Advice re/- soft floor under 2yo boat.

[Braddles]

Hi Guys,

Thanks in Advance for reading my post.

I would like some advice on

1) Is this a normal life expectancy, or should I pursue warranty issue
2) If expected – what would you use to replace with?

I currently own a Tabs 5100 Side console.

The boat is not even 2 years old, 160hrs of use, and already the floor is soft in several spots, especially around factory cut outs for seat poles etc.

The bolts that hold the base of the pedestal seats in the floor – the screws are coming out of the rotted timber.

There is a worrying soft spot immediately in front of one of the seat post receivers in the floor.

The raw edges of the hatches are splitting / separating where I can see in the corners, not covered well by carpet.

It is a plywood floor covered in carpet, from Tabs. I suspect not sealed when they made the cut outs for seats etc.

The boat is very well looked after, thoroughly washed and allowed to dry in the sun for 2 – 3 days before putting away.

Would be keen to hear people’s thoughts on this.

For this sort of money - I would have expected more than 22 months of floor life.

Thanks in advance,

Kind regards,

Brad.

[myusernam]

Not only you would, but consumer law states that expensive items should last a reasonable time, regardless of warranty. I think you'll find the manufacturer may fix. Approach them first and be nice. If they decline brush up on the consumer law and then ask them again nicely quoting a few keywords of the act

[Spaniard_King]

I would be reading your warranty statement, you may find that the floor is only a 12 month warranty!! Have seen this before on other boats

[brett62]

Your deck should last much longer than 2 years. Unless you are leaving the boat outside and is in the weather full time. Carpet does not help as it holds water for many days. The ply used is also a factor. As far as warranty is concerned, they my come to the party but not likely. If they did you will probably have the same issue in 2 years. Here are a couple of options for you if you wish to put the time in. Get good quality ply, you can either buy marine ply or structural ply and don't use anything under 12mm thick and I prefer to use 19mm. Cut your sheets to fit and include any cut outs and holes. Now you can seal the ply with paint (min of 4 coats) I use to use oil base paint and the first 2 coats are under coat and 2 top coats. Around the edges I would keep coating until the ply would not absorb any further paint. The other option is to seal the ply with a layer of fiberglass and then apply a coat of paint. With the carpet (and there are many different types) you can contact down or you can cut the carpet and just lay on the deck so you can roll up and remove from the boat to clean an dry. If you have bolted seat bases you just need to make sure you can seal from the water. Any where you expose the timber will rot.

However you decide to do the fix the trick is to seal the timber. Others may have different ways but these 2 options are what I used when I built boats. Having a customer come back with a rotten deck after 2 years is not something I had.

Hope this has been of some help.

[scuttlebutt]

If the company knock you back might be worth trying some honeycomb sheeting (google Nidaplast) covered in glass. Will be lighter and stronger than ply and wont rot.

[chris69]

All ply rots out when its not sealed unless its has been seal from new with epoxy or a very good sealer and all screw holes sealed this is a normal thing to do even it the ply was marineply but im guessing the used construction ply

Ply takes many days to dry out once wet so covering it up just bakes it and provides a humid atmosphere to rot your ply floor out,the endgrain of a piece of plywood just sucks moisture in if not sealed properly.

to fix it get some exterior ply B/C face and do it right and epoxy it and seal all the endgrain and your screw holes and it will last for a very very long time,

PS with the endgrain you will find that once you put some epoxy on it you will see that it will need a few coats as it sucks the coating in.

[Braddles]

Thanks everyone for your help to date - much appreciated.

Tabs have recently updated their web site (last month) to outline they offer a 1 year warranty on floors.

Despite their short warranty - I would have thought for that sort of money, a company would do the right thing an be wanting to make right such a fault, consumer laws aside.

