32 replies to this topic

[Redrooster]

Bought a new 2010 C180 SE 255hp. Had bad cavitation, took it back and the ride plate wasnt sealed. Got the boat back and it was better but still had the problem. Ran out of summer and had to store the boat.

Took the boat back this season, they claimed that the wear ring is worn beyond spec. The spec is 14 thou and mine is worn to 15 thou. I have 20 hours on the boat and they wont warranty the ring because its a wearable item. So I pay to replace it. They checked the carbon seal, the pump seal and the ride plate again. Called me today and said they tested it and that it was fixed.

I took it down to the river after work, it is better but I still cannot launch using full throttle. The best I can do is 50% and then it cavitates after that.

Extremely dissapointed with this boat. Taking it back to the dealer tomorrow.

Is there honestly any one that owns one of these boats that can be sitting at a dead stop in the water, slam the throttle all the way forward and have the boat launch without cavitating?

i would be interested to hear any kind of success story with one of these boats. Everyone I have talked to in person has this problem and most of the jet boat forums are littered with horror stories about this boat.

[Kevin Leclair]

We never had any issues with our 08 Challenger 180. To me it still sounds like there are some issues in the wear ring or the impeller itself.

Keep us posted.

[Redrooster]

Thanks for the feedback Kevin.

So you could be at a dead stop and snap the throttle wide open and it wouldnt cavitate?

[Kevin Leclair]

Yes we could.

[Challenger 180]

Yes we could.

I also have C180. Never had any of these problems in the three years I've had mine. It's a great boat and has no problem pulling skiers. Keep pressing the dealer to get it straight for you. Good luck.

[duramaxen]

I have an 08 and don't think I have any problems. What exactly does it do when it cavitates?

[jpearcd]

I have a 2010 challenger 180 SE. I bought it new this spring and it now has 35 hrs. I have no problems with the boat cavitating. The boat takes off from the start at WOT without any issue. There must be something that the dealer is overlooking.

[Dug43]

I have a 07 Challenger 180 and I have trouble pulling one skiier or wakeboarder out of the water if there is more than 2 people in the boat. I used to have a 97 Challenger and we routinely pulled 3 skiiers out of the water, a couple of times we pulled 5 skiiers without any problems. Something is wrong with my 07 and the dealers don't seem interested in fixing it however they would gladly sell me a new one.

[Redrooster]

I have an 08 and don't think I have any problems. What exactly does it do when it cavitates?

If you quickly push the throttle all the way to the wide open position from idle the engine hits the rev limiter and the boat doesnt accelerate. I can only open it up about 1/2 throttle or else it cavitates and then I have to back off the throttle and start again.

Thanks to the few of you that stepped up and responded that your boat works the way its supposed to.

[Redrooster]

Took the boat back to the dealer again today. They still have not come up with a solution. They are going to take it to another dealership that has more experience with boats than they do. They primarily deal with quads and snowmobiles and have another dealership for the boats so they are going to send it into them.

Ill let you know if they come up with a fix.

I found this on you tube. not my video but it gives you an idea of what cavitation is. Mine cavitates a lot worse than this boat does.

Have a look:

Youtube cavitation video

[Redrooster]

Since the last post they have replaced the wear ring and that made no difference. They took the pump apart again and could not find anything wrong anywhere. So they told me that there was nothing they could do and sent me on my way with the boat. I called the brp cust service # and put in a claim. They told me to take the boat back in and give them the claim # and have the dealer call them. So I did. Mean while I also got in touch with the sales manager and he has pushed on service to get the boat fixed. They had another 2010 c180 with a 215 there that they let me take out and try And that boat launched faster and harder than my 255. It didn't cavitate at all. So they put the pump out of that boat in to mine to see if that would fix it but it didnt. I took mine out last night after they did the swap and it still hits the rev limited like crazy when I try to launch it hard but has great mid range and top end. So I dropped it back off and am waiting to hear what they will say today.

[kseroski70]

If I slam my to full, it will kind of act like it isn't getting water or air to the supercharger, then it will pick up in couple of seconds. But it I take 2-3 seconds and go smoothly to full, then no problems at all.

[moochy]

Should you have your 10 hours and first service in before cracking full throttle and testing this cavitation problem? I have been taking it easy as per the manual so far and am upto six hours.

[cavitatorhater]

Hey Redrooster, terribly sorry to hear about your troubles with your boat. We bought a brand-new, non-current 2010 C-180SE w/ 255hp and tried it for the first time yesterday. Immediately after launching the boat it became obvious that it had a horrible cavitation problem. The lake is clean and we didn't suck up a bunch a crap, we followed the manual regarding minimum water depth requirements.... Literally even with the throttle opened only 1/5th it will begin to cavitate like crazy.

After reading about your experience I'm a little frightened honestly - especially seeing as the closest dealer is 2.5hrs away. I checked the intake (clean) and the impeller looks good so I'm not sure what to think. I have the boat booked in in 2 weeks but I'm not very hopeful.

CAN ANYONE TELL ME HOW TO CHECK IF THE RIDE PLATE LEAKS??

Also, if anyone can point me to something else that could cause this I would really, really appreciate it. It was pretty disheartening for the family when the thing ran like crap.

cheers!

[cavitatorhater]

Had one of my colleagues at work who is an amazing Technician as well as an old Seedoo tech look at the unit and he also took it for a ride. He figured the dealer installed the impeller during PDI and that it felt to him as though it had the incorrect impeller installed. I used to own an atv/snowmobile and motorcycle dealership for a decade and we did have some critical tuning components to install during PDI - mostly due to the horsepower loss at higher altitudes (they all came tuned for sea level).

