Be carefull with the NANO hulls

[Bwoody69]

Interesting I just had the same hole on one of my skies View attachment 133566, 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 .

Did you hit something to cause the damage?

 

[Betik]

Here a couple of the pictures of our 2015 v1 with 100 hours and some serious abuse....

 

[Bwoody69]

I suppose it could have been damaged prior to me purchasing it. Was it dropped at the dealer? I have no idea. While I looked it over, including the underside, I saw no paint scratches or dings on the underside. It was a "demo unit" with 3.5 hours on it but sold as new with the warranty. I did discover some white touch up paint on the top side right rear, but it has no connection to the underside. It looked brand new from the dealer.

It has not been trailered more than probably 25 miles and not been over 50 mph on the trailer since I have had it. Dealer to the lake house, in and out of the water once, and back to the dealer, which is within 10 miles of the house.

It is fully insured but I have been hoping Yamaha would take care of the problem since it is brand new and I, to my knowledge, never hit anything. I guess my next step is to contact insurance.

My wife's brother is a marine mechanic. He's heard of a story of a boat hull being repaired, the people got it back, and eventually at some point the hull failed again in the water, leading to severe injuries to those on board. So thus hulls can't be fixed.

At the end of the day I will take a loss on it and probably never buy another boat or PWC again. Cheers, and thanks for your response!

Unfortunately most insurance policies only cover collision so they deem it “wear and tear” unless you can tell them it happened from a collision

 

[Betik]

@RMC1 being a demo ski, I have a suspicion on what has happened and willing to put money on it.

Whoever took that ski out for test riding, hit something soft&smooth but with a high density. The dealer would have not noticed because they would have been no scratch. The rider itself might still think that he/she caused no damage because upon visual inspection no damage would have been evident. The dealer sold it to you as a new unit because they rightfully thought there is nothing wrong with it ( unless off course the rider told them of the impact and they went to extensive measures to check the hull integrity).
you took the ski thinking that everything was good as this was a new ski. As you were using the ski during the summer, your usage ( not necessarily rough usage) during the summer made the damage visible. I am very familiar with this chain of event both from my boat and friends boat. During our 2017 crossing to Bimini our boat had damage, but some of it was not visible. We come back to Florida and no visible damage was seen. When we boated back to Texas ( and PA for my friend) we noticed the damage the next day. The vibrations from the towing had exhasstrubated the damage.
My boat still bears the 2017 ( as the damage is above the water line and I was not too worried about making a perfect repair) and my friends boat had to go to the show for months. How her boat looks awesome but that is different story.

Although, a speculation, I am fairly positive that is what happened to your ski. The "diffusion" pattern on your damage is what you would see from high speed impact.

As per your existing situation, I think you are in bit of pickle situation. You cannot proof that you did not cause the damage and I will be shocked if Yamaha will take this as manufacture defect. The dealer is not likely to take the ski back or admit to any wrong doing, because at the end of the day it is your word against all the people who try to work the system. If you do not want to pay our of pocket, you best bet is the insurance. The fact a bunch of people on public forum are saying that the Yamaha hull suck, cannot stand in court. That is just BS with them trying to get off the claim.

I personally use insurance only in catastrophic events( ie all my vehicles carry only liability including a 2019 CRV) because every time you file a claim the insurance alogarythm adjust your risk of future claim. Which in turn makes your premium go higher for your vessel and likely for all other things you have insured. There are different opinions how insurance should be used, but in limited knowledge of risk that is how things tent to work. At the very least, now the season is over you can take it to shop to give you an estimate. Then you can decide to go through insurance or take a loss of whatever.