I have come to realise though that Tabs hasn't really stood by their product. Initially an illegal trailer supplied (underweight rating) with package for that size boat that resulted in legal action settling in my favour to make right (silver lining - I bought an FMS trailer from Ivan - so happy, such a lovely man and awesome product!) Then when a marina on the gold coast scratched all the side of the boat when it was brand new, storing it in a racking system, Tabs gouged the insurance company over $6K to repaint one side of the boat - to have the re-paint job bubbling and blistering and peeling off - which is looking like again going back through the courts after nearly a year of arguing and shifting blame.

I wanted to hear people's consensus / experiences with their boats and see if I was being unreasonable with my expectations, and also advise on how I should fix it with a new floor, done properly, if I go down that path. I might just pay someone else to do it - as I am not very handy with tools.

Thanks again for your help / advice to date,

Kind regards,

Brad.

[astro66]

mate there is not a set time in the law ....they might say 12 months but that isnt the law ....law is a fair reasonable time and how much was paid ....so if you bought a 400$ new tinny you couldnt expect much ...but if you pay 40k for a boat that doesnt even seal the flooring that will rot in water well they should be fixing it ...
i got 6 years out of the floor in my brooker and it wasnt sealed ....

[beerhunter]

My seajay boat had sat from new for 6 years unused under a dodgy tarp. Always full if water and the floor is fine. I had a look all the ply is painted in a see through yellowish sealer of some sort.

sent from the beerhunter

[stevej]

how do you store your boat ?
do you use the deck wash and spray water everywhere ?
etc etc

its not a glass boat or a fully welded ally floor
ply will not last if its not looked after

the hours of use mean nothing it is the hours of dealing with mother nature and how you have looked after it that matter in this case

[gazza2006au]

building ones own boat your liable for 5 years after its built i would imagine TABS would cover your boat if u ask them as this is a structural problem not just a minor imperfection

if they don't and u use the boat hitting a sudden wave someone falls thru the floor breaking there spine and being paralised i wouldn't want to be wearing TABS shoes shit will hit the fan and its a very reasonable accident to happen

this is why i like aluminium boats if it cracks u can weld the crack not rip 30% of the boat off and re-do it all again in so many months if i was u i would be pissed

[stevej]

[QUOTE=gazza2006au;1602868
this is why i like aluminium boats if it cracks u can weld the crack not rip 30% of the boat off and re-do it all again in so many months if i was u i would be pissed[/QUOTE]

this is a aluminum boat and like most builders to meet a price point they use carpeted ply for the floor

[lovejones]

kinda off topic but not, does anyone know how much Nidaplast is, and does it replace the floor or sit on top of the current floor?

sorry not wanting to hijack

[gazza2006au]

ahh i thought it wasa glass boat and also was thinking it would be a pain in the butt glassing in a floor on a glass boat but aply floor on a aluminium boat would be piece of cake u would ideally if done your self use quality products

im building a plywood composite boat and i made up a small T section and coated it with one layer of resin and double bi cloth i left it out in the rain for weeks and weeks than it sat for months and month it was perfectly fine and u could see where the resin penetrated the ply and all around it soaked from the rain it held up and i was might impressed i think i have a picture of it floating around here

[FNQCairns]

I have had my 6m tinny for 10 years ply floor also, left outside for the entire time in the tropics covered with a super cheap car cover only, floor as solid still as the day I did it. I have trouble understanding how such a soft floor could happen so shortly, I had structural ply left over from my build and it was left in the back shed uncared for...shed is a little leaky and I used this last couple square meters to cover a pit I made because it was no longer any good far anything else...still in the tropics and uncared for it took 10 years to be worthy of such a dead end job.

[Nick H]

Mate I replaced my floor in a 5m stessco and it only took two half days and all up carpet and ply was about $400. I used a uv stable waterproof membrane applied to the ply wood and carpet over the top. I put aluminum backing plates in for the seat boxes to bolt to and it was far better than when they did it. I put a hatch in the back for access to the hull as well, as there was no way to get under the floor on the original ply. The original floor only lasted two years, that boats long gone now but I'd imagine it's still solid.

[Braddles]

SteveJ;

Thanks for your reply.

I do use a deck wash - but localised to the back of the boat / work station and only for clean up - but I'm not sure what this would add though, as its an open boat and when used in chop and wind - ALL centre and side console boats DO get wet floors - far more volume / frequency / coverage than any deck wash wetting I would do.

The boat is VERY well looked after. With the custom stainless Targa (designed at Haines Stainless department), Bimini off Targa, Custom Drive on Trailer and all options I have spent well over 50K on it - so I treat it with due care and respect. It is washed down with fresh water and Johnson and Johnson's no more tears (pH neutral) shampoo (per the manufacturer's advice), rinsed and hand dried, all moving parts and metal fixtures inoxed where appropriate, and left in the sun to dry out, with hatches opened until my next day off before it is put under cover.

Kind regards,

Brad.

[Braddles]

building ones own boat your liable for 5 years after its built i would imagine TABS would cover your boat if u ask them as this is a structural problem not just a minor imperfection

if they don't and u use the boat hitting a sudden wave someone falls thru the floor breaking there spine and being paralised i wouldn't want to be wearing TABS shoes shit will hit the fan and its a very reasonable accident to happen

this is why i like aluminium boats if it cracks u can weld the crack not rip 30% of the boat off and re-do it all again in so many months if i was u i would be pissed


Thanks Gazza - I will give them a try... Based on my experience to date though with Tabs - I'm not holding my breath :-)

[Braddles]

Mate I replaced my floor in a 5m stessco and it only took two half days and all up carpet and ply was about $400. I used a uv stable waterproof membrane applied to the ply wood and carpet over the top. I put aluminum backing plates in for the seat boxes to bolt to and it was far better than when they did it. I put a hatch in the back for access to the hull as well, as there was no way to get under the floor on the original ply. The original floor only lasted two years, that boats long gone now but I'd imagine it's still solid.

Nick H - You don't want a job do you ?? :P

I would do exactly what you do too and put an aluminium plate on the underside of the seat bases to screw to, too.. I would have thought this would be common sense but doesn't seem to have been done in mine either.

I would also build a hatch to access the hull - could even pop a box in there for storage of stuff perhaps.....

Do you have any pics of how you did the access hatch or of the job generally?

Thanks for your post :-)

[shakey55]

I'd be looking into this further. If they HAVE just UPDATED their website to say one year warranty on floor, what did it say before. Your warranty would be whatever is written/advertised at the time you bought the boat.

Further investigation required. You SHOULD get more that two years out of a floor


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[gazza2006au]

A good question to ask would u be happy for TABS to carry out the work and all this happen again in another 2 years?

if u do it your self its pretty simple job and it could really last 10 years if u seal the ply with epoxy resin

[Chris Tucker]

mate there is not a set time in the law ....they might say 12 months but that isnt the law ....law is a fair reasonable time and how much was paid ....so if you bought a 400$ new tinny you couldnt expect much ...but if you pay 40k for a boat that doesnt even seal the flooring that will rot in water well they should be fixing it ...
i got 6 years out of the floor in my brooker and it wasnt sealed ....

Car companies have been forced to live with this too. We had an $2000+ steering rack fail on our car and despite being a couple of years out of warranty the manufacture paid to replace it without even being asked.

In this case you should be taking the boat back and asking them to fix it. Next time if you're buying an aluminium boat buy one with an aluminium floor.

[tjotter]

The stated 1 year warranty is the minimum,
it is not automatically the maximum.


I like what Gazza said :
A good question to ask would u be happy for TABS to carry out the work and all this happen again in another 2 years?

[DaveR]

Tabs have recently updated their web site (last month) to outline they offer a 1 year warranty on floors.


Hello Brad.

This is actually incorrect. Internet Archive's Wayback Machine shows that Tabs' website has included the same statement of warranty about wooden floors since at least January 2014. Prior to 2014 their warranty page may have had a different URL.

For those who are interested: http://web.archive.org/web/20140101000000*/http://www.tabsboats.com.au/warranty/

The dates circled are times when Wayback Machine has saved a copy of the site.

