Issues with your BRAND NEW BOAT in less than 6 months

[81 CC SEAOX 23']

You know we talk a lot about all the things we do and get and put in but have we discussed issues regarding taking delivery of you brand new boat and in less than 6 month had 1 or more issues with it.

I am not talking about your grievances or what company did what to you but just i.e. Bilge Pump or Water intrusion issues or "YOUR PROBLEMS YOU HAD"

Lets not turn this into a bashing deal its to get an idea of some of the common failures in new boats and things to look for when buying one or as a used new boat owner an issue that may be coming up to them sooner.

[ABoater]

Some obvious things might be...

Hardware vibrating loose, electrical connections loosening up, trim pieces falling off, plastic items that have been tightened too much now crackng under the stress of being used, drains clogging up due to building materials plugging up the lines and leaks around hatches, windshields and doorways.

Of course, we all know that if most electronic things will go bad, it will be right away, so check your gauges, senders, nav electronics, bulbs, breakers, etc...

Certainly not a complete list, but one to get things going.

[captbone]

First day with new 2000 21ft Regulator, one the second ride of the day, I was running at 30mph and crossed a normal sized boat wake when the horn (mounted under the gunnel starboard side) fell down into the boat. I nearly fell over when my brand new boat started to shed parts! I stopped and crawled under to see that the horn was put in with too small of screws and the holes in the mounting bracket were too big. I removed the screws, put the right size screws with washers on and siliconed them into place.

I was pissed and went thru every single inch of the boat that day and fixed, rebedded, and reinstalled anything I thought looked questionable (a few clamps, 3 wire ties and new battery hold downs). After that it was a dream! I was going to go back to the dealer but I figured I can do it better anyway. I figure that no matter how good a company is, a few VERY LITTLE things with surface no matter what. As long as the company/dealer is willing to do the right thing, then that is the all that I ask. Just my 2 cents.

I like your idea of having a new boat surveyed and will do that with every new boat I buy from now on. Thanks

[Brad1]

With the most recent new boat I had purchased (my Grady White), except for an intermittent rough idle of the Yamaha outboard (which completely went away after 27 hours), it was flawless right out of the box. Everything worked (and fit) perfectly from day one, and everything still works perfectly after the first 110 hours of use. Not even so much as a loose screw.

[Jay A]

On my 2001 Sea Pro W/A the "hold open" companion way strap mtg. screw pull out on my 1st trip offshore. Fixed it with epoxy. Four years and it's still holding! That's it!

[bossee]

Hi,
I bought a new boat in 2003. First summer - crack in gelcoat on upper motor bolts. Was fixed on warranty (filling up airpockets with epoxy and then a stainless steel rectangel on upper bolts in inside transom. Actually this fix made the boat better then it was before.
Second summer the whole gas tank came loose. I made a temporaily fix myself and the newt winter it was fixed under warranty.
There has been some more things that I have taken care of myself.
I do not think there exists a boat that will not fail with something during the first years of use.
What is important is how fast and how good the rapair/fix is done.
And in my opinion, many small things can be fixed by myself easier then tell the dealer to do it
(at least in the middle of the season).


/Bo

[Auburn1]

Livewell and washdown hoses that leak. Had to replace the saltwater washdown due to leakage from the pump suction hose that prevented the pump from priming. Replaced one of the livewell hoses since I could not get the leak to stop no matter how much I cut back and re-clamped. Little things, all works great now.

[captsuperfly]

My first new boat was a 17' mod V Sundance center console. The day after delivery, the handle to the throttle control broke off! it seems that the cables were binding. They raised the binnacle by fabricating a box and no more problems with that. Next, I noticed that a piano hinge that held on the fishbox cover had a bunch of screws backing out. I made the dealer rebed them (could have done it myself, but if the hinge failed, I wanted the complaint on record. A few weeks later, I noticed that the motor would quit and the primer bulb would go soft every time the tank got below 1/2. Turned out to be a split in the pickup tube.

After those bumps in the road, I had a great time with the boat.

[jwb]

1995 angler - loose fittings on fuel tank causing motor to stall, butt splice in main power feed to instruments left in bilge without any sealing. rotted thru in about 3 months. afew small gel cracks. a kinked drain hose in 1 compartment. All within 90 days, never any more problems after that.
1999 hydrasport- on 2nd trip while moving boat, an electrical connector that would pull loose only when you hit a nice wave and then would kill all electronics, defective hardware on jumpseats, had a few other minor issues but after the boat was a few years old.

