Bad Day On Water

[traderfjp]

Since you turned the engine off while it was still moving I wonder if there was enough water pressure flowing through the inlet that it was like being towed at speeds they tell you not to be towed at? As in like flushing without the engine on? Did you pull the plugs and make sure no water is in them or in the cylinders? How did the oil look?

I didn't have the tools to pull a plug but I was thinking the same thing but it was for maybe 1 minute and I wasn't going to fast. I'll find out soon if it was my dumb mistake.

 

[traderfjp]

If it starts when it gets to dealer, don’t let them give any BS. Have them get Yamaha involved right away. I went down this road for 3 years.

It's under warranty. What was your experience?

 

[Julian]

I didn't have the tools to pull a plug but I was thinking the same thing but it was for maybe 1 minute and I wasn't going to fast. I'll find out soon if it was my dumb mistake.

I would be very surprised if this is the case. The exhaust is big enough that it would take some time to reverse the flow and then refill it. I've always wanted to have a transparent exhaust to see just how long it takes to fill it.

 

[haknslash]

I agree it’s highly unlikely the cause...,but it’s the only scenario I could think of that might cause a hard start issue based on his order of events.

The good thing is that it’s an easy check to pull the plugs and check the dip stick. Just to mark those off the list of things to check.

good luck and let everyone know what you or the dealer finds out.

 

[haknslash]

This is why I always ride with an emergency paddle. It will at least allow you to slowly get the boat to shore or a dock and not just be at the mercy of Mother Nature. Once you get the boat safely to shore then you can worry about trying to get it back to the trailer.

 

[traderfjp]

This is why I always ride with an emergency paddle. It will at least allow you to slowly get the boat to shore or a dock and not just be at the mercy of Mother Nature. Once you get the boat safely to shore then you can worry about trying to get it back to the trailer.

Paddles are fine but I'd rather have the trolling motor. We had a good wind so I believe the paddle would have been useless.

 

[haknslash]

Paddles are fine but I'd rather have the trolling motor. We good wind so I believe the paddle would have been useless.

I'm not saying do one or the other. Why not use both? If you had wind you can still use the paddle to help steer. At least not be 100% at the mercy of whatever you're dealing with.

A telescoping or emergency paddle should be right up there with all the other coast guard and boat safety stuff you should be carrying IMHO. Better to have and not need than need and not have as they say....

 

[HangOutdoors]

I keep two telescoping paddles in the boat. Just in case.

 

[traderfjp]

The paddles are on my list. Thanks

 

[Ronnie]

I have paddles but haven’t used them, ever, thank goodness. I think that unless i am desperate I would reach for my phone to call tow boat u.s.

@traderfjp , I doubt you did any damage to your boat, the scuff mark will buff out and hopefully it’s something simple like a bad kill switch, dead battery, etc. if it ever happens again consider anchoring instead of drifting. Finally I’ve found it is easier and more efficient to jump in the water and swim-push or pull the boat than paddle it around.

 

[haknslash]

I have paddles but haven’t used them, ever, thank goodness. I think that unless i am desperate I would reach for my phone to call tow boat u.s.

@traderfjp , I doubt you did any damage to your boat, the scuff mark will buff out and hopefully it’s something simple like a bad kill switch, dead battery, etc. if it ever happens again consider anchoring instead of drifting. Finally I’ve found it is easier and more efficient to jump in the water and swim-push or pull the boat than paddle it around.

How would you find it easier and more efficient to jump in the water than paddle the boat if you’ve never used your paddle? Mechanical advantage would be with the paddle more so than your feet, especially if you’re fighting current, chop or wind. There’s no shame in paddling a boat. Well, no more than the tow of shame. The main point with a paddle is to get the boat to safety (dock, land, whatever) first and then you can call your buddies, friends, neighbors whatever ..... or tow boat US if you feel like burning a ton of money. It would be better than he middle of the lake broke down. The lakes I boat on are super busy during the weekend plus we have massive 30’+ cruisers and dropping anchor if we broke down in the channel or busy areas would put us in pretty dangerous conditions and I wouldn’t want to just sit there waiting for help to arrive. YMMV where you boat.

