Questions about the 255

[NAVYREDMAN]

My wife and I just picked up a new 255 and we took it to the lake the first day to do the break in period and then the Gulf the next day.

First I've been seeing question on here regarding the aerators in the live wells. Are these supposed to have an actual aerator or is it just the water filling it that is considered aeration? I ask because I don't see anything moving the water when the fill is turned off.

Next I had an engine warning. It said BCU error turn off BCU immediately and contact Yamaha dealer. I turned the engines off for a while. Probably two hours and when I turned them back on the code returned. So I turned the engines off and then turned off the cutoff switches for like 30 seconds and turned everything back on and the code went away for the rest of the trip back to the ramp. Any ideas on this?

The boat was also listing very badly to the port side. I attribute that to the severe pull to the right. Do the dealers have an alignment tool to straighten it out properly or does that have to be done underway?

Like a lot of others I've also got drainage issues in my cold storage and my head compartment. I'll let the dealer take care of that.

On the lake my bilge wasn't working and I didn't realize it until I pulled the drain plug. I fixed that myself, the harness wasn't completely seated.

Last, I can't figure out how to register the simrad and get rid of that startup message. I have a lowrance legacy account from a previous plotter and I was able to transfer all my routes and waypoints I just can't get my account and the simrad to register.

Besides that, what I considered very minor issues, this boat is amazing. My wife loves it, which was a huge concern lol. The dogs are still learning it. They were used to the sx195 where they could see over the gunwale, so one of them kept going to the bow to look over the edge and that would make her even more scared lol. After she got to play at the sandbar for a couple hours she was a lot more calm and enjoyed the rest of the trip. I really love the washdown options, what a great benefit. I do wish Yamaha had made a bigger freshwater holding tank, but this one will certainly suffice.

After coming from the sx195 I was really expecting to have a ton of storage on this thing, man was I wrong lol you definitely need to be creative to find space

 

[Judge]

I believe the BCU Error (Boat Cobntroil Unit) might be indicating an issue with the buckets. That seems to make sense if the boat was pulling to port and the port bucket wan't opening fully.

That being said..... Jeff from CobraJet has also posted the procedure for checking the nozzle alignment. They are often not well aligned from the factory.


I found the following info posted from a Yamaha Tech awhile back so I thought I would post it for you and anyone else it might help:



BCU errors are commonly found in the exact conditions you have described. The system is designed to safely move the gate into Forward, Neutral and Reverse. If the system senses unusual amp draw or resistance to perform these gate position changes a BCU error will result. This would be a normal error if a rope/debris or sand were lodged in the gate, or corroded shift gate cables caused resistance, or an impact caused damage to the gates. If all seems to be in correct order and the boat is experiencing the error on a "chronic level" you may need to consider my recent findings. Look for the plastic reverse gate making any contact with the jet housing. Sometimes the gate makes a large rubbing mark but I recently had one where the mark was only an 1/8 inch long and barely visible. The Plastic reverse gate is most likely to rub at full lock turn in either direction during a gear change or during the reverse gate movement that happens during each start/stop engine cycle. The system is also more vulnerable during a start/stop cycle. When the engines are running the gates will be in whatever position the hand levers demand. When the engine is shut off the gates will need to be in the up or the forward position. If the engine was shut off while in the hand control was in the forward position the gates will not move much. If the engines where shut off with the hand control in the neutral or reverse position the gates will need to move up several inches. While these gates are moving to the forward position a few seconds after the engine is shut off and little rub will cause the error. A common BCU error scenario is the boat is running in neutral or reverse and a person turns the steering wheel full lock in either direction and then shuts the engine off. Another common scenario is a person turns the wheel full lock to either position and then starts the boat. If these two scenarios cause a BCU error I have had to either readjust the steering cables to prevent the Reverse gate from rubbing the housing or even slightly file down the plastic gate to prevent the rub. There are several other causes of BCU errors but they are mostly caused from bad batteries or electrical wire connection issues. Please note if an error occurs most of the time the boat will return to normal if the Steering wheel is turned straight, the engines are shut off, the key is shut off and the battery switches shut off for about a minute. Then switch the batteries back on, turn the key on and restart the engines.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

The list to port…. Did you have the aquarium live well full on the port side but the rear starboard live well was not full? This will definitely cause a list to port. The list to port will also cause the boat to want to turn to the right… so if you didn’t have the starboard live well full, and you had passengers in the port bow area that would increase the list and the tendency to turn right. The same thing happens on my 210 if the live well, only one in the rear starboard side, is not full.

