Beware if Buying a Mercury Marine Boat!

[achille2124]

Originally Posted by chewy

So its easier to glue the tube onto the hull upside down, you need to stop sniffing the glue!

That's the only reason I work in inflatable boats, nothing beats a good smell of glue in the morning

On most of the Zodiac boat that has glued tube, like the SRMN, that's the best way to do it.

When you have to remove a glued tube for replacement you need to cut the flaps that are glued to the hull to detached the tube from the hull.

Then, you need to remove the flap, sand and clean the hull in order to remove the glue. The easiest way is to flip the boat. With the boat upside down, you don't have to crawl under the boat to prepare the surface for the new tube. That's the way our guys have been doing this for years.

Like I said, it is easier on most glued tubes. It might not be the case for the Redbay and the Mercury, I can't say how they are glued.

[achille2124]

Also, in Zodiac's Spain factory the step by step procedure to install the tube on a SRMN show the boat upside down.

[captnjack]

Originally Posted by achille2124

Also, in Zodiac's Spain factory the step by step procedure to install the tube on a SRMN show the boat upside down.

That's swell, but when it takes >week and $4k to completely disassemble the boat down to a bare hull you just might be better off finding a repair shop capable of doing the work with the boat right side up...

[garyboat]

Originally Posted by willk

Gary,

Watching your videos suggests that you have had work done to this boat by someone other than Mercury? Who is "the Defendant" referred to?

If you expect to get a hearing on this forum, you should start at the beginning and tell your story - i.e. who you bought the boat from, it's age, when the problem started, what Mercury did to address it, etc.

As it is, you are beginning read like a fruitloop with a grudge against Mercury. That boat is in tatters - a brutally awful repair and I have to stretch my imagination to believe that Mercury did the work. Did they?

Let us know what happened.

I do have a grudge against Mercury. This boat has been defective from day one and they have not handled it well at all. How would you feel? The last repair was done by Defender in Connecticut - AT MERCURY's direction. I had to pay to trailer the boat there and back, etc - which was not cheap from Long Island where I live. This was a mercury sanctioned repair, and now the boat is actually in worse shape. Now they expect me to spend thousands more?

[garyboat]

Originally Posted by achille2124

4000$-5000$ to replace the tube is realistic if the tube is glued in place. On most RIB that have the tube glued, it is easier to install it by flipping the boat. So to do that, you have to remove the outboard/console/etc.... It is a 40-50 hours job, so depending to your work rate it might be expensive.

If the tube is slided in place, 4000$-5000$ is way out. It's a 4-8 hours job on an Hurricane.

Yes, my understanding is that Mercury tubes are glued in place.

[captnjack]

Originally Posted by garyboat

I do have a grudge against Mercury. This boat has been defective from day one and they have not handled it well at all. How would you feel? The last repair was done by Defender in Connecticut - AT MERCURY's direction. I had to pay to trailer the boat there and back, etc - which was not cheap from Long Island where I live. This was a mercury sanctioned repair, and now the boat is actually in worse shape. Now they expect me to spend thousands more?

Have you called Defender?

Is this a PVC, hypalon or polyurethane boat?

[willk]

Originally Posted by garyboat

I do have a grudge against Mercury.

Yes, I get that bit, but you STILL haven't outlined the background and history behind the grudge. It's all just "Mercury are rubbish" which isn't much use to anyone. Your ranting certainly wouldn't put me off doing business with Mercury - you just read like a nut trying to blackmail Mercury into giving you something.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by garyboat

I do have a grudge against Mercury. This boat has been defective from day one and they have not handled it well at all. How would you feel? The last repair was done by Defender in Connecticut - AT MERCURY's direction. I had to pay to trailer the boat there and back, etc - which was not cheap from Long Island where I live. This was a mercury sanctioned repair, and now the boat is actually in worse shape. Now they expect me to spend thousands more?

Well I have no idea what your consumer protection is like in the US, but on this side of the pond, after stamping my feet at them and putting my complaint in writing (in the UK to the seller not the manufacturer) I would then have returned the boat to the seller, gone to the small claims court, and got my money and expenses back. I can't imagine that in the usa there is not such an option. What I would not have done is made matters possibly worse or more complex by going public. Have you told mercury about this thread?

