This is an account of our experience with our brand new Bayliner boat.
In August 2001 we purchased a new Bayliner Trophy model 2002 from
Olympic Boat Centers in Oyster Point, South San Francisco. (They have
since closed this store and relocated to San Jose California)
With the options we selected the purchase price was a little over
$36,000.
We took delivery of our boat at the Oyster Point dealership and after
loading up our fishing gear, motored the short distance from Oyster
Point to the bait dock in San Francisco. After purchasing a few
anchovies we headed out under the Golden Gate Bridge with the intention
of fishing the Duxbury Reef area just north of the SF entrance.
Just after entering the area known as the Potato Patch, we noticed the
boat responding very sluggishly and the bow starting to dive into the
small swells instead of riding over them like when we started out.
I opened the hatch in the motorwell (where the bilge pump is) and noted
the bilge was wet, but didn't have enough water to trigger the bilge
pump. I then opened the door to the v-berth, and just about lost it.
The cuddy was filled with water to just below the door. The bunks were
under water and all our gear was floating around. Our two dogs were
soaking wet and standing up on the bunks as water sloshed around their
feet. The porta-potty had also torn loose and come apart and was
banging around in the berth, it's contents now spilled into the berth.
My husband leaned over and took a peek into the berth and immediately
kicked a bucket my way and yelled "Start bailing!" as he turned the
boat around.
Heading back into the bay with a following sea, thrusts from the engine
drove the bow underwater. Once David had got our speed adjusted to ride
along with the swells (with the bow just inches from the water) I
stopped bailing to use the radio to inform the Coast Guard of our
situation. David could not take his hands from the helm and throttle
because we were in serious danger of broaching. When I keyed the
microphone, the VHF went dead. The circuit breaker had not tripped, but
we discovered later that the radio had been installed by the
manufacturer or dealer (not sure who did the install) with a 1/4amp
fuse which immediately blew when we tried to transmit. David instructed
me to ready the flare pistol.
I opened the storage compartment next to the seat on the port side and
found our emergency kit floating around. Fortunately it had not floated
into an inaccessible part of the bilge underneath the deck.
As we passed back underneath the Golden Gate and found smoother waters,
I looped the pistol and bandoleer from the overhead box and resumed
bailing.
Once in the bay, we were able to make a slow but steady way back to our
marina at Ballena Isle. I continued to bail water from the berth. At
some point, we noted the bilge pump starting to cycle. Opening the
access hatch over the fuel tank sending unit revealed water up to the
level of the deck. Water was reaching the rear compartment (and bilge
pump) by spilling through a small hole in the top of the rear bulkhead
where the fuel sender wire goes through.
When we reached the marina we tossed the holding tank pumpout hose into
the berth and drained it down to the level of the floor. We noted that
our spare life jacket had auto-inflated at some point as it floated
around in the berth. We removed the table mount from the center of the
berth to gain access to the bilge underneath the floor and used that
opening to suck the area below the berth deck dry. We also discovered a
small rectangular opening in the floor beneath where the potty had been
and used that access as well. For the next five hours, water continued
to leak into the berth as we pumped it out. We informed the marina
manager of our situation and they immediately brought down 115 volt
emergency pumps and installed them in the berth. With these pumps in
place, we called Olympic Boat Centers and explained our situation. We
were informed by Mike (I believe he is the store manager) that the boat
contained enough flotation foam that even if the last compartment of
the boat were to flood, the boat would not go entirely under water and
encouraged us to not worry about it and continue to enjoy the boat.
At this point, I have to stop and state that we believe that ANY
mariner who discovers 75% of his boat flooded and his bow under water
will be doing and thinking many things, but "enjoying" and "not
worrying" will be the furthest thing from his mind. I'll admit that as
I was bailing water, I silently prayed that I would be rendered
unconscious from hypothermia before experiencing the unpleasantness of
drowning, and that my husband wouldn't waste undue energy trying to
save my old carcase. This "Even if you are 100% flooded, don't worry,
be happy" mantra was repeated to us over and over again by both the
dealer and manufacturer over the next few months.
After several hours of literally begging the dealer over the phone to
assist us, he (Mike) located an off-duty salesman who lived in the area
to meet us in the marina. This person (can't recall name) met us in the
marina and assured us that the only problem was a "minor" leak in the
through hull fitting and insisted that we motor the nine miles across
the bay from Ballena Isle to the dealer at Oyster Point.
Again, I must stop to give credit to the folks at Ballena Isle marina.
When faced with the specter of a boat loaded with fuel and oil sinking
in their marina, they took immediate action to assist us. Their
engineer stayed with our boat and maintained the pumps while the marina
manager kept the office open well beyond their normal hours to allow us
to use the office phone to plead with the dealer for assistance.
Considering the situation, we would not be able to blame them if they
had chosen to tow our sorry excuse for a boat out of the marina to
protect the other boats.
After about five hours of pumping, the water stopped rising in the
berth and at the dealers insistence we left the marina (now night time)
and navigated by compass back to the dealer. (They wouldn't wait for us
to arrive and were closed when we got there.)
The following week, we were informed that our boat was "repaired" and
ready to go. We were told that the bait tank had been installed with
out any sealer and that it had been plumbed wrong. The moment we turned
on the bait tank, we were un-knowingly pumping hundreds of gallons an
hour into the bilge.
When we arrived to pick up the boat, we noted that the berth was STILL
full of water and pointed it out. The dealer attached a forklift to the
front of the boat trailer and lifted it to about the 11 o'clock
position to drain the water. After noticing that they had buried the
outboard into the asphalt, they lowered the boat, raised the engine,
and again raised the boat to about the 11 o'clock postion. A very small
trickle of water began to emerge from the garboard drain. When asked
why the water was not pouring out, the dealer explained that "because
of the way the boat is built, the water has to work its way around many
obstacles" and that "it is normal for it to take several hours for
water to flow from one end of the boat to the other". After about an
hour and a half of "draining" they proclaimed the boat "fixed" and put
it back into the water.
Again, (yes, stupid we know) we purchased bait and headed for the
Duxbury Reef. Our adventure this time is much the same as the first
time except that this time the radio failed because the antenna cable
had been simply pushed (unstripped) into the connector and screwed onto
the back of the radio. While we could hear powerfull transmissions
close by, our transmissions could not be heard.
After our second "adventure" in our boat, we again returned it to the
dealer where it was discovered that the limber holes between
compartments had been fiberglassed shut when the stringer assembly was
installed in the boat. The bait tank system also still leaked and was
"repaired". The manufacturer instructed the dealer to fix the limber
holes by hammering a long 1/2 inch threaded rod through the boats
centerline from the garboard drain all the way into the berth.
Being a little gun-shy now, we launched our boat from the Encinal boat
ramp about 1/2 mile from the Ballena Isle marina. We stayed in the bay
and started a slow circuit around Angel Island while watching the sonar
for fish and structure. About half way through Raccoon straights, we
noticed the boat listing to starboard and moved all our weight and
ourselves to port. The boat continued to list and as we rounded Angel
Island, the boat AGAIN started sinking bow first. Yup, the berth was
filled with water as well as the center (fuel tank) compartment. The
bilge pump compartment was almost dry.
We headed back to the boat ramp but now the wind and chop had kicked up
considerably. As David navigated and I bailed, we both heard and FELT
several LOUD popping and cracking sounds comming from underneath the
deck. We discovered (much) later that the fuel tank had torn loose and
was banging around below the deck as the almost submerged boat banged
in the waves.
We did manage to reach the boat ramp but discovered that our V8 powered
van was not strong enough to pull the boat from the water. We waited
about one and a half hours (blocking the ramp) while enough water
slowly trickled out to lighten the boat enough for us to top the ramp.
When we got on level ground, we noted that all four tires on the
trailer were almost flat and splayed out at a wild angle. Our surveyor
estimates that at this time, we had about 12,000 pounds of water in the
boat(The boat is rated for 1500 pounds load). Although we blocked the
ramp for a considerable time, other boaters waiting to use the ramp
were understanding and patiently waited while our boat slowly drained.
We managed to get the boat unhitched and abandoned it at the ramp and
went to West Marine and purchased a 12 volt emergency pump. We returned
to the boat and spent the rest of the day pumping water out of the boat
as it slowly leaked into the berth from other inaccessible parts of the
boat.
Two weeks later, we put the boat back into the water and measured a
four inch starboard list still remaining in the boat. Standing on the
port side causes no appreciable list, standing on the starboard side
causes an additional 7 inches of list. The stringers and flotation
chambers on the starboard side are full of water...
We again contacted the dealer. The service manager at Olympic Boat
Centers (Geraldo) informed us that he had never seen such a defective
boat and had recommended that the boat be replaced. The dealer informed
us that they had no idea at this point how to deal with our boat and
had contacted the manufacturer for advice. Several months passed and we
were informed by the dealer that the manufacturer (U.S. Marine) has
refused to answer calls and emails regarding our boat.
I ended up calling the manufacturers service department in Washington
state and spoke with a man named Ross Robinson. Mr. Robinson informed
me that it was their policy to NEVER replace a boat and that repairs
would be made. I was asked to take the boat to the San Jose dealer and
that a factory engineer would inspect and repair the boat. I explained
that after removing the boat from the water the last time, the trailer
bunks were bent and no longer sat square on the hull and was uneasy
moving the boat. Mr. Robinson agreed that their engineer would meet us
at our home and inspect the boat here. I proceded to give Mr. Robinson
detailed instructions to our home.