The post by @Judge is spot on, especially what the mechanic said regarding the BCU errors. I have seen several posts here with people having trouble with the E drive, they have ranged from loose battery connections, batteries not fully charged, and one guy who’s handle I can’t remember had major issues with the electric steering. In the last case it is how the cables are ty wrapped to the controller unit, apparently this control unit is used on outboards as well if memory serves.

Went and did a search and found the thread… this is page 4 I believe, but read the whole thread, this guy got put through the ringer getting his steering sorted out.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/maiden-voyage-failure-2021-252sd.32266/page-4

Did you only have the BCU message once in two days of boating? Was it on the first or second day?

Live wells: While my 210 fsh does have an aerator I do not think the 255/ 252 fsh boats do, when fish or whatever alive is put into the live well you leave the pump running and it just cycles the lake or ocean water through them via the fill pump and the raised drain pipe.

@Roger Vrooman had some issues with the starboard side bow fish box not draining properly…. Check out post #15 in this thread… https://jetboaters.net/threads/new-255-fsh-owner-with-a-couple-of-s.39045/#post-619827
You can see why his fish box was not draining properly! Roger has also done some very clean installs of stuff on his boat as well as @Zackdadams. Use the search function to find their posts!

I’m glad you and the Missus like the boat! And that you can see that the other issues you have are minor.. there are a lot of use with smaller FSH’s or different boats that lust after the boat you have LOL! Welcome to the FSH club!

 

[NAVYREDMAN]

I believe the BCU Error (Boat Cobntroil Unit) might be indicating an issue with the buckets. That seems to make sense if the boat was pulling to port and the port bucket wan't opening fully.

That being said..... Jeff from CobraJet has also posted the procedure for checking the nozzle alignment. They are often not well aligned from the factory.


I found the following info posted from a Yamaha Tech awhile back so I thought I would post it for you and anyone else it might help:



BCU errors are commonly found in the exact conditions you have described. The system is designed to safely move the gate into Forward, Neutral and Reverse. If the system senses unusual amp draw or resistance to perform these gate position changes a BCU error will result. This would be a normal error if a rope/debris or sand were lodged in the gate, or corroded shift gate cables caused resistance, or an impact caused damage to the gates. If all seems to be in correct order and the boat is experiencing the error on a "chronic level" you may need to consider my recent findings. Look for the plastic reverse gate making any contact with the jet housing. Sometimes the gate makes a large rubbing mark but I recently had one where the mark was only an 1/8 inch long and barely visible. The Plastic reverse gate is most likely to rub at full lock turn in either direction during a gear change or during the reverse gate movement that happens during each start/stop engine cycle. The system is also more vulnerable during a start/stop cycle. When the engines are running the gates will be in whatever position the hand levers demand. When the engine is shut off the gates will need to be in the up or the forward position. If the engine was shut off while in the hand control was in the forward position the gates will not move much. If the engines where shut off with the hand control in the neutral or reverse position the gates will need to move up several inches. While these gates are moving to the forward position a few seconds after the engine is shut off and little rub will cause the error. A common BCU error scenario is the boat is running in neutral or reverse and a person turns the steering wheel full lock in either direction and then shuts the engine off. Another common scenario is a person turns the wheel full lock to either position and then starts the boat. If these two scenarios cause a BCU error I have had to either readjust the steering cables to prevent the Reverse gate from rubbing the housing or even slightly file down the plastic gate to prevent the rub. There are several other causes of BCU errors but they are mostly caused from bad batteries or electrical wire connection issues. Please note if an error occurs most of the time the boat will return to normal if the Steering wheel is turned straight, the engines are shut off, the key is shut off and the battery switches shut off for about a minute. Then switch the batteries back on, turn the key on and restart the engines.

