OEM Bow Roller on new Yamaha Boat causing you damage?

[Leojay]

Most likely it has. Perhaps you already purchased a replacement bow roller on your brand new boat. Help to make a change in the quality of materials being supplied on our factory trailers.
Let Yamaha know here:
Sign the Petition

 

[haknslash]

Shouldn't you address it with Shoreland'r since they make the trailer?

 

[Leojay]

I wrote my check to Yamaha, they need to address it with Shoreland'r in my opinion, we will see.

 

[Hoyt]

Signed via Facebook

 

[drewkaree]

Shouldn't you address it with Shoreland'r since they make the trailer?

IMO, this is more of a dealership issue - Leo said he wrote his check to Yamaha, but unless he directly bought from Yamaha, he actually bought his boat from the dealership. Yamaha buys the trailers from Shoreland'r for our boats, but ultimately, it's the dealership that can (SHOULD) trade out the bow roller from the get-go. There's 3 parties here that CAN do something, which means there's going to be 0 parties that WILL do something. It sounds petty, and you'll be made fun of by a crappy salesman, but tell the dealership to swap out the roller with one of your choosing, or knock that dollar amount off of the sale price. The comment I know that will come your way is "Are you going to let this boat go because of a $40-50 roller?", and the instant response should be "Are you going to pass on selling me a boat because of a $40-50 roller?"

I didn't believe just how badly and quickly it would affect my boat, and I didn't take my own advice. Anyone doing research here would do well to take to heart all the advice of how bad this can affect your new purchase.

 

[Dixie Highway]

Respectfully, I do not agree this is a dealership issue. If you go to buy a car off the lot and there are things you don’t like, then you either:
a) Look elsewhere for a different brand.
b) Negotiate the terms of the deal to your liking or know that going in, prepared to do something about it after purchase.
c) If the first dealer won’t negotiate, go to a different one.
Anyone that uses a pickup truck for actual work knows a bedliner protects your investment. This is not a “standard” feature, often a factory option, but you either know it’s a good investment from personal experience OR you’ve done your research and know this. If not, you scratch up your new $50,000 truck bed and learn your lesson. Two minutes of research shows this is a common issue, so when I purchased my boat I had that knowledge in hand. Moot point, as the salesman and I were talking he discovered I was a forum member here and offered to do it pre purchase without me asking. The boat/trailer combo is sold as a package deal by Yamaha. Yamaha sources the trailer from Shoreland’r. You put the pressure on Yamaha, they spec a different trailer and/or trailer components.

 

[Dixie Highway]

I agree with the OP’s direction here by the way, make the manufacturer aware and let them choose to address it. Or not, their choice.

 

[drewkaree]

Respectfully, I do not agree this is a dealership issue. If you go to buy a car off the lot and there are things you don’t like, then you either:
a) Look elsewhere for a different brand.
b) Negotiate the terms of the deal to your liking or know that going in, prepared to do something about it after purchase.
c) If the first dealer won’t negotiate, go to a different one.
Anyone that uses a pickup truck for actual work knows a bedliner protects your investment. This is not a “standard” feature, often a factory option, but you either know it’s a good investment from personal experience OR you’ve done your research and know this. If not, you scratch up your new $50,000 truck bed and learn your lesson. Two minutes of research shows this is a common issue, so when I purchased my boat I had that knowledge in hand. Moot point, as the salesman and I were talking he discovered I was a forum member here and offered to do it pre purchase without me asking. The boat/trailer combo is sold as a package deal by Yamaha. Yamaha sources the trailer from Shoreland’r. You put the pressure on Yamaha, they spec a different trailer and/or trailer components.

Y'know, you're right, that's a bad look at it or bad phrasing on my part. I agree that this is NOT a dealership issue at all. A more appropriate way for me to have phrased it should have been along the lines of this issue being something, at this point, that the dealership is going to be the only one to solve the issue. To your first point, if we were to apply it to our boats, I don't believe anyone is going to look elsewhere for a different brand simply because of the bow roller. I don't think you were saying this, btw, I'm just pointing this out because in SPITE of the warnings around here, many still buy a Yamaha, myself included. I'm learning as I go that I should heed the warnings of you guys on this forum LOL

Your second point is more along the lines of what I was really trying to point out. I read many threads about the roller, ignored them or shrugged them off as less significant than I felt was warranted, so I didn't negotiate the swap of the roller, and was left to deal with it myself. I look at this kind of along the lines of "coolant for winterizing". How you view the importance or lack thereof will dictate what you do.

