Tacklebuster GROUNDED (Update)

[Tacklebuster]

After many phone converstions with the man in charge of the warrenty department, it looks as if a truck will meet me in 10 to 14 days to pick up my boat and haul it to the Idaho border. They will rip my floor out and probably re do the bottom bacause he thinks that there must be a serious problem for there to be three cracks in the same general area.

They will need the boat for about 10 days and then if all goes well, another 10 to 14 days to get her back in my general area via delivery truck. So I'm looking at about a month and a week if all goes well. Man what a ******, at least they are off my back about me hitting something. Oh well, I'll keep you updated....

[Killertraylor]

I never read your initial post until a few minutes ago or I would have written you sooner. I had a 20 foot Weldcraft dart that I bought new from the factory in 1998 that had an almost identical problem - for them to tell you it's never happenned before is bull. Mine never was dry from the day I bought it. First, some idiot drilled a hole in the bottom of the boat when he installed the floorboards without a drill stop. It took 3 months to find the hole - it was so small, and that's not something you expect to be in the bottom of your boat - plus it was hidden by the bunk on the trailer. The bolts around the motor leaked, I got a "popcan" dent in the bow area from pounding down the Columbia - that cracked the hull. They tried to say I hit something, but I know I didn't. We eventually settled on them paying my insurance deductible and I made a claim. Then, the transom started to crack in about 10 different places. They were little hairline cracks and not around any welds. They were so small we had to fill the inside of the boat up with water and see where it leaked out to find them. That was a $600 weld repair job by Motion Marine - they put a huge plate all the way across the transom and it looked like hell (the welding was great - it just always looked like it had been fixed.) I couldn't get rid of that boat quick enough and get into my North River. I found out NR (and many other boat builders) uses much thicker aluminum. That .190 and .165 stuff they used on my Weldcraft just didnt' cut it - it would crack very easy, especially with the high torque and speed of the 200 Yamaha with a prop. I've had the North River now longer than I owned the Weldcraft and it's dry as a bone - what a great feeling!

If you want some more specifics about my dealings with Weldcraft, shoot me an e-mail. I went through the exact same thing you did during buoy 10 season 4 years ago - almost 5 weeks without a boat...I feel for you, brother.

I almost forgot - if I have an open seat during bouy 10, you're more than welcome. I'll probably take 3 or 4 week days off during the peak and I'll shoot you an e-mail.

[ 07-25-2002, 01:26 PM: Message edited by: Killertraylor ]

[WaterDog]

Sounds like they are at least going to help you out but geez, 10-14 days until they pick it up? graemlins/eek13.gif Is that when their next delivery is? You would think they have trucks that make a trip here once a week. :hoboy: Maybe they don’t sell that many boats. :wink: Gonna be fewer after this fiasco. :tongue:

Man I’d probably drive the thing there myself if it’s gonna take that long. Hell I’d make an appointment and wait a couple of days for it. That really bites big time. :depressed:

[Killertraylor]

When I had to take my Weldcraft back, they referred me to my Warranty that says they are only responsible for transportation one way. The first time I did the 8 hour drive, the second time, I referred them to my law degree :shocked: and they drove it back and forth.

[TundraIII]

All the more reason to buy a boat from a local builder. I've only had one problem with my Motion Marine, a broken strut on my adjustable dash. My wife drove it over to them and they had it fixed in less than an hour. When I was in Marks shop he had two boats in there from other manufacturers which he was repairing the hulls. How is it that so many people go to him to have their hulls repaired? Word of mouth? Does he advertise this service?

P.S. I think the wife broke the dash strut while she was hot roddin around but Mark was real cool about it and didnt charge for the repair or the time. :smile:

[Killertraylor]

I'm not sure how Motion Marine gets all the repair work - I think it's because they are one of the only local boat builders and they do good work. I could be wrong, but I think good aluminum welders are not easy to find. Weldcraft sent me to Motion, not vice versa.

I agree with you about the local thing - that was a huge factor in my buying a NR - I can take it to their shop in Portland if I ever have a problem, and they'll tow it to Roseburg if it's something they can't fix up here. In 2 years the only repair I've had was a battery that went bad - just took it in and swapped it for a new one.

[WaterDog]

Mark has done a lot of insurance work over the years. He also has a shop that is equipped and big enough to handle this stuff. They added a few feet to an alumaweld offshore pilot house a last year. They cut the boat in half :shocked: and inserted maybe a 4 or 6 foot section. There arent a lot of shops that will do work like that around here but I bet it fills in time between orders.

Tundra, thats why I had my dash welded on and skipped the tilt dash. I figured I’d break it the first week as I put her through her trials. :wink:

Yep buy local if you can. :cheers:

[Tacklebuster]

The more I think about it the more I want to SCREAM :mad: Killertraylor, I would love to know more about the problems you had and the customer service that you got. Was there a guy named Gary that ran the warrenty department while you were getting screwed? I really do love my boat and don't regret buying it, I could just do without the cracks. The thing that really ****** me off to no end is the response time. I can't believe they don't have an "authorized" shop any closer to our local area.

I have 184 hard wave pounding hours on that boat but it still shouldn't have the cracks in the hull.

I would drive the thing up there myself WaterDog but they said that they needed the boat for about a week. If they could do it in say a day or 2 I would just stay up there and drive back but the logistics of the whole goat screw is unreal. Nothing seems to be panning out at this point.

Killertraylor,
Thanks again for the input, I would really love to know the specifics and even names if you still remember them. If that seat is still open, I would love to fill that as well.

Chris

[Fishplay]

Sorry to hear of your mis fortune Tacklebuster. There is a few of us headed for B10 the 8th through the 18. One of us is sure to have a seat open at some point. How much advance notice do you require? E-mail me your contact #'s and we'll get you fishing.

[Deepslayer]

Nice to see you back KillerTraylor! I am sure that law degree helps out a lot when arguing warrantees. I know it works for my sister and her husband.
,Ed

[Fishin Magician]

That sucks Chris......... The old green hornet is sitting in the street doing nothing. lets get together and try and get some fish somewhere. If you dont still have my number , email me and Ill get it to you-----
John

[Mtn Man]

I am really sorry to hear that you are having troubles with a Weldcraft boat, I grew up in Lewiston and new most of the people at the plant. I must surmise that they do not build as good of boat as they used to, I have seen Weldcrafts up on the rocks, flying through the air and I have personally bounced a few off of hidden boulders at 40 mph+.

We used to have a 24 footer with a 460 in it and it was a very stout boat, much better than a Duckworth. After Dad got rid of the Weldcraft he got a Oaks boat with stick steering, VERY trick for running rapids, I didn't know any boat could tun that fast!! :shocked:

Good luck in your dealings with the factory.