G23 Prop Fell Off .....

[Longhorn1186]

So, the boat is a 2017 G23. 30 hours on it. We have never hit anything and had no issues with prop or shaft. I check it as part of my "pre flight" before we go. Today, after hitting a few waves off another G23 I heard the engine rev as we hit the crest of the wave and as we came down on the back side of the wave the boat stopped producing thrust. We came to a stop with the power in neutral and let the boat settle a bit. Tried giving it thrust again again forward and back and nothing. At first I thought I maybe broke the sheer pin off. I shut off the boat and jumped in to find no prop on the boat. After getting a tow back to the trailer and getting it out of water I found the entire shaft have broke but in a clean break. No scratches or damage to anything else including rudder. The shaft just flat out broke off. The dealer rep met me at the ramp and looked it and thinks it looks like a bad shaft. 30 hours on boat and we have only taken it to Lake Austin and Travis. Today we were in Cypress Cove and were at a depth of around 80 feet. They think it will be covered by Nautique (hopefully so). Has anyone else ever seen something like this? Could it have broken from hitting some waves from another boat hard? I cannot imagine in all the year I have been on a boat that hitting a wave hard would break off a shaft and if we hit something in the water I should leave damage on the rudder or somewhere else...Nope, nothing.
Thanks ahead of time.

[vanhanbr]

Man that sucks, hope things work out for you. You should be able to hit a 10' wave and not worry about the boat falling apart.

[scottb7]

OMG....I thought the fixed this back in 2014...Prior owner of g21 that i just got actually carries a trolling motor...that is why. This is covered under warranty, but obviously a big black eye for nautique as i know of no other mfgr with this problem.

And to add insult to injury when it happened to guy that owned boat before me, nautique provided the parts but owner had to pay for labor...on a known issue...just terrible...

[Evening Shade]

There was a problem with shafts breaking on Gs a few years ago.,

[JD ski]

I have never seen anything like that and I have been around boats with a few thousand horsepower although they are not pushing a barge like a G-23. A prop is in water pushing agents fluid, this should not happen. Possible metallurgy issue, Nautique should be very interested in this issue and want to resolve it as soon as possible.

[NautiqueJeff]

Yep, that's exactly where the shafts were breaking on the early G-series boats with the bad shafts. You're certainly not the first, but that problem was supposed to have been solved.

[Sailfun]

You should have zero problems with Nautique replacing the prop and shaft. In fact they should want that shaft back ASAP to analyze the reason for failure. Hopefully it had a manufacturing defect limited to that shaft. Nautique is going to want to know for sure.

[DocPhil]

This is crazy.

Hopefully they get you fixed up quickly.

Just out of curiosity what motor do you have?

[Longhorn1186]

I have the H6DI 450hp on it. Brought the boat in today and had a call with the head of warranty at Correct Craft. He called me after talking with the store. He sincerely apologized for the issue and they are overnighting new parts to the shop on Monday to get it fixed asap. They are also asking for the old parts back (minus prop since its 80 feet down). Store had said they have seen one other 2017 with the same issue. Its happening where the keying is on the shaft where the prop connects. Just a defective shaft. I will say I am amazed at the customer service with the dealer as well as Correct Craft. They want this fixed asap and want to get to the bottom of it asap. Yes, its an inconvenience but they are doing everything and more to make it right. Other than the actual break, no complaints and I would hope all customer service issues with anything I own go this smooth.

[Tallredrider]

2 boats hardly makes it an issue. But you pretty well never hear about it with other brands, so it is still a concern.

Did you even have the prop under load when it occurred? It might just be me, but I sort of imagine a ring on the shaft close to the break. I could envision that the prop was just a little loose and then the shaft fatigued and broke.

[Longhorn1186]

2 boats hardly makes it an issue. But you pretty well never hear about it with other brands, so it is still a concern.

Did you even have the prop under load when it occurred? It might just be me, but I sort of imagine a ring on the shaft close to the break. I could envision that the prop was just a little loose and then the shaft fatigued and broke.

Sorry, was writing from my phone. Two boats, both G's with the same issue this year at the same dealership and that is not a reflection of the dealership at all. Just happens to be the case that 2 of the boats there had bad shafts. Not sure how many nation wide but it was important enough for the head of warranty at Correct Craft to call me directly and get as much info as possible as well as sending out emails to other dealers to watch out for this. As for the boat, no load. No ballast. 40% fuel on board doing just over 20mph going over a smaller swell from another G that was wake surfing. Calm waters and 80-100 feet deep. I check the prop before every outing and unless it started to come loose after being put in the water it was just fine before going in the water. Please don't get me wrong, best boat I have ever owned hands down. We love it and everything about the company. Zero complaints even with this. We are being taken care of 110% and I could not ask for or expect more from anyone. It was just a little shocking to see a shaft break like that but hey, in the end they are machines. Machines break from time to time. While it was not something I wanted to happen I am glad it did on the day it did on a lake with Tow service. Could have been a bigger pain in the ***.

[scottb7]

"2 boats hardly make it an issue". Hey, fan boy. Wake up!!! That is 2 boats (admitted) from ONE dealer. This is going on 5 years now (2013-2017)...And lake you said no other mfgr has the problem.

It happened to prior owner of my 2014 g21, which he had repaired. So guess what? When I bought the boat I still keep the trolling motor in the back storage compartment.

BAD NEWS: Nautique propellers fall into lakes.
GOOD NEWS: Nautique storage is great, room for trolling motor.

[Kenv]

That's hilarious Scott....that you have a trolling motor....on board. Better safe then paddle.....LOL

[Longhorn1186]

No trolling motor here but when we are boating at home we wont go to a lake that does not have the tow service we paid for which is just about all of them locally. Lake Travis, Austin, LBJ so plenty of places to go. I honestly never thought I would need towing for anything but my own stupidity (running out of gas etc) but I now that this has happened I am glad we have it. I am hoping this was a one off thing and that we won't see it again.

[Neverenough]

I bet Nautique will reimburse you for any expenses. Any manufacturer has weak points at some time or another. What matters is how they respond. My guess is that Nautique does what's right.