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  • 2019 G23 Shaft breaking?

    Hey all, I am the final negotiations of my new boat for this season. I have never owned a Nautique yet, but its always been at the top of my list. My one last fear is the broken shaft problems that have seemed to only happen to the G boats. I know my local dealer had a few as recent as last year. Just driving along and prop drops to the bottom of the lake. That would be a major problem on a lake such as lake Powell where you can be 1 or 2 hour boat ride away from the nearest marina.
    I have never even worried about this happening on any of my boats, but now in my research on the G23 it seems to come up a lot. Even my dealer admitted as recent as last year it was happening.
    So my question is, has Natique made the necessary changes to put this fear of my to bed? Any circumstances of this happening with 2019 models? I cant imagine the nightmare of having that issue on a trip to Powell. Especially in a storm with 2-4 foot swells. Fighting white caps and rollers, if that shaft breaks and power is lost, that could spell disaster...Do i have a legit concern or is this all in the past. Silly but this is my last major holdup with the G...
    Thanks in advance

  • #2
    I’m sure many will disagree with me, but having had a prop shaft break in my G in one of the last few trips out last year, it would be a definite concern of mine. An ongoing problem that lasts pretty much the entire span of both the 1st and 2nd generation of the model with no effort, either perceived or real, to correct and give a definitive answer or resolution to the problem tells me they still don’t know what the problem is or are unwilling to make changes to resolve it. Having to wonder if this will be the time my prop shaft breaks after spending that much money on a boat isn’t what I want to do. Sure there are situations that it might not be too big of a deal, but there are plenty of others where it would be terrible and potentially catastrophic. Either way it will end a great day, weekend, or trip and you’re left with the hassle of dealing with it. Great boat otherwise, but not going to be my next boat purchase.


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    • #3
      2015 G here. I watch this forum and FB closely. My ‘expert’ opinion is that yes it’s happened TOO much, but it is a small percentage. No reason not to buy the best boat on the market.


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      • #4
        They say they have it fixed with another mfg of shafts in 2019. But I am quite sure I heard that in years past.

        Here's 42 pages of reading for you: https://www.planetnautique.com/vb5/f...-prop-fell-off

        I think scattered throughout you can find stories of switching manufacterers. I used to be in the 'it's super rare, but so weird that it gets sensationalized' group, but not now. It happened to a friend of mine, and it is more common than I thought. My 2016 has 300 hours with no prop shaft breakage.

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        • #5
          Happened to my 2017 and 2018 G23. Haven’t heard of any 2019s. I’m hopeful the replacement shaft on my 2018 will be fine. I haven’t heard of anyone having two shafts break on the same boat.


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          • #6
            I have owned 5 G23s collectively with 730+ hours. I had a single shaft failure on my 2018 G after about 80 hours of 99% surfing time. After it occurred I reached out to fellow engineer contacts in the marine industry. I learned that Correct Craft procures its shafts from three manufactures. I could only learn the names of two of them: Western Branch Metals, and Marine Machining. I then spoke to engineers in the industry and they explained why the problem was occurring. In short, the ROOT cause was a combination of metallurgy and machining. To the best of my knowledge, all the shafts that failed on the 2017-18 model boats had the key way machined well past the prop hub. This was fixed on late 2018 and later shafts. My 2019 does not have one of these shafts. And I know 6 other surfers who have 2019s Gs and I have not seen one of the extended cut key way shafts.

            In summary, if you have a G23 that has a shaft with the key way cut so long that it is exposed when the prop is installed, there is a potential for the shaft to fatigue and fail at the key way. But let me be clear: Just because the key way is cut long, IT IS NOT a given that the shaft will ever fail because metallurgy was also identified as a combination in the root cause. You cannot visually inspect for metallurgy flaws.

            I'm sure some will blather about the failures that occurred on the earlier model Gs. These may have been caused by the same defects but I did not research these nor learn the root cause for them. So I have no comment about why the earlier ones occurred.

            Finally, I believe Correct Craft learned their lesson and has placed tighter controls on shaft production. I trust that they fixed this problem so I gave them another $160K for my 2019. Feel free to vote with your own money.

            Here are two pictures. The first is of the newer shaft on my repaired 2018. Notice the space between the prop hub and the strut within the red circle. If you rotate the prop you cannot see the key way exposed at all. This ensures a stronger shaft where the load is placed between the prop hub and strut.

            The second picture is of of the failed shaft. You can see the key way is cut so long that it extends to the strut (red circle).
            This longer key way cut is necessary but NOT SUFFICIENT for a failure to occur.


