Federal laws require marine manufacturers to issue defect recall notices when boats or related equipment contain “defects which create a substantial risk of personal injury” or when they do not comply with boat manufacturing regulations.

Several years ago, the Coast Guard agreed to give BoatU.S. monthly recall updates, which are published in BoatU.S. Magazine and online at the BoatU.S. National Recall Alert Registry at www.boatus.com/recall and at the Consumer Protection Database at myboatus.com/consumer/database.aspx.

The vessel recall program is administered by the Coast Guard’s Recreational Boating Product Assurance Division, a department that historically has operated in the shadow of — and without the funding given — high profile missions, like homeland security, drug interdiction, search and rescue and boating safety.

In addition to investigating safety defects, the eight-person office handles all liaison with boat manufacturers, writes manufacturing standards and administers a factory inspection program. The size of the department hasn’t changed in decades, despite the increased number of recreational boats being manufactured.

• American Honda Motor Co., 310-783-3401 (Recall 040110T)
2003-04 PWC models ARX1200T3, ARX1200N3, ARX1200T2, ARX1200T3 (17762 boats): PWCs with incorrectly tightened forward steering cable bracket bolts may develop a loss of steering.

• Baja Marine, Inc., 419-562-5377
Recall 040134S 2005 Outlaw (337 boats): Drive pump feeder wire overcurrent protection not located within 40" of battery source.

Recall 050002 Baja 302: 8 AWG wire from battery switch to main breaker is 80.” This exceeds rule that wires must be supported every 72"

Recall 050001S 2002-05 Baja 342 (31 boats): 2 AWG wire from battery switch to stbd dash panel runs 215" with no overcurrent protection. Repairs kits have been distributed to all boats in field, new battery switch will be installed.

• Bombardier Recreational Products, 618-439-9444 (Recall 040113T)
2004-05 Johnson 200hp & 225hp 4-stroke outboard engines: Outboard engines under certain operating conditions experience a momentary opposite-direction rotation of the crankshaft that can cause breakage or explosion of the collector assembly. ECM (electronic control module) will be replaced.

• Bombardier Corp., 715-848-8035 (Recall 040115T)
2003 Sea-Doo GTI, 2004 Sea-Doo GTI, 2003 Sea-Doo GTI LE, 2004 Sea-Doo GTI LE (21658 PWCs): In some conditions, the engine may fail to shut off when the safety lanyard cap is pulled from the post. Engine will continue to run at idle speed.

• Crownline, 618-937-6462 (Recall 040106T)
2004-05 210LX (JTC53036I304 through JTC56803G405) & 216LS: Some screws are missing on the Mercury shifter, which could result in the throttle cable popping out and eventual loss of control.

• Fineline Industries, Inc., 252-587-0405 (Recall 04R0400S)
2005 Cyclone C4: various defects.

Defects involving fuel system:(1) Vent hose was Type B2 and was longer than 3.5 ft; hose must be USCG Type A1 or A2; (2) Opening between fuel tank and engine compartments exceeds 2% of area between compartments. Natural ventilation system did not have adequate supply and exhaust openings.
Additional defect: Label for navigational lights did not meet Coast Guard regulations.

• Glastron Boats, 320-632-8395 (Recall 050027S)
2005 DS 215 (78 boats): Potential fuel tank puncture caused by drain installation.

• Mercury; MerCruiser, 405-743-5370 (Recall 050021T)
All carbureted V-6 engines prior to s/n 0W300013; all carbureted 5.0L engines prior to s/n 0W00010 & all carbureted MCM 5.7 engines prior to s/n 0W300755: Turn-key start carburetor retrofit kits may be lacking a pipe plug, which could result in gas leak.

• Polaris Industries, Inc., 712-336-3797 (Recall 040079T)
2003-04 MSX 140 PWC: Clearance between fuel return hoses and fuel injector brackets is insufficient. Contact may create one or more wear or abrasion points in the hoses, allowing fuel to leak into engine compartment. This creates possibility of fire/explosion if ignition source is present.
Even though Polaris Industries announced in December 2004 that it will no longer produce PWCs, the company is still responsible for making recall repairs.

• Starcraft, 260-593-2880 (Recall 05R0466)
2005 Aurora 2000: The natural supply and exhaust ventilation area should be a minimum of 12.96 sq. in. each. Two 3-inch supply openings and two 3-inch exhaust hoses were installed for an aggregate supply opening of 14.2 sq. in. and an aggregate exhaust opening of 14.2 sq. in. However, decorative grills installed on both the supply and exhaust openings reduced this area from 14.2 sq. in. to 8.3 sq.in. Also, an opening in the bulkhead and deck located between the fuel tank and engine compartments exceeded 2% of that bulkhead and deck area.

• S2 Tiara Yachts, 616-392-7163 (Recall 040112T)
2004-05 Tiara 3600: Seat assembly comes loose from slide adjustment mechanism due to short screws.

•Teleflex Canada, 604-270-7172 Seastar, Baystar (Recall 050028T):
Steering hose: Low burst pressure on nylon tubing in lot numbers 71335 and 71336, could cause possible loss of steering.

•Teleflex Canada, 604-270-7172 (Recall 050012T)
Teleflex Seastar cylinder HC5331 installed on Volvo SX, DP-S and XDP outdrive units: Cylinder may cause Volvo power steering cylinder to crack, resulting in possible loss of steering. Units were manufactured between 5/1/00 and 12/31/04.

• Westerbeke, 800-343-5948 (Recall 050026S)
Various generator models: Westerbeke reported non-compliant toggle switch on various models of generators that could result in accumulation of combustible fuel vapors in the back of the switch.

Voluntary Recalls

Occasionally, even though federal boat manufacturing regulations may not apply, marine manufacturers initiate voluntary recalls when they discover defects that make their products unsafe.

• Ronstan, 727-545-1911
2004-05 Series 60 & 75 All Purpose Stainless Steel Cheeked Blocks with Universal Head Post: The head post assembly in a small number of the products shipped between 10/29/04 to 5/12/05 may not have been welded to specification and in some cases may not have been welded at all. This may result in the product failing to meet its load ratings. There is a risk that use of a defective product could lead to personal injury, fatality and/or damage to property.

• Champion Parts, Inc., 800-850-0846 (Monday-Friday 7:00a.m.-5:00p.m. CST)
Champion Marine Carburetor MC60, a replacement part used on 1987-95 MerCruiser 200 5.0L engines (s/nos 0B525982 through 0F600999), 1996-97 MerCruiser 5.7L engines (s/nos 0F601000 through 0K999999), 1996-97 MerCruiser Ski 5.7L engines (s/nos 0F775200 through 0K999999): The carburetor may have a fuel/fume pipe that is not drilled through to the bore/throat. A fuel/fume line on a marine designed mechanical fuel pump provides a safe fuel exit to the carburetor in the event of a rupture of the fuel pump's double diaphragm.

If the diaphragm were to rupture, excess fuel could spill into the engine compartment and a fire could result and could cause serious personal injury and/or death.

Consumers with the recalled carburetor are to stop using it immediately and bring it to a service center to perform an inspection to determine if the recall condition exists. To determine if your carburetor is part of this recall, look for part number MC60 on the product label. If your carburetor has a fuel/fume line attached to the carburetor, it will be necessary to perform the following inspection. With the engine off and the battery disconnected, remove the flame arrestor and inspect the carburetor. Carburetors with a square notch must have a hole drilled through to the bore/throat for the fuel/fume line (see picture below). Affected carburetors will be replaced for free.

(c) Copyright BoatU.S. Magazine, September 2005