[stevej]

the plys rotted/delminated because it hasnt dried out or got too wet to begin with
maybe you looked after it to well

dont see many tab owners complaining about there floors


SteveJ;

Thanks for your reply.

I do use a deck wash - but localised to the back of the boat / work station and only for clean up - but I'm not sure what this would add though, as its an open boat and when used in chop and wind - ALL centre and side console boats DO get wet floors - far more volume / frequency / coverage than any deck wash wetting I would do.

The boat is VERY well looked after. With the custom stainless Targa (designed at Haines Stainless department), Bimini off Targa, Custom Drive on Trailer and all options I have spent well over 50K on it - so I treat it with due care and respect. It is washed down with fresh water and Johnson and Johnson's no more tears (pH neutral) shampoo (per the manufacturer's advice), rinsed and hand dried, all moving parts and metal fixtures inoxed where appropriate, and left in the sun to dry out, with hatches opened until my next day off before it is put under cover.

Kind regards,

Brad.

[Braddles]

Hello Brad.

This is actually incorrect. Internet Archive's Wayback Machine shows that Tabs' website has included the same statement of warranty about wooden floors since at least January 2014. Prior to 2014 their warranty page may have had a different URL.

For those who are interested: http://web.archive.org/web/20140101000000*/http://www.tabsboats.com.au/warranty/

The dates circled are times when Wayback Machine has saved a copy of the site.

Thanks Davidson,

I am not sure of the purpose of your post though other than to discount my issue / post?

I will rephrase what I typed for you,

Tabs recently (you can check your archive system as to when) updated their web site to a new format. This was certainly more recently than what you have indicated in 2014. Tabs have had more than 1 website redesign - and for a period had no website / " under construction" message.

Previously - detail about warranty specific to flooring was, I believe, not included. At least I couldn't find it.

Now - it very clearly stated on a redesigned website.

Also - at the bottom of the link you posted comes this disclaimer

......."Note: This calendar view maps the number of times http://www.tabsboats.com.au/warranty/ was crawled by the Wayback Machine, not how many times the site was actually updated.... "


Hope that adds some clarity for you.

[Braddles]

the plys rotted/delminated because it hasnt dried out or got too wet to begin with
maybe you looked after it to well


Hahaha - maybe...


dont see many tab owners complaining about there floors

How many tabs owners do you know out of curiosity?
I have heard many rave reviews (hence I bought one) - its a really great boat - other than the floor! (and the seats/ seat posts / floor fittings are pretty low quality too TBH)....
Since I have posted this I have had two other Tabs owners contact me with the same problem just from here, and another guy who owns a branded boat previously built by tabs - also with premature failure of the ply flooring..

From the consensus of feelings on here - I have decided to take this futher with Tabs.

Thanks everyone for your time / input / sharing your experience - much appreciated.

[Dignity]

From the consensus of feelings on here - I have decided to take this futher with Tabs.

Thanks everyone for your time / input / sharing your experience - much appreciated.

Braddles, do ring Office of Fair Trading first just to arm yourself with some ammunition. I had an issue with an item purchased and OOFT were quite happy to hand out advice and in my case even suggested that if the manager persisted in refusing the claim to call them in his presence and they would advise him accordingly. This means didley squat if the person you are dealing with digs in their heels but better off being properly armed. Good luck in a good resolution.

[BOBOAU]

It's a real shame that this continues to happen in either glass or aluminium boats. It has done the boating industry no favours at all.
A timber floor should still last for years if done correctly. And manufacturers should back their products. Every part of them.
Timber can be used very successfully for floors but needs to be completely sealed.
Unfortunately, for what ever reasons, this isn't being done. There's a lot to be said for quality control through out the whole
manufacturing process.
As mentioned, there are plenty of high quality alternatives to timber, Thermo-Lite, Coosa & Nydaplast, just to mention a few.
There are a few companies using these products but not enough.
Stick with it Braddles. This issue should be rectified by the manufacturer... Martin...

