Hull Damage Question

Wow.
Have you talked with a lawyer?
First hour's "free".

 

Typically, manufacturers take the side of the owner here. Most manufacturing companies cannot withstand the impacts of being involved with a problem such as this, so if a broker took the boat on spec and damaged it; the manufacturer would be willing to certify or say it didn't happen on their end and even how it would have been repaired if it had. It is almost 100% impossible the manufacturer would have ever let this boat out in the fashion delivered because they would have certainly understood the outcome. A dealer, otoh, might habe thought they could pull a quick n dirty one. But how does it get a matching gelcoat or paint?

 

Thanks for all the input so far . The full survey ( after boat was shipped ) is on the website ( survey section ) . the hull 40 '' forward and 60 '' back of the cracks was 5 degrees cooler i believe ( in survey ) and you can see some waves of separation in the hull . I was told not to do any destructive testing yet , as it could be used against me . All i wanted was a boat that floats , i didn't think that was too much to ask from a boat with 25 hours on it . I have read the Pascoe articles on cored hulls already , and that scared me .

 

Don't be scared by Pascoe. Core hulls are great. Like I said, in your case, an easier repair even. But I have some concerns now that you are confusing core with coremat. I cannot get a resolution to adequately see the core sample pictured. Coremat would basically be a solid glass, but then did glass delam from mat?

This type of thing can take Ranger Tug under, so it seems like they would want a fast resolution.

 

Fallguy.....it’s a cored hull (original post) if the failure is just outer skin and core, then can be done from outside.

 

read the follow on insert; guy says a weak coremat hull; coremat isn't core

also explains why an improper trailer might damage it; my guess now is someone tried to powerload and hit a roller trailer hard

Also, why screw around here? Get the boat surveyed, take both parties into court before the statutes run out of time and get it resolved.

We have no way of knowing if your hauler did it or of the dealer did it or if you did it powerloading hard.

 

It may need a bulldozer through it for all we know, but the matter of how to repair it, should not arise. Get some estimates and talk to your lawyer, if you have firmly established where the damage was done, and by whom.

 

I am told firm estimates are hard to give because of not being able to get at the inside , and destructive testing would be needed . I have been told from 10 K to 50 K plus .... U.S. dollars so far ( $ 66 K Canadian plus....) . I am told to get to trial , 1-2 years and $ 100 K Lawyers cost . The boat never had a trailer ( see the story of Lemon Aid , on www.rangertugtruth.com ) The question is do I fix it , do I sell it at a big loss to a boat yard to fix it and resell . Disclosure will have to be done when anyone sells it ( it will always be damaged goods in buyers eyes ) I am getting more worried about fiberglass all the time . One repair shop said in general '' boat manufacturers , now are only worried about the boat making it past their hull warranty '' .

 

Ask the moderator to change the thread title. It is not a cored hull, for one. It is a hull failure, for two. And Rangertugs or their affiliates or the hauler are responsible. It should be easy to see if it was repainted or regelled after a poor repair for a qualified surveyor.

I would relabel the thread Rangertug Hull Failure.

The best way to get action is public information. Eventually, you may get a cease and desist letter. But if you flood the internet; it will be very hard for it to be unwound.

Rangertug should be furious that this happened for you.

How did the boat have 25 hours on it and then get sold to you?

 

Bucketlist,

This really sucks and I'm sorry it's happened to you.

Time is not on your side here.
"Squeaky wheel gets the grease!"
Go public.
Your area has a huge marine industry.

OR

Walk away and cut your losses.

 

You are in a very unfortunate situation, and there's no easy or quick solution in the legal route, although you may get relief if a causation can be found.

The other option, while not great, is simple and quick.

In a commercial fishing type operation this boat would be back on the water in a week. While not pretty, it can be repaired from the outside and returned to service quickly.

That area of the hull can be reglassed from the outside to whatever level of strength is required without a great deal of time or money.

The downside is that the repair will stand proud of the hull slightly, it can be blended in to be less noticeable, but you'll see it.

The good thing is that it will only be seen when it's on blocks, in the water only the fish will know, and they don't care.

Not a great option, but it would be 100% usable as designed and you could get on with life. Some people can't handle this type of solution, but others deal with it better.

Ranger makes a lot of boats, and has for a very long time, this isn't something that's common for them, they tend to be pretty good. Not that a mistake couldn't have been made in production, it's just that "if" it was the cause, and you pursue that route, you won't be boating anytime soon.

With no damage being documented when it arrived, going after the shipper will be difficult too. Are there any pics of it still on the transport trailer? The blocking may reveal potential damage to this location.

 

Are you familiar with coremat?

Could the exterior fiberglass have delaminated from the mat?

 

Yes, I know coremat well.

I don't like it, but it can serve a purpose, and is commonly used without problems.

With sufficient stress it can delaminate.

 

can you explain the typical layup? Is it skinned on both sides with stitched fabrics?

 

It's used within a laminate to increase stiffness and help with surface profile, it can help prevent a core or stiffiner from printing through to the surface.

Normally it has glass on both sides, but not always.

Laminates that are strong enough without it may not appear stiff enough though. It bulks up the laminate and makes it stiffer, but adds nothing structurally.

I didn't watch the video, my internet is too slow for that sort of thing, so anything in it that is important was missed by me.