G23 Prop Fell Off .....

[Ryan1776]

X80, X55, X35, X45, X46, Xstar, ASR, MXZ24, etc etc etc.

all heavy comparable boats that folks slam with 4-6k additional ballast and go bonkers with 400-550 hp.

No snapped shafts with these boats ^^^. And they are on the thinner 1 1/8" shafts!

Its not like the Gs are going into unchartered territory as it pertains to power and weight. These other boats are there and their shafts arent snapping.

that they need thicker shafts

that they have responded and acted adequately on the issue.... a year now in to this and they are still snapping, nothing being done other than observation and replacements as they snap

I'll start here, so which is it? You said yourself that these other boats are doing the same thing with "thinner" shafts, yet you're also saying the "fix" is for Nautique to go larger?

Let me say this, I'm not in marketing, I'm certainly not in HR, or Public Relations, frankly because I'm too to the point most days in my would piss customers off. I'm really not that bad, but you get my point. I do agree that if this has been going on for over a year as was mentioned, it's overdue for a fix.

I have more to say, but don't have time! Like I said, let's start here...

Ryan

[scottb7]

The earliest thread I found was dated 10/28/12 mentioning.

[nyryan2001]

Ryan, suggest you slow down and read the thread.

Im not saying Nautique needs thicker shafts, Daniel did. My argument is that they dont need thicker shafts. Gs are already running the thickest shafts in the wake industry, thicker than others with same hp, weight and forces, and Gs are still snapping and the other aren not, with thinner shafts.

My thoughts are its a bad materials issue(weak steel), positioning and strut support issue, or a shaft manf issue(key slot cut wrong) is my guess. ^^ 2 would be materials QAQC, the strut support position would be a design problem. Top guess would be weak steel.

[ffmedic74]

This thread is hilarious especially knowing that CC monitors the forum and staying silent.

[Ryan1776]

Ryan, suggest you slow down and read the thread.

Im not saying Nautique needs thicker shafts, Daniel did. My argument is that they dont need thicker shafts. Gs are already running the thickest shafts in the wake industry, thicker than others with same hp, weight and forces, and Gs are still snapping and the other aren not, with thinner shafts.

My thoughts are its a bad materials issue(weak steel), positioning and strut support issue, or a shaft manf issue(key slot cut wrong) is my guess. ^^ 2 would be materials QAQC, the strut support position would be a design problem. Top guess would be weak steel.

^^^^ agreed.

Daniel and Ryan's logic on the issue are sound... Just wrong conclusion IMO. All those boats I listed have same weights and forces.

obviously it's a steel quality or bad cuts on the key slot.

now, the tough answers are what's the best, fastest, cost effective way to remedy? Recall? Additional clamp on collar there where they snap to reinforce? Slightly longer strut for more and longer support on the shaft?

Ryan, apparently we both need to slow down! lol This last quote is the one that really confused me. Which is why I was asking for clarification. You're correct Daniel did say a larger shaft, but I never did and that comment where you said "wrong conclusion" when we had the lame logic I was totally confused. I thought you had lumped both of us in the "size is good" club all the while you where, correctly, commenting on other manufacturers using smaller shaft and saying it was more than adequate. Then when I asked for clarification you just said "that they need thicker shafts" I thought you meant, that your position was that they need thicker shafts.
As far as your comment about material issues, that's exactly what I've been explaining all along.
Total communication breakdown... Thank you Led Zeppelin.

Scott- 10/28 of '12 huh? wow, yeah, I'd totally agree, that's way too long to have an issue like this continue on.

[Ryan1776]

V8 Killer- nice to hear that you're back on the water! And I agree, with a machine of this caliber, Nautique should cover all towing costs.

