Be carefull with the NANO hulls

[Ronnie]

I think a keel guard would prevent this from happening or at least slow down the wear. I recently put them on both of my first and second generation Yamaha FXs (neither has a NANO hull) but I beach these waverunners all the time or plan to in the case of a new to me 2004 FX. I think the recommmend length is 5’ (they are 5” to 6” wide) and the cost is about $120.

At my age and with the dislike I have for fiberglass repair I’d rather spend the money and time (less than an hour) on a keel guard than materials to repair the damage myself. Incidentally, keel guard’s have a life time warranty and their customer service is great. One of the keel guards I recently installed I got at no cost on a warranty claim because the keel guard it replaced started to come loose. They had me send in pics and mailed me a new one within a week. I didn’t even have to pay for shipping.

 

[bronze_10]

I know there is a rational reason why its not done but why not install a small bilge pump to help when water gets in. . Wouldn't have to be a large one. I had a 2012 vx that I was thinking about doing that to but was waaaay too lazy to mod. I decided I would just go buy a boat that has one and I would not need to ever mod anything...

 

[Beachbummer]

Small? Why not install 2 large ones?

Cost and space are factors, but the smaller the boat, the faster it fills up with a similar sized hole.

More pump and an alarm and float may give you the extra time you need to realize the issue before it's a problem.

This is money well spent.

 

[Neutron]

My 15 FZS has an automatic bilge pump as well as the dumb siphon tube.

I installed a keelguard on it when it was new so no worries there. It wasnt easy cause of the crazy shape of the chines. I used a heat gun to keep it nice and pliable as i worked it down. It came out great. I also sealed the whole perimeter with black 5200

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

All my skies have bilge pumps from the factory and siphon pumps also that operate off the jet pump as most skies have.

 

[Willm]

I am on my 4th N A N O hull and so far every single one has developed leaks in the front possibly from beaching , although I have 2 nice anchors and I usually anchor my skies away from the shore I do bring them up close to the beach when add fuel.
I never let my tanks get to 1/2 since I just may want to go for a very long ride on a whim and I hate worrying about fuel. So I add fuel several times a day.
Last week I was riding my white 2014 FX HO cruiser with 300 hours on it.
I alternate them to keep the hours as close to even as possible. I was 5 miles from my launching point and I felt like I had weeds in the pump so I did my reverse move but nothing came out from under the ski like it usually does.
So I found a sand bar and felt up under the intake grate but nothing was stuck in there.
I decided to go slow since the hood was vibrating pretty badly at speed.
Then I noticed the water coming up over the hood and it dawned on me that I was taking on water. I know DOOH!
On these skies if the water gets high enough it gets into the dampener behind the engine and causes all sorts of vibration. I looked inside the ski and confirmed my suspicion.
I now had 5 miles to get back to my trailer, so I drove it back , in hind sight I should have pulled the 2 drain plugs and kept the ski going fast, this would allow the water to escape , I just did not think of that at the time, fortunately I managed to get back with no water ingestion, but it sure drained for a long time when I put it on the trailer.
I noticed the front of the hull had worn through in the curve of the bow " the usual place" .
So a word to the wise keep an eye on this and remember the ski will not sink even if you put it in the water all day with the plugs out so if you are taking on water you can pull the drain plugs and go fast to keep the volume of water low in the hull, mine was about half way up the engine but it never missed a lick. Also keep in mind that if you feel the hood vibrating violently at speed check for water in the hull "lots of it!"
I did thoroughly rinse everything and re apply white lithium grease to the engine and clamps and repaired the hull as I always do and I beef it up for better results.

Interesting. I’ve owned 7 NANO hulls. 4 of them Nano1, 3 of them are Nano2... I also know over 40 people in PWC club and not ONE person has had any leaks. And these idiots Beach the hell out of their skis...

The only issue I’ve seen (and it is extremely rare) are the 2017+ VXR SVHO (gp1800) cracking around the pump tunnel. All Yamaha did was drop the SVHO into the VXR hull made with nano2 and they didn’t upgrade anything supporting the engine or pump...
Most of them with this issue are highly modified.

If you’re having issues with the nano hulls, either you’re doing something stupid, or your a Sea•Dud fanboy on here bullshitting...

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Wow how enlightening young man.

 

[Bwoody69]

I have a 2015 VX Cruiser 83hrs with 2 huge holes in the bottom, this has never been beacheas there are no beaches on our lake. It is kept on a lift in summer and trailer in winter.
Insurance won’t cover it because they say it’s a Manufacturing Defect
They actually quoted this forum as a reason not to cover it
The rep said the damage is called “blistering”

The rep says a small crack must have formed then water and air get under the surface and continue to creat a larger and larger hole.

 

[Scottintexas]

I have a 2015 VX Cruiser 83hrs with 2 huge holes in the bottom, this has never been beacheas there are no beaches on our lake. It is kept on a lift in summer and trailer in winter.
Insurance won’t cover it because they say it’s a Manufacturing Defect
They actually quoted this forum as a reason not to cover it
The rep said the damage is called “blistering”

The rep says a small crack must have formed then water and air get under the surface and continue to creat a larger and larger hole.

That stinks!

where are you at? where do you boat at?

how long ago did you notice the problem and did it take to get to this point?

Are you the only driver of the ski or do other friends/family use it ?

Can you post a picture of the hull area in general so we get a better idea of the ski,

.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I have had 5 brand new Yamaha p w c's and every one has had a failure in the same spot, in my opinion the hull is too thin there and the foam is too soft, now when I repair these hulls I use a very hard foam under the epoxies and it has not failed since I started doing this, otherwise I had to fix the hulls about once a year . I just accept it and move on.

