My 2006 Supra Launch V is dead!

[skibumtx]

Just got the word from the insurance adjuster that the hull on my boat is toast. Took it into the shop to be looked at and they came back that it is a classic case of the hull delaminating. They are saying it is due to manufacturing defects, so I imagine that they will not be paying for any repairs. The shop said it would run about 20k to repair. What to do? Is there a market for used parts? Trailer is worth a bit and the engine is perfect. No water damage to the boat, it looks perfect. In the past, I have bought and parted out jet skis, just never something this large.

Any thoughts?

[CornRickey]

I have never heard of this issue in a Supra. I would get a second opinion. Post pictures and clue of in on the detail.

[wotan2525]

Are you the original owner? There is a limited lifetime warranty that covers the hull -- but only if you are the original buyer. If you are the 2nd owner, I believe you could have it inspected at a dealer, pay a transfer fee and receive the same warranty as long as you did it within 14 days of purchasing. I doubt this has happened very often but it might be worth looking into.

[skibumtx]

I am the third owner, bought it in 2010. The manual states that you can transfer it only in the first 2 years. Insurance co. just notified me that they are denying the claim, due to man. defect.

Anyone want a really nice boat, cheap?

[CJD]

It will be worth appealing the insurance, both to the company and to your state insurance board. The argument will have to be along the lines of "how could a manufacturing flaw survive 9 years?" Sorry to hear, though...

[Salty87]

Anyone want a really nice boat, cheap?

What was wrong with it that made you call the insurance co?

[bens250ex]

Yea I'll take it off your hands cheap

[jtryon]

i don't get it...is it leaking? it looks fine to me...what caused you to get it looked at?

[2500HD]

I am the third owner, bought it in 2010. The manual states that you can transfer it only in the first 2 years. Insurance co. just notified me that they are denying the claim, due to man. defect.

Anyone want a really nice boat, cheap?

I'll buy it. But send me pics first.

[flipz96]

Do you have pictures of the delam?

[skibumtx]

I'm picking it up from the shop today, photos to come.

Noticed a spider crack on the side, took it in to be checked and found lots of cracks along the length of the hull. Water was draining out when they lifted it off the trailer. Rest of the boat looks great, engine runs great all. The radio, electronics work great. Very well maintained, actually built our house so the boat would fit in the garage.

[skibumtx]

The good photos!

[skibumtx]

And now the bad. 15899159001590115902

[CJD]

What's with the red looking scrape? It sure looks like it hit something from the pics...

[2500HD]

With it running along the bunks the way it is, it looks like the boat took a hard hit while on the trailer. Is the boat strapped down while under tow?
Find a different shop even if it is a long drive. 20k seems absurd to me. It's just fiberglass for christ sake.

[skibumtx]

The red is actually rubbing compound, it makes the cracks show up a little better is photos. I'm not so worried about the spider cracks as the deep crack under that takes on water. Also hard to see are the transverse cracks.

[CJD]

Have you talked to skiers choice? I realize it's out of warranty, but something like this makes them look really bad. There is a chance they will at least help out, as long as you are courteous but persistent.

[skibumtx]

I'm in the process right now. Went through the local dealer. Sent them a nice explanation of the situation as well as photos. Will send the denial letter from insurance as well as the quote to repair. Headed to Chattanooga next weekend, may pull the boat up there to see if they will look at it. Also called Viper Custom to get their take on it.

Anything I've missed?

[CornRickey]

Keep it forever and don't leave it in the water over night.... I would definitely get a second opinion from a known marine fiberglass expert not a dealer shop.

[UKandH]

A guy i know had a 2005 SN, the boat broke its back after 4 years, Correct Craft replaced the hull free of charge due to a defect in the manufacture (apparently they were between factories during a move)

It makes me sick when a company refuses to look deeper into faults in design or manufacture. If its structural its not normal wear and tear, i would fight very hard to get that sorted by the dealer of manufacturer.
My yacht had a defect in the keel fiberglass, that was repaired for $5000, so $20K seems excessive, was that for a complete new hull?

[skibumtx]

The 20k was to pull the cap off, remove everything in the hull, reglass from the inside, sand from the outside until the new glass is hit, then gelcoat the outside back to spec. This was a fiberglass shop that was looking at it. Just got off the phone with Jim Jackson from Viper, he is going to look at it next week. While there, I want to swing bye the factory and get them to look at it.

[jtryon]

i'm interested to see how they handle it. it definitely makes them look really bad so it would be good to see them own up to it and fix it for you. post up how things go!

[bens250ex]

Yea that looks like a manufacturing defect from the pics but i cant tell if it took an hard hit or not.....hope they do the right thing and atleat investigate it for you. Skiers choice R&D department along with quality deparment should be able to identify how and why the cracks started.....Atleat i hope they have the capability of identifying the source of failure. Im sure they can run some samples of the resin and take some key measurements to determine if all aspects relating were met during the build. Keep us posted im interested to here how they handle this.

[Jetlink]

Also called Viper Custom to get their take on it.

I would be very cautious here. There are no shortage of stories of problems dealing with Viper. I know of at least one forum member who will blast me for saying this but the list of people I know that have been pleased 100% with dealing with Viper is way smaller than the list of people who are not satisfied.