[jwb]

BTW, fixed all issues except the kinked drain myself(boat was still in the dealer's lot). I find it easier to do it myself than to wait a couple of weeks in the middle of the season. NEVER had an outboard mechanic who could service the engine in less than weeks, so I do it myself.

[B-Faithful]

I had two issues (other than overall wiring to be less than stellar):

My dealer did a poor job wiring my windlass. They ran it through a 30amp breaker and of course it blew a fuse everytime I used it under load.

My marina did not prep my bottom correctly before bottom painting it. I will have to have the boat soda blasted, barrier coated and bottom painted this spring.

[O'Yeah]

B-Faithful - 1/2/2006 9:45 AM

My marina did not prep my bottom correctly before bottom painting it. I will have to have the boat soda blasted, barrier coated and bottom painted this spring.

Hey Greg, what's happening with your bottom? Is the paint coming off or did you get barnacles? The reason I asked is we had a batch of bad paint and are waiting to here from the manufacturer on how they are going to make good on it. In the past they paid for bottom cleaning and re-painting.

[tg]

While I was picking up my boat from the builder I noticed a couple of things. Clamshell mounted backwards and no caulk on underside seam of motor bracket.

[B-Faithful]

Oh Yeah, It was just flaking off like either the wax wasnt properly removed or he used the sand-less primer and didnt apply in time. See here for pics and story.

http://thehulltruth.com/forums/threa...ighlightmode=1

I ended up sending the owner of the marina a check for 50% which he returned claiming not to be able to resolve the issue prior to April 15th 2006. I think it was more out of spite being I refused to pay 100% until the issue was resolved or I had something in writing from the paint mfg saying they will pay to rectify. I have since changed marinas to a place where I am much happier.

Mind you this was my own marina and not the dealer.

[capt. thunder]

I bought a brand new 2003 boat. I had a leak in the cabin after the first rainstorm. Turned out the water was coming through the nav lights. Nothing a little 5200 coudn't fix. Also had a loose ground wire in the fresh water system. Tighted the nut, problem solved. Gotta fix things yourself sometimes.

[Glen E]

In the first 6 months of delivery, I noticed that the floor fishbox lids had some give to them and found them getting hairline cracks underneath. Did not think too much about it, but for 06 Wellcraft changed the build from FG to VEC composite which added a lot of strength to the lids. Dealer replaced all the lids with the new composite after discssing with Wellcraft N/C on warranty.

[Jay A]

B-Faithful - 1/2/2006 10:48 AM Oh Yeah, It was just flaking off like either the wax wasnt properly removed or he used the sand-less primer and didnt apply in time. See here for pics and story. http://thehulltruth.com/forums/threa...ighlightmode=1 I ended up sending the owner of the marina a check for 50% which he returned claiming not to be able to resolve the issue prior to April 15th 2006. I think it was more out of spite being I refused to pay 100% until the issue was resolved or I had something in writing from the paint mfg saying they will pay to rectify. I have since changed marinas to a place where I am much happier. Mind you this was my own marina and not the dealer.

"B": Just saw the pics and I'm stumped on the condition of the hull under the flaking! Is that a primer? If so the only thing needed to do is light sand with 100 grit and re-paint with 2 coats of bottom paint. No need for blasting at all. One mistake prepping new hulls is to remove wax release with solvents. All that's needed is a good powerwash prior to sanding and any wax residue left over will be easily removed with the sanding.Some solvents will soften anddamage gel coats in areas where the gel coat didn't cure properly.Proper sanding and a primer type paintsare not needed,the 1st coat of bottom paint is an excellent primer and the 2nd coat should be applied as soon as the 1st is done! My rule of thumb is: PW.S.R.P & L.(PowerWash,Sand,Rinse,Paint & Launch) And the most important, Launch within 16-24 hrsafter painting final coat!

[solarfry]

Still waiting for dealer to replace my new boats hatches. Both look poorly patched and factory offered to replace by 12/08. Still waiting..

[Joe]

My trailer lights went out. And then payments started coming due. Thats the part that REALLY sucked.

[81 CC SEAOX 23']

I have had Engine Computer issues
Bilge pumps failure .... yes 2
frozen starter
water intrusion thru bilge pump and i/o rubber boot