G23 Prop Fell Off .....

[schaabj]

My discussion with Nautique, and it was reinterated several times by different people in response to questions I asked at the factory is that it was an issue with a suppliers batch of prop shafts primarily during the first of the Gs off of the production line, and the bulletin was sent out to dealers who sold those boats. When they found out about the issue with the shaft/supplier they replaced each when the dealer contacted them after referencing the recall notice sent to them. I am not sure it was a design flaw near as much as a supplier quality control issue, which ultimately Nautique is responsible for. Since the majority of these catastrophic failures occurred in the early boats, and OP was not the original buyer of the boat, I would say that Nautique is doing exactly what they are supposed to do, which is support their product and warranty. With a bad batch of shafts, the diameter likely would not matter, therefore, replacing each shaft after the problem was identified and rectified makes little sense. That being said, I would love a larger diameter shaft which could handle a 17" prop on my 550, but early failures which are being handled well through the warranty process are not a reason to call for the replacement of every shaft on the water. Just my opinion. I am glad that the OP had no problem getting this taken care of through Nautique. Just like the warranty is designed to do.

I just want to mention that I am the original owner of the boat. It was purchased last year and was the second G23 to come out of our dealer. Here in Canada the wake season is short, primarily July, August, September which makes this even more annoying as the time to use the boat is so short.

[OKWAKEBDR]

That being said, I would love a larger diameter shaft.

Don't we all.

(Sorry, couldn't resist.) Go ahead Jeff - delete away.

[ers906]

Sorry, I completely misinterpreted that part of the OPs post

[ers906]

And, OKWB, I walked right into that one

[steve d]

I have a 2014 G23 with the 450hp motor & had the exact same problem

1. I had the same problem with my 2014 G23 with the 450hp motor. The boat has about 45hrs on it. I was running at about 28mph when the boat started to shake, the prop with end of shaft sheared off & hit the bottom of the boat leaving me stuck calling vessel assist. I am filing a warranty claim now. Has anyone heard of a 450hp motor shearing off the prop shaft end or has it been only the 550hp motors? The main concern is that if a wake boarder/surfer was behind the boat when the prop shaft snapped does that pose a hazardous risk? It makes me very concerned!

   Funny story ...

I frequent this discussion board and read about the G23 with 550HP motor prop shaft issue as it happened to another member months ago and mentioned it to my dealer when they had my boat for a month to finish up warranty work back in June. They said they had checked the bulletin and everything was good on my boat .... Apparently they were wrong ....

Two days ago I was out on the big lake for a cruise and on our way home noticed some slight vibrations traveling at cruising speed of 45 km/hr. I thought it was odd so I stopped and hopped into the water, checked on the prop/rudder noticing no damage, seaweed or anything else of concern. We then continued and the vibrations slowly got worse and I continually was decreasing my speed to avoid damage. I got under the boat 2 more times to check on everything, I had no clue what it was but the prop nut was on tight with the cotter pin still installed and I could not see anything of concern. It got to a point where I was traveling just off idle (about 12 km/hr) because anything above the vibrations were so bad the steering wheel was shaking. Keep in mind at cruising speed we were probably 1.5 hours from home.

Without warning at such a slow speed we heard a *tink* noise and the engine RPMs increased.... I pulled back the throttle and shut the engine off. Knowing exactly what had happened I went under the boat again to verify, and behold no propeller.... Great.

I am not sure if anyone has towed a G23, but it is a beast. it took us 6 hours from that point to get home. I am not very happy, especially since I am very keen on the operation/maintenance of my boat and brought up this exact issue with my dealer to ensure we were not left stranded.

We got the boat last year in august around this time and it only has 57.7 hours on it.

I measured the prop shaft and it is 1-1/8" diameter. I have the XS550 motor, and from what I remember the issue was that the shaft needed to be thicker? I was wondering if anyone can comment/knows what the issue actually is? I am very keen on getting my boat fixed and back on the water ASAP.

