Attention Gear Heads. Hydrolock

[2023BlackR8SURF]

I actually didn’t buy the 2023, but bought at 2021 with 117 hrs on it. Had to find a trailer and finally did. Here is a pic. Just got it home Friday

[dsthomas]

Congrats... What engine did the 21 have? Where's the pics?

[FirstStar]

Curious if the the R8 had water in the ballasts?

[Big Block Power]

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Hey 2023BR8S.....so glad you found us my friend. Sorry to hear about your hydro lock woes. We have certainly seen more of these issues with the late 2018 thru 2023 models vs the earlier Cobalts. Blame it on Bu.

Any pics of your R8?
And welcome aboard mate!

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Another reason Cobalt should run Mercury power with the b4 surf drive. Solves all issues. Vp need to add flappers and Cobalt needs to adjust the risers. Bad bad bad. I would be pissed. #gomerc!

13 years of VP with no expence but oil and filter changes.

Honestly we have only heard it happen with the 380 and 430.
Yes I've had plenty of Volvos too but I'm very careful coming off plane even on my old boat.

[Krob1114]

Another reason Cobalt should run Mercury power with the b4 surf drive. Solves all issues. Vp need to add flappers and Cobalt needs to adjust the risers. Bad bad bad. I would be pissed. #gomerc!

13 years of VP with no expence but oil and filter changes.

Honestly we have only heard it happen with the 380 and 430.
Yes I've had plenty of Volvos too but I'm very careful coming off plane even on my old boat.

We started changing out habits in 2021 after reading info here.
Another thing I've learned from this group.
Thanks for all the posts.

[2023BlackR8SURF]

Congrats... What engine did the 21 have? Where's the pics?

Engine 380

[dsthomas]

Nice! Love your truck goes great with the boat! Also I really like the black tower with the boot stripe! We have the 380 haven't been disappointed at all. Does it feel like has much less pick up than the 430 you tested?

[2023BlackR8SURF]

Nice! Love your truck goes great with the boat! Also I really like the black tower with the boot stripe! We have the 380 haven't been disappointed at all. Does it feel like has much less pick up than the 430 you tested?

I cannot tell at all, but I only drove the 430 for like 30 seconds, then it hydro locked because of what I described earlier.

[2023BlackR8SURF]

Curious if the the R8 had water in the ballasts?

Did not.

[sgx5653]

I’ve got a 2020 R7 Surf with about 100 hours. Ready to begin our third season with the boat Memorial Day weekend and the boat won’t start. Same clank, same smoke from the starter, mechanic comes out and water is in the engine. It had been on the lift since October with no issues all last season. How does water get into the engine with the boat on the lift. We weren’t wake surfing in October, no cutting the engine coming off plane, no wave hitting the transome hard.

[sgx5653]

Dealer here in the lake of the Ozarks says it will be a month to get the boat back if the engine needs to be replaced. This shouldn’t be happening!

[dsthomas]

I agree, it's ridiculous. Sounds like maybe under warranty though. Just curious do you have a 380 or 430?

[sgx5653]

It better be under warranty but how to prevent it from happening again when it’s not. It’s the VP 380

[Big Block Power]

It happened putting it on the lift. Sorry but that sucks.

[dsthomas]

It better be under warranty but how to prevent it from happening again when it’s not. It’s the VP 380

People say the following helps: turn away from your wave/wake when coming off plane, come off plane slowly, don't chop the throttle, don't cove out with balast tanks full, don't back down the ramp too fast, let the engine idle 30 seconds before shutting down, don't back up too fast. Honestly I think it's really stupid that the boating industry hasn't figured out a way to prevent it from happening period. I get chopping the throttle, but all those other things seems like they are saying careful not to get your boat wet or it might break! Take heart in the fact that through research I've done it seems pretty rare, although this post has like 5 or 6 people reporting it having happened (sorry to all of you I think it's terrible), think about how many 380/430 Volvo penta produces every year.

I don't know if those things really help prevent it, as people say they practice those things and it still happen's. One gentleman mentioned that he practices those things, then one day idling back to his storage place, seeing the guys put his boat on the forklift to place it in storage, next time they take it out it's hydro-locked. I also see a lot of surf boats out that don't do those things and based on that I'd think it should be way more prevalent than is reported.

If it happened too often it would eat into the profits of the boating industry and if it did that you can bet they'd figure out a way to prevent it from happening. I'm sure doing the aforementioned items is good practice but honestly I think it's more of a fluke thing combining circumstances with other engine failure items (I'm no mechanic just a lay persons perspective). I've boated my whole life and had no idea what hydro-locking was until I read this post on this forum. I've starting doing all those things I listed but other than that I'm not going to worry about it. If it happens I'll deal with it. Sorry it happened to you, I hope it's like having lightening strike in the same place twice and you never have to worry about it again. Let us all know how it turns out for you.