2021 Yamaha 255 XD hull crack

[robo_ciu]

Here is my ‘21 255XD... I have no words. The boat is less than a month old and has 15 hours. I discovered this crack in the hull yesterday, it looks like a structural rigidity problem. This is on the Port side, on swim platform. I have other multiple defects, but in my opinion this is very serious. For a crack to just appear like this! I want to hear everyone’s thoughts. I already notified the dealer and they opened a claim up, what would you guys do? It doesn’t seem like such an easy fix being a structural issue. Thanks

 

[seanmclean]

I would wager a guess that when laying glass in the hull, they didn’t get that section pressed in to the mold enough. Likely a far simpler fix (grind it, glass it, gel it) than it appears - fingers crossed. Love that color.

 

[robo_ciu]

Thank you! The color scheme is awesome. Haven’t seen one out there besides mine... It just sucks that they really skimped out on quality control this year.

 

[Mesa50]

I wonder if the built-in wake booster caused the swim platform to flex up, and out? You would think that Yamaha would have tested these enough to have reinforced the swim area properly.

 

[robo_ciu]

Not sure, but I haven’t even used the wakebooster yet.

 

[jlcj7]

Hard to tell from pics but doesn’t seem structural to me. Should be an easy warranty fix

 

[robo_ciu]

It seems to be pretty deep. Its a little scary to think they will just crack like that, and crack in other places more vulnerable

 

[AZMark]

Here is my ‘21 255XD... I have no words. The boat is less than a month old and has 15 hours. I discovered this crack in the hull yesterday, it looks like a structural rigidity problem. This is on the Port side, on swim platform. I have other multiple defects, but in my opinion this is very serious. For a crack to just appear like this! I want to hear everyone’s thoughts. I already notified the dealer and they opened a claim up, what would you guys do? It doesn’t seem like such an easy fix being a structural issue. Thanks

OMG!

 

[Wake_Dude]

Wow! Yamaha sure isn't doing themselves any favors during this Covid era. With all these issues as of late, they are earning the reputation of "piece of shit boat" lately. No way in fawking hell I'd buy a new Yamaha during these times. That crack is completely unacceptable. I hope you get that fixed under warranty. Holy shit.

 

[robo_ciu]

100%.

 

[deubank1776]

Wow! Yamaha sure isn't doing themselves any favors during this Covid era. With all these issues as of late, they are earning the reputation of "piece of shit boat" lately. No way in fawking hell I'd buy a new Yamaha during these times. That crack is completely unacceptable. I hope you get that fixed under warranty. Holy shit.

Whoops…

 

[mrcleanr6]

In a radius like that is where you are going to have flex. It does look deep but that is prob why it cracked. I think when thats grinded down for repair you are going to find that the gelcoat was applied too thick. Gel is hard and brittle it wont flex and if its too thick then it will crack. Now if they find that crack goes into the glass then they will need to reinforce that area a bit to make it stronger. Either way its not a big deal and these things happen

 

[marcham]

Most likely this is just gelcoat and the structure is not affected. Easy repair for a pro.

If you look hard enough, you'll find that any gelcoat boat has spider cracks somewhere.

Dealer will make it right, these minor issues are normal with new boat ownership.

 

[biffdotorg]

The best part about a simple gelcote fix, is you won't have to wait on any parts from Yamaha. The dealer should be authorized to allow a local repair shop do the gelcote work and it will look good as new. This is not as horrible as some are making it, as you can't see past the gelcote.

Not that I don't empathize with this situation, but this is one boat in thousands, so I wouldn't chalk up that horrible quality control yet.

 

[Toby]

I had spider cracking in my then 5 month old 242 Limited S in 2018. I had to approve the repair on my own dime, and if they could find an air void in the fiberglass, they would cover the repair. Thankfully they did, but i was definitely not happy it had to go that way on a brand new boat. Good thing it's an easy repair just like they said. Only you will ever know it was damaged once repaired.

 

[Mike Clark]

I guess I'm the guy who takes things a little too far sometimes, but me personally would be, you can have your boat back. Yamaha quality has been absolute shit the last 12-18 months and to have a $95,000 boat have a crack like this at 15 hours? What other parts of hull were not laid, cured or done correctly. That would be on my mind all the time.

All manufacturers have quality issues, but this unacceptable. I would want a new boat.

I was looking a new 252 SE in early spring, (January) local dealer had 2 of them, both color options. Almost pulled the trigger, but thought, man ,mines paid off, do I really want to have a payment again. So decided not to get it, to me it was a blessing in disguise as all the quality issues on the new boats. Mines a 2015, has not been back to dealer other than initial 10 hour service, do all my own maintenance since then, boat is super reliable, runs great, absolutely no issues.

I would be sick to my stomach to have traded it in, and then have issues with a new one.

Good luck on your repair or whatever route you chose.

 

[RobbieO]

I have about 12 hours on my boat and there are spider cracks at the stern tow bar. Dealer said Yamaha does not consider spider cracks a defect and will not authorize repairs for spider cracks. I have not towed anything yet. I will be addressing this with Yamaha as a safety issue. To be continued.

 

[mrcleanr6]

there are threads on here where people are complaining about how yamaha is cheaping out and putting piss thin gelcoat on the boats. thin is what you want. the thinner it is the more it will flex. you have areas like this in the op pics and it gets too thick and the cracks happen. all grp boats will flex. doesnt matter how expensive the boat is. the company i am a sub for builds boats up to about 10 million. those boats come back in 6 mos and they will have cracks that need fixing. its part of boat ownership and just the way it is. now how the boat company handles it is another situation. if the company is good and its clear there isnt some damage from hitting something etc, then the mfg should cover it without issue. if they piss and moan or deny to fix it then thats just piss poor business.

 

[David Martin]

Looks like a gel crack when they spray a vertical surface next to a horizonal surface it tends to get too thick. At lease its in an area you can check for structure stress..............pull the cup holder and check the back side of the glass for cracks.

 

[Jakob Grimm]

Had the same appear in my 275SE around the helm. Similar to this one…not deep but annoying. Dealer didn’t have a location big enough to fix it over last winter so decided to tackle it myself.