Did I destroy my brand new boat?!?

[Sgt_P]

I'm brand new. Not just to this forum, but to boat ownership.

My wife and I bought a "starter" boat last week (2013 Tahoe Q4i), and have had it on the water three times. It fits us well, and the dog loves it!

While loading it on the trailer last night, I made a dumb rookie move. With some pressure at the public ramp, I hurried through the loading process, and forgot to trim the out-drive up. I drug it a foot or so, and stopped immediately on feeling the resistance. I trimmed it up to the trailer position, and pulled the boat out.

The skeg is scraped on the ramp, but no real gouging or bends or twists. It seems fine, although the paint is rubbed off on the bottom.

I checked the transom interior (no signs of damage), and the exterior looks fine, until I ran my finger on the gel-coat around where the out-drive protrudes through the transom. I felt a couple of fine cracks or scratches.





Did I crack the transom? Or are these stress cracks in the gel-coat?

What now?!?!?

 

[rogerwa]

Re: Did I destroy my brand new boat?!?

Although I cannot make out much on the pics, here would be my opinion. The skeg is there partly to protect the prop so damage to it is ok. The cracks I would think would be mfg defects that need to get checked. I would not think dragging the skeg on the ramp would cause this. If the pressure is too great I would expect the trim to release and let the drive move/kick up.

When you are underpower, the transom is under a great deal of stress, as it is designed. A little bit of dragging should not o this..

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Did I destroy my brand new boat?!?

Its fine, everybody does it sooner or later.

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Did I destroy my brand new boat?!?

From those or possibly any pictures it is not possible to tell if those are stress cracks or structure problems. Take it to your dealer for him to analyze. No matter-- the boat is not destroyed. The motor should be OK the transom can be repaired to like before the last trip.

When I boated in freshwater it was always imperative to drain the water due to zebra mussels and in salt now just to drain before flushing. Raising the motor will be part of your routine before the trailer comes out of the water.

 

[NYBo]

Re: Did I destroy my brand new boat?!?

Welcome to iboats, Sergeant!:welcome:

As the other guys have said, you didn't do this by dragging the skeg. If you want some peace of mind, bring the boat back to the dealer for a look, since it's new.

 

[Sgt_P]

Re: Did I destroy my brand new boat?!?

Thanks Gentlemen!

I know the pictures are hard to make out. The scratches/cracks are so slight.

I just have no base of knowledge. So I appreciate this forum, and your input.

I'll run it back to the dealer and raise the question. Although I'm sure they'll play dumb...

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Did I destroy my brand new boat?!?

If there is a structure problem with the transom they will fix it, if stress in the gelcoat-- not under warranty.

 

[Sgt_P]

Re: Did I destroy my brand new boat?!?

If there is a structure problem with the transom they will fix it, if stress in the gelcoat-- not under warranty.

Thanks Captain!

I suspect it's just stress in the gelcoat. If that is what the dealer finds, what do I do?

Would that need immediate attention? I assume the areas would have to be sanded out and re-finished (which could require removing the out-drive - due to the location of the scratches on the sides of the out-drive).

 

[pckeen]

Re: Did I destroy my brand new boat?!?

Given that it is a brand new boat - get it professionally fixed....unless you feel comfortable doing this yourself.

 

[sea wolf]

Re: Did I destroy my brand new boat?!?

I would bring it to the dealer. That way you at least have a record in case the problem worsens.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Did I destroy my brand new boat?!?

Not much that you can see in the pictures . . .. Regardless, I would not be happy with the boat if it has developed gel coat cracks already, even considering the short drag up the ramp.

Of course, given the situation, any warranty claim might be an issue. I've dragged my boat up the ramp by the outdrive, and no cracks.

As advised, have the dealer look at the cracks and make record of it, etc.

 

[Toddavid]

Re: Did I destroy my brand new boat?!?

Yeah, I can't see how a skeg drag would cause fiberglass issues like that, but tpenfield has a good point about flaws in a new boat.

Hope it turns out better for you than it did for this guy:

http://forums.iboats.com/boat-resto...inger-pushing-through-bottom-boat-235489.html

Don't mean to scare you, but brace yourself for the conversation you are about to have with Tracker.

 

[agallant80]

Re: Did I destroy my brand new boat?!?

Take it to the dealer and ask them. You won't damage the transom from dragging the Skeg. If you did damage the transom from that then the boat has an issue. There is a lot of force against the transom. Its holding thousands of pounds of force when the boat is accelerating.

 

[jkust]

Re: Did I destroy my brand new boat?!?

While I have yet to do a skeg drag, I've seen it many times at the ramp. Given the boat is new, I would at least bring it by the dealer service for a look. I've heard and seen a good number of gel coat cracking issues with Tahoe boats...more so than any other of the half dozen or so brands that dominate the bowrider segment on the lakes. Most are from just poor quality control and not apparently caused by your type of situation however.

 

[Sgt_P]

Re: Did I destroy my brand new boat?!?

... wanted to give an update ...

Took the boat to the dealer a few weeks ago to address the "cracks" in the gel-coat. Got the boat back today, and it is back to 100% !

I was well treated by the service department. And, although it took over two weeks, the boat looks great, and didn't cost me a dime. They also blew out the speedometer line, where I had gotten lake junk stopping it up, and when I tried to pay for that, they said it took no time, and they were happy to do it.

Thanks to Tahoe / Bass Pro!

========================

As often happens on the interwebs, I almost didn't post the positive. We went immediately out on the lake, and the last thing I thought about was posting good news. But I often contend that the positives are outweighed by the negatives simply due to inaction, so I forced myself to take the time to update this thread. I hope this helps someone else...

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: Did I destroy my brand new boat?!?

Thanks for the update, Sarge. As you said too often only negatives are posted in forums, nice to see a good outcome in your case. Sounds like you have a good dealer, too.

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: Did I destroy my brand new boat?!?

Thanks for the Update! ^^^^

I have draged a skeg or two.... the gelcoat issues were not related to the drag.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Did I destroy my brand new boat?!?

Great news Sergeant! Thanks for postin' it and y'all enjoy!

 

[pckeen]

Re: Did I destroy my brand new boat?!?

Congrats - nice to see good customer service out there. I remember your original post on this....having done the same thing myself....on my first boat.

 

[achris]

Re: Did I destroy my brand new boat?!?

Hey Sarge, thanks for the update. many will appreciate it...

....having done the same thing myself....on my first boat.

I've had this boat since 1986, and I still do it every now and then... :facepalm: