Dream Boat Destroyed... Advice Please~
 

At First we will begin without naming names. The manufacturer and the marine shop has not done anything yet, so I wont cuss up a storm yet.

The day before Christmas we received a call on our boat. The boat was in the shop for 3 months over a leak after the Tampa/St. Pete race. We sat back, missed Orange beach and waited for our boat. The day after Christmas we received a call that the boat was put onto the trailer wrong and that there was some damage. He said his Firberglass man was coming in and the boat would be ready next week Suspicous, we went to the dealer unannounced and found a horrific site. Our boat wasnt put on the trailer wrong... it was shoved on the trailer, and when the idiot mechanic pulled it from the water he forgot to lock the safety latch. Our brand new boat slid DOWN the ramp and tore the bottom of our boat to pieces. Worse off... The engine wasnt trimmed, so it was SHOVED up into the boat, causing the hydralics not to function. Upon closer expection the fin on the bottom of our engine was CUT and shaved to make it look like it wasnt damaged. The boat, the trailer and no telling what else is destoryed.

Heres the clencher... My fiance mad at the time DEMANDEd to talk to the service manager or owner. Noone was around so they sent two idiots out to talk to us. The girl said "Oh we have had a bad winter and the water is low, so it hit the trailer." Unless their dock defies nature... the ocean never runs out of water.... or am i wrong? Then upon viewing the hydralics, the man yells, well.. its low on fluid. Ok... So my finance climbs up into the boat to find that the fluid is still almost full. A full hour of bs and I had enough. According to her it hit the trailer wrong... The trailer doesnt touch, doesnt come close to the center of the boat. However the WHOLE underneith is destroyed.
And they can glass it....
On the sides, our baby was scratched to heck and all i got was... "OH WE DIDNT DO THAT!" as if we did that. If any of you racers remember our boat... it was immaculate! I was told by several of you that it was a beautiful, scratch free boat!

I dont know what to do guys. We volunteer, and I do your flags now and then... Im SICK! My poor finace is sick.. They keep saying that they will do glass work that all is fine... but what about the damage from the hit? Wont that damage the engine or other areas that we cant see. Im hoping someone had the same problem.
Can we make them give us a new boat?

We asked the manufactuer for a brand new boat. We CANT take this boat back. The damage to it is far too bad. If they think they can sell it, THEY should fix it up, and sell it at their marina and give us a brand new boat. It only had 100 hours on it, AND has been in the shop for 6 months of the first year.

My fiance doesnt know I sent this on offshore... Please give me advice. To keep peace I will not name the dealership nor the manufactuer. That is, not unless they try to screw us over.

Please help...
Flag Girl

So, you had the boat for 100 hours and you want a new one? Does that seem fair? I can't imagine ramp damage being so bad that the boat is not repairable. The dealer deserves a chance to fix the boat. But, it's still your boat and you have the right to have it fixed at your shop at the dealers expense. Just be sure to get three quotes so there is no question that your prices are fair. If you absolutly do not want the boat back, then you could ask for a new one...but you still should pay for the 100 hours of usage.

As for the drive, I can't imagine a whole lot of material being removed from the skeg. The drive has a check valve that would release in a situation like this and allow it to kick up. If the boat made it all the way off the trailer, there would have been very littl pressure on it. There definetly will be scratches. There may even be a little material removed. I'd expect less than 1/4". If that's so, then the damage to the skeg is negligible. Check to make sure it's straight. If it is, then file the burrs off and repaint it. If it's crooked, then either a new skeg or a new housing is called for. Skegs are replace regularly and won't affect the value of the boat or drive. Also have them check the prop shaft run out just to be safe.

As for letting the marina fix it... Ill drop your boat down a ramp and offer to fix it for you. Will you take it back? How about in 5 years when that warranty goes bad and the fiberglass work on the bottom, and the holes start leaking... then what? What happens when the engine just DIES and your on your way to the Bahammas. "We didnt break that!" They would say and then stick us with a huge bill.

