Almost sunk my boat... Happy to be here :-)

[96Pirate]

Ed @cwoav8r

Not quite sure how I missed this thread back in June but I thank you greatly for sharing. And a post is never too long when it comes to safety.

I am glad everyone was safe. As someone with 2 younger kids I would never want them to face that scenario, but if we did, I would want to make sure I was fully prepared to handle it. Having this board and the fine people on this board sharing their knowledge and experiences helps immensely with that. In a lot of ways there is no greater resource.

I will be taking your message to heart and will absolutely be checking the things you mentioned in this thread. I already have the stainless scupper valve but just need the time to replace. But between this thread and @geiger41 post, I will definitely be taking a closer look at the clamps and of course as you mentioned, the functionality of the bilge.

Thank you again!

 

[MikeyL]

Long read... sorry... but if it can save one boat, or even a life, it's worth the read.

Take what you can from my experience, as embarrassed as I am to have to share it…

Sorry again for the novel length post… Happy to be back, Ed

Hey Ed: I know, like so many others, ............... "How did I miss this back in June ???"
But I read it now ........... And WOW ! Ya know what they say ......... PICTURE is worth a 1000 words. And you gave us plenty to think about and be concerned about, as we all learn more about our beloved boats.
Thanks for a really great and IMPORTANT write up ! Best Wishes for a "dry" boating summer 2014. Mikey Lulejian - Lake Oconee, GA

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

One of my pet peeves is hose clamps rusting. Can't say how many times I posted about that on the old obsolete site.
I always suggest backing them up with heavy cable tie clamps or double clamp the exhaust hoses. I also spray everything with white lithium grease as it coats the clamps etc.
The reason the engines quit was probably due to the exhaust fumes being ingested into the engines , that happens pretty quickly.
Glad you were able to get back ok .
Another point of interest is the limp mode.
If you ever go in limp mode do not assume it is ok to keep running the engine without finding the problem and fixing it.
These boats get rusted oil filters quite often and if you loose all your oil from a leaking oil filter limp mode won't do you any good. Nor will running the engine with a blocked cooling system in limp mode keep you from cracking a head or blowing a head gasket .

 

[Sjetter]

Wow.....nice going on the save, glad to hear the outcome! Nice troubleshooting. I am new to the jetboat scene, just a couple of weeks now. I have been reading as much as possible to learn the boat. It's probably very obvious, but can someone please give me some info on the scupper? Much appreciated in advance.

 

[Bruce]

Wow.....nice going on the save, glad to hear the outcome! Nice troubleshooting. I am new to the jetboat scene, just a couple of weeks now. I have been reading as much as possible to learn the boat. It's probably very obvious, but can someone please give me some info on the scupper? Much appreciated in advance.

Our boats are self bailing. Water that enters the passenger area of the boat runs to the back of the boat where it goes into a drain and then out through the scupper valve. Most Yamahas have a scupper valve that exits below the water line. The newest Yamahas have the scupper valve placed above the water line.

The factory scupper valves are constructed from plastic. They have a tendency to crack, possibly from over tightening at the factory. If the valve breaks it opens a 1.5" hole in your boat below the water line which could be catastrophic. Most Yamahas with the scupper valve below the water line will need to replace it. It is difficult to access so most of us choose to use stainless versions so that we will not need to replace it again.

This is the story of changing mine Replacing Yamaha SX230 Scupper Valve

 

[latitudeadjuster]

Great story...seems JB nightmares hit you in one sitting.....glad it turned out ok. Did you ever figure out that screw you found? It looks like one of the four on top of the air cleaner lid....two on each engine? Maybe one fell down one time and mechanic or someone lost it and just installed another?

 

[cwoav8r]

Great story...seems JB nightmares hit you in one sitting.....glad it turned out ok. Did you ever figure out that screw you found? It looks like one of the four on top of the air cleaner lid....two on each engine? Maybe one fell down one time and mechanic or someone lost it and just installed another?

It was an intake screw... must have been dropped during one of my dealer service visits.

 

[Yamborghini]

@captainhook this is the story I was referencing.

 

[captainhook]

@captainhook this is the story I was referencing.

I did see this story, thanks. This is what really pushed me to replace my scupper (other than the leaking water, obviously ). I also thoroughly inspected every hose clamp I could find as well and they looked perfect. This is a big sticking point for me coming from SeaDoo where exhaust hoses need to be inspected frequently as well.

 

[Unreal Yammi]

Thanks for sharing! Glad all was ok in the end! I too found a rusted broken exhaust hose clamp in the bottom of the clean out tray area whilst I was replacing my steering and reverse gate cables last weekend!
I did not realize the seriousness of that issue. I replaced it with one from a hardware store but will now replace all of them with stainless!!!

**Edited** Our boat has never been in saltwater , for anyone thinking saltwater is the only way that will happen..

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Back them up with nylon cable ties.

 

[tdonoughue]

Now, THAT is an idea, @Cobra Jet Steering LLC . Thanks for that. Ought to be in the FAQ.

 

[Addicted]

When I do my deep cleaning I coat everything in my engine compartment with silicone spray, making sure to coat all hose clamps. I also pop the inspection cover under the cleanout tray and spray all of the metal parts I can see, including the hose clamps. This simply buys some time, but it helps. The advice from @Cobra Jet Steering LLC is a great backup. Redundancy is key. This is also a great reminder of how important it is to a add second bilge pump and water alarm.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Try white lithium grease in place of silicon it works a lot better and it is very inexpensive