***WARNING*** 2015-18 YAMAHA “AR” BOAT OWNERS WITH FORWARD SWEPT WAKEBOARD TOWERS

[jameskeller76]

Have there been any other instances of a complete failure like this? I doubt Yamaha envision these boats in 6 ft seas when they designed them but clearly they need to improve it.

We're planning on Bimini next year and I would like to improve this before we go. Seems like AR owners could drill through the base and install a pin for some added protection. Only though is that drilling it could weaken it.

Thoughts?

 

[swatski]

Yamaha will just add another warning sticker. "WARNING: Not for offshore excursions"

Yes. It will look really good in the background of their Honeymoon Beach, Bimini, commercials.

--

 

[swatski]

Have there been any other instances of a complete failure like this? I doubt Yamaha envision these boats in 6 ft seas when they designed them but clearly they need to improve it.

We're planning on Bimini next year and I would like to improve this before we go. Seems like AR owners could drill through the base and install a pin for some added protection. Only though is that drilling it could weaken it.

Thoughts?

https://jetboaters.net/threads/forward-sweeping-tower-owners-please-check-your-lock-bolts.14514/

--

 

[Bruce]

oil cooler bolts

The difference is that oil cooler bolts and timing chains kill engines, this is a safety issue that could kill you and everyone else on your boat.

 

[Emilio22]

There goes any plans of adding tower speakers. I'm out in the ocean all the time and was looking forward to Yamaha reacting to this potentially life threatening issue. Disappointed.

 

[haknslash]

Damn this sucks and sorry to hear @swatski !!!!

Really disappointed in Yamaha and sucks they basically told you to 'deal with it'. You know what's interesting is when I bought my boat the mechanic who was doing the PDI told me "whatever you do don't cross thread these bolts". At the time I was thinking he was just telling me that yea it would suck and you'd have a hell of a time getting the tower down after that but now I'm wondering if they had an issue before and he knew something from experience. Makes ya wonder.

 

[Mainah]

So very sorry to hear about this outcome @swatski. This is not your fault.

Yamaha has very deep pockets with a reputation to protect. That said the prospect of a product recall is cost analysed per unit then multipled by the number of units. Reputational risk is also factored in. It would seem that someone is going to have to get killed before before Yamaha acts on this as the reputational risk of the possiblity of someone being seriously injured or killed is something they are aware of. They already have their talking point when it does though .... "operator error". They also have talking point two ... we don't make or design the towers, XTP does.

I am confident given @swatski posts showing the research and attention to detail that he puts into everything that this is not his fault. If the design of a part that could kill someone is so easily "cross threaded" then it is a poor design. If it strips out easily then it is also a poor design.

I would reach out to XTP but my guess is they will stick behind one of their largest customers and follow the lead of a company with much deeper pockets and a common intrest to protect. That is until Goliath throws Daivd under the bus.

This further solidifies that my next boat will not be a Yamaha unless they make very large changes in management and quality control within their boat division.

Until a fix is designed and tested (likley by the good folks on this forum which has become the Yamaha boat troubleshooting and repair division) I recommend that all AR240 owners consider converting their AR into a SX.

 

[scokill]

The difference is that oil cooler bolts and timing chains kill engines, this is a safety issue that could kill you and everyone else on your boat.

Could be a circumstance where a dead engine could cause the same in a different way. I'm glad I have a 2008!

 

[Ancient canoe]

Does this only affect the AR models? Do the Limited S and X 21/24' boats have different tower setups?

 

[Bruce]

Does this only affect the AR models? Do the Limited S and X 21/24' boats have different tower setups?

The 24 LS and X use a locking pin that goes across the joint. Not sure about the 21s.

 

[skrip345]

Do you think there is still a risk present in the lock pin models? Especially in x models with the bigger bimini and the addition of tower speakers? It would have to shear both pins. Probably not likely I suppose...

 

[Ancient canoe]

Looking at pictures it appears the 21' X and LS models have a tower base similar to their 24' counterparts. It's weird they have different tower setups. I wouldn't think that the AR design would really cut much costs. A redundant locking system of a collapsible wake tower isn't really a luxury item.

