I hit a rock what did I mess up

"I have a 1990 glasstream with

"I have a 1990 glasstream with a merc 3.0 and merc outdrive. Just got the but did some work on it,and yesterday took it out for the first time. It ran great for about 30 min. then I hit a rock or something. The stainless prop is mangled and the boat stays in neutral. Did something break or did it slip off the spline? I really wanted to take the kids to the lake today but looks like I did something major!Is it a easy fix or is it gonna cost me a bunh? I have a spare prop? Can anyone tell me how to check?"

"If the prop is mangled, you t

"If the prop is mangled, you toasted more than just that since it's stainlkess. By "stays in neutral", do you mean that you have no thrust or you don't hear it shifting? If it's shifting and you have no thrust, yo might have torn the prop's hub. The spline wouldn't be the thing to gos ince the prop shaft has 15 splines on it. The drive shaft has a similar number. You could have broken the shift crankl, propshaft, driveshaft, coupler, etc. The quickest way to find out if the motor is turning the drive shaft is by removing the top cover on the upper gear case and without starting it (pull the lanyard off of the safety switch), crank the starter while someone looks at the shaft from the top. If that turns, the motor coupler is not the problem. You'll need to replace the O ring once you remove the cover.

If you put it in forward or reverse, you shouldn't be able to turn the prop freely. It shouldn't turn at all in one direction and should click in the other direction.

If the prop turns freely in either/both directions, the drive will need to be opened to find the problem. If you don't have one now, get a depth finder and if you will be on this body of water frequently, get a map from the DNR."

"If the stainless prop is mang

"If the stainless prop is mangled, most likely the hub didnt break in time and the damage has been done. The gentleman above has given great advice on testing to see if the gears are shot or if the problem lies in a different area. Generally the damage is in the foot and not higher up in the lower unit or drive shaft area. If your lake is shallow or prone to stumps/rocks, you definitely need to run an aluminum prop. The pro's far outweigh the cons. It's much nicer to replace a $100.00 prop than a $1500.00 lower unit."

"One thing about hitting thing

"One thing about hitting things on the water, insurance usually covers it."