Hull Damage Question

Ranger Tugs have a lot at stake here - it might not be their fault as such, but if they were to step up and offer to help you to get the hull fixed, then they will earn a shed load of brownie points for doing so, which can only help them in the long run.
Conversely, if they dig their heels in and be obstinate, then it could back fire spectacularly against them.
They have to make a decision soon about which road they should go down.

For reference, here is some further info on the Ranger 27 on their website -
Ranger Tugs R-27 https://www.rangertugs.com/models.aspx?itemid=2634&prodid=13917&pagetitle=Ranger-Tugs-R-27

 

In a past life I had many large marine accounts, plus I traveled all over North America regularly. So it was common for me to be asked by customers to inspect damage and/or defects quickly in the field.

Over the decades I had built and fixed just about anything you can imagine made from fiberglass, I had also been in their plants and knew their production methods and materials. So I could usually get a good idea of how and why something failed from a quick inspection.

 

In the small, impossible to read copy from another forum; they say the hull is coremat and glass. Thus it is not a cored hull.

 

I was in the lobby of a major boat builder one time and a gentleman came in with a similarly damaged hull, smaller boat though.

He had an appointment and was claiming the hull failed in a similar way. He and his son were running across the lake and the hull just ripped open and took on water. He said he didn't hit a large wake at speed, or hit a floating object, he was cruising along.

During the discussion I went out to inspect the hull. When I crawled under the boat there was still wood and splinters jammed into the cracks going all the way through the hull.

It was obvious he hit a large piece of wood at a high rate of speed.

I'm not saying this is what happened in your case, only that builders get these claims frequently when it has nothing to do with them.

Since you don't even have an idea of when or how it happened, everyone denying responsibility would be normal.

The responsibility is on you to prove, or at least come with some evidence in how it probably happened so the other parties have to dispute something.

 

This has really been a learning experience on hull construction , ( an expensive one ...... ) . All the opinions make me understand it is much more complex than the old days of regular fiberglass layups . As for the dealer and the plant , yes they have dug their heals in , I ran a very successful business for almost 25 years , and what they are doing , makes no business sense .
About 5 weeks ago , I asked a question on the Tugnuts forum ( owned by Ranger Tugs ) . I found a post about a new owner that had a 4 '' crack on the port side , he asked what to do , a couple members told him to call the General Manager right away . This was May 2020 . In my post I asked what was the outcome of the warranty claim , cause , remedy etc . The post lasted 1 hour before it was deleted and I was '' deactivated '' for daring to ask such a question . Then some of my posts disappeared ( you can still find them on Google ) .
I have emails from the dealer stating '' they set up their own freight '' from the plant . The boat came without a trailer , so I asked for the shipping company name , pictures of the load ( most take pictures now ) and style of trailer . The GM of Ranger told me the dealer doesn't use the factory freight . So do they use any old '' back haul '' to save money ? Could the cracks been hairline at first , got worse with 25 hours of use ? I never got the information on the trucking company .
I don't want to settle for a band aid repair as I paid good money to a dealer I knew and trusted . They salesman was caught in the act mopping up the V birth water when the the company I hired to pick the boat up with a hydraulic trailer ( i couldn't be there ) . Salesman said it was a '' air conditioning problem '' and they would pay to have it repaired at my home port ...... Funny how that changed when it ended up being hull cracks .
Sorry for the rant , I spent 6 weeks being patient , emails and calls with the dealer and plant . I was expecting the dealer to step up ( work with the plant as well ) and do the right thing . Boy was I wrong .

 

I don't get it, is all this not the insurer's business? They have to find the culprit and extract money from them, not you.

The repair part is easy but no one can quote anything just by looking at pictures. They need to come, see and be allowed a little exploratory surgery with a grinder.

