Water in hull - Warranty question

[Diversion]

MarineMax confirmed water in hull at marina and boat to be pulled to diagnose source. Tech at marina suspicious of underwater light installation as primary and maybe lift....to be determined. Given MM had these installed via 3rd parties when boat was bought, does anyone know how the Sea Ray warranty works in these cases? I have an extended hull warranty but live away from the boat location, where I stored the warranty info.

 

[fwebster]

Let your dealer handle it until you are told that the warranty will not cover the repair. Take the position now with your service manager that since MM installed the options and the boat is in warranty that you expect the repairs to be covered. Sea Ray almost always steps up in cases like this so your communication need to be with the dealer and be non-threatening. If MM tells you that the warranty won't cover the repair, then you can involve Sea Ray customer service.

The point is that Sea Ray dealers are responsible for fixing boats, not the factory. SR may pay the dealer, but it will be the dealer who does the work so keep your relationship with the dealer non-adversarial.

 

[tobnpr]

Frank;
(You would know!) Does SR construct the transom differently when there's a factory lift to be installed?

I'm trying to understand how they build it- do you know if there's a fully cored transom above the waterline, and what they use?

Given the fact that there's a bazillion holes in that transom from trim tabs, lift mounting hardware, zinc, and...lights; I'd expect them to use a structural Coosa panel (or something similar) in this area.

Is SR still using balsa in this area instead of composites? What about the rest of the hull's coring?

 

[fwebster]

Mike,

I think all the transoms are cored with marine plywood since so much crap is screwed or bolted to them to them. Where they are cored and how depends upon the model.

In the early days of hydraulic lifts, reinforcement, and sometimes knees were added to those boats getting lifts installed. There were lots of failures on retrofitted boats where the lift was installed by dealers after the boats left the factory. Now, the transom structure is designed with the addition of a lift in mind. Generally, if it is a factory option, it is safe to add a platform. Conversly, if Sea Ray doesn't put them on as an option, then the structure won't support the added weight/load.