Cracked/Chipped Hull From Sucked Up Rope

[Bridger]

I’ve got a Yamaha 212 Limited S and back in September I sucked up a rope at idle. Engine stalled right away, no loud bang, no vibration, nothing crazy. I spent about two hours cutting the rope out on the water while the kids played and that ended up being our last weekend out because I was DONE lol


Drove fine back to the ramp and back on the trailer, winterized it, and honestly didn’t think much about it after that.


Yesterday I was just scrolling through threads missing boat season and saw people talking about cracking the hull on Yamahas after sucking up ropes. That got me curious, so I crawled under mine today to check it out.


Sure enough, I’ve got some damage. (Pictures attached)


It’s on the underside of the hull near the driveshaft. Looks like the gelcoat cracked and chipped and I can see some fiberglass. The hull still feels solid though, not soft or spongy at all.


From what I can tell, it seems like the force of the rope being pulled in caused it due to its location. It’s not in a location that would indicate it happened from the amount of rope bunch up on the shaft.


Just looking for some opinions from people who’ve dealt with this before or have advice.

Does this look/sound like typical outer laminate / gelcoat stress damage? If the fiberglass still feels hard, is this usually just a grind, glass, and gelcoat type repair? Anyone had cracking in this area? And realistically, is this something a handy person can tackle or better left to a shop?


I’m on the Northside of Indianapolis, IN area, so if anyone has a good fiberglass repair shop they recommend, I’m all ears.

Appreciate any advice.

 

[Dave burke]

Strange looking chip. Hard to tell if this was caused by a rope. Does the white sleeve look damaged at all? Hard to tell from your pics.

Several years ago I had some rope damage and had to replace the white sleeve. There was pieces of rope behind it. One quick test is to pour some water in the bottom of the bilge and see if you see any leaking out.

If no leaks and the white sleeve looks good (check it carefully) I think I would just gel coat patch that chip. I've never had to do that though so hopefully somebody else can opine on that.

 

[Bridger]

Strange looking chip. Hard to tell if this was caused by a rope. Does the white sleeve look damaged at all? Hard to tell from your pics.

Several years ago I had some rope damage and had to replace the white sleeve. There was pieces of rope behind it. One quick test is to pour some water in the bottom of the bilge and see if you see any leaking out.

If no leaks and the white sleeve looks good (check it carefully) I think I would just gel coat patch that chip. I've never had to do that though so hopefully somebody else can opine on that.

I totally agree it’s hard to believe the rope caused it, but I honestly don’t know what else it would’ve been. The sleeve itself looks fine, not even a scratch on it. It just looks like some of the excess over hanging silicone that was around it is missing where the chip is.

The crack/chip runs right up to the sleeve though, which is what has me thinking I might need to remove it to repair it properly. Was removing that sleeve a pain or pretty straightforward? I’ve read they put a lot of adhesive on them.

I’m going to do a leak test first. If it’s not leaking, I’m considering leaving the sleeve in place and just repairing around it if at all possible

 

[Exciter 220]

I think the damage is due the the rope handle, not the rope itself. I really don't think the damage is significant, but would recommend repairing the gelcoat so water can't work it's way in through the glass threads.

In the future, you can probably remove a rope by removing the spark plugs, then turn the engine over backwards to unwind the rope. You can often get the rope out without damaging it.

 

[sunbyrned]

Not trying to give unsolicited advice, but just using this as an opportunity to tell boaters to consider turning the engines completely off rather than idle if just needing to float in place. It can suck up ropes, debris, hair, etc.

 

[Bridger]

Not trying to give unsolicited advice, but just using this as an opportunity to tell boaters to consider turning the engines completely off rather than idle if just needing to float in place. It can suck up ropes, debris, hair, etc.

Yeah… I knew better, which honestly makes it hurt more. Sometimes you just have to learn the hard way I guess.

My wife asked how we make sure this never happens again… pretty simple shut the motors off.

 

[sunbyrned]

Yeah… I knew better, which honestly makes it hurt more. Sometimes you just have to learn the hard way I guess.

My wife asked how we make sure this never happens again… pretty simple shut the motors off.

She’s a smart lady! I have that same boat by the way. It’s been great all these years.

 

[AZMark]

Looks like the rope just rubbed through the gelcoat as it was getting pulled in.

I'd cover the area with gelcoat or 5200, smooth it out as best you can and keep boating.

 

[AZMark]

And once you spend 2 hours getting a rope out it tends to not happen again

You'll always know where your rope is now.

 

[Gap22]

You aren't jet boating if you haven't sucked something up. I was trailering in a pop up storm, my damn hat blew off. I told myself, I'm gonna suck that up if I'm not careful. I sucked it up. Had to stop and cut it out. Finally got trailered. No damage other than losing my favorite hat. Fun times.

 

[Neutron]

You aren't jet boating if you haven't sucked something up. I was trailering in a pop up storm, my damn hat blew off. I told myself, I'm gonna suck that up if I'm not careful. I sucked it up. Had to stop and cut it out. Finally got trailered. No damage other than losing my favorite hat. Fun times.

I have never sucked anything up in 15 years. If you are very aware it doesn't happen

 

[Gap22]

I was very aware but the wind was brutal and I was a newbie