I guess the problem with the approach of this is that we, having bought our boats already, have essentially told Yamaha that the roller isn't going to deter us from buying their boat, but man, we're sure pissed that this has to be dealt with. I don't see being able to bring enough pressure to bear on this issue, although I do agree that it IS an issue.

I agree with the OP’s direction here by the way, make the manufacturer aware and let them choose to address it. Or not, their choice.

I agree, as well. I "signed". It's the least I could do, since I already threw my money at them mindlessly

 

[Bluewater272]

I signed it, I had no damage from the roller but changed it out anyway to avoid any potential for it. To me, this isn't a shorelander issue or even remotely close to being a dealer issue - Yamaha specs the trailer, and spec'd it poorly. I think we've gotten used to blaming others for trailer stuff (I have no idea how we sucked so many tires out of the tire company before they finally wised up).

 

[Leojay]

Bow Roller Blues: UPDATE
A couple of weeks ago many of you took the time to sign a petition seeking change in the quality of the OEM bow rollers supplied on Yamaha Boats. Many of you suffered damage, and some were pro-active and prevented damage by replacing the OEM roller with an aftermarket brand.
Yamaha Marine customer service has now received the petition along with other supporting documentation. It contained the names and commentaries from over 150 Yamaha Boat Owners
Today Dec. 5th I have received confirmation that the matter has reached the upper management and they are actively researching the situation
Perhaps the spec requirements imposed upon Shoreland'r going forward will be improved upon for the benefit of future boat owners, time will tell
While I understand this is not a big deal for some, and gelcoat marring may be considered par for the course, we the consumer should not be expected to pay for a brand new product that maintains substandard components, thank you for your support

 

[anmut]

Btw, I called Shoreland'r to ask why my brand new trailer on my brand new boat still has bulb tailights that I'll have to spend money on replacing. They said it was how Yamaha orders them - so same with the bow roller. Yamaha needs to pay just a little more attention to their trailer sourcing. Will $40 in lights and a $20 roller really decrease profits on new boats that much vs. customer satisfaction?

 

[haknslash]

^^^^Of course not. They'll just add another $200 to the MSRP and pass it along to the customer.

 

[Leojay]

If my trailer that came with my new Yamaha had a Stolz roller and LED lights all around I would be fine paying $200 more. Paid close to that anyway upgrading it all. I agree with you 100% Anmut.

 

[haknslash]

If my trailer that came with my new Yamaha had a Stolz roller and LED lights all around I would be fine paying $200 more. Paid close to that anyway upgrading it all. I agree with you 100% Anmut.

If you paid $200 you’d be getting ripped off. You can get rectangle submersible LED trailer lights and Stoltz Ult-4 for less than $100.

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[Leojay]

True, but I also replaced the triple light plate at the center of the rear cross bar too. That also came as incandescent OEM. Still under $200, but my time and labor is worth something too.

 

[OrangeTJ]

The old school bulbs are one thing, the roller that immediately damages the gelcoat is another. I changed mine out on my 2011 (which shows they've been using the same crap for at least 8 years) after maybe 5 loadings/unloadings and it had already left permanent marks. If I were doing it again, I'd swap it before even driving the boat home. When I bought my MB, the bow roller was one of the first things I looked at upon delivery - and it was a nice soft one. It is lame that Yamaha keeps specing this junk.

 

[anmut]

When I was at the dealership the last time I noticed their floor model 2019's had the damage on the boats with the black gel coat. I pointed it out to the guy and he was all "it'll buff out..." *eyeroll

 

[NewBoater]

My Black SX210 definitely had some marks when I got the boat and I switched out the roller ASAP after I bought it.

 

[anmut]

So it came like that from Yamaha? Didn’t you ask wtf on the inspection?

 

[Ricks]

We have the 2020 210 FSH Sport on factory order. I ordered the upgraded trailer. Do you guys know If this roller is still on new models ? If so does anyone have a picture of the defective roller. I have picked a dealer for boat delivery so I could have them change the roller. $50 for a new roller is nothing compared to the price of this boat. I agree this should be taken care of by someone other than the consumer but I don’t want to damage the paint. This happened to me on a new 1989 Ranger boat I bought. Didn’t see the damage the roller caused until it was to late to buff it out.
Delivery is scheduled by March so I have time to get this problem solved.