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[B-rad]

Ok I wasn't going to bring it up but safety for my family and yours is weighing on me. I just bought a 2014 g23 2weeks ago and had it out for the second time ,with about 12 hrs on it. My wife was slaloming and we were running 30 mph ,smooth as glass water ,had pulled everyone all day. The boat had been flawless all day. The boat started to shake and I pulled up immediately and we got in water to check prop .... It was gone and shaft was gone to. Hmmm we got towed in and put it on trailer and here are the pics ...
btw my dealer never blinked and eye about meeting me to exchange me out with another boat ... He did a great job .

[scottb7]

People got all pissed off at roswell for not doing a recall on their tower for a known problem. they only did a bulletin...But nautique won't even admit there is a problem.

[Dukeboiler]

So I'm a bit confused. I ran into another 2014 G23 450hp (same as me) on the lake over the weekend. He said that after around 30 hours his prop sheared - nothing weird in terms of weight/load on the boat. We bought from same dealer - and I asked them later that day via text if I should be concerned. His response was that the other 14G23 had a defective driveshaft. So that would lead me to believe someone's earlier post about nautique getting in a bad set of shafts from their supplier and some of the early 14s getting them. Is that Nautique's official position?

Also - are all 2014 G23 450s using the 1 1/4 vs 1 1/8 diameter? If so has Nautique IDd the boats the bad shafts went into?

Very concerning as I have 3 small boys and last thing I want is **** prop flying off when they are behind them...I'm sure that's an over-reaction but am fine being paranoid about it when consequences are so steep.

Looking for guidance.

[Dukeboiler]

Should also add that I do trust my dealer - just looking for all info. Also - other boat had nothing but great things to say about the dealer repair/turnaround/etc.

[surroundsound64]

I don't really see a safety concern as far as a towed rider. The prop is under the boat, not hanging out the back like an outboard/I/O. When and if the shaft shears, it would have to make it past the rudder and then up... Look at the impact water has on a bullet, all of that rotating inertia (in the prop) should quickly dissipate even if it could make it around the rudder.

[scottb7]

I think they have said it is a bad batch of propeller shafts. But there does not seem to be a boat hull number range published. Which to me is code for "we will fix it asap for you once it breaks," cause we really don't know which boats have the bad shafts or it is code for "it is a design problem, and we aren't admitting it." Nor have I heard a statement saying what they will do once warranty ends. Some auto makers are known to publish statements saying they will fix certain things beyond the warranty period, which is what I personally feel they should do. Just publish a statement saying you will fix it for 10 years from mfg date for any and all owners, and be done with it. What 10 years seems like too long? Jeez, you guys think roswell should fix their tower forever.

If it was me I would not buy a g series without the larger diameter shaft...

[nyryan2001]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]28813[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]28814[/ATTACH]Ok I wasn't going to bring it up but safety for my family and yours is weighing on me. I just bought a 2014 g23 2weeks ago and had it out for the second time ,with about 12 hrs on it. My wife was slaloming and we were running 30 mph ,smooth as glass water ,had pulled everyone all day. The boat had been flawless all day. The boat started to shake and I pulled up immediately and we got in water to check prop .... It was gone and shaft was gone to. Hmmm we got towed in and put it on trailer and here are the pics ...
btw my dealer never blinked and eye about meeting me to exchange me out with another boat ... He did a great job .

B-rad, can you post a pic of the back of your boat?? Where is your surf pipe??

[V8 Killer]

Its midnight and I just got home and got my family to bed but can't sleep. I'll post more (probably a new thread) but this just happened to me on my 2014 G23. I'll be calling Phil / Buxton in the morning.

Dusty

[JoeA]

What engine do you have.....450 or 550?

[JoeA]

Well said nyryan2001. Since we are talking about safety I also recall you saying something about the edges of the floor cover for the ice chest being being a lawsuit waiting to happen as they are not rounded and ought to be.

I'm quite new to the forum but maybe a post to the CEO may be in order. Is that out of line?