backwards but still unsafe being the controls are incorrect and the handling will be severely affected.

My comment about not up for discussion is simply this, why would anyone ever consider leaving it this way?




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[Tonka Boater]

Can you even put an Bravo 1 prop on backwards? Curious as to what exactly happened here. If you switch props on counter-rotating outdrives does that automatically mean you'd go backwards in reverse?

I'd think the people who put them on wrong would be more than happy to correct the problem, and prefer to forget the whole thing.

So n a bravo it woul dbe POSSIBLE to put the prop on backwards... but it would damage the hub and pretty sure noone would do that thats ever seen a prop... so can only assume the OP ment backwards, as in left on right and right on left... counter rotating boat but they got mixxed up

that being said, does a bravo take a special tool? no its a single nut with alocking washer with tabs. flat head screw driver to bend tabs flat, and clakt the prop with a 2X4 and lossen nut... thats it.

I asked the same question on page 1 but I assumed the OP meant swapped, not inverted the prop installation.

FWIW, I own a Bravo I and no, you can't actually install a prop backwards. The back of the prop is basically flat and sits against the thrust washer whereas the front of the prop is recessed at least 2" or more so you'd never be able to even get the nut threaded.