 

If you don't know when and where the damage occurred, without clear evidence of that, it does appear to be a wild goose chase going the legal route. If your first knowledge of the issue was when it started taking water, after you had used it on the water, it is even more difficult to point the finger. I have repaired boats in the way Ondarvr mentioned, from the outside only, by plastering more glass over and beyond the damaged area, and as he says the smooth appearance is not going to be retained, but structurally it is still able to be sound. You would first "vee" the cracks and fill them, with a structurally useful filler, then apply the new lamination across the whole area. Overhead glassing is not ideal, but surprisingly not as difficult as it sounds. Your main problem then is resale value, it will be shot, but if you keep the boat for a long time, the resale will be gradually going down anyway. Repairing from the inside would be the preferred option, but sounds very difficult in this case.

 

Yes , the actual time of the damage is the question . I can prove the damage happened before I took possession , but did it happen at plant , in freight to Ontario from Washington State or at the dealership ? The dealer insurance yes , not mine , as it was existing damage , before possession . I don't like the idea of an extra thick coat of glass from the outside . It would hurt resale , and I have a real bad taste in my mouth from this dealer/plant deal .

 

It really looks like someone tried to powerload it.

How did it get 25 hours before you took possession?

 

You say it was prior damage, but you have no evidence. Plus, you hired someone to pick it up and deliver it to you. So another transport by a fourth party.

Was there a survey done prior to purchase, or any kind of inspection or walk through?

A 3 year old boat with 25 hours on it seems a odd. Was this a demo boat, previously owned, or used by the dealer himself?

With that much time since being built, and 25 unknown hours, I can see why the manufacturer is not taking any responsibility for it.

These are all tough questions you need to answer for yourself, and have enough proof to take it further.

Again, I'm not saying you're right or wrong, just that so far there's nothing to identify when the damage took place.

 

I will answer the above questions . - no powerload- no scrapes ---- my hand picked boat movers , moved boat 200 miles to me , i met them at ramp . inspected load , good hydraulic trailer . Had a quick walk around at boat ramp , was focused on a air conditioning water leak , as told . I did not crawl under boat . The cracks are in close to keel , and with the contour and chines ,you can't see cracks unless on your side or back .
Boat was sold June 2018 to original owner ( i bought June 2020 ) , salesman run the boat up to owners boat house by water ( 4 hour run ?? ) . Owner had a 15 K top of the line marine railroad installed . Owner used boat for 2 hr ride , then back in boat house . Decided to sell because didn't use it enough .
The Only time the boat could have been blocked was Before the original owner took delivery . Boat lived in boat house . Remember , Salesman was caught mopping up water in V birth before i took delivery - said it was the AC drain . The dealership shipped a boat they knew had a problem , and the Factory protects the poor business practices of their dealer . In my personal opinion , I think the boat might have had a ''soft keel '' to begin with . Story in detail is on my web site . ( i type slowly with one finger )

 

decided to sell because the boat got damaged on his railroad? Just a qiestion. My hunch is the dealer got hoodwinked and did so in turn, but all speculative...

Go take a look at that railroad and I'll bet another boat sitting there.

 

Sorry. But it's all speculation on your part, you have no knowledge of what actually took place.

The air conditioning thing may or may not be accurate, but it proves nothing.

If you think the hull is weak, then you'll need to find out exactly the laminate schedule for that year and model of hull, then have yours examined to see if it matches what it's supposed to be.

I have seen situations where a single hull, or even a series of hulls by a manufacturer have been built incorrectly. These boats were either fixed or replaced by the company. But you need proof that this is the cause of the cracks on "your" hull.

Unless you have solid proof of what happened, or at least you can prove it happened prior to you buying it, you don't have a case.

 

Let me get the story straight, you pay for a boat a boat without surveying it first, have it shipped to you then operate it without having hull insurance. You discover a problem and hire a surveyor who finds a big crack. Your chances of assigning blame to someone else are zero, unless you find someone willing to testify under oath that he witnessed the damage beeing done in his presence while the boat was in the care of someone else than you.

As for the repair, it can be done from the outside to a perfect structural and cosmetic result as long as you pay for it. It's more involved and expensive then just laminating over the crack, but it's no problem to do it.

 

how are you going to overlap the old exterior glass skin?

how are you going to repair the inside glass skin?