[Nick H]

Ahah I've got enough on my plate at the moment. I had aluminium SHS welded In between the girder supports and he welded a section in for an access hatch. Sorry no photos. As Gazza mentioned coated with epoxy would be best! Good luck with it

[Chris Tucker]

when "coating" with epoxy use the right products and techniques.

Everdure (http://www.yachtpaint.com/aus/diy/products/special%20products/everdure.aspx) is a very thin epoxy that is designed to wick into the grain of the timber, thus preventing water intrusion and rot.

The do what sailing boat owners do. Where-ever you need to drill a hole in the ply drill it oversize. Fill with a hard bog and then redrill to the right size.

[Fed]

I have untreated ply on my boat that is 30 Years old and still OK.
It gets sea water, rain water, sun & shade, I think it gets down to the type of wood the ply is made from.

[Noelm]

Yep, I reckon you're right, modern construction ply is rubbish when you buy it, most sheets have a warp in them, proper marine ply is heaps better, but nothing like the product of years gone by, I have a cutting board in my back yard that would be well over 25 years old, left out, unprotected in the weather, and except for being worn thin from use, it's still in very good condition.

[DaveR]

Thanks Davidson,

I am not sure of the purpose of your post though other than to discount my issue / post?

I will rephrase what I typed for you,

Tabs recently (you can check your archive system as to when) updated their web site to a new format. This was certainly more recently than what you have indicated in 2014. Tabs have had more than 1 website redesign - and for a period had no website / " under construction" message.

Previously - detail about warranty specific to flooring was, I believe, not included. At least I couldn't find it.

Now - it very clearly stated on a redesigned website.

Also - at the bottom of the link you posted comes this disclaimer

......."Note: This calendar view maps the number of times http://www.tabsboats.com.au/warranty/ was crawled by the Wayback Machine, not how many times the site was actually updated.... "


Hope that adds some clarity for you.

Hi Brad

The purpose of my post was to show that they did in fact have the disclaimer on their site for at least ~2 years. Perhaps you didn't see it the first time. Archive services like Wayback Machine are very valuable in determining what was actually printed on a website, versus what people remember was there.

What that disclaimer means is Wayback Machine periodically crawls the site, not simply every time the site is updated. So they might crawl Tabs today, then in four weeks from now. Tabs won't have been updated their site in that time, but Wayback has crawled it again anyway. As you can see, the disclaimer about wooden floors has existed on their warranty page since at least January 2014. If you raised the issue with Tabs, they would no doubt use an archive service like Wayback to defend themselves. Keep in mind their warranty isn't the final say. Australian consumer guarantees are the standard- and if it's unreasonable for a floor to fail in the time period you've owned the boat, by law they would be urged to repair it.

[Braddles]

Just wanted to close this threat by saying I had the flooring replaced.

The old floor was removed - TABS BOATS had NOT used marine ply... It was delaminating and rotting.

None of the through cuts (Seat posts etc) had been sealed, ever.

The new job is marine ply, including sub floor under casting deck, and recarpeted in new black marine pile carpet..

I had a 50cm x 25cm hatch also put into the floor for extra storage / locker in a section of floor to keep the fenders, ropes etc in. .

Cost me just over $2000.00.


Before you had over your hard earned for a new boat - ask the question what the floor is made from - and get it in writing.

A floor in this level of boat should be Marine ply - and it should last for many, many years as many of you have eluded to.

Best wishes,

Brad.

[ozscott]

Yes the floor should last for many years. The floor in my Seafarer Vag is original and is now 40 years old and rock hard. Consumer laws are your friend... Cheers

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[inveratta]

lots of bush lawyers ...probably not going to help you ..its just a place that you dont want to be...

As far as the flooring goes..had a pro fix my floor about ten years ago ..he did a really good job ..showed me what he had done and why ...no problems since....so 12 months warranty from a manufacturer is pathetic..like an admission of crap work in my view..

bad luck

but then again its good to know who really builds better and who doesnt...fibreglass is a great material..pity there are cocks about who dont give you value..

