Powder Coating Yamaha Jet Boat Tower?

[NJ-JetGuy]

The tower and (2) bases on my 2019 Yamaha 212 Limited S are peeling, cracking and bubbling. Of course multiple dealers will not fix this under the YES warranty as Yamaha claims it’s cosmetic. Seems to be a common problem with our boats and dealer responses.

I am planning to remove the tower and (2) bases myself in October. Seems pretty simple, undo the retention cable (washers and bolts), unplug the anchor light harness and maybe 4 bolts backed by an aluminum plates under the fiberglass to remove the complete assembly. Am I missing anything on the removal process?

My question is about powder coating. One company told me that once you media blast the tower, he has seen where Yamaha used Bondo and fillers on certain sections of the tower, and powder coating will not adhere to those sections, and given his experience, he would not take on the job.

Has anyone tackled this job who can confirm or deny the Bondo/filler claim? Perhaps I just need to find a different powder coat shop. Also is the tower and base removed very simple as I assumed above?

Last questions:

1. How do you remove the tower from the base units? Was hoping to do that first. I can pull the pins and it will pivot, but want to disconnect from the bases.

2. How do you remove the anchor light and ski rope sleeve on the top of the tower?

Thanks everyone!

 

[Skyhawk223]

I have similar bubbling on my 2021 252S. Curious to see what others have done to address.

 

[Bottom Bracket]

paint it satin black with a satin clear coat for uv.
not a fan of powder coat, trapped moisture will cancer the metal from the inside out.

 

[2kwik4u]

I have taken the tower off of my AR190 once before. Your process is pretty spot on. Remove the cables stops, Remove the pivot pin (you'll want a good set of snap ring pliers). Unplug cables and remove tower. It's not hard, but it's a super weird shape to hold, it's somewhat heavy, and you're lifting 10-12ft off the ground over your glass windshield. Have a few extra sets of hands around to help when the time comes. Brackets are held on with a couple of bolts. You'll need help with those as well, your arms aren't long enough to reach both sides of the bolts at the same time.

I have a "raw" tower without paint. I'm not sure why Yamaha would use Bondo to cover anything up. Doesn't sound quite right to me, but I've never sandblasted a painted tower either, so no first hand experience.