Red Cloud. wrote:

On Fri, 06 May 2005 00:22:01 GMT, "TC" wrote:

18' CC

I bought a new boat last year. I have not even had it a year. A
couple months into ownership, small cracks began to form where the
deck meets the sides. There were some other cracks throughout the
hull, mostly on curved egdes. Not really bad but cracks nonetheless
on a new boat.

I took the boat back to the dealership (different from the
manufacture) and they spoke with the manufacture. The boat
manufacture said these were from the glass being too thick. They
said to grind it down and smooth it out. The dealership decided to
fix it by grinding down the cracks and reglassing. After grinding
it down a bit, the dealer found voids in the glass and they think
this is the problem.

Are the other cracks voids? Will more cracks form?

Anyway, they have had my boat for 3 weeks now (eating up my season
for Dolphin and Cobia) and when I went to pick it up today, I was
PO'd. There were still a few small cracks, the glass job on the
seams was not finished correctly (a lip around the edge from tape,
I assume, glass that was rough and not buffed; also glass that
needed sanding); the boat obviously was only washed but not buffed,
etc. I ran my hand on parts of the boat and picked glass dust. The
glass was not smooth and shiny in the work areas but coarse and
rough - like it was sanded and left that way.

I told the shop manager that I used to work for an autobody shop.
When we completed a vehicle, it was detailed. Any issues could be
easily found at this point and fixed. He was expecting me to accept
this poor workmanship by saying he has a new detail crew.

I also complained about a guage that retained moisture for a day or
two after getting wet - the only one out of 7 guages. They said
that's just the way it is, nothing they can do.

And to boot, I was told by another dealership location (same
company) that they were not going to carry my boat anymore. My
salesman said he was full of it. Guess what? The shop manager tells
me not only are they not going to carry my boat, but my motor won't
be carried either.

At this point, what can I do? I would like to work this out so I
can go fishing. Should I contact an attorney? Would I be out of
line to ask for some compensation for my "pain and suffering" -
only a fisherman will understand LOL. I mean, it looks like I will
be without my boat for at least a month of excellent fishing. I
bought a new boat and I feel like I have a used one.

Thoughts? Opinions?

Why didn't your independant surveyor catch these problems before you
took delivery?

rusty redcloud

These problems did not start showing up until about a month or so after
I got the boat - presumably after I started using it and the impact or
flexing of the boat brought them to the surface.