Vibration on day 1 - 3 hours in - Need Advice

[D105]

So I bought a 2008 Nautique 230 TE a month ago and today was the first day out on the water. The boat only has 120 hours on it. Ran great for about 3 hours and then I was cruising steady through a channel that was 13 feet deep and I was going about 7-8mph with the wake setting on 3 - all of sudden there is a noise (nothing major - didn't jolt the boat or anything) and then noticed a vibration. The vibration gets worse with more throttle. I do not think I hit anything, went back and looked for something like a floating log and didn't see anything. Pulled the boat out of the water on the trailer and didn't see any damage to the prop - any suggestions? I appreciate any input - I'm new to boats, this is our first one.

[NautiqueJeff]

Must have hit something. Probably a submerged log or branch. Sometimes you can't see the minor imperfections in the prop with bare eyes. I bet it is out of balance.

[jasper]

What Jeff said and sometimes you can catch a small piece of debris like a branch or piece of trash and have it hang on some of the running gear and that will cause vibration. When the debris falls off after going to neutral or reverse it can return to normal. I've had bent props you would never guess were bent from looking at it, and I've had branches caught that have come off and then no more vibration.

[robertsmcfarland]

did you notice the vibration at 7or 8 mph? if so in my pass experience its not the prop, unless you lost a whole blade,

[D105]

Thanks for the input guys, back up and running good - neutral and reverse seemed to help. Looked at the drive shaft a little closer and looks like something, maybe a ski rope caught it. Buying another prop to keep as a spare, just incase!