In regard to your wife's claim, I believe it is probably exaggerated, but justified. I will explain why. In my book, that ski can be repaired. Not necessary by replacing the hull, but with an actual repair. The work needed to replace the hull it will not be worth it. Statistically speaking if a professional does the repair, it should be be good for the 99% of the people ( including your family I would say). If you take the kids to a lake and tube etc, the change of your family loosing its life because of that damage is like being strike by lightening. At the end the day if the ski sinks, y'all should have lifejackets one and will be picked up by the next boat that will drive by. Just a bad day at the lake.
So why I think your wife is justified. Well because she needs to be comfortable. If she is the overprotective type and she wants fun, she will not one able to relax if she keeps thinking that there was damage on the ski's hull. You might never have an issue with the repair (which I believe will be the case), but she needs to be able to be care free.

As per your last comment on taking a loss on it, I think your are just frustrated. These thinks are too fun much to pass on them because fate played a cruel joke on you. That ski can be repaired and there is no reason get rid of it. If you want a peace of mind and not worry about it, put for sale here as is and make sure you ping me because I bet it will sale quickly

 

[Betik]

Unfortunately most insurance policies only cover collision so they deem it “wear and tear” unless you can tell them it happened from a collision

There is no way that is wear and tear. It is not like shine went away and that it is just a cosmetic issue.

 

[Ronnie]

I don’t think you would take a loss on that ski unless you sold it “as is” unrepaired. Fx models from 2003 are selling used for $6k, thousands over their current NADA value. The alternative being buy a new lower model waverunner for thousands more , if you can find one. IMHO Covid 19 has driven up demand for all recreational vehicles not just motor homes. Your insurance company will determine what caused the damage when they assess it. If they say it’s impact related (even if you didn’t see it) why argue with them, just take the check and get it repaired. Note of the ski is financed the check will be made out to the shop you got the estimate from. If you own the ski outright the check will be made out to you and the co-owner, if any.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I have had numerous nano hulls and never had one that did not fail never. So I learned how to fix it and just do the repair when needed, I just deal with it. Now I need 2 more new yamaha skies with the 1800 non supercharged engines so I can run another 800 plus hours on them. Aside for the timing chain issue I had in 2016. The engines never gave me a problem even the one that hatched the chain ran perfect until the chain broke, no warning or issues up to the second it hatched and the replacement engine never had a single problem, only work on it was normal maintenance, plugs and oil changes and that's all I even have the original jet pumps with the original bearings And original impellers but I do change to the plastic liners although I do a mod on the pump bearings that helps them last a long time. I built indestructible rear hatch clasps did the handgrips , the original ones kill your hands. Had one reverse cable fail so I replaced it. Had to redo the seat covers , but 800 plus hours and they run great. Repairing epoxy hulls is a bit tricky but once you know how it's not that difficult. I just did my red ski and it cost me 50 dollars for all the materials including the color to add to the epoxy. I even made a special attachment for a wet vac to suck all the water out of the damaged area before I fix it.

 

[Beachbummer]

@Cobra Jet Steering LLC Who did you buy those liners from? I'm looking online at options and several reviews talk about poorly machined parts and non-fitting sleeves. It sounds like you have had great experience with your purchase, I'd be grateful to know which ones you got that are known to work well.
Thanks!

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I get the new housing and the replaceable liners from S B T in Clearwater Florida just down the road a few miles from me. once you change the liner section you can replace the liners and never need to buy another complete housing but I put hundreds of hours on my liners with no issues. But I always drive slow and careful

 

[satty]

Nano hulls are failing all over the place. I have had Yamahas for 30+ years and used them on hdryoport drive on lifts. The Nano hull litterally can't hold up where there is not reinforcement from the fuel cell. You can see on my 2018 VX that they hull has completely failed in the area where there is no support behind the plastic/glass they call Nano. Yamaha has an issue with these hulls. Has anyone been successful workting with the manufacturer on repairs or replacements? I called and they sent me to local dealer whe basically says "the don't work on the hull". Please help if you have any suggestions. I love Yamaha but this may be my last -

 

[jocolo21]

they break, racers on the Aqua X circuit buy new /used from the guy that makes the dolphin looking things lol, dont know the name.

, seabreacher. My graphic kit survive the seasons the nano hulls usually dont.