Can you help me assess some damage - Tahoe 2007 Q7 ski locker

[KBD431]

I have a 2007 Tahoe Q7i and during my normal spring cleaning I noticed a crack running along the port side stringer inside the ski locker. The crack appears tp be about 4 feet long and it lloks like its where the glass tab ends as it runs up the inside of the stringer. The glass is "pulling away" from the stringer (see attached pictures).

I contacted my local tracker dealer and asked them to repair it under the 5 year hull warranty. They contacted tracker who says its not under warranty because it is cosmetic not structural damage. Specifically their email says:

Randy,

This was reviewed internally and with the factory once again. This is just basecoat and skin peeling off. This is cosmetic not structural. The "board" that is flexing is actually the side of the stringer. It is very thin. It can be flexed by hand. It needs ground off and a couple layers of glass applied then re-basecoated. As agreed prior, as goodwill I will cover 2 hours labor and Gelcoat to help out.





Thank you,



Angel Kirby

Warranty Administrator

Tracker Marine Group

So what do you guys think? Is this structural in nature and do you think tracker should fix it under the 5 year hull warranty or do you think it is cosmetic and they are generous is trying to help. Everything I know about fiberglass and boat structure I have read on this forum so I value all opinions.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Can you help me assess some damage - Tahoe 2007 Q7 ski locker

Any glass "tabbing" that has failed ..is well..failed ..

Its up to you and your Insurance to decide if its " hull " failed or not..

I think 2 hrs is close to nominal in repair time .. more like 8 hrs I would think.. just top of my head repair ..

NOBODY can say if your tabbing broke loose until you grind off the gel ..

YD.

 

[BWT]

Re: Can you help me assess some damage - Tahoe 2007 Q7 ski locker

It needs ground off and a couple layers of glass applied then re-basecoated. As agreed prior, as goodwill I will cover 2 hours labor and Gelcoat to help out.

I don't know; you ask me a warranty is a warranty. I don't care if it's cosmetic or structural; it's a defect in the layup. From what I can make out in the pics, there is glass attached to the "skin" that has peeled apart, and the glass that it's supposed to be bonded to is glossy (which tells me that they laid that tabbing on top of cured resin without prepping it properly; of course it failed!) Their description of what needs to be done IS essentially a repair; not a cosmetic band-aid. Personally I would push them harder. the 2 hours they so generously offered will barely cover the grinding and cleanup. I agree with YD; it's at least a 6 hour deal.. Good luck!~

 

[RIDEPATE]

Re: Can you help me assess some damage - Tahoe 2007 Q7 ski locker

Look at all the un-uniformity in the lay-up, bumps and lumps everywhere. Also that board above looks the be barely sealed. I'm not knocking the brand, but I looked at these boats a few years ago and was not impressed at all with the sloppy work below-deck. All of the work looked like straight Chopper-gun. I'd push really hard to get it fixed at zero-cost to you.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Can you help me assess some damage - Tahoe 2007 Q7 ski locker

No Way!!! I'd BE SCREAMIN MY HEAD OFF. THAT IS NOT Cosmetic. If it is Then I am a COSMETOLOGIST!

 

[superpop]

Re: Can you help me assess some damage - Tahoe 2007 Q7 ski locker

Not surprised as I have heard the Tahoe brand is much like Bayliner, I think you get what you pay for. I would be very pissed if this was my boat, not to trash talk your boat but this does not seem cosmetic to me at all, plus it seems pretty cheap on the part of the manufacturer. Now I know what brand to never look at or consider.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Can you help me assess some damage - Tahoe 2007 Q7 ski locker

Unfortunately this seems to be pretty standard both of Tahoe's construction and service after the sale.

 

[KBD431]

Re: Can you help me assess some damage - Tahoe 2007 Q7 ski locker

Thanks to everyone for all of their valuable input. Just to clear one thing up ... The boat dealer is estimating the repair to be about 8 hours, Tracker is offering to pay for 2 of the 8 hours as what they are calling a goodwill gesture. Based on everyone?s comments I believe I will speak with Tracker again on Monday.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Can you help me assess some damage - Tahoe 2007 Q7 ski locker

Thanks to everyone for all of their valuable input. Just to clear one thing up ... The boat dealer is estimating the repair to be about 8 hours, Tracker is offering to pay for 2 of the 8 hours as what they are calling a goodwill gesture. Based on everyone?s comments I believe I will speak with Tracker again on Monday.

Ayuh,... Agreed, that looks like the stringer has broken away from the hull...
In other words, that's as Structural as it gets...
Nothing cosmetic about it....

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Can you help me assess some damage - Tahoe 2007 Q7 ski locker

So the dealer will not bat for you with tracker ?? The same dealer you bought your boat from ???

Do you have pics of any damage on the Outside of the boat in the same location ? Look closely for micro linear cracks going for and aft or straight up and down ( for and aft is my guess ).

And yes .. it looks like they tabbed over NON prepped glass. ( if this is true then you should be able to pry a bit off..grab it by hand and rip it out .. then ask if its "cosmetic" )

It also from your previous posts seems that you already contacted Tahoe a few times already..

Im wondering if there " 5 Year Hull Warranty " only covers blisters or cracks or some failure IN the HULL ONLY. And does not cover internal tabbing components because of Improper Use. Not to say You did something wrong.. however.. I Have seen newer boats that were improperly loaded on the trailer..or taken out on bad days and slamming into wakes causing some kind of tabbing failure ( or cracking on trans corners , seat bases cracking etc ).

If this is the case..you might have a hard time convincing them that its Manufacture defect instead of Operator Error...

