Broken Strut

[Brian Johnson]

I have a 2002 Hunter 460 with an Autoprop installed. On a recent trip from Mexico I appear to have hit a kelp bed while motoring and the strut broke off.Could the additional weight on an Autoprop have exposed a design flaw with the 460 struts?I am no expert, but hitting kelp, even a significant bed, should not cause a strut to break off.After this happened, I was unaware of how severe the damage was, I motored on for another 16-20 hours before I got a diver to look at the bottom of the boat.

 

[Kevin]

Strut

Hello Brain,I would agree that you should not have had a strut break due to kelp, unless, it massed up around the strut in huge quantities. I have not heard of similar problems when using the Autoprop. My guess is that the strut that broke may have had some internal flaw that the additional loading you experienced was enough to set it free. Hope this helps Kevin. Sorry for delay, I have been away from the office for a week attending a trade show.

 

[Brian Johnson]

Broken Strut Reply

Thanks for the reply Kevin,Everyone who has looked at the strut in question, including a surveyor I engaged, agrees that the casting of the strut was faulty. Hunter to date denies this could have occured, but I am in the process of sending the strut to them to evaluate. Do you guys make the auto-prop? I believe my auot-prop is on the way back to you to check for damage and repair it.Brian