 

[haknslash]

I can't possibly be the only one with an AR style tower having paint chip off from what appears impact of the tower moving while upright and locked in place. I notice in @swatski images his tower base does not show any signs of wear or contact on the top surface of the base. Obviously something is a miss on mine because there wouldn't be movement allowing the contact. Not only do I have to worry about aluminum threads stripping out but even though the bolt is beefy I can't help but think of shear stress. You don't have to be out in the ocean to make a big hit on the boat and tower. As you guys know the smaller boats will ride rougher and be affected by wakes and seas more than the larger boats so it doesn't take too much to get airborne or smash into a big wave at the lake around wake boats or in the bay/gulf. Lord knows I've launched mine by necessity in both lakes and sea

 

[Ancient canoe]

Do you think there is still a risk present in the lock pin models? Especially in x models with the bigger bimini and the addition of tower speakers? It would have to shear both pins. Probably not likely I suppose...

I can't imagine locking pins shearing. But even if you were to remove stripping from the equation on the AR models it's not difficult to imagine the bolts backing out. I don't know why they wouldn't design with a locking pin.

 

[Lake_Spray]

I'm saddened but almost relieved to hear these stories. My tower is quite off, almost like it has a twist to it. I can screw in port side easily but have to have my son push up HARD on the starboard side in order to get the base down enough to start the screw correctly. My wife is barely strong enough to seat that side of the tower for me when it needs to be put up. It's the perfect recipe for someone stripping it out if they aren't careful. I suppose it could also be the boat that's off, not the tower.

 

[djetok]

Yes. It will look really good in the background of their Honeymoon Beach, Bimini, commercials.

--

Yeah its not like they can tell you that your boat is not suppose to navigate in the ocean. They did the exact same trip and made a commercial.

 

[Ernie]

I was thinking about upgrading to a 24ft AR myself but not sure now. I mean think about , you could be in rough seas or just water period and it could work its way loose. I trailer my boat all the time and there is a lot of vibration and bumps on the road also. These towers need a locking pin .

 

[fireflymedic]

If you put all your muscle on the bolt but only by hand are you at risk of slowly weakening the threads? I guess I never thought about it but assumed it was metal for male and female part. The weak part of connection should not be the hardest part to replace as things wear out.

 

[Betik]

"When I put my boat In dry stack back in May I securely tightened mine but this issue made me think to check them today and glad I did. Just from regular use they had backed out almost a full 1 and 1/2 turn during this time."

Why isn't this on everyone's pre-check list prior to operating? Sorry but I'm not so quick to jump on the Yamaha's at fault band wagon. This could have easily been cross threaded with minimal effort or loose and in the conditions you mentioned it was operated in, it's likely that could have caused this failure.

FYI - Yamaha doesn't manufacture the tower either.

I wish you had seen this with your own eyes. I am sure @MrMoose's tower is fine although he was airborne multiple times, but even if this was 100% @swatski fault, Yamaha could have been more strategic about it. For someone with 4,000+ posts to put a BUYER BEWARE post is not going to add on the profitability numbers for Yamaha. Just as @Bruce mentioned at the very least cover it under warranty. But then covering under warranty implies responsibility and responsibility implies paying the doctors bills too.

For the record, @swatski did mention that he tighten it 1 hour prior to departure. I assume you did not mean to imply that in the middle of the storm he should have retighten those screws so to make sure the tower did not collapse.


you also mentioned "This could have easily been cross threaded with minimal effort" . Doesn't this very statement trouble you?

 

[viper15]

I'm saddened but almost relieved to hear these stories. My tower is quite off, almost like it has a twist to it. I can screw in port side easily but have to have my son push up HARD on the starboard side in order to get the base down enough to start the screw correctly. My wife is barely strong enough to seat that side of the tower for me when it needs to be put up. It's the perfect recipe for someone stripping it out if they aren't careful. I suppose it could also be the boat that's off, not the tower.

Same here. I've only lowered ours a few times. But I cringe when putting it back up. That starboard side is so damn hard to thread in, I'm afraid it will strip just trying to get the knob threads started.