Noble Boat <2yo Cracked and Sinking

[TREVELLY]

For safety sake, I would be stripping the boat back to bar hull, fix/re weld and fix strengthen any potential problem areas. The next big one and one I would certainly do is get the whole hull sandblasted. Then you will see even more issues, hopefully not but I suspect you will. Fix those and then prep and repaint. It sounds like a big job and it is. Its better if you fix the hull to level that you have confidents nothing more will happen.
It’s a big commitment and will cost a bit but what’s the alternative? I would also be pursing retribution.

Hear what you are saying Stuart - that's a big call - full sandblast.

I will look about the boat everywhere I can and see what level of workmanship and inspection is evident.

The welds that are on the underside of the hull and visible where unpainted are good.

I know the tack welds on those channels are rubbish, but they were never intended to be structural I believe. The main problem is the welds were missed all together.

I know there is at least one defective weld in the cabin side where it has cracked about 10" long in side panel where it meets the outer floor level - I will pic that tomorrow and grind it back to look. Will get that one fixed for sure as well.

I know if I ask the boat builder about exposing the welds for inspection through the paint and bog he will say what about the welds under the floor plate to all the ribs where you can't lift and inspect without cutting up the floor? I am not tearing this boat apart.

[gofishin]

...I do keep this in perspective ..... this is a blip on the horizon and as annoying as it is I won't lose any sleep over it .
....

Trev,
Firstly, I’m truly inspired to see the courage you have shown for keeping ‘everything in perspective’ re your ‘other’ problem. Like most on here I couldn’t even imagine what that would be like to go through, so all the very best to you & your family for the times ahead.

Now to this ‘blip' as you say. Forgetting the welds (or lack of), what troubles me is the lack of structure within the transom, or at least from the shots you have shown. Can you take a few more from further back, showing all the structure within the transom, higher than you have shown – and wider, also showing the lower motor bolts.

There looks to be no transom knee – a fairly critical pieceof structure on O/B powered ally boats, or maybe I am missing something in the pics? There also looks to have been some serious movement in the transom. Do the engine bolts go through the channels? Can you get to the top of the channels? Do they have an inner part? (common for this purpose with ally boat transoms). As a fellow engineer you would know that movement means fatigue cracks in aluminium, hence I am also concerned about what cracks you can’tsee/haven’t found yet! As others have commented, the water ingress (for the amount you have discussed) must also be coming from another source, and this is what concerns me most as there could be cracks in the hull/transom join. (BTW, did it piss down with rain while you were camping?)

Get a big mate to stand on the A/V plate while hanging on tothe cowl and jump/bob up and down – lay in to it too! Have a real good look inside and out of the transom while he is doing this. The forces created from this would be nothing compared to what’s happening in the ocean, but it just may help show up any other problems.

As far as air chambers go – don’t get me started! But that is for another time and place.
Cheers
Brendon

[astro66]

gofishn there should be ribs/a frame to support the duckboard but all they have is those channels(should be at least two or three ribs that go top to bottom from rear to the next compartment or a full frame in box )....all they do is stiffen the sheet under the engine... the reason its cracked is its not strong enough...this could have ended so much worse then it did....

[DAZMC1]

Hi Trev. Email sent
Darren.

[johncar]

Well Trevelly, I congratulate you on your handling this situation very well. From what you have said it seems you have done all you could and I don't blame you at all from taking steps to have it fixed asap, I would do the same. It is hard to understand or forgive the manufacturer for not replying to you and assist you in getting back on the water and help restore your confidence in them and your boat. I hope that you hear from them soon but if not well you just have to get it sorted regardless and it will be all good.
I agree that it is surely an oversight and QA problem where this was not picked up but it happens in all manufacturing. I don't believe that you need to be overly concerned about the rest of the boat, it's probably all bullet proof, just the normal regular checks and observations while cleaning down and whenever you are bored and have a few spare minutes to have a good look over.
It is a credit to the boat that it held together as long as it did in some rough conditions at times no doubt and I am sure it will be as strong as when you are done with the repairs.
All The best to you.

[Captain Seaweed]

I am really pissed off with the way this has turned out should the above be correct. I have also emailed Jason with a link to this post. I have my Noble for sale, my investment, and I plan on upgrading to a live in the water boat next, what will this do for my and other peoples boat that will be for sale???
From my experience they handled my issues to well, I hope this is ,merely an oversight or a reaonable explanation otherwise there will be another good designed boat going to shite.

Marty

[Greg P]

Trev - have you got any hotworks pics of the boat being built? Be interested to see the complete set up of the transom etc as they built it. Just looking at those pics I can tell you that is nowhere near the amount of support structure in the transom in my Fisher. Maybe the picture doesnt show all. I will dig up some pics on Tuesday to show you.

