I am beside myself and don't know where to turn for help. I am 52,
just bought my first boat 5 weeks ago, from an Iowa farm couple, who
seem very honest. I don't think they realized the condition of the hull
when they sold it to me. It's a 1999 18 ft fiberglass Sea Ray bowrider.
I noticed a crack in the bottom of the hull, about 3", about 3/4 of
the way back , and water runs and drips out of it. I took it to
dealer. When they tried to drill a hole into the crack, they could
push it in without even turning on the drill. They said it may cost
5-6,000 if they were to try and fix it and that the hull is saturated.
I don't know where to turn. If I can't get my money back (which they
recommended) can I learn or should I think about learning to fix this
myself,and if so, how long will it take? Any help would be greatly
appreciated. Also, is there a temporary fix I can do, just to enjoy it
this summer a few times, without doing further damage? Thanks so much.

Terry

"Grinkles" wrote in message
ups.com...

I am beside myself and don't know where to turn for help. I am 52,
just bought my first boat 5 weeks ago, from an Iowa farm couple, who
seem very honest. I don't think they realized the condition of the hull
when they sold it to me. It's a 1999 18 ft fiberglass Sea Ray bowrider.
I noticed a crack in the bottom of the hull, about 3", about 3/4 of
the way back , and water runs and drips out of it. I took it to
dealer. When they tried to drill a hole into the crack, they could
push it in without even turning on the drill. They said it may cost
5-6,000 if they were to try and fix it and that the hull is saturated.
I don't know where to turn. If I can't get my money back (which they
recommended) can I learn or should I think about learning to fix this
myself,and if so, how long will it take? Any help would be greatly
appreciated. Also, is there a temporary fix I can do, just to enjoy it
this summer a few times, without doing further damage? Thanks so much.

Terry


Do not use the boat. Do not attempt to make any repairs.

Demand a refund. Put it in writing and send it certified mail.

If they do not oblige then hire a lawyer.

Lesson to be learned: Get the boat structurally surveyed by a professional
before purchasing it, or make your offer subject to a survey.

Good luck!

Just like Ebay.... buyer beware!


" JimH" jimhUNDERSCOREosudad@yahooDOTcom wrote in message
...

"Grinkles" wrote in message
ups.com...

I am beside myself and don't know where to turn for help. I am 52,
just bought my first boat 5 weeks ago, from an Iowa farm couple, who
seem very honest. I don't think they realized the condition of the hull
when they sold it to me. It's a 1999 18 ft fiberglass Sea Ray bowrider.
I noticed a crack in the bottom of the hull, about 3", about 3/4 of
the way back , and water runs and drips out of it. I took it to
dealer. When they tried to drill a hole into the crack, they could
push it in without even turning on the drill. They said it may cost
5-6,000 if they were to try and fix it and that the hull is saturated.
I don't know where to turn. If I can't get my money back (which they
recommended) can I learn or should I think about learning to fix this
myself,and if so, how long will it take? Any help would be greatly
appreciated. Also, is there a temporary fix I can do, just to enjoy it
this summer a few times, without doing further damage? Thanks so much.

Terry


Do not use the boat. Do not attempt to make any repairs.

Demand a refund. Put it in writing and send it certified mail.

If they do not oblige then hire a lawyer.

Lesson to be learned: Get the boat structurally surveyed by a
professional before purchasing it, or make your offer subject to a survey.

Good luck!

"Gene Kearns" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 9 Jun 2006 19:52:17 -0400, JimH penned the following well
considered thoughts to the readers of rec.boats:



Do not use the boat. Do not attempt to make any repairs.

Demand a refund. Put it in writing and send it certified mail.

If they do not oblige then hire a lawyer.

Lesson to be learned: Get the boat structurally surveyed by a
professional
before purchasing it, or make your offer subject to a survey.

Good luck!


Jim,

I know where you're headed with this, BUT....... since the seller was
not holding out as a dealer, do you think the buyer has any hope of
forcing a rescinded sale??

--

Grady-White Gulfstream, out of Oak Island, NC.

Homepage
http://myworkshop.idleplay.net/

Rec.boats at Lee Yeaton's Bayguide
http://www.thebayguide.com/rec.boats


A slight chance and it is worth a try. If the direct attempt with the
seller fails I would then get in touch with my attorney to see if there is a
case, which I think there is (I only play an attorney on television).

Yes, "Grinkles" apparently had every opportunity to survey the boat. Yes,
"Grinkles" apparently did not discover the defect prior to purchase.

But........if it can be found that the seller knew of this defect in the
hull just prior to putting it on the market.........then "Grinkles" has a
strong case of demanding a full refund.

How the seller did not know of this defect just prior to sale is very
suspect, and would be suspect to a jury if it ever got that far.

JMO.

On Wed, 14 Jun 2006 01:12:41 GMT, Gene Kearns
wrote:

since the seller was
not holding out as a dealer, do you think the buyer has any hope of
forcing a rescinded sale??

Probably not by *force* but perhaps by moral suasion and creation of
some FUD in the seller.

FUD = Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt

You bought the boat privately, there is no recourse. You can
go back to them and if they want can refund the money but there
is NO obligation to give you the money back. Hire an attorney if
you want... It isnt going to help you one bit but to just waste more
money on a lawyers services.

If you REALLY want to know what rights you have in your state go to
your local DMV. They might even have a website notifiying you
of your rights.

If you recide to go after them with a lawyer, and the seller has to
go for a lawyer and you LOSE they can go after you to reclaim
their lost attorney fees!!! HA So you'll have to pay for two
lawyers!

Anywho, if it were me.... I would get a good fiberglass guy over
and see what its going to really take to fix. They may be able
to grind/cut away the bad area and fix that right up.

Most likely the boat if going to be layed up in drydock to
dry out the hull.

Tom

Grinkles wrote:
I am beside myself and don't know where to turn for help. I am 52,
just bought my first boat 5 weeks ago, from an Iowa farm couple, who
seem very honest. I don't think they realized the condition of the hull
when they sold it to me. It's a 1999 18 ft fiberglass Sea Ray bowrider.
I noticed a crack in the bottom of the hull, about 3", about 3/4 of
the way back , and water runs and drips out of it. I took it to
dealer. When they tried to drill a hole into the crack, they could
push it in without even turning on the drill. They said it may cost
5-6,000 if they were to try and fix it and that the hull is saturated.
I don't know where to turn. If I can't get my money back (which they
recommended) can I learn or should I think about learning to fix this
myself,and if so, how long will it take? Any help would be greatly
appreciated. Also, is there a temporary fix I can do, just to enjoy it
this summer a few times, without doing further damage? Thanks so much.

Terry

On Thu, 15 Jun 2006 14:44:49 GMT, Gene Kearns
wrote:

On 15 Jun 2006 06:32:26 -0700, wrote:



Anywho, if it were me.... I would get a good fiberglass guy over
and see what its going to really take to fix. They may be able
to grind/cut away the bad area and fix that right up.

Most likely the boat if going to be layed up in drydock to
dry out the hull.


Captain Tostito has apoplexy every time these articles are posted...
but I think it is applicable and apropos....

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/core_materials.htm
http://www.yachtsurvey.com/cored_hull_bottoms.htm

Thanks Gene. Both articles are very interesting and informative.
--
John H

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