New Tritoon - with new center log damage

98Shabah

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Mar 11, 2010
Messages
408
Hi all. A little background here, this is our 3rd boat, but first new boat and first 'toon. We bought this 21' Lowe tritoon new in June of this year. At a local lake this weekend we somehow stumbled upon a tall tree stump in about 9' of water, it had to have been maybe a foot under the surface. We were going about 15mph when we heard the thumping underneath. I immediately shut the motor off, trimmed it up, and checked the lower unit and prop, but it wasn't until I hopped in the water and started feeling around under the toons that I felt the damage.

It looks like the log got caught between the toon and lifting strake, then took a trip toward the stern, breaking the welds off the lifting strake and denting the toon as it made it's way rearward. Since it's a new boat I do have it fully insured, and i'd like to get it repaired and though it doesn't have to look perfect I would like to be unnoticeable to most. Can anything be done with the dent? Unfortunately the dent isn't accessible from the back side as it's just in front of the splashwell in an area that's sealed off and also has the fuel tank inside of it. My dealer (without having seen it yet) said they don't really deal with dents, they'll just replace the entire log, or I can just keep the dent and have them weld the strake back on.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or comments.
 

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GA_Boater

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
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Your insurance adjuster has the final say, not the dealer. See what the adjuster says and don't tell him/her how you would proceed, let them tell you. Most likely you will be paying the same deductible whether the toon is replaced or the strake is repaired on the dinged up toon.
 

clemsonfor

Lieutenant Junior Grade
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Sep 19, 2005
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1,011
I can see replacing a toon to be cheaper than trying to fix it.

But if they were to fix it they could cut it out and patch it or cut it open and bend it out and weld it up. A good metal worker and welder could make it where no obe would see it and if spent a ton of time almost you couldn't see it. But at that point a new toon is probably cheaper, welders and body work/metal workers are expensive per hour.
 

98Shabah

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Mar 11, 2010
Messages
408
Your insurance adjuster has the final say, not the dealer. See what the adjuster says and don't tell him/her how you would proceed, let them tell you. Most likely you will be paying the same deductible whether the toon is replaced or the strake is repaired on the dinged up toon.

Yep, the deductible is $277. I had this same insurance company about 15 years ago when a waverunner of mine got damaged, they have no local office, so at that time they just had me take it wherever I wanted for an estimate, then mailed me a check, less the deductible. Hopefully it'll be that simple this time as well.
 

98Shabah

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Mar 11, 2010
Messages
408
I can see replacing a toon to be cheaper than trying to fix it.

But if they were to fix it they could cut it out and patch it or cut it open and bend it out and weld it up. A good metal worker and welder could make it where no obe would see it and if spent a ton of time almost you couldn't see it. But at that point a new toon is probably cheaper, welders and body work/metal workers are expensive per hour.

I'd be fine with a patch, but completely get your point on the labor.. and I don't know that they could do that anyway with the fuel tank just on the other side of the aluminum.
 

ThomW

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Aug 8, 2016
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Welding aluminum is also a special skill. Many welders don't have the correct torches and/or skill set to properly weld aluminum, and mainly deal with steel. Might be cheapest and best to just put a new toon on...especially if your paying the same thing for either option. I agree that ultimately, it will be up to the shop you bring it to and your insurance company as to what route is best. If the shop doesn't fix "dents" and gives an estimate to insurance company to replace a toon, then that's that!
 

BigDfromTN

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 16, 2013
Messages
268
Being a new boat I would want a new toon. Got to also think that if you wish to sell it in next 10 years it will have a diminished value with a repaired toon.
 

98Shabah

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Mar 11, 2010
Messages
408
I want to post the follow up to this.. I found a local Lowe dealer that did end up replacing the entire center log.. I dropped the boat off with them in mid September 2017, they ordered the log after I got the check from the insurance company, which took 3 weeks. When the new log was ordered from Lowe we were told 6-8 weeks.. it took 10.. Then when the log arrived it was missing the front bracket, so the dealer had to wait another couple weeks for that, and welded it on. The work the local dealer did was top notch.. They also fixed an oil leak on my new Mercury 115 Pro XS 4 stroke that required tearing the motor down twice, eventually replacing the entire oil sump, getting the parts from Mercury seemed to take an eternity.. When all was said and done, my boat was at that dealer for 6 months. What an ordeal.
 

GA_Boater

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
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May 24, 2011
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49,038
Thanks for the follow up. It seems boat insurance isn't the same as for cars. No loaner boats and no urgency since you don't need the toon to get to from work.

Well, it's fixed. Watch out for logs. :smile:
 

98Shabah

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Mar 11, 2010
Messages
408
Oh, I most certainly will be keeping my eyes peeled. lol. We actually haven't been back to that lake since the damage.. I never really cared for that lake anyway, too crowded for how small it is.
 
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