Wow! That's great info. Thank you for such an informative read. Everything you it mentioned could certainly be culprit, but I suspect it was probably sand kicking up of the bottom. I'll have to be more cognizant of that in the future. I don't every ground my vessels, but I did notice the jets were kicking up more sand than on my last boat.

 

[NAVYREDMAN]

The list to port…. Did you have the aquarium live well full on the port side but the rear starboard live well was not full? This will definitely cause a list to port. The list to port will also cause the boat to want to turn to the right… so if you didn’t have the starboard live well full, and you had passengers in the port bow area that would increase the list and the tendency to turn right. The same thing happens on my 210 if the live well, only one in the rear starboard side, is not full.

The post by @Judge is spot on, especially what the mechanic said regarding the BCU errors. I have seen several posts here with people having trouble with the E drive, they have ranged from loose battery connections, batteries not fully charged, and one guy who’s handle I can’t remember had major issues with the electric steering. In the last case it is how the cables are ty wrapped to the controller unit, apparently this control unit is used on outboards as well if memory serves.

Went and did a search and found the thread… this is page 4 I believe, but read the whole thread, this guy got put through the ringer getting his steering sorted out.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/maiden-voyage-failure-2021-252sd.32266/page-4

Did you only have the BCU message once in two days of boating? Was it on the first or second day?

Live wells: While my 210 fsh does have an aerator I do not think the 255/ 252 fsh boats do, when fish or whatever alive is put into the live well you leave the pump running and it just cycles the lake or ocean water through them via the fill pump and the raised drain pipe.

@Roger Vrooman had some issues with the starboard side bow fish box not draining properly…. Check out post #15 in this thread… https://jetboaters.net/threads/new-255-fsh-owner-with-a-couple-of-s.39045/#post-619827
You can see why his fish box was not draining properly! Roger has also done some very clean installs of stuff on his boat as well as @Zackdadams. Use the search function to find their posts!

I’m glad you and the Missus like the boat! And that you can see that the other issues you have are minor.. there are a lot of use with smaller FSH’s or different boats that lust after the boat you have LOL! Welcome to the FSH club!

Thank you for the quick reply and excellent informative links.

I actually went through the troubleshooting you mentioned while I was underway. I intentionally filled the port side live well before starting to see if it would actually cause a list. I waiting until I got out in the Gulf and was able to open it up before I fully determined the boat was listing. At that point I drained the tank and both my wife and I were standing at the leaving post at full throttle on a plain and it was still listing and pulling. The boat is mostly empty so overloading on one side is also not an issue. The only extra weight on the port side was the dogs and I can't imagine that the boat would be that sensitive to around 150 lbs

I have read that post about the tubes being installed poorly and I would imagine that's what's going on with mine as well. I just have no time to get in there and mess with that stuff.

My live wells do have the long tubes and I figured that's how it worked, but the port live well continually overflows into the boat. Is that correct?

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Thank you for the quick reply and excellent informative links.

I actually went through the troubleshooting you mentioned while I was underway. I intentionally filled the port side live well before starting to see if it would actually cause a list. I waiting until I got out in the Gulf and was able to open it up before I fully determined the boat was listing. At that point I drained the tank and both my wife and I were standing at the leaving post at full throttle on a plain and it was still listing and pulling. The boat is mostly empty so overloading on one side is also not an issue. The only extra weight on the port side was the dogs and I can't imagine that the boat would be that sensitive to around 150 lbs

I have read that post about the tubes being installed poorly and I would imagine that's what's going on with mine as well. I just have no time to get in there and mess with that stuff.

My live wells do have the long tubes and I figured that's how it worked, but the port live well continually overflows into the boat. Is that correct?

