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

[swatski]

Have they commented on your broken seat or anchor hatch?

As I'm reviewing the facts of this case, finding more pictures.

Yamaha also denied warranty claim on this item - below. This was denied because it was "not a manufacturing defect".

Passenger chair base, broken without warning while occupied by 16 year old female passenger (115lbs of weight)


And her contusion injury (blunt-force trauma that damages the blood vessels under the skin) caused by the fall and rolling across the deck

(untouched iPhone photograph taken on arrival)


Please keep in mind, our Bimini crossing was rough, but not unusually rough for Florida waters.

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[Bill D]

I don't see how that is anything other than a manufacturing defect... a cracked casting like the seat base is obviously a defect. On the other hand, who cares why it broke? Fix the dang thing.

@swatski, you're bad for my blood pressure.

 

[Bruce]

The seat mount failure is rediculous.

My SX230 seat handled my 250 pounds bouncing to Bimini without structural failure as it has handled rougher water in the past.

If a seat was going to fail due to exceeding design limits it should have been the seat with the heaviest occupant. In this case the seat with the lightest occupant failed.

 

[McMark]

Argh. Mother Yamaha is p$$ing me off with all this denial crap. I'd be driving the boat to Georgia or Tennessee by now for them to try to tell me it's not covered to my face.

Even if it wasn't a defect, it broke while using the boat. Swatski didn't break it. It broke under use, end of story.

Mother Yamaha! Make swatski's boat whole again.

 

[Nimrod_R]

Thanks for the heads up, today I decided to make sure it wouldnt happen to me.

 

[Nimrod_R]

Thought I measured better than that but somehow ended up a little low.

 

[swatski]

Thought I measured better than that but somehow ended up a little low.

Take it from me: that little blemish beats having the tower fall on the head!

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[adrianp89]

When I pick my AR I think I will do something similar - but with something a little easier to remove to fold it down. This may work well: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Crown-Bolt-5-8-in-x-3-in-Universal-Clevis-Pin-88098/100337558

 

[swatski]

Argh. Mother Yamaha is p$$ing me off with all this denial crap. I'd be driving the boat to Georgia or Tennessee by now for them to try to tell me it's not covered to my face.

Even if it wasn't a defect, it broke while using the boat. Swatski didn't break it. It broke under use, end of story.

Mother Yamaha! Make swatski's boat whole again.

I want to thank you and everyone else who responded here! I hope this thread will inform current and future AR owners about the risk of catastrophic tower failure.

There are issues with any boats where a manufacturer has a faulty design on their hands - say Yamaha 2010 240 oil cooler bolts, 1.8 timing chains, leaky bilges etc. Those things can lead to situations where you may be stuck, inconvenienced, need a tow, and have a bad day on the water. But you can move on with your life.

Now - imagine having a boat full of people - your kids, their friends, your friends, your guests - and the tower falls without warning... That's not an inconvenience. That's fucking carnage.


Not to be cynical, but unfortunately I have an uncomfortable feeling Yamaha denying ALL the items on my list of warranty claims may have something to do with the AR tower design (and lack of adequate warnings).

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[MrMoose]

The seat mount failure is rediculous.

My SX230 seat handled my 250 pounds bouncing to Bimini without structural failure as it has handled rougher water in the past.

If a seat was going to fail due to exceeding design limits it should have been the seat with the heaviest occupant. In this case the seat with the lightest occupant failed.

I sit all the way to/from Bimini because I don't want to rip my windshield nor my steering wheel off trying to hold on. Three trips. My seat has not failed.
@swatski, you may have better luck contacting the seat manufacturer directly.

 

[swatski]

Something like this:
View attachment 61983

I would still want another lock, like a cross pin for the tower and base.

OMG. I just finally looked at the boat and parts - got it back from the dealer. Looked at it with a cool head.

OMG!!!

Those mounts ALREADY HAVE STEEL INSERTS!!! What @jcyamaharider posted. I will post pictures and clips next, uploading now.


@Neutron and others - HOW DID WE MISS THAT??????
Is my tower different than yours?
Those broken aluminum threads would have to come off of the mount, but just the entry of it.

I'm posting a bunch of pics a video clips next - guys PLEASE help me understand what I'm looking at.

These bolts go in only about 2/8-3/8 of an inch!
Is it possible that those internal threads are tapered?

This is an incredibly BAD design. Holy shit.

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[Neutron]

@swatski how many turns in from the grab of the first thread till it stops?

 

[Neutron]

OMG. I just finally looked at the boat and parts - got it back from the dealer. Looked at it with a cool head.

OMG!!!

Those mounts ALREADY HAVE STEEL INSERTS!!! What @jcyamaharider posted. I will post pictures and clips next, uploading now.
View attachment 62096

@Neutron and others - HOW DID WE MISS THAT??????
Is my tower different than yours?
Those broken aluminum threads would have to come off of the mount, but just the entry of it.

I'm posting a bunch of pics a video clips next - guys PLEASE help me understand what I'm looking at.

These bolts go in only about 2/8-3/8 of an inch!
Is it possible that those internal threads are tapered?

This is an incredibly BAD design. Holy shit.

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Come on waiting for the pics...... this is like waiting for JBP

 

[djetok]

Come on waiting for the pics...... this is like waiting for JBP

And disappointing, sorry will was thinking bigger

 

[swatski]

@swatski how many turns in from the grab of the first thread till it stops?

Sorry!
It is approx 2 turns, maybe two and a half.
No kidding. This is crazy.

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[Neutron]

Sorry!
It is approx 2 turns, maybe two and a half.
No kidding. This is crazy.

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That is way off.
I just went outside and checked from completely tight i counted 7 turns out till it was off the first thread

 

[swatski]

Here is the first clip. Sorry, I had to tend to something work related.

Here is the strbd side:

And here is the knob inside the tower leg:

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[swatski]

Here are some pics of the knob in position - there is only about 3/8" of it going in until it hits the gasket/washer:




There is only about 2/8-3/8 of an inch of the steel thread length in the mount:



I don't know if it is tapered, but I can only turn it couple turns and it stops cold on both sides!

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[Neutron]

Here are some pics of the knob in position - there is only about 3/8" of it going in until it hits the gasket/washer:

View attachment 62100
View attachment 62101

There is only about 2/8-3/8 of an inch of the steel thread length in the mount:
View attachment 62103
View attachment 62102

I don't know if it is tapered, but I can only turn it couple turns and it stops cold on both sides!

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Deffinitly not right!
Was it like that before?

 

[swatski]

Deffinitly not right!
Was it like that before?

Yes - you can only go that far. Look at the last video clip and the pics - the bolt only travels 2/8-3/8" inside the spring (inside the tower leg).

The Yamaha technical rep examined those bolts and threads and opined that one mount (strbd) was cross threaded. Nothing was said about the thread or bolt being too short. So, IDK.

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