Boat warranty - rust bubbles

[peter]

After your thoughts,

I have a new boat thats nearly out of the 12 month warranty,

I've noticed that I have the tell signs of rust where one of the bungs are, and where all the studs have been placed on the bows deck so you can place a bow cover on.

Is this a warranty thing or does it come down to some sort of wear and tear. It's obvious the holes were not treated correctly when drilled.

What do you reckon I should do ?

Thanks

Peter

[phewy]

Sounds like one could, no should be a Manufacturer warranty item, and the other maybe a dealer warranty item. Enquire about it quickly before time runs out and they don't want to know about it. :)

[Owen]

I'm guessing that you mean corrosion rather than rust.
I'd be making it known in writing to both the manufacturer and the dealer that you have a problem and believe it to be a manufacturing fault.... quickly!
It's a little known fact with warranty that a fault that was evident during the warranty period is still repairable under warranty after the warranty period expires.

cheers,
Owen

[Clint06]

Not sure what you mean by rust peter, but i assume your talking about corrosion or paint bubbling caused by contact between dissimilar metals (studs, screws for bung, and the aluminium frame of the boat). I am having similar problems with my 6month old boat so am very intersted as to what peoples opinions are on this.

It seems to me that some boat builders and also dealers who fit boats out are pretty slack when it comes to preventing this sort of thing - as there are things that can be done to significantly impede and prevent corrosion. A simple search of this site will reveal a number of fairly straighfoward strategies eg. aluminium rivets (instead of stainless), rubber spacers and products like duralac(?).
If it is happening so soon it suggests that such preventative measures were not taken. The most worrying part is that once corrosion starts it is difficult to stop.
I would be getting on to this straight away, and if your not satisfied with the response ask for your money back.
Good luck.
Clint

[bcb20]

Peter & Clint,

I've recently been through the same drama with my boat. I started to notice it when it was about 6 - 9 months old, and not owning an aluminium boat before didn't know too much about it. After a bit of self education from other sources including this site, I was clued up on the problem. Mine in particular, was #electrolysis (Corrosion & Bubbling under the paintwork) in two places; beside the motor mount and under the press studs on each side. In addition I had an electrical fault which caused the hull to be live while using the boat, resulting in the bilge water having an electrical charge when let out through the bungs.

Anyhow to cut a long story short, I spoke with the dealership owner at Sanctuary Cove Boat Show last month. He openly stated that the factory and his own staff need to take more care during assembly. Well, I picked my boat up last week, the press studs have been duralac'd, the motor was removed and a plastic/rubber mounting spacer inserted and then the affected areas were resprayed.

Not good to happen in the first place, and although originally the dealer was evasive but once cornered could only make the situation positive by helping me, before it runs out of warranty next month. Funilly enough the warranty doesn't cover paintwork, but I was able to get a few touch up's done on scratches incurred.......

Good Luck
Sabre