Gladstron hull trouble

[wynndog]

Hi'
I just bought my first boat from Melvin Village Marina. They were great, BUT the 2001 Gladstron 17' 135 merc i/o, has hull cracks & bubbles I could peel off. This dealer, and the Gladstron dealer Macallum , said the boat won't take on water and it will be ok. Now, after(maybe mistake) buying it; different web sites say the VEC COATING IS TROUBLE,and Gladstron was sold and there is no limited warranty for me. Do I just wait for it to sink and call the insurance co. or can anyone help?? Gillan said they could fix it for $2000. Not what I want to hear.

[ishoot308]

If I were you I would take that boat back to where you bought it and get your money back. Can't believe Melvin Village Marina would not tell you about such an issue before selling it to you.

Good Luck!

Dan

[dave603]

I agree with that, too bad there's no lemon law on boats.
Sort of surprised Melvin is not helping you here.
Was that a consignment boat, and sold as is?

[Just Sold]

Was this a brokerage boat or one of Melvin Village's used boats they own? If it was a brokerage boat there are no warranties and you are on your own. Most dealers do make sure a brokerage boat is in working order but it may have issues that the owner does not want to repair and you will have to take care of them on your own.

[Bandrews7]

A little late for this advise but I also learned the hard way. Always get a marine survey before purchasing a boat. It is worth the investment. Melvin is a great dealer so i am surprised they did not catch that unless it was a broker boat. If it was, even more reason for the survey. Good luck with your issue. It does not sound like an easy road to travel.

[wynndog]

If I were you I would take that boat back to where you bought it and get your money back. Can't believe Melvin Village Marina would not tell you about such an issue before selling it to you.

Good Luck!

Dan

They told me (after I saw it ) it is only cosmetic you don't have to worry about it. I knew I was getting a 30 day warranty, but now I looked back and see it is only a mechanical one.The boat interior, trailer, & covers are great and now that I think about it they kept throwing in ,new anchor,6 life vests Bizer, FF map,winterize,spring tune up, & winter storage. I thought it was being a good dealership. I worked for good car dealers that did this. But, now looking back, maybe it was just to sell the boat. It was not consignment. I'm 65 & never boat a boat before, so never heard of a company to" check it out".This sounds like buying a house, because you don't do this with cars.
Thanks, Wynn

[wynndog]

I saw the bubbles and pointed them out, they just told me it is only cosmetic, not to worry. I never bought a boat before,at 65, and the other I was looking at was a 1998 Larson at Parker & they WOULDN'T LET ME HAVE A RIDE OR DRIVE IT!

[Ken]

Melvin Village has a good reputation. Take it back and talk to them. Their reputation is on the line.

[RLW]

http://i44.tinypic.com/1499wms.gif Ken, I was just browsing through the forum and noticed that you are fairly new to posting on the forum after joining back in July 2004. We are glad that you have come aboard and joined us. Have fun and enjoy the Winni Forum while making many new friends.

Thanks for joining in and putting in your 2¢’s and you are right, they are good people.:)

http://i54.tinypic.com/2e56yqf.gif

[Blue Thunder]

You bought a 13 year old boat that has some cracks and bubbles in the gel coat. This is a very common issue in many brands of boats and for the most part is, in fact, cosmetic. MVM is a top notch boat dealership and in my experience with them, always put the customer first.

[Rich]

You may want to get a reputable fiberglass guy to look at the boat and give you an official opinion. Ron's Fiberglass USA is very good. Or have someone else with a moisture meter give you an opinion as to how cosmetic the issue is.

Your first concern should be "Is the boat safe?"!

If any underlying structural parts are at risk, soggy or rotted, then you are at risk.

If the fiberglass itself only has bubbles, then that can be mostly cosmetic.

I previously owned a 1995 boat that had cosmetic fiberglass bubbles, but the boat was safe.

[gf2020]

"Glastron" - no d

You bought the boat knowing that it had cracks and hull blisters?

There would be no warranty remaining on a 14 year old boat anyways, so I'm not sure what you would expect MacCallum's to do.

For what it's worth, Glastron had just started using VEC technology in 2001 so it is possible that your boat is just plain old fiberglass.

As others have mentioned, any reputable fiberglass guy could take care of the problems for you.

[Bandrews7]

Melvin value adds all of the items you mentioned. I do not think that was a throw in to sell you. When I purchased there, they also included all those items.

[LIforrelaxin]

I would have to see the boat first hand to understand what you are trying to describe... It could be many different things....

1. It could be just a cosmetic issue....
2. It could also be blistering.... Blistering is bad news and will only get worse.... The best fix for blistering is to have the the boat treated with a epoxy barrier coating like Interlux Interprotect.... while this is expensive it will fix the problem...when done right....