2018 G23 H6
Bent prop shaft in July of 2018, less than 50 hours
Bent prop shaft in July of 2021, 187 hours
In both instances, we were cruising at 25 mph, ballasts empty, across moderately rough water at least 100 feet deep. In both occurrences, I felt a slight shudder that began to intensify and I immediately cut power. I guess I should feel fortunate that I was able to throttle back before the shaft sheared, so at least I was able to limp back to the dock.
After dropping the boat off at the dealer in 2018 I was told the bent shaft was a "known issue", which I assumed meant that the "known issue" had been addressed and was no longer a concern. I see now that really meant "we know about the problem and will replace a defective shaft with another defective shaft. Fingers crossed!".
That may be an unfair characterization, but I do take my boat in for service every 50 hours (usually sooner); a visual inspection of the shaft would take 30 seconds (after reading through this thread for a few days I know that the tell-tale sign of the defective shafts is that the keyway is cut all the way to the shaft strut). I'm particularly bothered as to how or why the replacement shaft, which was also defective, wasn't later replaced with a non-defective shaft once it was available. Seems like basic preventative maintenance to me and PR preservation.
Definitely, it’s frustrating to experience a failure when my family has invested a lot of effort to travel away from home base. Twice. Yes, it’s frustrating that a "known issue" in 2018 is still affecting my ability to use my boat in 2021.
I'm guessing that this is no longer a problem due to the lack of new posts to this thread? But I’m due to take delivery of a 2022 G23 in early August and I’m trying to find some reassurance that this "known issue" is now a "non-issue". I'm also here to ask for a reality check (if needed) as to what my expectations of my dealer should be regarding their handling of this affair, meaning is it realistic of me to presume the dealer would be on the look out for a defective item, especially one that they installed, and preemptively replace it during the course of servicing my boat?
My prop shaft at the point where the bend occurred, and the exposed keyway.
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