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200 hour Supercharger Maint for 2017?

Seabee

Well-Known Member
Messages
19
Reaction score
3
Points
52
Boat Make
Chaparral
Year
2017
Boat Model
VRX
Boat Length
24
So two separate salesmen at different dealers said the 2017 does not need a 200 hour 'rebuild'. Not sure if this is another bit of misinformation.

I've found that knowledge in general is lacking. And pretty disappointed on the turnover info I got when I bought mine yesterday. Spending two days researching things so when I hit the water tomorrow I have a successful launch!

One example, after my 280 mile trip home, I looked and saw there's a couple of valves under the hatch that should be "closed when trailering to prevent engine damage". They were open. He also said not to worry about the transom straps on the trailer. I chose to take them off my trade in... I'd never trailer any distance without the back of the boat strapped down! Also, each of the four trailer tires were 10lbs underinflated...

Good thing I wasn't totally new to boating; in my book, the dealers should know at least if not more than the buyer!

OK, I am editing this comment...." One example, after my 280 mile trip home, I looked and saw there's a couple of valves under the hatch that should be "closed when trailering to prevent engine damage". They were open. " I now realize that this applies when water towing the boat, not towing behind a truck! Looks like earlier models you had to buy a hose pincher?
 
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Welcome to the "joys" of owning a Chap Vortex. Like you said, you will find very little knowledge from the dealer on these boats (the owners manual doesn't help either). They're just too new still. Your best bet is this forum and the facebook page. There's a HUGE amount of knowledge at both locations.

As far as the transom straps go, I was very uncomfortable towing without the the back end tied down. Do you need them? That's probably a matter of opinion. I towed for a while without them, but ended up buying some and use them regularly.
 
I've got a 2015 and have the shutoff valves for on-water towing. My old SeaDoo Islandia did NOT have valves and I did need to buy hose pinchers for it. (Then pray I got the right hose because the manual sucked only slightly less than the Chaps do!)
 
So I spoke to a tech in Atlanta who said the 2017's do not need the 200 hour maintenance, but it depends on the date code of your engine. My engines were built in 2016 so I'm more than likely going to need the rebuild.

He suggested that if I were to keep the boat for years to come and put hundreds of hours on it, it may make more sense to spend a few hundred dollars ($700 X 2) more to replace the superchargers at 200 hours with the new model thereby negating the need for future 200 hour Rebuilds. I imagine it's a labor cost savings too, just swapping parts versus taking out, tearing down and rebuilding and replacing.
 
From everything I've been told the BRP superchargers still have the requirement for 2 years / 200 hours. I just did them on my 2012 at 74 hours. I didn't want to wait until one failed to do it. There is no longer a high risk of the supercharger failure taking out the motor, some wait till they start to fail to rebuild. RPMS won't go over 6000 once they fail.

The tech may be confused about the new 2017 300hp Rotax supercharger, it does not have a rebuild kit, you have to replace the supercharger when it fails.

If your capable of removing the supercharger, the rebuild service is ~$450 each. There is one bolt that is a pita, but having the right tool helps.
 
I also heard that Rotax MY2017 engines now have maintenance free supercharger, since Rotax implemented what was learned during the 300hp supercharger development.
 
I also heard that Rotax MY2017 engines now have maintenance free supercharger, since Rotax implemented what was learned during the 300hp supercharger development.

This may or may not be good, maybe they will put in next years boat. The drawback is if the supercharger has to be replace (out of warranty). I'm thinking that I would rather rebuild at a certain hr. interval than have the cost to replace the supercharger...x2.
 
The base Rotax warranty is 3yrs with a possibility to get an additional 2yrs extension.
I'm sure Rotax has tested those superchargers in watercraft more than their rated useful life, plus it's a know fact that a supercharger in a Jetboat is less prone to issues than in a watercraft.
 
The base Rotax warranty is 3yrs with a possibility to get an additional 2yrs extension.
I'm sure Rotax has tested those superchargers in watercraft more than their rated useful life, plus it's a know fact that a supercharger in a Jetboat is less prone to issues than in a watercraft.

Is it a know fact because there are so many more watercraft than jetboats?
 
Well I was referring to the driving cycle of a JetBoat versus a Watercraft, not the quantity.
The ratio of failures was much lower on JetBoat as you have less dynamic operation & definitely less engine overspeed operation (wave jumping rev limitation).
 
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