[Gunners]

2014 G23 Prop Shaft Broken

This happened yesterday after about 5-10 minutes of driving 23mph while pulling a tube. All sudden a bad vibration started to happen so I pulled throttle back. Applied throttle again and it was still there. Idled into dock and when I was positioning boat into slip I put into reverse a couple times. On the second time I felt a slight thump and lost all propulsion. Raised boat and this is what I saw.

Boat has 50 hours on it and to my knowledge has never hit anything (bottom etc).

Anyone seen anything like this? Frankly, I can't wrap my head around the physics of how this thing just shears off.

[Nautiquehunter]

It couldn't take the embarrassment of being seen pulling a tube and tried to commit suicide.

[Jaevo]

Uh-oh, another one. Glad you made it back to dock. Is the boat a 450? I have to say I was pretty nervous about this happening to us while 50 miles up lake on Powell last week. Fortunately, everything was fine and we are at 70 hours on ours. I hope Nautique gets this figured out soon. Nautique has told me there is no way to examine the shaft for a likely problem. Great boat but they need to do something about this.

[Gunners]

Yes it is a 450.

[nyryan2001]

Yet another data point that confirms the infant mortality theory on this.... That all these shaft snaps seem happen between 30-70hrs. Get past that, and you are in the clear.

Gunners, yes it's happened to others, roughly 15 or so...they'll warranty and replace it... It'll not happen again. Sorry to hear about your troubles.

[Gunners]

If a mod would please combine my thread with the thread I will post below I would appreciate it.

http://www.planetnautique.com/vb3/sh...ght=Prop+shaft

[Gunners]

Certainly disappointed that this happened 5 minutes into our four day weekend. Also annoyed I have to trailer it 5 hours from the lake house to get it repaired.

Having said that we've already been in contact with Buxton and they are ordering the parts on Monday and will have it fixed prior to our next visit to the lake.

[Dukeboiler]

The concern for me is that 70% of the time we have someone surfing or wakeboarding behind my g23. More often surfing - which is VERY close to the prop. I've heard all the disclaimers about how unlikely a rogue prop is to hit someone - but nobody can tell me it's impossible. So - I could be in a situation with a kid getting hit by a prop - and then be dead in the water when I can least afford it - when trying to get someone medical attention. THAT is scary to me - the father of 3 and friend to many.

So disconcerting that I'm considering selling my nautique. This is my first foray into the brand - by FAR the most I've ever spent on a boat - and to have this in the back of my mind is pure disappointment.

[beach]

The concern for me is that 70% of the time we have someone surfing or wakeboarding behind my g23. More often surfing - which is VERY close to the prop. I've heard all the disclaimers about how unlikely a rogue prop is to hit someone - but nobody can tell me it's impossible. So - I could be in a situation with a kid getting hit by a prop - and then be dead in the water when I can least afford it - when trying to get someone medical attention. THAT is scary to me - the father of 3 and friend to many.

So disconcerting that I'm considering selling my nautique. This is my first foray into the brand - by FAR the most I've ever spent on a boat - and to have this in the back of my mind is pure disappointment.

Are you thinking it's going to pop out of the water and hit your rider? The prop is either going to be heading down right after it falls off, or it will hit the boat and then head down. Plus it's either going to be heading off to the side when it lets go, or it's going to be knocked off to the side by the rudder.

If you're worried about the propellor failing as your rider is falling, even then you would have absolutely no worry for a wakeboarder. The prop is not going to travel backwards 70 feet and I hope your rider is not tumbling for 70 feet. Even then the prop wouldn't be traveling aerodynamically through the water. It would be tumbling and slowing down very rapidly due to all the drag. I've seen water safety barriers at work for heavier objects spinning a lot faster than the speed of a boats propellor. Those were only about 5 ft thick. Not only that, but it would've sunk too low by the point to be a worry.

Now for a surfer we'd have to figure out the rotational inertia of the propellor and the best case drag. This would let us find out how fast the prop would slow down and if it could seriously injure someone. But even then, the surfer would have to fall at the perfect moment and the prop would have to head in just the right direction.