Just a thought..

YD.

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: Can you help me assess some damage - Tahoe 2007 Q7 ski locker

When we were looking at boats I looked at two Tahoe boats. One had the same type of cracking in the engine bay, and the other had it right where yours is.

This is just me thinking out loud here, but could water have found its way in and frozen (happened in my boat) and caused those cracks?

 

[KBD431]

Re: Can you help me assess some damage - Tahoe 2007 Q7 ski locker

Thanks for everyone?s input, it really helps a lot. Frisco / Wood I really appreciate your comments, I have learned to respect the knowledge you both have from following Jay's Sea Ray thread.

To answer some of the questions ...

Yacht Dr - This is not the dealer I bought the boat from, they actually went out of business (and needed to based on my experience). I do expect my current dealer to go to bat for me since my spend with him has been over $10K. I tried to do a very careful inspection of the outside of the hull this week and did not see any damage. There were some minor scratches in the gel coat from coming on and off the trailer but no cracks. Yes, I have approached tracker once before on help with this boat and while they didn't end up helping me, it was as much my fault as theirs (I allowed my original dealer to convince me it was just part of buying a new boat that the speedometer, tachometer and a few other items didn't work). Good news is because if iboats, I am much better informed about boats.

So it seems like the overwhelming opinion is this is structural and not cosmetic so I will be placing a call to the factory. My schedule should allow me to do that tomorrow and I'll post the responses here.

Thanks!

 

[BWT]

Re: Can you help me assess some damage - Tahoe 2007 Q7 ski locker

Good luck, I don't usually recommend going this route with people (but sometimes you have to approach companies a little differently to get their attention) but you may want to be VERY aggressive with them if they don't seem willing to kick in a little more. I am not saying to make threats, ,but make it very clear that you are not going to let this go and you will pursue this by any means necessary to get a satisfactory result.

IMO this is a defect caused by a "5 o'clock Friday" situation and some of the prep steps were skipped (maybe someone had a hot date that night; who knows?!?) Good luck and I hope things work out.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Can you help me assess some damage - Tahoe 2007 Q7 ski locker

I would suggest you go through your Dealer..not the factory for now..

Let the Reps help you..and stay very Calm on the wire .. Understand ?

Dont Pisoff your boat guys .... just a head up on this the way thigs work over the phone thingy..

If its a failure ..then you have recource..but Dont become a Bad Name on the locals that do "Other" stuff to your boat ..

Nuff Said as I know.. .. ...

YD.

 

[oops!]

Re: Can you help me assess some damage - Tahoe 2007 Q7 ski locker

tho i cannot comment on the dealer or the company.....

i am in full agreement with bond-o.

the stringer has broken away from the hull. and this is a structural failure.

why?......tough to say, impact, bad prep......possibly....you don't know till you take off the gellcoat and see.....but i will tell you that the crack is actually much longer than you can see. it is possible that the crack runs behind the bulkhead and the length of most of the stringer.
8 hours is correct for what you can see.....but its what you cannot see that is the problem. it may be double the estimate time, and if the deck has to come up then it will be a lot longer.

what is the history of the boat?
i have repaired about three different boats with simelar problems.
2 bayliners and a bluewater.

the bluewater damage was a 50 mph impact and the hull was smashed to full failure.
the bayliners were due to heavy storm damage. all three of the boats had totally sunk and were full insurance write offs.
(all three of these boats are now fully repaired and back in service with no issues).

this damage cannot be left unrepaired. if so the stringer will continue to flex, and after time come fully away from the hull. this could cause catistrophic failure in the hull. it is possible that a thru hull penetration situation exists over time and water conditions.

being a human being.....and IF the damage was not caused by improper loading or impact, but as a result of everyday use. i would hot hesitate to pursue the warranty further than accepting the minor help they have offered.

good luck
oops

 

[oops!]

Re: Can you help me assess some damage - Tahoe 2007 Q7 ski locker

btw.....YD's advice above about staying calm is also correct...standing and yelling will not get you anything,,,,be firm....but be respectful and polite.

 

[KBD431]

Re: Can you help me assess some damage - Tahoe 2007 Q7 ski locker

Thanks to all for the continued advice. As a general rule I am a pretty calm persistant person so I don't expect to get upset or yell, but I am planning to be persistant. All I have is an email address for Angela (Tracker warranty manager) so I sent her an email a couple days ago asking for a phone number so she and I could talk but no reponse yet. I think I will go back to the dealer and see where they can help. I'll keep posting.

 

[BWT]

Re: Can you help me assess some damage - Tahoe 2007 Q7 ski locker

Maybe I came across a little harsher than I meant; by all means always be respectful, especially when you're trying to get someone to move on their position. I guess what I was trying to stress was that I think you need to be firm on your position and what you feel is an 'acceptable' solution (in a polite, professional manner); as the saying goes, you attract more bee's with honey. And also, if at first you don't succeed, try and try again (especially when you are in the right!!) Good luck.

 

[oops!]

Re: Can you help me assess some damage - Tahoe 2007 Q7 ski locker

please keep us posted on what happens at regular intervals.

in the past there has been simelar threads.....and they have been very helpful to any one looking to purchase a new boat.......weither the warranty is voided or not will sway many a new boat new boat decision.


any help we can be....we will
cheers
oops

 

[kahuna123]

Re: Can you help me assess some damage - Tahoe 2007 Q7 ski locker

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/preventing_rot_in_encapsulated_wood.htm

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/Fiberglass_Boats.htm

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/latent_defects.htm

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/HiTech.htm

I hope this helps you to get a better understanding.