Grady White Problem

[boatdiver]

I currently own a 2001 282 Grady White Sailfish.

While I was on the phone with Grady this fall asking a couple of questions, I mentioned to them that when I hauled the boat out this fall there were a few blisters on the bottom in front of the trim tabs. When I say a few, I really mean it. There were maybe 15 total on both sides. Since I have had numerous boats, I figured that this wasn't a big deal, it really came out while we were talking. I didn't really expect anything to come from my comment.

To make a long story short, the customer service rep I was on the phone with seemed pretty concerned about it. He told me as soon as I could, take some pictures, grind one out, and report back to them. Well, I stalled and didn't do this until this week. I figured it didn't matter and they just wanted the information for future processes.

This Wednesday I called Grady, spoke with a great customer service rep., and emailed him pictures and an estimate, I already had one for the repairs to be done. He told me to he'd take it to engineering and let me know what they said. (at this point I just wanted to know why they happened, they didn't seem like "normal" blisters as they were totally dry)

Well today I get contacted by Grady White. They are actually going to help with the repair. 50%! Can you believe that. I'm so impressed that I just had to share this.

NOBODY covers blisters. This boat is Seven years old and they are stepping up and taking care of this.

How's that for customer service?

[49erJim]

Thats one reason why I have bought two Gradys. Customer Service is awesome.

[ohilovewater]

1st class folks.. great CR goes a long way

[goose70]

Great news. Given the great customer service, you might want to change the title of your thread.

[Afishinado]

[ancient angler]

geez, maybe its just me, but who would think a GRADY WHITE the best bla bla bla bla bla could actually even get blisters, especially such a "young" boat. Guess. Any other thread would have started off " this F'n boats onlys 7 years old and it cost 150K and the hull is all blistered up.... I know bayliners that have been in the water longer without any blisters".....

Anyways, shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttt ttttttttttt, I wish I could afford one. And at least there using all that markup to repair the shoddy work, instead of lining there pockets.

anyways,

[Ethan]

Nobody covers blisters? They agreed to only 50%.......... What about next year?

[BiloxiGuy]

Good deal. Are you the original owner?

[ABoater]

boatdiver - 3/7/2008 2:25 PM

NOBODY covers blisters. This boat is Seven years old and they are stepping up and taking care of this.

How's that for customer service?

That's great! Glad to hear it.

But before you say, "never", do some checking.

I personally know that MFG's such as (even) Bayliner have taken care of blisters when the boat was out of warranty.

Oh, and BTW, Grady's don't have "problems".

They have "concerns"...

[boatdiver]

To answer a couple of questions:

I named the thread as I did to get attention because I know people on the board love to bash Grady.

I never heard of a company covering blisters on a boat for the 2nd owner after 7 years.

The engineers think the blisters came from some post curing of the filler they use around the areas where the trim tabs are recessed into the hull.

You folks can say what you'd like but after 20 years in the boat business I can say that Grady Whites are expensive and they are worth every penny. If you think it's just in high margins, you might want to take an objective look at quality boats in general, not just Grady. I would venture to guess that quality boat builders make less percentage profit than the mid and low tier boat builders.

[Red Neck 25]

boatdiver - 3/7/2008 8:06 PM

If you think it's just in high margins, you might want to take an objective look at quality boats in general, not just Grady. I would venture to guess that quality boat builders make less percentage profit than the mid and low tier boat builders.

I wouldn't know about the profit notion but I bought a new Pursuit last year and have been the recepient of some very good customer service too!! And not only from Pursuit but from their vendors as well.

Ken

[draggenballs]

Boatdiver. thats great! Grady is a stand up company and I'll bet your next boat will be a Grady White. Some of the other Boat builders don't get that.

[silver01]

Goes to show you all boats have problems, even expensive ones.

[boatdiver]

silver01 - 3/7/2008 6:54 PM

Goes to show you all boats have problems, even expensive ones.

Correct, all boats have problems.

Good companies don't just dump them on the customer.

[silver01]

Thats true, even with my 17 year old boat, Pursuit has taken care of me.

[Bird Rock]

Post the pictures please. I'd love to see them.

[dropthatpuck]

Great to hear of a company taking care of issues *after* the warranty period is up!

[Trout Dog]

Actually I can't believe they decided to cover it, even 50%.

10 years ago I had a 86 Trophy Pro that had a ton of blisters, but that boat took a serious beating offshore.

Fast forward a few years when I had a 2002 22' Fisherman, I noticed it had a few blisters in the bow area and it really pissed me off. This boat was not abused or anything, and cost a mint. I spoke to Grady and said it was not covered.
The boat itself was great, perfect small fishing boat, but that blister thing really annoyed me.

Why can't they use vinylester resin ? They are top tier aren't they ? What do Sea Vee, Southport and the like use ?

[darbikrash]

Trout Dog - 3/8/2008 6:18 AM

Why can't they use vinylester resin ? They are top tier aren't they ? What do Sea Vee, Southport and the like use ?

Well then you wouldn't need customer service, because you wouldn't have blisters in the first place.