Yamaha Prop Guard Statements
The boating industry has long defended itself in propeller injury court cases by claiming propeller guards don’t work. Among their objections, the industry claims guards create too much drag, reduce performance (top speed), effect the handling of the boat, are not durable enough, get bent into the propeller, and they create blunt trauma injuries when they strike people.
But Yamaha was making the exact opposite statements about their propeller guard. Yamaha said their guard worked great, minimized drag and performance reduction, improved handling, was strong and durable for use in shallow water, and guards were essential for operating rescue boats near people in the water.
Our mid October 2012 posts echoed several of Yamaha’s own comments.
By early November 2012, everything Yamaha ever said about the propeller guard AND all records of the guard’s existence vanished from their website. We made many attempts to contact Yamaha about why they pulled all of their materials about the propeller guard, but they will not respond. That leaves us to suspect Yamaha erased their statements to protect the boating industry’s long standing legal defense, “Guards don’t work”.
Among the many specific statements made and deleted by Yamaha about their propeller guard were:
- “a new design of propeller guard, shaped to give greatest strength, with minimum water-flow disturbance to the propeller giving maximum performance when required.”
- “For shallow and unpredictable conditions, a Plastic Prop Guard or stainless steel Deflector Guard will assist in limiting the chance of foreign objects fouling the propeller. In addition, these guards aid control of water flow from the propeller and can increase thrust at low RPM.”
- Yamaha propeller guards, tailored to fit individual engines, are also specifically designed to have minimal impact on performance.”
- “When operating in a flooded environment there is also the possibility of casualties in the water, which means a propeller guard is essential to reduce the risk of injury.”
- “When operating in flooded environments the liklihood of swimmers/diver/casualties being in the water means that a prop. guard is essential.”
We dare the boating industry trade press to cover this important story. Don’t let the industry banish this life saving propeller guard just to protect themselves in court.
We need some help. We call upon:
- The press to cover this story, especially the boating press.
- Boating safety organizations and the United States Coast Guard to take action to prevent Yamaha from further suppressing this technology.
- The legal and judicial system to prevent Yamaha from destroying test data from which they claim this was the best propeller guard they ever tested.
- The boating industry itself to do what is best for the safety of their customers and put some peer pressure on Yamaha to do the right thing.
- Our fellow propeller safety advocates to help get the word out.
Below we provide details of the events surrounding Yamaha’s deletion of these materials. Read More →
