CHECK YOUR STEERING!!!!

I just read where they recovered the body of the angler in Florida from Lake Okeechobee. So sad to hear that a fellow angler left his young family behind.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/local/...OHSsbVmUcjdG5H/

Gentlemen, there has been a lot of talk lately about hypothermia and how to survive in the water if you are ejected from the boat. I know it was discovered that this accident was not caused by a mechanical issue but rather the driver spearing a wave.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AkgjPkCQXc

This accident was caused by a mechanical problem that could have very well been avoided. It was discovered the locking nut that attaches the hydraulic steering to the outboard motor had come loose, most likely from vibration. This allowed the motor to swing sharply to the side while the boat was underway and ejected both the young men.

Guys, as you get your boat ready to launch, PLEASE do a quick visual check to the nuts & bolts on the steering system!!

If you are running down the lake at any speed at all at a high trim angle, the rotation of the prop causes tremendous torque on the steering system. Before hydraulic steering came along, it was much more apparent as to how much steering torque was felt on the wheel. The higher your motor is on the jackplate the more steering torque you will be placing on the system. I have been chunked out of a bass boat at 70+ and it is NOT MUCH FUN.

Let's do some preventative stuff here before we hit the lake. I don't want any of you to have to find out how long you can survive in 50 degree water. Let's take a few seconds to check our boats and STAY OUT OF THE WATER until it hits at least 80 this summer!!

well said!

Ken, we are 2 of the very few that think that accident was due to mechanical failure. It amazes me how many think it was driver error. The college kids. Not the Costa accident.

TFF Member Tip Strikes again always good to get this from fellow Tff'ers on some things as little as a loose nut! no pun intended.

He did not say this accident was caused by a mechanical failure!

It does not have to be an older boat either. My new 2018 Skeeter, first time in the water had the nut back off. It did not fail as I was breaking in the motor barely on plane that day; but noticed it had about 4 inches of play in the steering. It would break to the right and when I would make the correction it would break to the left. I immediately put it on the trailer then back to the dealer.

Didn't this happen to John Pierces boat several years ago on Ray Hubbard and he was thrown?

Yes, and he was lucky to have survived it.

Do you just look at the nuts and check to see if they're tight?

I was about to ask same question. What am I checking or looking for?

maybe in okieland...

Nuts, bolts, move the engine back and forth with it off of the transom saver.
Check jack plate bolts and look for visible leaks from the cylinder etc.

Well, get your azz over here and check my nuts!!

So the report where they speared a wave was not true? I've been trying to follow the updates but the one I saw said they speared a wave and said nothing about mechanical failure

no words

Ken did not say the accident last week was from a steering malfunction, he said the one in the youtube video he posted was caused by a steering malfunction

And this folks is how rumors get started

Very confusing post and if you don’t watch the YouTube video before you get to the 3rd paragraph you don’t realize he is changing gears from one story to another.

But this is correct. The college guys in the video were tossed because of the mechanical failure listed

Omg no kidding. Apparently nobody read what Ken actually wrote. Come on guys...

Thanks Doug for helping me clarify this!

Except he wrote this “I know it was discovered that this accident was not caused by a mechanical issue but rather the driver spearing a wave”...before the YouTube link.

Thanks. I can read just fine

reading and reading comprehension are two entirely different things, I know I struggle with both from time to time

My cable steering got really stiff and hard to turn. When I went to the shop to pick it up they showed me the helm from under the wheel. It was broken completely in two. The only reason it was still "working" was because the break was jagged and the pieces were fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Two weeks earlier I had been running the boat lane poles at Caddo.

My post was in response to clark3’s question.... doesn’t that make it easier?

Haha, this post is worse than CNN. Check your steering in the title, begins the post talking about the incident that happened last week, then one tiny line saying this wasn't the case here then a YouTube link followed by a mile long post about a mechanical failure and and I'm an idiot for thinking he was referring to this incident as a mechanical failure.

Next time I'll read verbatim! My mistake

+1

With the transom saver removed, grab the back of the lower unit and shake the motor back & forth while looking at the bolt that attaches the steering to the motor.

It takes literally 5 seconds and could save your life!

John was very fortunate for sure! I saw him a few weeks after he recovered from the incident. I think he was only running about 45 mph.

Well, I know it is early in the year but Okie you get my vote for best post of the year.

Thanks for the safety tip Ken A. Had this happen as a passenger back in the 70’s on Murvaul. It was only an 85 HP on a new but smaller bass boat flying across in open water at first light. There was another passenger but lucky for us it low 30’s degrees so we were both hunkered as low as possible on the low floor. The driver didn’t get ejected but we all got chunked around with a big wall of water landing on top of us. Even with that I am probably worst at checking things out but this is a good reminder to all - be safe.

I meant the college kids. Not the Costa

I checked all my nuts and all were tight except the one I'm pointing to. Should it be tight, too?

You can snug it but it shouldn't hurt anything. That's to move the motor up and down if you want to adjust your jack plate. The bolts on the side should be right to hold it in place. I always kept that middle one tight to though. Another bolt to check is the one the steering is bolted to that turns the motor. You can see it in the pic above but on a merc it's pretty far under there and a real pain to get to. The go fast guys change that bolt because they can break or come loose

Correct!

I knew what you meant Scott.

This is the most critical bolt on the whole rig. This is the one that vibrated loose and came out on the UF College kid's boat. This is supposed to be an aircraft self locking nut. Should never be a problem but if you've had work done to your boat and they did not replace with a NEW self locking nut, it can vibrate loose and eventually fall out.



If this bolt comes loose at speed the boat will do a 180 turn. The G forces will throw you around pretty good. I went out of my boat at 70+ at Hubbard one day. The only thing that saved me is the fact I was wearing a very good life jacket with the straps that go between your legs so it doesn't blow off over your head if you hit the water hard feet first.

When I went out of the boat I hit the gunnel so hard I thought I broke some ribs. It knocked all the breath out of me. I am a pretty good swimmer but I barely made it back to the boat. Even though I was in my early 20's and bullet-proof, I would have drowned had I not had my PFD on. It happened it September so the water was still pretty warm.

Watch that video again of the college kids in slow mo. I will guarantee you the driver of that boat hit the passenger side hard as he went out. I bet he was black & blue the next morning. Fortunate young men for sure.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say/ask "shouldn't all bolts be tight"?

Personally I would take it a step even further

http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/12573483/Re:_Trailer_maintenance_tips#Post12573483

Pre trip your rig , Post trip your rig , Start from one end and TOUCH nuts bolts etc , Does not take long once you develop a method ,

The one Tom is pointing to in this pic is not supporting any weight nor does it have any effect on steering. It is simply to Raise or Lower the motor on the jackplate when the side bolts are loosened. So to answer your question, it is not a critical bolt that could affect boat control if left loose.

Thank you for the good advice Ken

No kidding, great advice!

Add a little blue Loc-Tight.

I took the Evelan wood head sped red'n course, so I'm good... Gotcha Ken...

Evelan Wood Speed Reading course...

Brother, you just dated yourself there!

If you find you need to replace that bolt, make sure you replace BOTH bolt and nut, and use either a Mercury part, or a ARP equivalent. TORQUE TO BOLT SPECS!!

Great advice buddy. That is not just a run of the mill Home Depot nut & bolt.

Not to hikack this thread, but pretty sure most people think this was mechanical error.