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            • #7
              Thank you for the responses. I’m goi g to be honest this problem is enough to keep me out of the G23 for now. I cannot risk even a small percentage of that happening while on an escusions at Powell. Worst nightmare is get caught in a famous Powell storm and while fighting the caps have the prop snap off and lose power. That would be a disaster.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Tcj711 View Post
                Thank you for the responses. I�m goi g to be honest this problem is enough to keep me out of the G23 for now. I cannot risk even a small percentage of that happening while on an escusions at Powell. Worst nightmare is get caught in a famous Powell storm and while fighting the caps have the prop snap off and lose power. That would be a disaster.
                Ok. But realize ANY boat can have the occasional failure. NO boat is 100% guaranteed to never fail. Brouse the owner forums...you will see serpentine belt failures, electrical/battery failures, prop strikes, overheating, transmission issues...etc. If you go anywhere a failure becomes a life threatening issue then you have failed to prepare. Have an anchor and sufficient line to anchor securely. Know the boat towing providers in your area. Carry an extra fire extinguisher and a cell phone/radio. To me a shaft failure is nothing more than a propulsion failure to manage. Any one of the issues above can render your boat dead in the water. Nearly 5,000 hours of inboard ownership has taught me there is no excuse for being unprepared.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by greggmck View Post
                  Ok. But realize ANY boat can have the occasional failure. NO boat is 100% guaranteed to never fail. Brouse the owner forums...you will see serpentine belt failures, electrical/battery failures, prop strikes, overheating, transmission issues...etc. If you go anywhere a failure becomes a life threatening issue then you have failed to prepare. Have an anchor and sufficient line to anchor securely. Know the boat towing providers in your area. Carry an extra fire extinguisher and a cell phone/radio. To me a shaft failure is nothing more than a propulsion failure to manage. Any one of the issues above can render your boat dead in the water. Nearly 5,000 hours of inboard ownership has taught me there is no excuse for being unprepared.

                  Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
                  Yes I agree but a lot of those other failures I can fix/manage on the water with the right tools/gear backups onboard. Not the same with a shaft failure...

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                  • #10
                    Not being funny but maybe think about a small trolling motor to stow away . There’s a guy on here that did that . That resolves the scared to death issue in middle of the lake .




                    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
                    Current Correct Craft Boat
                    [URL="http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/02/05/1e6128564805861d2625d7b7f8efd2f1.jpg"]2015 SANTE 210[/URL]

                    Correct Craft Boats Owned
                    [URL="http://www.planetnautique.com/vb5/attachment.php?attachmentid=17771&d=1340117700"]2012 SANTE 210 (Boatmate Trailer)[/URL]
                    [URL="http://www.planetnautique.com/vb5/attachment.php?attachmentid=14107&d=1313460568"]2003 SANTE 210 (Dorsey Trailer)[/URL]
                    [URL="http://www.planetnautique.com/vb3/attachment.php?attachmentid=14108&d=1313461675"]2007 SANTE 210 (Magnum Trailer)[/URL]

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Tcj711 View Post

                      Yes I agree but a lot of those other failures I can fix/manage on the water with the right tools/gear backups onboard. Not the same with a shaft failure...
                      That has not been my experience. You are unlikely to fix an impeller failure while bouncing around in heavy waves. You cannot easily fix a serpentine belt that has shredded in the same conditions. You cannot fix a propeller log strike that prevents you from even idling without damaging the thru hull connection. You can't fix water in the fuel. You cannot fix a broken shutoff switch that prevents the engine from starting unless you have a spare one on board. You cannot fix a $15 cam sensor that prevents the engine from running. I have seen all of these failures over 3 decades and more.

                      Are you planning to carry all these spare parts and all tools along with you to cover every possibility? Your scenario of white caps on Lake Powell will prevent you from fixing most any issue until you have recovered your boat from the water.

                      When my shaft failed I called my dealer from the water. He asked me to check a number of things. But when I saw the drive shaft spinning on the V-drive and we were unable to move I knew I had lost the prop. He overnighted a new shaft and prop, met me at the ramp and repaired/returned my boat in 72 hours. It was not a big deal. But had I not checked the weather before my trip and a monster storm occurred, well it would have been a disaster. Fixing almost any issue in those circumstances is very unlikely.

                      I'm not going to tell you what boat to buy. But if you do the basic math, compare the total number of operating hours on G23s worldwide compared to the number of prop shaft failures, I think you will find that there is a MUCH greater risk of having any number of other more common failures occur on any boat. And most of them you will not fix until you recover your boat, especially when they occur in difficult weather.


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                      • #12
                        Everyone’s experience is completely different. A lot of it depends on when it breaks and where you’re at when it happens. The dealer can also make that situation somewhat bearable or otherwise completely intolerable. Mine was on the intolerable side of the spectrum.


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                        • #13
                          X Star or X24 should be on your test drive list, now that the G is off the table.
                          '08 196LE (previous)
                          '07 196LE (previous)
                          2 - '06 196SE's (previous)

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                          • #14
                            I call BS on this whole thread....

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by lucky7t View Post
                              Not being funny but maybe think about a small trolling motor to stow away . There’s a guy on here that did that . That resolves the scared to death issue in middle of the lake .




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                              With any significant wind an electric trolling motor will not even keep this beast in place let alone make headway. Best to keep a proper anchor on board and call for a tow.




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