27OB back from the dealer! :)

[ixlr8]

We finally got our boat back from the dealer after some warranty work, he had it about 6 weeks. 🙁 One of the things we had repaired was the gel coat cracks between the swim deck and the hull. Repairs looked good at the dealer, but the cracks were back after the trip home from the dealer, before I even put the boat in the water. Not sure why the swim deck is flexing so much that the gel coat cracks like it is. Also my remaining fuel in both the Yamaha gauge and the Garmin gauge were either blank or showing 0 gallons remaining. I'm not sure how or why that happened. I guessed the remaining gallons and put that info in the Garmin. I haven't been able to figure out how to put fuel remaining in the Yamaha gauge. I also discovered where the disconnect switch was for the thrusters. The dealer turned off the thrusters at the switch at the helm and he also switched it off at the disconnect switch. Which was a surprise when I pulled away from the dock and had no thrusters!! Shame on me for not checking all switches and disconnects before I started the engine. We had a pleasant cruise along the coast of Maine, in the mid-coast area. Seas were fairly calm with some 3'-4' swells. We spent some time at 800 rpm, 6 mph, 4.5mpg just enjoying the views. We also spent some time cruising along at 4300 rpm, 30 mph, 2mpg. That seemed to be the sweet spot speed/economy. Overall we put about 5 enjoyable hrs on the boat. And... the repairs I did to the sonar cup and bilge pump held!! This is the first time we have taken out the boat that the sonar worked for the entire trip!!! MAYBE we are starting to go in the right direction. We have put the boat in a slip until the end of the season to make it easier to use rather than trailering it. Hopefully with the slip we will be able to use it more, maybe even some evening after work trips.

 

[baz]

Oh good report from you.... well kind of I suppose.

Those hairline cracks in the gel coat is a mystery to me and I have to wonder that maybe they are caused by the trailer activity causing the 500 to 600 lbs of the engine flexing the swim platform. My R-27-OB has only been trailered a few times for a few miles from my marina to the Kent factory along freeway roads and no hairline cracks are visible to me.

If the hairline cracks were not apparent at the dealership when boat had warranty work yet they were apparent when you received the boat, the trailer activity tends to be the culprit in some way IMO.

If there are others that trailer their R-27-OB with the 500 lbs outboard attached I wonder if they are also seeing the cracks ?????

The blank fuel level display maybe as a result of there being no power to the devices for a period of 6 weeks....but of course I'm speculating on this as being the reason.

Thruster switch at the helm ???? Where is this switch ? I only recall have the Thruster toggle switch on starboard side of the helm console.

Thruster disconnect switch.... I've not come across this and have not explored where it might be.... I believe you or someone else mentioned it was in the port side cockpit locker.... Need some clarification as to where this switch is at. Thanks.

Wow.... 800 rpm is with the engine running at its default startup state, right? The engine does love to run at the higher rpms for sure and this was emphasized to me at last years Roche Harbour RT meeting when attending the Yamaha seminar. The presenter said the engine loves to run at 5000+ rpms.... just do it when you can and don't putter about below 2000 rpm please. :lol:

BTW... how do you find the throttle lever's friction effort. I've had to decrease the friction on mine with about a full 360º rotation of the friction adjustment screw.

 

[ixlr8]

Thruster switch at the helm ???? Where is this switch ? I only recall have the Thruster toggle switch on starboard side of the helm console.

Thruster disconnect switch.... I've not come across this and have not explored where it might be.... I believe you or someone else mentioned it was in the port side cockpit locker.... Need some clarification as to where this switch is at. Thanks.

On the starboard side of my helm is the thruster control switch with an on/off switch. Also on my boat, if I open the port side cockpit locker along the outside wall there are 2 disconnect switches. They are the same type as the battery, engine and parallel switches in the cave. One of those 2 switches is for the inverter, the other is for the thruster. My batteries are located differently than yours, so your thruster disconnect switch may be in a different location.
Now if I could just find the inverter.

Wow.... 800 rpm is with the engine running at its default startup state, right? The engine does love to run at the higher rpms for sure and this was emphasized to me at last years Roche Harbour RT meeting when attending the Yamaha seminar. The presenter said the engine loves to run at 5000+ rpms.... just do it when you can and don't putter about below 2000 rpm please. :lol:

My engine idles at 600 rpm. I found 800 rpm to be a comfortable exploring/sight seeing/taking pictures speed. I have rarely run my engine above 5000 rpm, 4300 rpm seems to be a sweet spot and any faster... I am going too fast to avoid all the lobster pot bouys in the waters where I boat. Snagging a lobster pot line at speed is a recipe for an expensive mess. Some local boaters run aluminum props rather than stainless steel. If you snag a lobster pot line with an alum prop, you bust up the prop. If you snag a line with a SS prop, you could be replacing the lower unit.

BTW... how do you find the throttle lever's friction effort. I've had to decrease the friction on mine with about a full 360º rotation of the friction adjustment screw.

