Pivot Pin reinstallation

[VaMarine]

So was out on the bay today (82* water temp 78*, 1 ft waves at 2s) great day to be alive cruising at ~22-25mph. All of a sudden the great day is shattered by my wife screaming to stop (not the first time that's happened)

Either way after moving to neutral, I was informed that the pivot pin on the wake tower "shot out" at her.

After 20 mins of trying we headed back home. Either way, tried to use a comealong to pull it forward but that didn't work. Any idea how to align this to get the pin back in?

We have to haul the boat to the dealer, I've already put the transport bars back in place, but any way y'all can suggest preventing furthetr damage to the boat? Finally, would you expect to be under warranty (less than 3 months of
ownership)

 

[BigAbe75]

Yes, I expect the warranty will take care of you... assuming you have a quality dealer to go to bat for you. Take boat loads of pictures of all things damaged by the occurrence.

 

[Dave burke]

Should definitely be covered by warranty. If I were you I’d be royally peeved, not only is the boat brand new but what happened sounds dangerous. I’d push the dealer to provide some sort of compensation for your inconvenience in addition to doing the repairs. You might not get anywhere but there’s nothing to lose.

I’ve been working on my boat and took out the locking pins to drop the tower so I could run some wires. That thing is heavy! It was hard to put it back up and lock it by myself. I can’t imagine your wife’s shock when the pivot pin broke underway.

Glad nobody was hurt.

 

[VaMarine]

Update - According to the local dealer, the boat is repaired. I have not checked it yet, but here is what I was told was wrong, and as Paul Harvey used to say "the rest of the story".

So when we first got the boat in May, I noticed some washers in the starboard stern under seat storage (directly behind driver) and noticed that the wake tower had a good bit of movement. The T-handle also would not stay locked. I had this looked at by the dealer in June and was told there was no issues with it and that the T-handles always have problems... I was also told they weren't certain where the washers came from but everything was fine.

Then in September the pivot pin came out. We took it to the dealer who got the pin back in with the locking mechanism. Took it out the next weekend Oct 5 and the pivot pin came out a second time. Take it back to the dealer with the intention of leaving it until its fixed.

They called and its fixed. According to them the Wake Tower is held onto the boat by 6 bolts, 3 on each side. They were "loose" thus allowing the wake tower to move more than designed. That supposedly caused both the T Handles not to lock, and the pivot pin to come out.

We shall see if this actually resolves the issue. However, they (Yamaha) are unwilling to fix the damage to the lower portion which was caused when the pivot pin came out.

 

[mattbaker]

They(Yamaha) must fix the damage! Why they are unwilling? It's not your fault!

 

[VaMarine]

They(Yamaha) must fix the damage! Why they are unwilling? It's not your fault!

I agree.

I havent gotten the full story from the dealer yet. But when I do will pursue with Yamaha directly if need be.

 

[dgfreeze]

I presume the boat is likely shipped with the tower not installed...? If so, Yamaha might be telling the dealer that it’s an assembly problem, AKA, not Yamaha’s fault, and the dealer is trying to wiggle out of repairing the cosmetic damage, since (if I’m on the right track here) Yamaha is not actually at fault? Just a thought. Hope it all works out. Either way, a good dealer would go to bat for their customer, and do some pushing back on the mfg if it’s actually Yamaha’s fault. Seems a bit sketchy to me. Sometimes all it takes is to mention a lawyer, and I would recommend doing so if they don’t man up.

 

[VaMarine]

I presume the boat is likely shipped with the tower not installed...? If so, Yamaha might be telling the dealer that it’s an assembly problem, AKA, not Yamaha’s fault, and the dealer is trying to wiggle out of repairing the cosmetic damage, since (if I’m on the right track here) Yamaha is not actually at fault? Just a thought. Hope it all works out. Either way, a good dealer would go to bat for their customer, and do some pushing back on the mfg if it’s actually Yamaha’s fault. Seems a bit sketchy to me. Sometimes all it takes is to mention a lawyer, and I would recommend doing so if they don’t man up.

Definitely gets shipped from Yammy with the Tower on it.. (242LSE). I want to get the whole story from the dealer (recorded) before I (the lawyer) push back.. They are responsible for any damage caused by their faulty installation. The complaint was made that its an 11K repair bill. But I think that is if the tower needs replaced. I'm good with them tightening the item appropriately, but the gel coat issues they need to resolve..

 

[dgfreeze]

Ok, so the dealer is off the hook. That is probably good. Yeah, take it to Yamaha. If you’re forced to get legal with it, push for a new tower and everything. Don’t hold back. I like Yammie, but they’ve gotta stand behind their products no different than any other mfg.