As mentioned before - all the best with your young bloke, certainly puts things in perspective. The boat should be a source of enjoyment for the family not another thing to worry about.

[fishing111]

Hi Trev,

This thread may be worth a read for you, it seems that Noble are having quiet a few problems.

http://www.fishnet.com.au/forums/vie...sc&start=0&f=8

There is a link in that thread to fishwrecked where it was originally posted as well but I can't access it anymore so it may have been taken down. There were heaps of pictures in that thread and specifically of other boats cracking around the motor support like yours. (In fact they were so similar I thought this was a repost at first).

If you can track down the thread on fishwrecked it would be well worth the read as they were working through the issues with Noble last I saw, but that was a few weeks ago...

Good Luck

Regards

Scott

Has anyone been able to track this thread down from Fishrecked?
I've tried, but my skills on computer are limited.

[Symetre]

Hi Trev,

Really sorry to read about this problem. Having a look at the photos, it seems there must be another load path for the horizontal force that the motor exerts on the boat to give it thrust. With no welding at the bottom of the flanges or web, the channel in the photo has nothing to carry the tension/compression stresses in the flanges due to minor axis bending. The channel must be providing vertical support only.

I know bugger all about boat building but even if the channels were connected properly into the hull bottom plate I would imagine, as others have said that the bending would stress the buggery our of the hull. I would have thought that if those channels were designed to transfer lateral load that they would be welded onto a stiffening member that runs the length of the hull bottom plate.

Is there a member running across the transom at the top that then connects into some strong members at the gunnel or on the side somewhere? Or is there something strutting from the top of the transom into hull bottom plate to brace it all out? In any case the welding is atrocious. I hope you have some luck with Noble soon.

Best of Luck,

Dan

[Lucky_Phill]

HI Trev,

Bad situation.

IN my opinion only.

I have the Pacific Sportfish Super Vee..... original boats that were bought out by Noble.

Noble started to build the boats in Oz, but quickly went to China for building. At that point in time ( in my opinion only ) is when the Quality assured materials and construction went south.

I am starting to hear a lot more stories about unhappy customers who have bought Noble Boats. Marty got his issues sorted, but they should not have happened in the first place.

I have also read a few members here state that they thought Noble boats were " indestructable and or unbreakable ". Well, this reputation is a roll-over from the original boat and builder... Pacific Sportfish Super Vee , and I would not place the current crop of Nobles in that category, again, only my opinion.

Having said that, I too had weld issues. Nothing to do with the safety of the boat, simply and under-engineered Targa assembly.

To his credit, Col, from Origin Boats ( ex Fisher ) sorted that issue and has made my rig.... " unbreakable ". Utilizing gusettes. My boat has a transom rating of 145HP, which for a 6.2mtr boat is rather light on. It is probably engineered to take a lot more, but I believe Pacific Sportfish purposely rated it as such to account for the heavier 4 stroke engines entering the market at that time. I could have the transom beefed up to take higher HP, but at this stage, it is good.

Trev, I would take your rig to Col, ( if you want ) just to let him run his eye over the repairs and also any other areas you feel need looking at .


cheers Phill

[tunaticer]

Trev, Just had a thought about getting a plumber with a pipe inspection cam to see what he can find to save you tearing lots of your boat apart.
I would be pretty confident that there would be one or two plumbers on this forum with an inspection cam.
At the very least it will let you see the weld quality in other areas.

[Stuart]

And what about the AUS/NZ standard, clearly not even close in this situation. I would be screwing this guy to the wall, dirt bag. Chinees are renowned for cost cutting, cutting corners to inhance margins.

[burleygu]

Don't touch it mate!!! Take them to court!!!

[Lovey80]

Still no reply from them? It's too early to make a call but this is singing alarm bells of an insolvent company, running from their obligations.

[Fed]

You're between a rock & a hard place Trev, do you sue the people you got the boat off or go your way, bite the bullet & just get it fixed.

Just getting it fixed yourself pretty much lets everyone else off the hook because they will say you should have let them fix the problem.

Maybe there's a chance you can get them to fix it after it's stripped, are you taking the motor off?

The other thing is, who did you buy it off?
As I understand it that's who should be fixing it or arranging for it to be fixed.
A dealer or middleman can't fob you off to the manufacturer although a dealer may call the manufacturer in as a co respondent if you take legal action.
You may even have recourse against company directors from where you bought it.
All this may not be worth the stress or effort though because once it's stripped the actual repairs may not be very expensive.
A clever guy with a welder & the right tools can get a lot done in a day.

I'm not a legal guy just a sparky but I know you do need to grab the person you bought it off. If it was a Chinese company I don't think it would be worth the effort.