No it is not correct ! There was someone else who was having that issue but I can’t remember which thread it was…got nothing on that one

That’s odd about the list.. I don’t have anything beyond what I told you.

 

[NAVYREDMAN]

No it is not correct ! There was someone else who was having that issue but I can’t remember which thread it was…got nothing on that one

That’s odd about the list.. I don’t have anything beyond what I told you.

Thank you for telling me that's not correct, I'll add that to the list for today.

 

[Judge]

Thank you for telling me that's not correct, I'll add that to the list for today.

When you are at idle or just floating, is the boat listing to the left or only when you are in motion?

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Thank you for telling me that's not correct, I'll add that to the list for today.

I think the guy I’m thinking about who had that issue drilled some holes in the drain tube a bit lower down to lower the water level. I remember he showed some pics of the port live well and I had taken a screen shot and put a couple of arrows pointing at two drains that appeared to be under the clear top that I thought should have allowed the water a place to drain to….

 

[NAVYREDMAN]

When you are at idle or just floating, is the boat listing to the left or only when you are in motion?

Ya know... I'm not positive, but I'd say more than likely only underway because it was a pretty severe list and we were sitting at the sand bar for a couple hours so I think we would have noticed.

 

[NAVYREDMAN]

I think the guy I’m thinking about who had that issue drilled some holes in the drain tube a bit lower down to lower the water level. I remember he showed some pics of the port live well and I had taken a screen shot and put a couple of arrows pointing at two drains that appeared to be under the clear top that I thought should have allowed the water a place to drain to….

That's very interesting because the starboard live well fills to approximately 6" below the lid and stayed there. So it makes sense the front live will should be the same.

 

[Judge]

Ya know... I'm not positive, but I'd say more than likely only underway because it was a pretty severe list and we were sitting at the sand bar for a couple hours so I think we would have noticed.

Then if you think it is not happening until you are underway, I would be leaning towards one of the jet not producing thrust. Given you had the BCU error, I would fire it up out of water while someone moves the throttle to forward.... neutral.... and reverse. Look to see that the buckets are moving freely and of they are opening and closing fully.

Your list may actually be drag from one of the jets not producing enough thrust.

 

[NAVYREDMAN]

Then if you think it is not happening until you are underway, I would be leaning towards one of the jet not producing thrust. Given you had the BCU error, I would fire it up out of water while someone moves the throttle to forward.... neutral.... and reverse. Look to see that the buckets are moving freely and of they are opening and closing fully.

Your list may actually be drag from one of the jets not producing enough thrust.

I agree, I find it interesting that the code is control related and I'm having control issues. I have an appt for Thursday at the dealer. They're coming to pick it up from my house. Hopefully I get it back for the weekend lol

 

[NAVYREDMAN]

When you are at idle or just floating, is the boat listing to the left or only when you are in motion?

I took it out again last night and it is definitely listing while idle. I had a very hard time getting it on the trailer straight. There was no water in the hull either, so that makes me a bit concerned

 

[MilesPrower]

I took it out again last night and it is definitely listing while idle. I had a very hard time getting it on the trailer straight. There was no water in the hull either, so that makes me a bit concerned

Did you ever get this figured out?

My 255 FSH Sport E is definitely port-heavy. The only way to get it to level is to fill the freshwater tank AND the aft starboard live well. I make it a point to fill both tanks before I head out. I'm assuming the two batteries on the port side are causing the lean. I've even gotten into the habit of steering with just my left hand while I stand on the starboard side of the helm.

I can't imagine that the boat would be that sensitive to around 150 lbs.

Heck, my 50 lb dog will make the boat list to one side. This hull is extremely sensitive to weight distribution, and really, the only way to fix the problem is to add trim tabs. I haven't gotten to that point yet. Instead, I just redistribute my family to various seats on the boat before we go up on plane. And more recently, I take my bigger (and trim-tab equipped) boat when I'm boating with more than a few people onboard.

