2004 Utopia 250 OptiMax base plate?

[sweaburgbull]

Hey all, first trip out in the lake this year and barely made it back to the marina boat ramp. Everything was purring the end of last year and had the gear and stator oil swapped before putting her away for the winter. First trip out in 2024 and was taking on a fair amount of water, a lot of water! Same answer I gave the wise guy at the dock, yes the plug were in…
I had a friend more marine savvy than I and his feedback was “he found the water leaking at the “base plate” and looks like there is a crack…”. “Great”.
Part 1 is whether anyone has seen this happen before? Causes?
Part 2 is that the Merc dealer doesn’t want to work on a Seadoo and BRP doesn’t want to work on a merc… Anyone have a good contact in southern Ontario I could reach out to? Dealer or better yet a good guy with a shop?!
I’m hoping to find someone willing to pull it out and maybe weld and reseal the base plate…?! Parts are becoming scarce and pricey…
Any input/advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Tim75]

Hey all, first trip out in the lake this year and barely made it back to the marina boat ramp. Everything was purring the end of last year and had the gear and stator oil swapped before putting her away for the winter. First trip out in 2024 and was taking on a fair amount of water, a lot of water! Same answer I gave the wise guy at the dock, yes the plug were in…
I had a friend more marine savvy than I and his feedback was “he found the water leaking at the “base plate” and looks like there is a crack…”. “Great”.
Part 1 is whether anyone has seen this happen before? Causes?
Part 2 is that the Merc dealer doesn’t want to work on a Seadoo and BRP doesn’t want to work on a merc… Anyone have a good contact in southern Ontario I could reach out to? Dealer or better yet a good guy with a shop?!
I’m hoping to find someone willing to pull it out and maybe weld and reseal the base plate…?! Parts are becoming scarce and pricey…
Any input/advice would be much appreciated.

And there is the reason for this forum. No one wants to work on our boats. So we do it ourselves out of necessity.

You will need to pull the engine. Eleven nuts (I think) to remove the engine. the cast adapter plate should be welded. No JB weld here.
As soon as you get the adapter plate out, order your new gaskets. You may have a hard time finding them. Check ebay for parts. There are boats being parted out all the time. If you don't have a service book yet, you will need it.