Behind the Scenes with a Yamaha Outboard Repower Specialist

PartsVu Xchange Talks Boating chats with Karl Neiger, Yamaha Outboard Repower Specialist at Central Marine in St. Petersburg, Florida. Central Marine is a Cobia, Jupiter, Parker, and World Cat dealer, but they are also the largest Yamaha outboard repower dealer in the United States. As their lead salesperson, Karl has had a long and successful career in the marine industry, including managing the parts department at Central Marine before taking over the repower sales efforts.

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The pandemic has caused huge supply chain problems worldwide and across nearly all industries. As a Yamaha outboard repower secialist, what issues do you see within the Yamaha outboard supply chain?

There have been definite ups and downs but dealing with a top partner like Yamaha helps. All of the box dealers in the country have had issues. 90 hp engines are pretty much the only engines available right now. It isn’t easy to find any 115 hp or higher engines.

Before the pandemic, Yamaha always had reserve stock, and Central Marine had a lot of inventory. I always had between 500 and 600 engines in my warehouse to facilitate all the repowers and orders from small boat builders and dealers.

However, medium- and large-sized boat builders are about 70% of Yamaha’s business, so they allocate most of their engines to them. They want to keep those companies rolling, so we’re second in priority.

From Yamaha’s perspective, they’re trying to keep the whole industry operating as normally as possible, which must be tough. It’s been difficult for everyone, and it’s especially tough on us box dealers because Yamaha boxed engines are one of our main sources of income. Many customers love their boats and don’t want a new one, but they want a power upgrade.

There are some people who just want a new boat, though. As it is now, they’re likely going to have to wait until 2023, but Yamaha is doing their best to keep engines coming. We’ll get through this, and I wouldn’t want to be on any other team than Yamaha’s.

Do you see shortages within the Yamaha parts and products supply chain?

Yes, we’re seeing about 30-40% of Yamaha outboard parts in short supply right now, specifically maintenance parts. We’ve seen lower than normal volumes when these parts do come in. For example, we recently ordered three pallets of fuel-water separators last month but only received three cases.

Aside from shortages, are you seeing any freight-related damage during land transportation?

We see freight-related damage fairly frequently right now. We used to unload a truck, and there wouldn’t be any damage out of the 50 outboard engines on a semi. But there’s a shortage of truck drivers, and that’s causing freight companies to turn to more inexperienced people.

Most of the damage I see is a fork going into the side of the box and scratching the cowling. Yamaha is good about taking care of damages of this nature, though. If the cowling has a hole in it, they’ll send you a new one. Or if it’s just a scratch, they’ll let us send it to a local paint shop and color-match it, and they pay for everything. It’s not Yamaha’s fault, it’s more about the trucking industry, but it’s frustrating, nonetheless.

As a Yamaha Outboard Repower Specialist, how hard has it been to communicate with your customers as to when their engine will arrive?

That’s probably the most challenging part of my job, trying to give a definitive answer to my repower customers, my boat builders, and the other smaller Yamaha dealers.

I keep in touch with my customers, and they know I’ll call them as soon as their engine comes in. But it’s hard, especially knowing that my smaller boat-building customers can’t put out their boats—their customers only want Yamaha outboard engines.

Yamaha had some interesting new product announcements in 2021. What are some of your favorites?

The most impressive thing to me is their new Helm Master EX. Few people know what “EX” stands for—it stands for expandable. You can buy a plug-and-play digital engine control, and Helm Master EX allows you to add on autopilot after you have already purchased the boat.

My favorite feature on the Helm Master is Stay Point. Let’s say you get to your favorite fishing spot, and there’s a reef or a structure where the fish are going crazy. You just hit the button, and the Stay Point functionality will keep your boat in place, even with the current and wind trying to push your boat around. It does this by communicating via GPS with the computers and engines. You don’t even have to throw your anchor anymore.

Another new favorite is that they just remodeled the cowlings for their SHO series on the 200, 225, and 250’s. The final thing I will mention is that Yamaha added 30-40% more battery charging capability. All the new electronics and gadgets on today’s boats consume a lot of power, and the batteries need to be charged.

Are you seeing people having their cowlings and entire engines custom-painted?

My all-time favorite just recently popped up. The shape of a 250 SHO cowling already looks kind of like the Predator, but with some of these expensive boats, the engines are being color-matched with the boat as a whole. We also have some great local painters who can match any color there is and do a fantastic paint job.

Also, many people have started putting ceramic coatings on their boats and engines to protect the finish. It gives a hard, extra layer of protection and makes it much easier to clean the boat. You can almost just spray off the salt and then blow it dry or use a shammy.

Follow Karl on Instagram at @Yamaha7man. Or, if you’re in the market for a new Yamaha outboard, give him a call at 727-709-1026.

If you are in the St. Petersburg, Florida area, consider checking out Central Marine. They offer new and used boats, and of course, excellent service. They are Yamaha, Cobia, Jupiter, Parker, and World Cat dealers.

What to see some cool custom Yamaha cowlings? Check out our Instagram post.