What a boating season this is and f250 update

SmokyMtnGrady

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I have had a very up and down season it has been for me. The ups, I have been fishing this year, got to meet strikezone and his family, yammaha replaced my motor, spent 2 weeks in the Fla Keys, though fishing for pelagics stunk and last weekend went to Lake Lanier. I will get some pics loaded of the Keys trip shortly.

Downs, my motor breaks, my Magic Trail trailer just over a year old, breaking system fails and due to crazy warranty language my parts are not covered, but I argued with the break manufacturer and they relented. I think they are jps or something like that. I wanted a different trailer, but Lockwood only uses Magic Trail and Magic Trail does not put kodiak breaks on their trailers. The good news the actuator did not fail on our trek to the Keys, that would have been terrible. I went to Lake Lanier without my Grady and instead brought the skiff. Kids had fun none the less. Lake Lanier is a nice lake and is less than 90 miles from home. I expect to get back there again, but with the Grady :lol: I have been without the Grady for over 10 weeks this seaon which wraps up here in a month or so.

So I was speaking with a Grady dealer here in the Southeast and I brought up that my Yammaha, and before I could finish my sentence, he said they had replaced 3 F250s with the exact same problem as my motor this year. One was on a new 225, the other was part of a pair on a Regulator and the third was on some other boat. Yammaha replaced all three. I suspect they know something is up with water intrusion and are quietly going about replacing powerheads. I hope if this is the case, they will issue a service bulletin to fix the problem.
 

jethro99

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How did you get water intrusion into your motor? Up the exhaust or ???
 

Parthery

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capt chris said:
Are you using Mid Carolina Marine in Columbia, SC as your GW dealer? I was told by an ex employee of Lockwood that they are still a dealer but can't get any floor plan to inventory any boats.

Apparently this is the new world. Lockwood can still call themselves a dealer, and if you want a GW, they will order you one. But, someone else is carrying GW in Jacksonville now (MarineMax), and Lockwood has no inventory on the ground.

There was a time when this wasn't the case.

Sorry we missed you at Lanier last weekend....look forward to getting together again on your next trip down....or we may make a trip up to Fontana. We've spent far less time at Lanier this summer; Oconee, Sinclair, Carters, etc...are all significantly less busy.

As far as the trailer goes, you might look into putting it out on this forum, THT or eBay and see if you can sell it. A new aluminum 22-24' trailer with SS hardware, LEDs, Kodiak Silver Cads, etc.... can be had for less than $4K. By the time you spend $$$ on 4 Kodiak Brake setups, + installation, the difference may not be as big as you think.
 

capt chris

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Parthery,
You"re right about Marine Max in J'ville. That's where the ex Lockwood employee works now. Lockwood is still listed as a Georgia dealer in Shellman Bluff but cannot secure a floor planning source to inventory any boats. Marine Max only had a 225, a 360, and a 257 when I visited them on July 21 while @ Amelia Island. The 360 had both of the 350 HP Yamaha motors stolen off it over the fourth of July weekend.
 

SmokyMtnGrady

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I am either taking the boat to Columbia or Charleston for a warranty issue. I am not sure how water got into the motor, Yammaha thought through the exhaust. I just found it very interesting that 3 other folks all had the same issue at about the same time I did. pathery, I might look into a new trailer this winter. The brake system manufacturer is covering parts under warranty. I am thankful but man, that trailer has been in service for 1 year 3 months and frankly it sat under cover here from November through mid March. It saw saltwater maybe 8 times and fresh the rest. The springs and shaft of the actuator were all rusted. I am thinking about a new trailer too.

we will get back to Lanier. My kids loved camping on the water and being able to swim from sun up to sundown. The lake is nice, although seems kind of weird I was boating and swimming in Atlanta's water source :lol: Let me know when you want to explore Fontana and we will be happy to join you guys.
 

Parthery

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If its a Yamaha warranty issue, I'd consider hauling it here to Atlanta, which is a closer ride than Columbia or Charleston.