[skibumtx]

Just got the letter back from Progressive. It reads "Our investigation into this matter has revealed that the hull damage and cracks are related to stress from wear and tear which is not covered under your policy."

What do you think?

[CJD]

Like I said...appeal it to your state insurance commission. I did not know that a hull suffered wear and tear without hitting anything. I have a webcraft still tooling around after 50 years. Still...work both sides and try to get Skier's Choice to own up too.

[skibumtx]

Thanks CJD,
I'm headed to Knoxville on Thursday to meet with both Viper and Skier's Choice. We'll see what happens.

[Salty87]

Seems wear and tear would affect the surface/finish not the structural integrity. Perhaps an obvious point of impact would have resulted in a more favorable insurance outcome. Reads like the insurance company is just trying to use the ambiguous 'wear and tear' clause. Bottom line, as CJD said, the vast majority of boats experience wear and tear without falling apart or being declared structurally unsound.

[MJHKnox]

I do not know Viper, but I would talk to Donnie at:
Bennett's Boat Repair
517 Pink Dogwood Ln,
Maryville, TN 37803

He does work for all the boat mfgrs - mostly warranty.
Others on this site know of his work. Good guy!!

M-

[wotan2525]

I would be very cautious here. There are no shortage of stories of problems dealing with Viper. I know of at least one forum member who will blast me for saying this but the list of people I know that have been pleased 100% with dealing with Viper is way smaller than the list of people who are not satisfied.

AFAIK, Viper has problems shipping things and answering his phones during his NASCAR season (he builds tube frames and is always under the gun.) People on this board feel that he's given them the run around.

I've only had positive dealings with him and would not anticipate if you're standing in his shop that you'd have a problem with him. He designed and built many of these boats and would be the guy that I'd trust to know exactly what is wrong or going on with your hull.

[Jetlink]

AFAIK, Viper has problems shipping things and answering his phones during his NASCAR season (he builds tube frames and is always under the gun.) People on this board feel that he's given them the run around.

When he gets so busy, or stays busy, he ends up subbing out the work to some other shop so you are not actually having your boat worked on at Viper. Taking apart a buddies boat that supposedly had the interior replaced less than 10 years ago at Viper and it is a train wreck in there. Tons of rot on what was supposed to be new wood, the wood doesn't even match side to side on dimensions, they reused the old foam and cut many other corners. This boat does not sit outside and is always thoroughly dried after every outing so, how the interior is shot after less than 6-7 years of minimal use is beyond me. Never mind the fact that he missed the deadline by months originally and never would answer the phone, took the owner driving up to the shop and confronting him to get him to work on it... This is the worst that I have heard of and I am seeing it first hand. Being in a service industry myself, that is no way to run a business and I would be very leery of doing business with anyone who runs their shop like that. If he is too busy then he should turn away work, I do the same thing, quality over quantity.

[skibumtx]

I do not know Viper, but I would talk to Donnie at:
Bennett's Boat Repair
517 Pink Dogwood Ln,
Maryville, TN 37803

He does work for all the boat mfgrs - mostly warranty.
Others on this site know of his work. Good guy!!

M-

Thanks, I'll call him

[skibumtx]

When he gets so busy, or stays busy, he ends up subbing out the work to some other shop so you are not actually having your boat worked on at Viper. Taking apart a buddies boat that supposedly had the interior replaced less than 10 years ago at Viper and it is a train wreck in there. Tons of rot on what was supposed to be new wood, the wood doesn't even match side to side on dimensions, they reused the old foam and cut many other corners. This boat does not sit outside and is always thoroughly dried after every outing so, how the interior is shot after less than 6-7 years of minimal use is beyond me. Never mind the fact that he missed the deadline by months originally and never would answer the phone, took the owner driving up to the shop and confronting him to get him to work on it... This is the worst that I have heard of and I am seeing it first hand. Being in a service industry myself, that is no way to run a business and I would be very leery of doing business with anyone who runs their shop like that. If he is too busy then he should turn away work, I do the same thing, quality over quantity.

Thanks for the heads up. This will be a recon trip, will have to get ammo so I can fight the ins co.

[Zim]

You may also consider not revealing all information on a forum until this claim is worked out. No reason to give your insurance company any more reason not to help you out... especially with pictures and "hypothetical scenarios" being discussed. I'd stay pretty closed lip about things. Sometimes these types of forums and posts do work their way back to insurance companies in big disputes like this.

[skibumtx]

I'll keep that in mind.

Thanks

[DKJBama92Mariah]

skibum,

I sent you a PM the night before last in case you didn't notice it.

[lmnelson86]

That's a bummer, but that is also not a terrible fix. It can absolutely be done from the outside. Good Luck, and if you sell it let us know. Its a nice boat!

[bens250ex]

Any update?

[Renneog]

Does anyone know what happened with this boat. Anybody know how to get in touch with skibumtx?

[TLemon9292]

What happened with this boat? My 2004 Launch SSV has a lot of blisters but nothing that looks like structural damage like this. Still would be nice to get an idea how much it would cost to fix.