[ozscott]

Bush lawyer... Arghhh no. Don't assume you know about people who post up some guidance. Some of us might actually know something about the consumer protection legislation. Cheers

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[GBC]

I have untreated ply on my boat that is 30 Years old and still OK.
It gets sea water, rain water, sun & shade, I think it gets down to the type of wood the ply is made from.
Unfortunately urea formaldehyde glue gives you cancer but worked well on marine ply. Like all the good products it is gone now.

To the op. Make sure you lift all your deck plates and openings to vertical and leave them that way after you wash your boat with baby shampoo? Fresh water will kill ply (even marine ply) quickly as you found out first time round.

[billfisher]

Just wanted to close this threat by saying I had the flooring replaced.

The old floor was removed - TABS BOATS had NOT used marine ply... It was delaminating and rotting.

None of the through cuts (Seat posts etc) had been sealed, ever.

The new job is marine ply, including sub floor under casting deck, and recarpeted in new black marine pile carpet..

I had a 50cm x 25cm hatch also put into the floor for extra storage / locker in a section of floor to keep the fenders, ropes etc in. .

Cost me just over $2000.00.


Before you had over your hard earned for a new boat - ask the question what the floor is made from - and get it in writing.

A floor in this level of boat should be Marine ply - and it should last for many, many years as many of you have eluded to.

Best wishes,

Brad.

I think you will find marine ply is just as susceptible to rot as other, cheaper types. They will all rot if they are exposed to fresh water. The key to making it last is sealing it. I think epoxy is the best way to do this.

[Dignity]

I may have missed it in the posts but did you get a response from Tabs or decided to avoid further heartache and just got on with it.

[NAGG]

Just wanted to close this threat by saying I had the flooring replaced.

The old floor was removed - TABS BOATS had NOT used marine ply... It was delaminating and rotting.

None of the through cuts (Seat posts etc) had been sealed, ever.

The new job is marine ply, including sub floor under casting deck, and recarpeted in new black marine pile carpet..

I had a 50cm x 25cm hatch also put into the floor for extra storage / locker in a section of floor to keep the fenders, ropes etc in. .

Cost me just over $2000.00.


Before you had over your hard earned for a new boat - ask the question what the floor is made from - and get it in writing.

A floor in this level of boat should be Marine ply - and it should last for many, many years as many of you have eluded to.

Best wishes,

Brad.

It doesn't surprise me that marine ply wasn't used ...... All 4 boats I have bought from new suffered in one form or another (within 2-3 years). None have used marine ply ..... & sealing at best is dome with the glue that is used stick the carpet down .
The difference when it is done right is massive ...... quintrex CC had the floor replaced at less than 3 years . - when I did replace it .... I used marine ply (12mm) but sealed it with Crommelin waterproof sealant (which takes a carpet glue well) . The other factor is making sure that the screw holes are sealed ...... 6 years later and all was well when the boat was sold .

Unfortunately ..... boats are usually built to a price in one way or another. Floors failing - the other is seats ...... I've rebuilt my current boats seats (Seajay) ...... screwing the pedestal straight into a ply base is never going to hold ..... but that is what they do !

Chris

[Braddles]

Hi Dignity - I mentioned it to them - and they just referred me to the warranty clause on their web site... and blamed me for "loving the boat too much" - despite being made on a boat, and grown up around them for the last 38 years - common sense and morality mean nothing.. Of course you are going to wash you $60K boat down with fresh water after every use, of course you will leave hatches open etc - but at the end of the day - when you build a boat floor out of form ply, and then carpet it - and no sealer - and screw seat posts into shithouse ply without sealing - only one thing is going to happen.

VERY disappointing - very expensive lesson - which is now all fixed. A great shame - as it is otherwise a fantastic boat with great performing hull.

