Why did our ski pilon fail and rip off our entire engine cover? What did we do wrong?

Question

We just screwed it into the spot it is suppose to be screwed into. Have we missed additional pieces or something? The boat is a 1997 Bayliner 1854 Ski/Fish Boat. Whole engine cover came flying off and ripped off the boat.

Answer 1

The motor engine cover is not a good place for ski pylon. You need a solid mount. I bet the factory didn't install it there.

Answer 2

Skiing puts an enormous amount of pull on that pylon, they have to be backed up with something.

Don't know about your specific pylon, but the ones that I have seen rip out were either placed into a rotten deck or were not adequately backed up with a plate or the largest washers possible. On my boat the bolts, not screws, from the pylon go all the way thru the hull and are backed up by washers and nuts. When I bought the boat I put in the largest washers that would fit and then double nuts to prevent them from coming off.

Shoot us a photo of your pylon and maybe we can suggest reinstall to your boat.

To everybody: now you know why we NEVER sit passengers/observers behind the pylon. They can cut loose, and do serious bodily harm.

Answer 3

the problem first started when you bought a bayliner.

ok, sorry, didn't mean to start a round of bayliner-bashing.

seriously, they are the economy model, after all, (well, I guess tahoe is the real economy model).  For instance, when they installed the ski pylon fitting, they probably didn't through-bolt it.  Or even if they did, the fasteners might not've been sealed against water intrusion.  Or maybe the hardware wasn't of the highest quality.  Or all of the above.

Answer 4

It would help if you could be more specific on the mounting places where it went and how it ripped off and what it carried with it.

If it mounts to the floor anywhere, inspect the holes where it mounted to for rot.  Bayliner is known for cutting corners when it comes to boat production, so they might have skipped on proper silicone sealing the floor mount where the ski pylon went.

Otherwise, if it mounted further to the stern of the boat, its most likely the bolts were too weak or the mounting area was not properly "beefed up".  That would be a disaster waiting to happen.

Replace your motor cover, fix the holes properly, and go with a different towing system on your boat.