 

[adrianp89]

Some places I go, the current is so strong that a paddle or swimming it back would not work. Go ace Ventura and get a fan to act as aprop.

 

[Ronnie]

How would you find it easier and more efficient to jump in the water than paddle the boat if you’ve never used your paddle? Mechanical advantage would be with the paddle more so than your feet, especially if you’re fighting current, chop or wind. There’s no shame in paddling a boat. Well, no more than the tow of shame. The main point with a paddle is to get the boat to safety (dock, land, whatever) first and then you can call your buddies, friends, neighbors whatever ..... or tow boat US if you feel like burning a ton of money. It would be better than he middle of the lake broke down. The lakes I boat on are super busy during the weekend plus we have massive 30’+ cruisers and dropping anchor if we broke down in the channel or busy areas would put us in pretty dangerous conditions and I wouldn’t want to just sit there waiting for help to arrive. YMMV where you boat.

There is theory and there is practice. unfortunately I learned that that although the theory of paddling/rowing a run about is sound, in practice it doesn’t work or didn’t in my experience. My oars are not very long when extended so if I use them, more like one of them, it would have to be from the bow or swim deck not mid ship (over the windows). This requires physically moving from side to side (because of the shape of the 240s bow and width of the 240s bow and stern) if using a single oar To keep the boat going in a straight line. I suppose facing aft on the swim deck may eliminate the side to side movement if only one oar is being used but I dont think I will ever try it. This isn’t a problem if you have at least two people rowing.

to Clarify I have not used my oars on my current boat or the Yamaha I had before it, but on my maiden voyage of a seado jet boat I had someone on the dock ask me to pull his friend in a cruiser out of the weeds in sight of the boat ramp. That didn’t work out and I ended up drifting A few yards into the weeds myself With a clogged pump/intake grate. I tried to use the oars which got me exactly nowhere But I did notice this before expending a lot of energy to move weeds around. What did work was me jumping in the cold water (it was late October) with a vest of course and swimming / pushing the boat out of the weeds. My friend tried to paddle as we cleared the weeds but for the reasons stated above he wasn’t moving the boat much at all when he tried to switch from side to side in the bow. When he rowed from one side of the bow we covered more distance in a turn to the side he was not paddling on than we did going staight. So I grabbed the line attached to the bow eye to pull the boat further out of the weeds, where we anchored (to keep from drifting back into the weeds) while I manually cleared the intake grate. Shame of paddling or swimming the boat didn’t enter my mind, I was fully occupied with keeping my friend, self and boat safe which also helped distract me from how cold the water was knowing that I didn’t bring a towel with on what was supposed to be a 30 minute session on the water.

the current wasn’t strong that day and traffic was light as we were in or close to a marina not in the shipping lane from SF to Sacramento but none of this really mattered, my goal was to get out of the weeds Not back to the marina, boat ramp, shore or into a no wake zone. If My boat is broken to the point I can’t fix it on the water I would not be trying to move it by oar or pushing and / or pulling it via swimming against the current or wind, just get it to shore or a dock if there is one close by If it is taking on water. If the boat isn’t taking on water Id just throw the anchor preferably in a no wake zone While i figured out what to do next.

Your statement about spending a ton of money by calling tow boat us is only correct if you need services other than towing assuming you have a tow boat us subscription. That is, your statement is totally incorrect for just towing services. if they have to pump water out of the boat you need to purchase such excluded salvage services. I have only used tow boat’s roadside services but per my annual subscription tow boat us will tow my boat x number of miles from my location at no additional cost to me other than the yearly subscription fee I already paid.

