Wakeboard tower cracks

[Gerrie]

Hi, new to forum. Thanks for allowing me to access this valuable resource. I own a 2014 212X. Only got about 15 hours and used tower twice. Now has cracking around front supports, seems more severe than just cosmetic. Anyone else had similar issues and how was it fixed? Not under warranty (long story, but in short, doesn't work if the boat leaves the US to New Zealand)

 

[RiverRat]

Hey welcome aboard @Gerrie !! Can't help you with the cracking on your tower, just happy to have your here. I'm sure someone else can chine in on your tower issue.

 

[Ronnie]

Can you upload pics of the cracking ? Is it the tower or the gel coat around the supports that is cracking?

 

[Murf'n'surf]

The fiberglass under the supports could have been damaged in the cargo transport to New Zealand. Can you look from underneath to see and cracks?

 

[Gerrie]

Thanks for replies. I Actually purchased it second hand, other guy imported it new and couldn't drive it. Sold it with 4 hours on the clock for half price. My score, as I was just about to import one myself! I spend the first few days polishing it top to bottom and crawling all over it, no cracks. Only happened in the last week after using it. Using, not abusing. The cracks are around the mounting posts and does not seem to extend all the way through. I'll take photos at a later date and post, currently we are on day 1 of a predicted 3 day storm. So the hatches are battened down. I think one of the factory fitted braces is fitted incorrectly on the inside, leading to a pressure point and more "wobbliness" than planned. I've read about cosmetic gel coat cracking, but this looks scary! Dissapointing as overall these boats are usually bullet proof. One of the reasons for buying it so far from source. Ill try to get photos when the weather clears.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

If the boat was fit into a cargo trailer for shipping, the tower was probably removed and then reinstalled. There should be rubber pads between the tower and gel coat. Are they there?

If the pads are there I would suggest checking the mount bolts for proper tightness. Gel coat spider cracks are common around stress points, just double check you have a proper installation and don't pull tubes from the tower as the added stress can take a toll on the tower and mounting points.

 

[Williamsone46]

@Murf'n'surf they wouldn't have had to remove the lower tower supports, just the upper so all that should be okay.

 

[bobbie]

I had the same thing....yamaha did warranty the cracks for me.

 

[Williamsone46]

Yea, but being our of the country it's unlikely going to be covered for @Gerrie

 

[bobbie]

Oops..didn't notice the location!!

 

[Glen]

Is our warranty geographically bound?
I've had significant warranty (30K) work done and the (out of country; South Africa) manufacturer just needed a quote from a qualified technician for the fix, and they paid that craftsman. In my case, due to severity (btw, not Yamaha) I did hire a surveyor to both document the problem and gain the manufacture support, then again to document the repair for purpose of a future owner.
Being that my boat is not only a month old, maybe I should read some of that warranty paperwork...
Godspeed and Happy New Year all-
Glen

 

[Bruce]

Welcome Aboard, can you post pictures of what you are experiencing?

 

[Gerrie]

As I was about to import one new prior to buying this one, I did extensive research, as Yamaha in none of its various product lines imports these boats, no waranty. On top of that, bought it second hand, might have been as new, but still second hand. I'm sure if this happened where I could go to a dealer, it would get fixed, but alas, here I am. The outside cracks corresponds to the tip of the brace plate on the inside. As you can see the plate was bolted in diagonally accross the reinforced hull, not parallel as supposed to. In the photo the top is the deck and the carpet is the hull. I suspect a lengthy stay with the doctor is in order after the season. For now I'm going to remove the top part of the tower and enjoy the rest of summer. You can see the rubber feet in place on the photo of the deck cracks. I plan to get the fibreglass gurus to reinforce that whole area with a combination of marine ply and fibre glass, then bolt a correctly drilled and fitted plate back on. Repeat other side. I'll take advice regarding the surface cracks from the experts.

 

[Noko]

Here's a link to a parts list and a diagram of what parts you should have on your tower. I think this is the right wakeboard tower for your boat.

http://www.partzilla.com/parts/search/Yamaha/Boat/2014/212X - XAT1800AN/WAKEBOARD TOWER/parts.html

From your pic, it looks like the right parts are installed. I thought the metal retaining plate would be a little bigger but it doesn't look like if from the parts diagram. I wonder if the tower was hit while it was loaded for shipping.

 

[Williamsone46]

@Noko I don't think it's missing any parts. Personally I believe it's caused by the lateral movement of the tower during travel.

The cracks are almost identical to the ones on my 212X.

As you can see mine started from the mounting holes. When you have it repaired, be sure to chamfer the holes.

 

[Noko]

Yeah, I didn't think it was missing parts either but I was surprised how small the retaining plate is on the inside. I thought it would be larger to spread out the load.

 

[itsdgm]

Hi @Noko sorry to see your fiberglass issue. That's a bummer for sure. Looks like the tower was probably removed during shipping. Whoever reinstalled that bracket simply flipped it over incorrectly. I'm sure there's proper support built into the hull and glassed over. You could check how thick the hull is there when you flip the backing plate to the correct position. I really don't know how to approach a fiberglass repair job like that so I'll leave that one to guys like @Glassman and @Williamsone46

PS. Welcome to the site and congrats on finding such a great boat.

 

[Noko]

Hi @Noko sorry to see your fiberglass issue. That's a bummer for sure. Looks like the tower was probably removed during shipping. Whoever reinstalled that bracket simply flipped it over incorrectly. I'm sure there's proper support built into the hull and glassed over. You could check how thick the hull is there when you flip the backing plate to the correct position. I really don't know how to approach a fiberglass repair job like that so I'll leave that one to guys like @Glassman and @Williamsone46

PS. Welcome to the site and congrats on finding such a great boat.

@itsdgm Hi, its @Gerrie that has the tower problems. But thanks for the welcome.

 

[itsdgm]

@itsdgm Hi, its @Gerrie that has the tower problems. But thanks for the welcome.

OOPS, my bad.

You're right @Noko, that one was meant for @Gerrie

 

[Gerrie]

Thanks for the welcome itsdgm, yip, after the season I'll go talk to the fibreglass experts. Done a lot of reading on it though. Yo are right, there is a reinforced area, smaller than what you would expect. My plan is to reinforce the whole area by incorporating a much larger piece of ply into the area with either some sort of epoxy or fibreglass. Then flip the bracket the right way and bobs your uncle!
Noko, thanks for the link to the parts list, all present and confirmed.
Williamsone46, did you do any reinforcing on the inside after the gel coat repair?