Leak persists

[Britboater]

To many of these boats are becoming bad from the factory, to buy a new boat then have to fix leaks is just not acceptable, really, what’s going wrong with Yamaha .

 

[GoVols01]

For perspective, my 2014 Regal 1900 (arguably a premium brand) had several issues when it was new as well.

• I had spider cracks develop in the gelcoat, which were taken care of under warranty, but was very frustrating.
• The Faria depth sounder kept screwing up and needed replacing at one point.
• The Faria speedometer kept screwing up and kept going back for service.
• The Faria trim gauge got a bunch of moisture in it and needed to be replaced.

The biggest issue was that after a season, I noticed my boat was sitting lower than usual in the water - mostly in the bow. It was cornering weird and taking a lot more aggressive trim to ride on plane properly. One day, I opened my ski locker to find a couple of inches of standing water in the bottom that wouldn't drain to the lower hull through the drain. I jacked the bow up as high as it would go on the trailer, but couldn't get any water to drain from the stern plug and the rear bilge area was clear of all water. Finally, I shop vacuumed probably 20 gallons of water out from the lower hull through the drain in the bottom of the ski locker. Again, the boat went back to the dealer. Mechanic called Regal's plant and a factory representative immediately knew what the issue was. During manufacturing, the drain leading from the front of the lower hull through the bulkhead to the rear of the hull was fiberglassed-over (sealed). Therefore, all the water that went down into the hull from the deck drains (by design) couldn't get to the bilge pump, so it just stayed there. The dealer had to literally cut a big hole in the bottom of the ski locker, locate the drain and drill it out so. Regal initially wanted to put a crapy plastic cover over the gaping hole in the bottom of the ski locker, but I insisted they return it to factory specification, which cost them more money to repair.

That boat was beautiful, but was a PITA with warranty work. I wasted more gas driving that thing 2.5 hours round trip to the dealer for warranty stuff. When we got rid of it, the trim gauge wasn't reading properly again and the stupid depth sounder was malfunctioning again. Thankfully, everything worked fine when the dealer test drove it before they took it in on trade. LOL!

Every time I buy something, I count on there being something wrong with it. Only when there's nothing wrong with it, am I surprised.

 

[druppert]

One thing I try to keep in perspective is that nearly all boats are largely hand built by less than master craftsmen. I had consulting engagements with a well known & highly regarded v-drive boatmaker based in Orlando as well as arguably the most iconic & premium brand in the industry based in Sarasota. Both of these companies still battle to find quality workers and have a significant number of warranty claims every year.

What kills me about Yamaha isn’t that the production quality is spotty but rather how they boast about “one brand, one warranty” and then dodge responsibility when it comes to manufacturing defects like @swatski dealt with. This site is riddled with cases where Yamaha bailed out on customer service, which is far more problematic than having QC issues.

 

[Jgorm]

It's pretty safe to assume every single boat will have some issues. They're boats! I've never had a boat where everything always worked perfectly.

 

[Coheeba]

**Issue Update**
Dropped the boat off at my dealer for 1.5 weeks to get this leak issue resolved. To diagnose it, the mechanic filled the hull with water while it was sitting on the trailer and looked for leaks.

1. The rub rail along the swim platform in the rear of the boat had only 1 of the screws sealed from the factory and all were leaking! The rub rail sits inches above the water line, but goes under or gets splashed when coming down off plane or when people are lounging on the back of the boat. It's also held under water for a minute or two when loading/unloading from the trailer.
2. Per the mechanic: "Both exhaust ports were gushing water from around the through-hull seals." Both seals were replaced.

Once both of these issues were remedied, he put the boat back in the water at a wet slip for 3 days and watched it. When he pulled the boat back out, he said he only got 1/4 gallon of water out of it, so we're probably good now.

Not sure why those exhaust port gaskets would be bad already. I only have close to 40 hours on the boat. Must have been bad from the factory.

1/4 of a gallon still suggests a leak albeit small but a leak none the less.

 

[Neutron]

My last boat (4winns vista) could be in the water for 5 days straight and not even a dixey cups worth would come out of the bilgenon the ramp.

This boat will always have somthing coming out after a day out when i pull the plug on the ramp. Usually only comes out for like 5 to 10 seconds . Its not worth me looking for it since my boat never stays in the water.
If i ever see the bilge pump out water i will look into it. When i sit lounging out every once in a while i manually turn on pump and look out the side to see if there is any discharge

 

[afdouble]

A few members here have reported issues with their drain plug on the articulating keels. Mine certainly leaked when on the bilge was filled while on a hill. The issue really is not the drain plug itself but poor machining of the receiver for the keel which has the threads for the plug. The fix that worked for me was a thicker o-ring on a new plug. Good luck.

Mainah,

Quick question, so you recall the stern drain plug part number? I want to get a spare for my 2017 PER with the keel. Just in case, I mean the thing is plastic...

Tia

 

[MidnightRider]

Hopefully you got it figured out, but i'd check the bilge pump as well, no way you have 5 gallons of water coming out at the end of the day if the pump is working and keeping up with it. Unless the pump is running constantly and can't keep up with it. When we are setup for surfing the bilge pump is coming on occasionally and keeping up with it and no more that 1/4-1/2 gallon of water comes out the bilge at the end of the day. Just can't see how you'd have 5 gallons cause the bilge pump should keep it down to at least less than 1 gallon.

 

[Mainah]

My dealer took care of the o ring and plug so no idea.

As for 5 gallons of water I can say that may not be much of an exaggeration in a keeled 24 foot. The factory bilge pump is mounted in the engine compartment and there is a lot volume area lower than the pump in the bilge area.

 

[MidnightRider]

My dealer took care of the o ring and plug so no idea.

As for 5 gallons of water I can say that may not be much of an exaggeration in a keeled 24 foot. The factory bilge pump is mounted in the engine compartment and there is a lot volume area lower than the pump in the bilge area.

Yeah I don't doubt you, but the OP profile indicates a '17 212x which is the same as my boat so that's why I can attest to the fact that on our boats that is not possible if the bilge pump is working correctly.