As for letting the marina fix it... Ill drop your boat down a ramp and offer to fix it for you. Will you take it back? How about in 5 years when that warranty goes bad and the fiberglass work on the bottom, and the holes start leaking... then what? What happens when the engine just DIES and your on your way to the Bahammas. "We didnt break that!" They would say and then stick us with a huge bill.
As for the engine... the fin at the bottom was gouged and 6 inches was take off... and... its crooked!What will that do for performance

Cord you are being very generous to the boat yard. My primary concern would be structural problems. I would have an experienced surveyor brought in to assess the damage and identify signs of structuaral breach. I am envisioning a roller trailer that point loads the hull bad enough with all rollers, let alone dragging the boat over just a couple of them whilst getting her back on the trailer.

I would;

Take pictures of damage (posting here may help)
Ask the boatyard for a detailed evaluation of damage (written).
Get surveyor for independent, upclose evaluation
Take accurate notes on everything the boatyard said/says
Get boat out of their incompetent hands
Get quotes on repairs based on surveyors findings

Dave

Make sure you get over there and get pics of all the damage asap since the already tryed to work on the damaged skeg.

CAN WE ALL SAY


SURVEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
GET YOUR INSURANCE AGENT INVOLVED BEFORE THEY START WORK!!!!

Call your insurance agent. Not only is there potential unseen damage, but there is now hull damage which lowers the resale value dramatically.

The difference between the "general disscusion" area and the "tech" area is it took them 29 posts to get to the same point we did in 8 posts. ;) ;) They must be trying to sell something :D

Good luck Jill,

Dave

OMG!!!! what a nightmare! Hope the best for you.

will it be the same as before the damage was done.
Will the weight be the same or will it be heavier.
If the boat was dropped on the out drive I would insist on complete replacement of the entire transom assembly. Just think of the potential damage done to the gimbals. These things break. If that skag breaks off in a turn what will happen. Same thing goes for the gimbals.
I agree that you should have to pay for some of the use that is on it but they made the mistake not YOU.
They should give you back what you had not a repaired beat up boat.

I'm not sure this was a race boat Tinker. I was envisioning maybe a 24' powerplay or something similar. To come off a trailer because the boob forgot to secure the lock imlpies a roller trailer to me. Don't see many race boats on roller trailers. What is the boat Jill?

Dave

Believe me a boat can come off a bunk trailer if the bunks are wet like they would be if they were pulling it out.
I once was trying to move my boat back on the trailer and loosened up the strap and backed the boat in but it didn't move. So I loosened it up more and tried it again.
It didn't move untill it was 1/2 way up the ramp - scared the crap out of me.

lets not pick on the tech area.its not a tech question. its a legal help me question.:) ;)

Sorry to hear it, if you need a good lawyer PM me.

I was poking fun at the general discussion show, errr I mean area. :eek: :eek:

This is an insurance claim. Take lots of pics and document conversations dates etc.

A third party needs to be involved to acess the damage and proper repair.

Good luck as it could result in a legal battle, but that is what insurance will help you with.

I WOULD SAY PICTURES RIGHT NOW ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT BEFORE THEY TOUCH IT. SOUNDS LIKE THEY ACTUALLY DROPPED THE BOAT ON THE RAMP. A LICENCED SURVEYOR AND INSURANCE MAN SHOULD GET INVOLVED. I WOULD INSIST ON SOMEONE ELSE FIXING IT IF POSSIBLE TO MAKE SURE IT IS FIXED RIGHT AND NOT JUST PATCHED UP TO LOOK GOOD, ANY JOB WILL LOOK GOOD FOR THE FIRST YEAR. GLASS WORK IS A ART AND IF THE IS STRUCTUAL DAMAGE IT WILL ALWAYS COME APART FROM MOVEMENT

Survey, insurance involved and call a lawyer

spend the money on survey and attorney now.

A race boat with insurance????? You better hope the marina has insurance. I'd be conatcting a lawyer.

What about your lost boating time?
The time you have spent to access the damage and then the repair, not to mention the decrease in resale value. Send it back to the manufacture for repair or make sure that you are comfortable with the repair facility. I would not let the people that damaged the boat repair it.

They should have liability insurance to cover it. If they jerk you around, get an attorney.

Best of luck.

P.S. If this does not make sense, this was written at 1AM after several hours of drinking.

Updates?
 

Any updates?

ttt

Please give us an update. I'm looking at Marina to keep my boat at in Tampa/St. Pete right now... some info as to WHERE would be really helpful.