My boat is supercharged so i cant see why the dealer should have to install a different impeller than what is supplied with the boat (assuming there is one supplied). Also, he figured that it had been accidently exchanged with a non-turbocharged unit. It seems like it cavitates however when you crank the steering wheel to either side you can pretty much get the jet to "hook up" then it seems pretty fun actually.

please anyone - any thoughts?

[cavitatorhater]

Had one of my colleagues at work who is an amazing Technician as well as an old Seedoo tech look at the unit and he also took it for a ride. He figured the dealer installed the impeller during PDI and that it felt to him as though it had the incorrect impeller installed. I used to own an atv/snowmobile and motorcycle dealership for a decade and we did have some critical tuning components to install during PDI - mostly due to the horsepower loss at higher altitudes (they all came tuned for sea level).

My boat is supercharged so i cant see why the dealer should have to install a different impeller than what is supplied with the boat (assuming there is one supplied). Also, he figured that it had been accidently exchanged with a non-turbocharged unit. It seems like it cavitates however when you crank the steering wheel to either side you can pretty much get the jet to "hook up" then it seems pretty fun actually.

please anyone - any thoughts?

[MT180SP]

OK so I have researched the internet forums about this cavitation or ventilation "problem" till blue in the face. I have a brand new (just broke in past the 10 hours) Challenger 180SP with supercharged H.O. 260 engine. My boat has "cavitated" with full throttle at dead stop since new. In fact, it cavitates if I go full throttle up until the craft is doing at least 10 mph. Then the sucker throws you back in your seat at full throttle. Now, I have gotten good at "feathering" the throttle from a stop to about half way for a half second, then 3/4 for another second or so, then full on, and this boat will plane within 2 seconds and be at full speed (close to 50) in under 10 seconds easy. I am very happy with the performance of this thing! However, for awhile, and especially after reading forum after forum, I thought my cavitation issue was a "problem" like everyone else said. Then I got to thinking: this cavitation issue is only on the high performance, high hp boats. And it has been an issue for over a decade now. On countless, and I mean COUNTLESS boats. Has anyone ever stopped to think that just maybe SeaDoo knows what they are doing and that cavitation at full throttle from a standstill is normal as these engines produce more and more power? I mean, why else would they KEEP producing boats with the "problem" if it is truly a "problem?" And selling them!

Now I called 3 separate dealers from two different states right after I knew my boat had full throttle from standstill cavitation, and at the time thinking it was an issue I should be concerned with. ALL 3 had the exact same answer: it is normal. In fact, two of them were kind enought to detail the reasoning: simply put, they said it is like too much power in a car -- full throttle at standstill and you just sit and spin and probably hit the rev limiter until the car gets going or unless you let off. Hmmm, sound familiar? Now I know some may think "wait a minute, how can the pump suck up ALL the lake water? Well of course, it isnt doing that. It is actually "overpowering" the water going in. With high output, at some point the impeller requires more fluid (water) then the fluid can actually flow in. This creates a void in which, you guessed it, air fills, and walah! cavitation. Some will not understand this, and think that water should flow as fast as the impeller throws it. This may be true on the output side of the impeller, but nothing is actually "pushing" the water on the intake side and so it relies on being "forced" in by the boat moving faster until this "forced" intake matches what the pump is demanding.

Simply put, when you floor it on a high powered boat, you demand more water then what is available for a little while until your boat speed starts to "shove" water into the intake. As far as the problem seemingly going away and allowing full throttle when the wheel is turned, I was explained that this is actually caused by some of the back pressure of the pump having to now push water down an angle instead of a straight through, and the back pressure allows the pump to stay full. This is evidenced by the thrust at full lock of the steering wheel at full throttle not quite being as much as going straight.

There is so much on the internet today about these boats having "problems" because you cant full throttle from a standstill. I am one who does NOT think there is a problem. I think engine output numbers have grown to a point that you simply cannot full throttle whenever you want anymore, just like a car with a powerful motor. And I actually think having TOO much power is a "problem" I am proud of! As long as you know how to control it, these boats are some of the highest performing boats the general public can buy!

[cavitatorhater]

Thanks MT180SP, some really good info there.

I owned a powersports dealership for a decade (not marine though), went to college in a mechanical related field (automotive mostly), and overall have been in some sort of automotive,powersports or heavy equipment field for around 20yrs. I totally understand what you are saying as there are obvious limitations when trying to get a boat this size to be able to get all 255 horses to the water as efficiently as possible without any cavitation - especially if the same basic pump is being used regardless of boat size, type, usage or horsepower - of course there are minor differences internally but it is not engineered specifically for this boat. They can't just add another 40 horspower and a more agressive impeller and have a set-up that won't cavitate whatsoever. I understand all of that.

This issue isn't at all like having too much power in your hot rod and spinning your tires on pavement, it's actually just like having your hot rod on black ice (I'm from Canada, I know what this is like). There is seriously something wrong with this boat - they would have never-ever brought it to market like this purposefully. It isn't a matter of feathering the throttle until it gets up to speed - max speed is around 15mph! The dealer pulled the pump apart and found nothing wrong, replaced the wear ring, some seal (I was driving when I took the call and didn't catch which seal) and they re-sealed the ride plate. I'm picking it up tonight and can't use it until the sealant used on the ride plate fully cures which is supposed to be on Saturday. Guess we'll see...

[MT180SP]

Wow it really does sound like a big problem. Max speed 15 mph? I cannot believe with that big of an issue the mechanics that tore into it could not find anything. Like the impeller slipping on the shaft or something major and obvious. I hope you find a solution to this and keep us posted!

Good Luck.

[trailblazor]

Please keep us informed cavitatorhater..

Any updates on yours redrooster?