I interpret your statement to mean that you either don’t have a tow boat us subscription or you have never had to use it. I have called them on the water once (one of two impellers threw a blade 30 miles from the boat ramp, the were very clear with what they were willing to do at no additional cost and what would trigger incremental costs) the two reasons I did not have them tow me back to the boat ramp: 1. Cost, it was going to cost me $x for every mile over the distance covered by my subscription with them. 2. Time, their tow boat was at least 20 miles out and it would have taken them Some time to get to me and many hours to tow me back to the boat ramp. We would not have gotten there until well after dark On a Sunday.

there is A lot of information about salvaging a vessels and the ramifications thereof. Tow boat u.s. usually does a write up every year or so. I think it’s important for all boaters/boat owners to know the distinctions so they don’t unexpectedly find themselves in a situation where the salvor has a lien on the title of their boat.

i will close by stating thank you for your reply, you and I have tangled before as you seem to like to instigate arguments but this time I’m reminded when given the choice between someone who has been there and done that and someone with theoretical knowledge I am going to go with and recommend that anybody in a similar situation go with the former not the latter. This also reminds me of the often accurate statement, “Those who know do, those who don’t teach.”

 

[Chickenfoot]

best of luck

 

[haknslash]

@Ronnie Im not sure where you’re going with this. I’m not trying to tangle or instigate anything with you or anyone else on here. I help people on here daily when I can and I think my post history speaks for itself. Maybe you know something I don’t about myself though lol. I have no idea where you’re trying to take this personally but I’m just going to say I think you’re mistaken.

You’re assuming as if I’ve never had to row a boat that has broken down. I grew up on a lake and we’ve broken down several times in my childhood and teenage years lol. Long before “tow services” was ever a thing. Breaking down was all part of boating for us lol. I guess don’t take what I say so personally man or assume as much idk ?‍ . You had said you never tried a paddle and then a sentence or two later say doing it by foot was more efficient. So that’s what I had to go by. FWIW since you asked my insurance includes full towing reimbursement. It is not locked in with towboatUS or anyone else. We boat on a large lake and sometimes towboat US can be scattered on one side of the lake or whatever issue they may already be responding to somewhere else so I’m not going to sit around and wait on them if I happen to break down in the middle of a busy part of the lake. More often than not once the paddles come out someone would come by and offer assistance on my lake likely before towboatUS would even arrive. Last year I had my rear lockers open inspecting my ballast bags while pulled off to the side of the channel and within minutes I had several boats coming by asking if we needed assistance or a tow. I say this to say I don’t rely on them before taking action. YMMV on what you or someone else may choose to do. I can only speak for myself that I would not wait around, at least not where I boat.

Look, I’ll just say do as you wish with however you want. It is your boat after all and your time and money on the water not mine. If you think there is some motive behind my posts with you I don’t know what to say other than I guess put me in your ignore list or whatever makes you feel like you don’t want to interact with me and I’ll just keep my opinions to myself in regards to anything you post on here so that you don’t feel somehow like I’m trying to tangle or whatever with you. Personally I think you’re reading into this more way than I am but you’re welcome to feel as you wish. Wasn’t my intention, just offering my opinion I think paddles are a good thing to have on a boat.

 

[traderfjp]

I got my boat back today. Yamaha left a large cable dangling which was keeping the throttle from closing. It was an easy fix with two zip ties to get the cable out of the way. I thought the throttle felt a little funny and was sticking but wasn't sure. I'm really glad he found it.

 

[MajorBummer210]

I got my boat back today. When I bought it in the the owner said that his shop was 3 weeks behind. He is having trouble finding workers. I hear a lot of that Anyway, he personally looked at my boat. I bought the 195s in on Friday and got it back on Tuesday. I tipped the owner so he could get lunch for everyone. He first raised eyebrows on my two battery setup and asked what was wired off the 2nd battery - my 2nd bilge. After further investigation he found a loose cable that Yamaha uses to run a lot of wires throughout the boat. This cable was just hanging in the wind. I thought the throttle felt strange and even stuck a few times on my first voyage. I made a comment about that to the wife but then it felt ok. The cable got tied up with the mechanics of the throttle. This was causing the throttle to stay open and boat will not start. Next, the owner zip tied the cable back in place and it was fixed. I was very grateful and the repair was under warranty. Yamaha was very interested in what happened and it opened their eyes to QC. I think they were talking about a memo or something so other techs are privy to my problem. I still want a trolling motor for backup.

Glad to hear it was an easy fix.