On the appointed day, Mr. Robinson called and demanded to know why we
hadn't delivered our boat to the San Jose dealer. I reminded him of our
arrangements and he told me (quite angrily) "You can believe whatever
you want, but we never had that conversation." Our attempts to contact
Mr. Robinsons superiors were completely ignored.
We hired Randal Sharpe (
http://www.sharpesurveying.com) to examine our
boat. Mr. Sharpes, moisture meter was pegged over a large area of the
starboard side. (a copy of Mr. Sharpes survey is available on request)
Further experiments showed that the hatch in the motor well leaks into
the bilge almost as fast as water could be pumped into the motor well.
The motor well hatch in this boat is almost always submerged when
drifting in a seaway. It was also discovered that the bait tank drain
(also often submerged when underway) leaked terribly and had no way to
close it off. It was also discovered that the low point in the bilge is
in the forward berth where there is no bilge pump. The highest point in
the bilge is exactly where the bilge pump is installed. It was found
that to get even a small amount of water to flow from the berth to the
rear compartment where the bilge pump is, three full grown adults
(about 600 pounds) had to sit on the transom. It is clear that any
water entering the boat finds it's way into the berth and raises the
stern (and bilge pump) even higher and causes the boat to sink bow
first with the last part to submerge being the bilge pump.
We finally retained the services of a law firm (Brodsky, Baskin and
Miller) to represent us. With a lawfirm involved, we finally were able
to get a response from Bayliners legal department. We were again
informed that an engineer would be dispatched to investigate and repair
our boat. We again retained Mr. Sharpe to be present and document this
investigation.
On the appointed day, a Mr. Charlie Life arrived at our home and
immediately launched into a very long explanation of why we shouldn't
be concerned with our boats list or sinkings and offered a plethora of
explanations and excuses designed to make us feel that we are in error
of expecting that a boat should keep water on the outside.
When asked to explain the list, Mr. Life first told us that this is
"designed in to offset the weight of a trolling motor that is expected
to be mounted on the port side of the transom." (our surveyor has
calculated that almost 300 pounds of water remain trapped on the
starboard side, that's one hell of a big trolling motor). When we then
demanded that a trolling motor be installed on the port side, Mr. Life
changed his story to the possibility that water has become trapped but
now after nine months has leaked out and the boat may be level without
the motor. (Bayliner has actually agreed to install, and has delivered,
an additional motor to offset the trapped water)
We were informed by Mr. Life that "every boat lists a few inches
and that nobody notices it until something goes wrong."
After about an hour and a half of this endless stream of excuses, I
asked when he (Mr. Life) was going to get to work. Mr. Life asked me
what I meant. I replied, "well, you know... taking measurements,
performing tests, examining the boat...". Mr. Life replied that he
didn't need to do any of that since he could "tell that there was
nothing wrong with the boat just by standing in the driveway and
looking at the side of the hull."
David, I and Mr. Sharpe finally coaxed Mr. Life up onto the boat where
he refused to perform any of the tests or measurements that Mr. Sharpe
or us suggested or requested. He continued to talk for an additional
two hours about why none of this was a problem. He finally agreed to
write down a few things that we had previously discovered and agreed to
fix them such as the leaking motor well hatch. Mr. life also stated
that he was here to make us "happy". We told him that replacing the
boat would make us happy. He stated he was not allowed to discuss that.
A copy of Mr. Sharpes report of this "examination" by Mr. Life/Bayliner
is available on request.
After Mr. Life left, more prodding from our attorneys was necessary to
get a responce from the manufacturer. They agreed to a list of repairs
and specified they would use a Mr. Erb to perform the repairs. Some
research of the local dealers and boating community revealed that no
one had ever heard of a Mr. Erb. We insisted that repairs be done by a
reputable boat yard and we specified that Svendsen's Boat Yard
(probably the best and most well known boat yard in the Bay Area) do
the work.
Svendsens has informed us that many more months will be required to
perform necessary repairs on our boat and to fully investigate and
analyse the damage.
After all is said and done, (if anything gets done) our boat will be
over a year old before we get to use it. It will also no longer be a
"NEW" boat, it will be a
three-times-sunk-year-old-cut-apart-and-glued-back-together piece of
junk.
All in all, our experience with Bayliner and Olympic Boat Centers has
been frustrating, life threatening, expensive and almost unbearably
distressing to us.
Thank you for reading about our unfortunate experience.
Mr. and Mrs. David Genrich
kgb6019@attbi.com 
New boat horror 
