Forum | Results of 209 repairs...

lilmule said:

Considering all the time,trouble ,money spent was it worth it??????????????

Without a doubt – it was not. Had a ended up with a hull that would provide years of trouble free service then perhaps. But I didn't.

Now I've decided against adding anything to the boat. Gonna put it back together and be done with it. I will clean up the wiring but that's pretty much it. It makes no sense to invest time or money knowing there would not be even a partial return on the investment. It truly would be throwing money down a hole in the water – which I've already done enough of!

Yup, that's a fair assesment! I've decided against doing most of the neat stuff I was going to that would make it really unique. I am going to add pump out capabilities and a second cranking battery as additions. I will rewire the rigging compartment to clean it up and eliminate 15 years of "Oh what'tha hell"'s. And I will for sure shorten the Merc. supplied engine battery leads. As is I could locate the cranking battery on the bow n' have enough lead to make the connection!

Also plan on going ahead with a lawsuite in small claims court – which I will win. They did not install the gussets as I was told they were going to do. I also had sent a letter with the boat when it went back indentifiying things they either didn't do or didn't do properly that I wanted rectified. Was told they would do it – they didn't. I am "supposed" to get a CD with pictures detailing each step of the repair. Once I have that in hand I will proceed to small claims court 'cause I guarantee you they will not show the gusset installation!

What I saw before I picked it up:

1.) I had requested that they block and thru-bolt the rear deck cleats as per factory. What they did: put on bigger washers. I've had a deck cleat ripped out of a hull while attempting to tow. There was a reason the factory blocked and thru-bolted. I'll take the washers off and block/epoxy then thru-bolt'em as I'm putting it back together.

2.) drain plug assemblies missing. Dealer handed me a couple of packages of complete assy's. Never offered to install.

What I've seen since I got back….

1.) I was told the top cap got cleared all over. You should understand I'm inspecting this stinkin' boat after driving 950 miles. Anyway…. I noticed a tape line at the dealership… and it registered in the brain but…. The whole top cap was not cleared… Only the dominate color. Now there's a tape edge going all the way around the boat. Simple to sand n' buff to minimize it – they didn't

2.) Absolute poor flake match. Did not "blend" and there's a straight line going from one color to the next. Nothing to do about that 'cept live with it.

3.) Gel coat was sprayed from the transom to the bow covering the dominate color. It was never sanded nor buffed. Don't know if Y'all ever saw gel sprayed on top like that but…. while it's not "horrible" it is certainly visible. Just poor… poor quality. What???? And I'm surprised? I don't think so!

4.) Rod lockers n' storage compartments are pretty nasty…. But I expected that.

5.) Transducer's and mounts that were installed were not re-installed. Yeah, I know it's a little thing… but hey they took it off…. Glad I stripped the boat as I did before sending it back!

6.) All new rub-rail was installed. They did attempt to caulk the underneath gap and were about 75% successful. If I don't want a boat full of water everytime I go out…. I'll need to cover the other 25%.

There's more but it's just piddlin' stuff all over… A grand display of lack of pride in one's work. I can heal most everything but the color mis-match and while that is easy to detect…. It's not a real big deal with me. I jumped off the deck into the rigging compartment with both feet then jumped up and down several times. Nothing cracked or flexed. But then I'm not 80# batteries concentrated in a small foot print either. But it does look like it'll take a beating this time. All in all the rigging compartments actually looks pretty decent. One glance and you'll know it's been fixed but compared to the first time…. this ain't bad.

When I re-rig it I'm adding a second cranking battery. A duplicate of the 1000MCA Interstate I have now. Even though I'm going to be using the Oxygenators I've seen enough low cranking batteries to last me a life time.  I'm also making a slide in Bilge pumps(2) and bilge pump switch holder. It'll be a notch/groove set-up made of Aluminum. That way… All I do is remove one locking pin/screw and I'll be able to totally remove both pumps and switch in minutes. There's a reason for this set up… I plan on relocating the onboard oil tank over the switches to make room for the second cranking battery! Gotta lot of other neat plans/ideas as I go back together with it. That's one reason it'll take a few months to put it back together.