 

[NAVYREDMAN]

Did you ever get this figured out?

My 255 FSH Sport E is definitely port-heavy. The only way to get it to level is to fill the freshwater tank AND the aft starboard live well. I make it a point to fill both tanks before I head out. I'm assuming the two batteries on the port side are causing the lean. I've even gotten into the habit of steering with just my left hand while I stand on the starboard side of the helm.



Heck, my 50 lb dog will make the boat list to one side. This hull is extremely sensitive to weight distribution, and really, the only way to fix the problem is to add trim tabs. I haven't gotten to that point yet. Instead, I just redistribute my family to various seats on the boat before we go up on plane. And more recently, I take my bigger (and trim-tab equipped) boat when I'm boating with more than a few people onboard.

No, I didn't get it figured out. I took it out 30 miles into the Gulf Friday night after I picked it up and then last Saturday I took it out 20 miles in really bad seas and both times when I got back and loaded it on the trailer is still listing. Last time I went out with 4 people and I tried redistributing bodies throughout the hull and I just didn't notice and difference. Obviously when we're not underway you can feel weight shifting, but I really didn't notice any thing change while on plain.

I've actually read many complaints on Facebook and other place online that the port list is very common. I'm not very pleased with that especially considering that can effect drainage.

This last time I also had the boat loaded as heavy with fishing gear as I had. I even had the cold storage full of ice.

.

 

[MilesPrower]

Well dang, @NAVYREDMAN, I'm sorry that the list-to-port is still a problem. With the aft-live-well full, the forward-live-well empty, and the freshwater tank full, and nobody else on the boat, does the boat float without listing when you're standing on the centerline of the boat?

If it floats level, but then starts to list when you're running the boat straight ahead, then your jets are misaligned or your reverse-buckets aren't opening fully, as @Judge mentioned already above.

You can test the reverse-buckets while you're rinsing each motor by moving the appropriate binnacle forward and checking how far the bucket opened. Because the Sport E has servo-actuated buckets, each bucket only moves when its corresponding engine is running.

 

[NAVYREDMAN]

Well dang, @NAVYREDMAN, I'm sorry that the list-to-port is still a problem. With the aft-live-well full, the forward-live-well empty, and the freshwater tank full, and nobody else on the boat, does the boat float without listing when you're standing on the centerline of the boat?

If it floats level, but then starts to list when you're running the boat straight ahead, then your jets are misaligned or your reverse-buckets aren't opening fully, as @Judge mentioned already above.

You can test the reverse-buckets while you're rinsing each motor by moving the appropriate binnacle forward and checking how far the bucket opened. Because the Sport E has servo-actuated buckets, each bucket only moves when its corresponding engine is running.

It's certainly unfortunate and with the other list of issues forming I'm starting to be underwhelmed.

I've tried every different set of scenarios I can think of and it's there. Sometimes I can tell I don't want it to be there so bad that it feels like it's somewhat flat, but it's very easy to see by eye and feel in your feet, heck you can see all the water draining to the port side.

I absolutely do not want to have to pack the boat heavy on one side for a 100k boat to float flat.

I think the shop fixed the pull I was having, but the port list still exist.

I really love the idea of the boat, but I'm starting to feel like the application of the idea was at least a partial failure. There's way to many issues with way too many boats.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Can you get someone from the dealer to go out on the water with you?

Did you ever check the buckets to make sure they’re opening all the way?

 

[NAVYREDMAN]

Can you get someone from the dealer to go out on the water with you?

Did you ever check the buckets to make sure they’re opening all the way?

They actually water test the boats with customer permission. I didn't actually check the service sheet sheet after I picked the boat up to see if they addresses the port side list. They are typically very good and very thorough with their work and I've never had a need to double check it.

I've got a new list of warranty issues including my console glass cracked and fell apart while I was underway last trip. I will make sure they address the port side list in writing next time .

I have not checked the buckets yet, I'm out of town on business for 3 weeks, so that'll have to wait until then. Thank you for your suggestions.