Initially I found the throttle lever's friction effort to be smooth and it had a good balance of friction vs effort. Now the effort seems a bit high and the lever seems a bit 'sticky' and I think it is time to back off on the friction level. Although one time I was just resting my arm on the lever, hit a small wave and the bump caused the lever to go from idle to half throttle, which was a bit of a surprise to both of us.

 

[Kimberly Dawn]

Jim (and Barry)

I have a 2019 R27-OB with Suzuki motors and just completed a 10 day shakedown cruise here in the PNW. Boat handled well, although steering to port requires more effort (clockwise prop rotation).

After bringing our boat home from the factory delivery experience 10 miles away, I noticed "stress" cracks in the motor bracket top and also where swim step meets the stern. Whether this is occuring as a result of trailering or not is immaterial! Think of the swim step and motor bracket as a unit, supported by stringers from the hull... it's a cantilever that is designed to accommodate a "load". The biggest load is not only the weight of the motor (motors if you have a kicker as we do), but also loads from torque imposed by thrust in the water or simply motor weight on the trailer.

These boats are designed for 300 hp motors that have known weights. They are designed to accommodate kicker motors with known weights. They are sold as trailerable boats, and in our case, with a trailer. I can't believe they are designed to get stress cracks in the gelcoat.

I have these cracks on my punchlist for a factory solution this fall when I will return our boat to Kent. RT has been very good at addressing any minor issues we have had to date.

Bob & Kim
The Doghouse 2

 

[dclagett]

My understanding of gelcoat stress cracks can be a variety of issues from simply a buildup of gelcoat during manufacturing in that area to excessive flexing which may get worse as time goes on. If it were my new $200,000 boat I would spend some money and get a good surveyor to look at the problem.

 

[baz]

Jim (and Barry)

I have a 2019 R27-OB with Suzuki motors and just completed a 10 day shakedown cruise here in the PNW. Boat handled well, although steering to port requires more effort (clockwise prop rotation).

Is this felt at speed only ?

Jim (and Barry)
After bringing our boat home from the factory delivery experience 10 miles away, I noticed "stress" cracks in the motor bracket top and also where swim step meets the stern. Whether this is occuring as a result of trailering or not is immaterial! Think of the swim step and motor bracket as a unit, supported by stringers from the hull... it's a cantilever that is designed to accommodate a "load". The biggest load is not only the weight of the motor (motors if you have a kicker as we do), but also loads from torque imposed by thrust in the water or simply motor weight on the trailer.

These boats are designed for 300 hp motors that have known weights. They are designed to accommodate kicker motors with known weights. They are sold as trailerable boats, and in our case, with a trailer. I can't believe they are designed to get stress cracks in the gelcoat.

I have these cracks on my punchlist for a factory solution this fall when I will return our boat to Kent. RT has been very good at addressing any minor issues we have had to date.

Bob & Kim
The Doghouse 2

Yes... I knew you had cracks in the gel coat but hesitated to mention it to Jim as I wasn't sure how you had dealt with it.

It's kind of strange that you two have the cracks whereas I don't and my boat has been trailered several times. Does gel coat need time for curing ?

I hope you get resolution with RT's help.

 

[Kimberly Dawn]

There have a number of R27-OB's fabricated to date, so if other owners would take the time to investigate that area where the top of the motor bracket flange meets the swim step and where the swim step meets the stern. These are hairline cracks, typically multiple cracks in a similar, elongated radial pattern. I hope other R27-OB owners chime to see if this is a common occurrence. Our boat was fabricated July, 2018.

Bob & Kim
The Doghouse 2

 

[ixlr8]

There have a number of R27-OB's fabricated to date, so if other owners would take the time to investigate that area where the top of the motor bracket flange meets the swim step and where the swim step meets the stern. These are hairline cracks, typically multiple cracks in a similar, elongated radial pattern. I hope other R27-OB owners chime to see if this is a common occurrence. Our boat was fabricated July, 2018.

Bob & Kim
The Doghouse 2

Our boat was made March 2018. I will have to look at the motor bracket flange area to see if I have any cracks there. I will also have to see if the cracking between swim step and stern has gotten any worse after our last cruise. We were in a hurry to get home after our last trip and I didn't take the time to check.

 

[baz]

My R27-OB was assembled/manufactured June/July/Aug 2017, delivered to me Aug 16th 2017 after it had been bottom painted and was one of the first few to be built.

It had been trailered some 4 miles to and from the bottom paint shop, trailered some 30 miles from Kent to my Marina, and again from Marina to Kent for warranty work and back from Kent again to my Marina a few weeks later.

It was trailered using a fork lift to tow the trailer some 1000 feet from my Marina's lift out to my Yamaha shop for maintenance and back again to my Marina slip in Sep 2017.

Since Sep 2017 the boat has been in the water 100% of the time.

I always have the engines in the UP position when leaving my boat unattended in my slip. I put the engines down periodically to run them for about 20 mins. I use the mechanical bracket security latch to hold the F300 in its UP position and retract the two pistons that are used for adjusting the engine's trim position.