Its all fully sealed with epoxy now, marine ply, including all screw holes and cut outs and new carpet.. Over 2K job - but I am happy its how it should be - and will be able to sleep at night when I sell the boat in the future.

[Braddles]

Hey Nagg;

Yes mine was the same - seats with seat posts screwed straight into the unsealed shitty quality ply floor - which of course the glue dissolved and laminate layers separated and warped and screws let go... Dont get me started on the shit seats they put in boats - if I was spending 20 grand you would accept it and sit dainty and be cautious - but Tabs used Relax'n post seats - screwed into said ply... Coming in from out wide off Yeppoon one day - my mate nearly went overboard - the screws let go as I hit a wave and threw him to the floor (thankfully, not overboard). Another one of the seats - the back flimsy backrest bracket buckled - and claimed under warranty.. but now we sit gingerly and careful not to lean back etc esp when rough.

What kind of seats did you end up using? would be keen to check them out if you have a pic or name so I can look up on line :-)

Take care,

Brad. :-)



It doesn't surprise me that marine ply wasn't used ...... All 4 boats I have bought from new suffered in one form or another (within 2-3 years). None have used marine ply ..... & sealing at best is dome with the glue that is used stick the carpet down .
The difference when it is done right is massive ...... quintrex CC had the floor replaced at less than 3 years . - when I did replace it .... I used marine ply (12mm) but sealed it with Crommelin waterproof sealant (which takes a carpet glue well) . The other factor is making sure that the screw holes are sealed ...... 6 years later and all was well when the boat was sold .

Unfortunately ..... boats are usually built to a price in one way or another. Floors failing - the other is seats ...... I've rebuilt my current boats seats (Seajay) ...... screwing the pedestal straight into a ply base is never going to hold ..... but that is what they do !

Chris

[TruBlue]

Why don't ppl look at alloy sheet?
A 2400 X 1200 X 3 sheet is only a couple of hundred surely it's an option to replace a floor n you don't have to weld it
u could cover it and fix it down same as timber


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[Dignity]

Hi Dignity - I mentioned it to them - and they just referred me to the warranty clause on their web site... and blamed me for "loving the boat too much" - despite being made on a boat, and grown up around them for the last 38 years - common sense and morality mean nothing.. Of course you are going to wash you $60K boat down with fresh water after every use, of course you will leave hatches open etc - but at the end of the day - when you build a boat floor out of form ply, and then carpet it - and no sealer - and screw seat posts into shithouse ply without sealing - only one thing is going to happen.

VERY disappointing - very expensive lesson - which is now all fixed. A great shame - as it is otherwise a fantastic boat with great performing hull.

Its all fully sealed with epoxy now, marine ply, including all screw holes and cut outs and new carpet.. Over 2K job - but I am happy its how it should be - and will be able to sleep at night when I sell the boat in the future.

Was that TAB BOATS that I need to avoid dealing with 😈 , if this is the "quality" of their work it makes one wonder how long they will be around. It would be interesting to find out if this has alwaye been the case with their builds or is this a recent change.

[NAGG]

Hey Nagg;

Yes mine was the same - seats with seat posts screwed straight into the unsealed shitty quality ply floor - which of course the glue dissolved and laminate layers separated and warped and screws let go... Dont get me started on the shit seats they put in boats - if I was spending 20 grand you would accept it and sit dainty and be cautious - but Tabs used Relax'n post seats - screwed into said ply... Coming in from out wide off Yeppoon one day - my mate nearly went overboard - the screws let go as I hit a wave and threw him to the floor (thankfully, not overboard). Another one of the seats - the back flimsy backrest bracket buckled - and claimed under warranty.. but now we sit gingerly and careful not to lean back etc esp when rough.

What kind of seats did you end up using? would be keen to check them out if you have a pic or name so I can look up on line :-)

Take care,

Brad. :-)

Mate

I'm still to find a decent replacement seat ....... so I basically rebuilt them as a short term fix.

I used 18mm marine ply for the base & sealed it.

Chris