Brand new Hull with bubbles, paint problem ???

[Heisenburg]

Here are pictures of mine 2022 Yamaha 212XD
Only had the boat for 3 months

 

[YamPat]

I want it fixed too

when i pressed hard some of the bubbles seems to move and got a bit of water on my finger

i am anxious to have the "Yamaha answer" not a technician answer.

 

[Heisenburg]

I want it fixed too

when i pressed hard some of the bubbles seems to move and got a bit of water on my finger

i am anxious to have the "Yamaha answer" not a technician answer.

They better do something or they will have a class action lawsuit on there hands

 

[Heisenburg]

Well, just heard back from the dealer:

I brought your boat in this morning and my body technician looked at the hull to make a repair estimate.
He says that what you are seeing are not bubbles in the gelcoat and they are not air voids in the fiberglass.
What we are seeing are very small defects in the mold that were not sanded out before the gelcoat was applied.
After they applied the gelcoat and when the boat was new you wouldn’t have seen that on the surface but after the boat goes into the water and stays in the water for a while and the fiberglass shrinks from the cold water then expands again when it gets hot these little defects come up.
There is no danger of bubbles popping or water getting under the gelcoat from this.
The gelcoat is hard all along these areas, it is not soft. He showed me in a couple of spots where he pushed in with a key and the surface did not deform or push in.
In his words “the surface is not perfect but none of the boats out there are perfect. Even the really expensive boats, if you look hard enough you can find defects.”

In conclusion it is not worth it to try to repair all of this for two reasons; 1 you will not gain anything with regards to the strength or quality of the boat. 2 it will be impossible to match gelcoat so you will always be able to see the repaired spots

Just a FYI I spoke to Yamaha rep in Canada and they confirmed that it's not a factory mold issue it as something to do with the chemical bond and humidity

 

[YamPat]

Just a FYI I spoke to Yamaha rep in Canada and they confirmed that it's not a factory mold issue it as something to do with the chemical bond and humidity

Do you mean a componant in the gelcoat ?

 

[Heisenburg]

Do you mean a componant in the gelcoat ?

I do not know this is what I was told to me by the Yamaha rep that they are looking into why this as happened and they are in talks with the supplier they use

 

[Heisenburg]

I do not know this is what I was told to me by the Yamaha rep that they are looking into why this as happened and they are in talks with the supplier they use

I was also told by the dealer that the entire hull would have to be re done not just the effected areas as the problem will continue to happen

 

[YamPat]

At least it looks that when they'll know how to resolve this they will resolve it for good.

i just guess we will lost the Boat for a while...

 

[Bluewater272]

This defect could affect resale value so it's best to get them to repair it.

Yes. 0% chance I would buy a boat with a hull that looks like some of these photos.

I was also told by the dealer that the entire hull would have to be re done not just the effected areas as the problem will continue to happen

"Suppose ya'll ought to get to it then, eh?"

 

[kbell413]

Dealer just called me back. They said that when they reached out to yamaha they were referred to the yamaha warranty which specifically states that blisters in the gelcoat are not covered. Seems completely ridiculous that blisters below waterline on a boat I took delivery of 6 months ago wouldn't be covered but that's what I'm told. My dealer gave me a phone # for yamaha customer support and told me I need to call them myself at this point and go from there. They have been through 3 levels of their representation with Yamaha and can't go anywhere else with it.

That phone # is 866-894-1626 if any of you other guys with this issue get told the same.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Time to lawyer up!

This is a blatant manufacturing defect to which the warranty has no say that its not covered.

 

[kbell413]

So after I continued emailing with the dealer a bit afterwards. They themselves have called the problem, "osmotic blistering". If you do some research as I've been doing you'll find that while it's not necessarily uncommon, it's certainly a problem. I told the dealer that if Yamaha doesn't think this is a problem then I guess I can just run the boat the way it is. If the gel coat fails, which I'm sure it will eventually, it'll cause the hull to fail sooner or later. Yamaha has a lifetime guarantee on the hull and since they're denying this is an issue I guess I'll just take them up on that part of the warranty. About 2 hours after that email, Yamaha corporate responded to the dealer asking for more photos and for me to fill out a form on the boat. To be continued...

 

[Yammi]

My dealer contacted Yamaha after I persisted. Yamaha wants a repair estimate and detailed pictures. Can’t wait to see what Yamaha says.

 

[the MfM]

Time to lawyer up!

This is a blatant manufacturing defect to which the warranty has no say that its not covered.

let’s bring in our resident when to call a lawyer expert @swatski first

 

[the MfM]

What a mess! Good luck to anyone with this problem.

 

[Heisenburg]

Any updates from anyone from Yamaha or the dealer?

 

[YamPat]

No, still waiting

 

[Yammi]

Still waiting

 

[kbell413]

Haven't heard anything since submitting the form and photos to mother Yamaha...

 

[jackoj]

Haven't heard anything since submitting the form and photos to mother Yamaha...

It's been about 7 weeks for me, called the Yamaha consumer service line today and they see the active claim but has no time line for a resolution.

What really gets me is being in limbo. I'm an action guy. If it get's denied, fine, I'll move on to my next step and lawyering up and see if manufacturing defect trumps warranty exclusions.