 

[Bwoody69]

We live in Ky and boat on Herrington lake. I only noticed the damage 3 weeks ago but the ski had started getting hard to get off of the lift 2 years ago so I think the damage started a while back. In my opinion I would say there are thousands of units out there with this issue but most people don’t inspect the bottom of the hull. We only discovered it when the unit was rolled.

yes, my wife and extended family do take it out on occasion but this is a 5 year old unit
with only 83 hours on it so it doesn’t get a lot of use

I would definitely not have bought this unit had I known Yamaha hulls are so weak. This seams to me like a major manufacturing flaw.

I understand that if you have a lot of body shop experience you can fix these yourself but that is not a real option for the majority of people

 

[Bwoody69]

I have had 5 brand new Yamaha p w c's and every one has had a failure in the same spot, in my opinion the hull is too thin there and the foam is too soft, now when I repair these hulls I use a very hard foam under the epoxies and it has not failed since I started doing this, otherwise I had to fix the hulls about once a year . I just accept it and move on.

Do you have any pictures of the damage like this to yours?

 

[Ronnie]

If it were mine and uninsured, I would try to get it repaired. If it’s insured I’d put in a claim and see what they say, they might total it and pay me out and / or offer to sell it back to me dirt cheap.

 

[Betik]

@RMC1 I have no reason to doubt you, but it looks like a high speed impact. Almost like skidding over white whale on lake Powell at the perfect angle.

 

[Betik]

@Bwoody69 blistering is a real thing. Any manufacturer will have some defective units.
We have a 2015v1 ( which is the bottom of the line). I will try to post some pictures tomorrow, but we beach it, we ran over the trailer, hit ground as well as rocks multiple times. So far and after 100 hours no knows issues.

 

[Betik]

So I found a couple of pictures for our last trip. The wave coming at it is half or 1/3 of it typically gets pounded when beached. A couple of times actually we have worried that it might tip over

 

[mrcleanr6]

Thats impact damage without a doubt. It can be fixed and can be made an extremely strong repair. You need to find someone that is good and knows what they are doing with nano though. Nano is smc, not traditional fiberglass

 

[Ronnie]

@RMC1 is it possible that the ski was damaged before you took possession of it or the damage resulted from a rough ride while being trailered? It looks like damage that would be caused if was dropped or took a bad hop while it was being trailered. I think it can be repaired to the point you would not know it was ever damaged by looking at it but such a repair will be expensive and time consuming. I say this because I put a hole in my boat’s (Non Nano) hull About the size of a nickel that cost about $3,500 to repair in all the Damaged area was sanded for over 24 hours to make Blend with the surrounding area (at least that what the shop listed on the invoice). I just paid the deductible and my insurer covered the rest.

Yamaha has already stated it’s a mechanical failure but did they say the repairS are covered or not under warranty? Whether a warranty applies or not, I would expect you to have insurance on such a new ski, if you do why not just make the claim? I wouldn’t lie to my insurer, just tell them you don’t know how it happened because you don’t. You might want to leave out that Yamaha thinks it’s a mechanical failure As well as your wife’s opinion that it cannot be properly repaired. Let your insurer determine if they will cover the repair costs and don’t argue with them about What caused the damage if they do approve your claim.

Just curious but what is your wife’s basis for making such a statement? It goes to credibility, if she Is an insurance adjuster, works in a body shop or has had prior first hand experience with something like this I would put a lot of weight behind her assessment otherwise her opinion is not any different from anyone else that has not experienced such damage. In any case I hope you get your waverunner repaired and back on the water soon, primarily at yamaha’s or your insurers cost. I would upgrade from my 2006 fx ho to a new model of the same if I could afford it but the last time I checked that ski is over to $15k out the door.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Interesting I just had the same hole on one of my skies , spent a day repairing it with the correct 2 part ,3 to 1 epoxy and correct sewn fiberglass material. I used some really HARD foam from net floats , cut it and placed it in the hole first then shaped it , not sure what this foam's correct name is but it is super hard. I also did the original repair up in the front of the hull again since I was already covered in fiberglass dust and I reinforced that location also and I had the material out and the hull suspended in the air .

 

[Bwoody69]

Interesting posts. I am new to the lake life. I just purchased a new 2019 Yamaha FX Cruiser HO in May 2020. With 28.5 hours on it I had a hull failure. Nothing was hit - not a mechanical failure from a wreck or anything like that. The first sign was it felt like weeds had been sucked up - operating slow and the back in was low in the water (taking on water). We got it to the ramp and on the trailer before finding the crack. Yamaha is now saying it looks like a mechanical fracture - no signs of delamination. My wife tells me fixing the hull is not an option as it will eventually crack again and is a severe safety risk to those who ride it, including my kids. What are you experiences with repairs/failures? Can the entire hull simply be replaced? Pics attached. I'm interested in input from anyone with these experiences.

The holes in mine were definitely due to Yamaha having a bad design. Whatever they use to fill the voids with (if anything) is insufficient so there is a patch over the holes with basically no backing underneath it (a hollow void with a thin patch). It doesn’t take much to damage the factory patch.

Yamaha will not stand behind the product, and in my experience they are terrible to deal with. The insurance company will blame it on a manufacturing defect and Yamaha will say it should be covered by insurance. I asked my dealer to obtain a letter from Yamaha stating their position but they would not provide that. My insurance company, Progressive, used this forum and others as the reason to deny my claim since there are many posts about this defect. There really needs to be a class action lawsuit on this.
I did pay to have mine repaired and they filled the voids in completely with fiberglass resin. They did an excellent job on the repair and I am not worried at all about future damage, the cost was $1800.