Bay Marine is less than 1 mile from Yamaha's US HQ, the parts guy used to work for in the HQ, one of the part owners of the dealership worked in HQ, etc... In short, they are well qualified folks that are trustworthy. They also used to be a GW dealer, before GW moved all their dealers to the coast and eliminated the guys in Atlanta and Charlotte.

Call and speak to Greg....
 

jethro99

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Water ingestion via the exhaust is a known issue. I have never heard of it being "swept under the rug" by Yamaha.

The problem usually happens due to aggressive driving or misapplication of the throttles. It is not a warranty issue. It is induced damage. Warranty covers defects in materials and labor. There are no defective parts or labor that contribute to this issue. Water up the exhaust can happen with a perfectly good engine.

Although not a warrantable defect, Yamaha has been taking care of the problem, at least the first time it happens. If the operator does not change his ways, the second time it happens it may not be fixed at Yamaha's expense.
 

Gman25

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jethro99 said:
The problem usually happens due to aggressive driving or misapplication of the throttles........... If the operator does not change his ways, the second time it happens it may not be fixed at Yamaha's expense.

Please be more specific by what you mean by aggressive driving and misapplication of the throttles. :huh
 

SmokyMtnGrady

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I have had a power boat now for 10 years. I would not consider myself an agressive or out of control operator in the very least. 99% of the time my family is aboard and their safety is paramount to me. I do use my boat for water sports and my previous Grady was a water sports machine too. I do start and stop alot when pulling tubes, wake boarding, knee boarding and so forth, but agressively, no way. Never have I read or anyone else point out to me, hey if you drive like this or that you can ruin your motor with water ingestion through the exhaust. Yammaha did warranty my motor and I am thankful for this. However, it seems to me if this can happen with the motor, perhaps they should point it out in the manual. I just found it odd talking to a Grady dealer they said they replaced 3 this spring. I will say I did think perhaps it is on a bracket that I am doing something wrong. I spent a day fishing with Strikezone this past May and his driving style is similar to mine and he has a 228 G. His motor sits in the water similar to mine. I don't know. :?

Pathery, I have Grady warranty issues that need to be addressed. I have a screw on the fuel tank deck lid that is not bighting into the supports. I called Grady and asked if I could use a longer screw? They were adamant about having the boat checked by a dealer as it is still under warranty. The porta potty which I have used maybe 5 times leaks in the flush water tank and the switch controling the raw washdown needs replacing. I wish I could come south, but I live where I live and will take a day to drop her and another to pick her up. Maybe I will come to Bay Marine for Yammaha work next time. Thanks for the tips.
 

The Black Pearl II

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have not heard about water up the exhaust? is this a function of water coming up behind the boat and flooding the engines? Bracket issues? also, 350HP Stolen off the back of a boat??? that is crazy
 

Ky Grady

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SmokyMtnGrady said:
The lake is nice, although seems kind of weird I was boating and swimming in Atlanta's water source :lol:

Got to ask,,,did ya'll relieve yourself in Parthery's drinking water???? :doh

Couldn't resist. :mrgreen:

I never did hook up with Strikezone, maybe next time.

Good that you are out and enjoying family time together.
 

Parthery

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John....did you have to bring that up? :mrgreen:

Smoky says he's coming back next week again...so if he did, he can swim in it again....

We ought to look at some sort of GG get together in Strikezone's backyard....there are enough of us that aren't too far away....
 

SmokyMtnGrady

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That Lake Moultrie Cooper River Cruise is intriguing. Strikezone will need to find that trailer of his perhaps to make any inland get together. He could go up the cooper though. I can not confirm or deny any fouling of Parthery's water supply, I do suspect the 8 kids we had may have though :wink: September/October not bad cruising weather down there at all. Keep me in the loop...
 

Ky Grady

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I've done the lake to Charleston a few times, always neat to do, around a 2 hour run just cruising. Next trip down for me will be in Oct.