A new vibration that gets worse with throttle is almost always the propeller, the shaft, or the cutless bearing. Ignoring it leads to bent shafts and trashed transmissions.
What to Check
1
Damaged or out-of-balance prop
Inspect for nicks, bent blades, or wrapped fishing line. Even a small ding throws the whole prop out of balance.
2
Worn cutless bearing
Grab the prop and try to wiggle it. More than 1/16" of play means the cutless bearing needs replacing.
3
Bent prop shaft
Mark the shaft and rotate it against a fixed reference. Any visible runout means the shaft is bent — usually from a hard grounding.
4
Engine alignment
After any haul-out, blocking can shift engine alignment. Misalignment vibrates and chews up shaft seals fast.
When to Call Us
Don't run the boat hard with vibration. We pull the prop, true it on the bench, check shaft runout, and re-align the engine in the same haul-out.