fire fighter
02-24-2005, 03:27 AM
i just got my new Launch LTS. Here are my impressions so far.
the boat is gorgeous. Great paint scheme, great interior appearance, quality throughout what can be seen externally.
A few scratches in the hull on delivery. i did not note them until this morning (the salesman brought the boat by at 10 PM last night). The boat is a new 2004 Launch LTS, but it sat at the dealership for a year. I'm not certain whether I should be upset over the number of small, but somewhat noticeable surface blemishes I've found. I've tried rubbing them out with Maguires polish. Better, but not gone. I also found a small gouge that looks like it had been filled in with some sort of bondo and repainted, right in front of the bow light on the very front of the boat. The size is pretty small (about 1/3") but still noticeable due to a slight depression and a different color. Again, not sure whether I should raise a stink with the dealer over this.
I installed an Heater Craft shower. It required me to remove the trim panels in the rear trunk. Doing so exposed the work done at the factory. I noted multiple holes drilled into the fiberglass in more than a few places, in an attempt it appears to screw the trim panel screws in place. I would guess their was easily 30% of the drilling locations with two or more "attempts" at screwing down the panel. In one location it appeared they drilled through and realized it would go into the gas tank, so the they backed out the screw and moved it over an inch or two. My gas tank was covered in at least eight ounces of ATF fluid from the moron who filled what i believe to be the hydraulic wake plate reservoir/pump. Rather than clean it up he just put the trim panel on top of the ATF fluid. It had pooled in the depressions on the tank near the mount clamp sites.
I found differing types of screws for the same type of mounting. Some were longer or larger in diameter. It was like the knucklehead who installed the trunk just put any old screw into the board.
In the process of installing the shower pump I grounded the pump motor to the engine block. I tapped into a wire that was grounded to the engine by a wire connector. Repeatedly I could not get my multimeter to indicate my ground wire had actually grounded to the engine. I ended up removing the wire that i had tapped into, that had been bolted to the engine, and inspected the connection. They had crimped the wire to the connector without stripping the insulation from the wire!! I had my dealer install a perfect pass, and I believe the wire is a ground for the PP. Either way, it was not properly grounded.
I also found the throttle connection to the perfect pass not properly installed (clamp nuts were together; not one on each side of throttle mounting bracket). Amazing!
While I had all the trim removed from the trunk I decided I should probably inspect whatever work I could, since it consisted of a signficant number of gas lines, both liquid and vapor. Out of probably ten hose clamps I checked, three were left extremely loose. I know you should not overtighten hose clamps. These were loose enough to be turned with a bare hand.
After spending two hours trying to figure out why my ground did not work I finally got the shower installed.
I'm a bit concerned over the quality control at Skier's Choice, based on what I have seen. I'll bring the incident up with the dealership and Skier's Choice. My salesman was a great guy. He drove four hours to my house to drop the boat off, arriving around 10 PM last night. He probably did not get home until 3 AM. Too bad not all connected with my new boat are as professional.
Tomorrow I'm going over every wire connector, hose clamp, fitting, nut, bolt, screw. I'm appalled at the lack of quality control at the manufacturer. This is my first boat purchase. If this is normal, then the entire industry needs to get a clue. Who will take responsiblity for the loss of a boat or a life if if one of the gas lines came loose, or a wire shorts out and causes a fire? I work as a firefighter and have been to a number of boat fires. They are frightening, especially when someone is aboard. Let's not mention the explosive risk of gasoline vapors and sparks.
Let's hope the rest of my boating experience goes better. Tomorrow it goes into the water for the first time. I'm a bit nervous.
the boat is gorgeous. Great paint scheme, great interior appearance, quality throughout what can be seen externally.
A few scratches in the hull on delivery. i did not note them until this morning (the salesman brought the boat by at 10 PM last night). The boat is a new 2004 Launch LTS, but it sat at the dealership for a year. I'm not certain whether I should be upset over the number of small, but somewhat noticeable surface blemishes I've found. I've tried rubbing them out with Maguires polish. Better, but not gone. I also found a small gouge that looks like it had been filled in with some sort of bondo and repainted, right in front of the bow light on the very front of the boat. The size is pretty small (about 1/3") but still noticeable due to a slight depression and a different color. Again, not sure whether I should raise a stink with the dealer over this.
I installed an Heater Craft shower. It required me to remove the trim panels in the rear trunk. Doing so exposed the work done at the factory. I noted multiple holes drilled into the fiberglass in more than a few places, in an attempt it appears to screw the trim panel screws in place. I would guess their was easily 30% of the drilling locations with two or more "attempts" at screwing down the panel. In one location it appeared they drilled through and realized it would go into the gas tank, so the they backed out the screw and moved it over an inch or two. My gas tank was covered in at least eight ounces of ATF fluid from the moron who filled what i believe to be the hydraulic wake plate reservoir/pump. Rather than clean it up he just put the trim panel on top of the ATF fluid. It had pooled in the depressions on the tank near the mount clamp sites.
I found differing types of screws for the same type of mounting. Some were longer or larger in diameter. It was like the knucklehead who installed the trunk just put any old screw into the board.
In the process of installing the shower pump I grounded the pump motor to the engine block. I tapped into a wire that was grounded to the engine by a wire connector. Repeatedly I could not get my multimeter to indicate my ground wire had actually grounded to the engine. I ended up removing the wire that i had tapped into, that had been bolted to the engine, and inspected the connection. They had crimped the wire to the connector without stripping the insulation from the wire!! I had my dealer install a perfect pass, and I believe the wire is a ground for the PP. Either way, it was not properly grounded.
I also found the throttle connection to the perfect pass not properly installed (clamp nuts were together; not one on each side of throttle mounting bracket). Amazing!
While I had all the trim removed from the trunk I decided I should probably inspect whatever work I could, since it consisted of a signficant number of gas lines, both liquid and vapor. Out of probably ten hose clamps I checked, three were left extremely loose. I know you should not overtighten hose clamps. These were loose enough to be turned with a bare hand.
After spending two hours trying to figure out why my ground did not work I finally got the shower installed.
I'm a bit concerned over the quality control at Skier's Choice, based on what I have seen. I'll bring the incident up with the dealership and Skier's Choice. My salesman was a great guy. He drove four hours to my house to drop the boat off, arriving around 10 PM last night. He probably did not get home until 3 AM. Too bad not all connected with my new boat are as professional.
Tomorrow I'm going over every wire connector, hose clamp, fitting, nut, bolt, screw. I'm appalled at the lack of quality control at the manufacturer. This is my first boat purchase. If this is normal, then the entire industry needs to get a clue. Who will take responsiblity for the loss of a boat or a life if if one of the gas lines came loose, or a wire shorts out and causes a fire? I work as a firefighter and have been to a number of boat fires. They are frightening, especially when someone is aboard. Let's not mention the explosive risk of gasoline vapors and sparks.
Let's hope the rest of my boating experience goes better. Tomorrow it goes into the water for the first time. I'm a bit nervous.