Dissecting The Loss Of A ROS Outboard At 90-Plus MPH

Commonly known as “throwing a blade,” a propeller blade breaking at high speed is cause for concern as the resulting vibration can be violent enough to affect driver control. Losing an entire prop or outdrive is that much worse.

Once the starboard outboard was secured, the boat was towed back to the docks.

But dropping a complete outboard engine? That’s the stuff of nightmares—and one that Erik and Julie Breckenfelder of Cape Coral, Fla., survived without a scratch last Saturday when the starboard Mercury Racing ROS outboard popped off the transom of their 28-foot Skater Powerboats catamaran at somewhere between 90 and 100 mph.

The Breckenfelders were on the way to the Riviera Bar and Grill in Punta Gorda as part of the Fort Myers Offshore Turkey Run when the engine suddenly parted ways with the cat’s transom.

One of the offending engine-bolts was recovered.

“It was bit unexpected, for sure,” Breckenfelder explained in his typical low-key, matter-of-fact manner. “It appears the upper engine bolts failed and the engine broke off.

“The engine probably was loose at least five to 10 seconds before we stopped, as alarms were going off that we were slowing down in efforts to read,” he continued. “But Julie said it all happened in one to two seconds. Time is hard to judge when something like that is happening.”

The rear view of the catamaran when it came to rest was shocking.

The upper bolts in question had concerned Breckenfelder since he embarked on the ROS outboard re-power project for the 28-footer last year. The bolts actually failed at the docks, he recalled, before the re-powered catamaran ever ran. He replaced and closely inspected their replacements before the cat’s first test session.

“In short I knew they could be a sensitive point but trusted them as the engines have less than 50 hours,” he explained.

Breckenfelder described the sensation of losing the outboard as if the boat were “violently being yanked from each rear cleat at opposing times.” But despite that the starboard outboard was trailing by the tie-bar connecting it to the port unit, the boat was intact and in no danger of sinking when it came to rest.

Once the starboard outboard was secured using dock lines, fellow Fort Myers Offshore member Brian Manning towed the couple back to Cape Coral. They were accompanied by friends Don and Amanda Gardner in their 36-foot Skater catamaran.

The Breckenfelder’s ROS outboards had approximately 50 operating hours when the engine bolts failed.

The outboard has been “pickled” as its powerhead was completely submerged in saltwater. Once that process is complete, Breckenfelder will reinstall the engine with ARP upper engine bolts. Yet he can’t do that before replacing its lower cowling. The part was destroyed on impact with the water and is no longer available from Mercury Racing.

“We might need a custom mold for that,” Breckenfelder mused.

Regardless of the work that lies ahead, Breckenfelder is simply grateful that neither he nor his wife were injured in the incident.

“It could have been crazy bad,” he said. “The fact that we had the best equipment—Latham hydraulic steering, a Latham tie bar and STR outboard brackets—likely kept us safe.”