[captnjack]

Originally Posted by Poly

Well I have no idea what your consumer protection is like in the US, but on this side of the pond, after stamping my feet at them and putting my complaint in writing (in the UK to the seller not the manufacturer) I would then have returned the boat to the seller, gone to the small claims court, and got my money and expenses back. I can't imagine that in the usa there is not such an option. What I would not have done is made matters possibly worse or more complex by going public. Have you told mercury about this thread?

Yup right here:
http://www.nycourts.gov/courts/towna...ge/index.shtml

(I think the OP is in NY, not sure about the dealer, Defender is in CT)

[ribraff]

This tube looks exactly the same as the DT 750 Valiant sectional tube, can you recognise if it is manufactured in PU or Hypalon?
Is it possible that this is a DT 750 Valiant and rebadged? This tube can not be fitted with the hull upside down
... and if you can find someone who will manufacture and fit you a new one for $5000 US then good luck!!

[jyasaki]

Still unclear on the history.

1) When was the boat built? 1a) What was the warranty period when new? Was the warranty transferrable (unless purchased new)?
2) When did you take possession of it? Was it previously owned?
3) When did you notice the leak?
4) Did Merc initially try to remedy the situation, or just off-load it to Defender?
5) After Defender worked on it, how long was it until you reported the on-going problem?
6) Did you try to amicably resolve the problem through Merc again, or did you rant at them the way you have on here? (and yes, this is a legitimate question.)

There are numerous instances of boating companies not standing behind their products, just as there are numerous instances where they did. But complaining to a group about your situation without clarifying exactly what that situation is won't get you anything more than a little satisfaction from venting.

jky

[achille2124]

Originally Posted by ribraff

This tube looks exactly the same as the DT 750 Valiant sectional tube, can you recognise if it is manufactured in PU or Hypalon?
Is it possible that this is a DT 750 Valiant and rebadged? This tube can not be fitted with the hull upside down
... and if you can find someone who will manufacture and fit you a new one for $5000 US then good luck!!

The 5000$ I mentionned is for replacing the tube only, not the tube itself.

[garyboat]

Originally Posted by captnjack

Have you called Defender?

Is this a PVC, hypalon or polyurethane boat?

No have not called Defender. It was all arranged through Mercury. Here is the video for those of you that missed the result of Mercury's wonderful repair:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIwm1DlyNDM

[garyboat]

Originally Posted by jyasaki

Still unclear on the history.

1) When was the boat built? 1a) What was the warranty period when new? Was the warranty transferrable (unless purchased new)?
2) When did you take possession of it? Was it previously owned?
3) When did you notice the leak?
4) Did Merc initially try to remedy the situation, or just off-load it to Defender?
5) After Defender worked on it, how long was it until you reported the on-going problem?
6) Did you try to amicably resolve the problem through Merc again, or did you rant at them the way you have on here? (and yes, this is a legitimate question.)

There are numerous instances of boating companies not standing behind their products, just as there are numerous instances where they did. But complaining to a group about your situation without clarifying exactly what that situation is won't get you anything more than a little satisfaction from venting.

jky

Am I ranting? Go buy a Mercury. See for yourself. Not sure why you are defending them. Good luck if you do. Boat was new. The problem surfaced AGAIN a few months after the Defender repair. Mercury was notified immediately - although it was not easy to get the product manager on the phone. He didnt return my calls until I called his boss. Lovely.

[captnjack]

Originally Posted by garyboat

No have not called Defender. It was all arranged through Mercury. Here is the video for those of you that missed the result of Mercury's wonderful repair

Nobody missed it the first time. Was Defender the original dealer?

You still don't seem to want to answer people's questions about how old the boat is, when the problem started, your correspondence with Mercury and your dealer, and the rest of the questions people here have asked you.

So you are coming off as a wingnut crank.

[willk]

Originally Posted by captnjack

So you are coming off as a wingnut crank.

...a triple video posting wingnut crank

[Poly]

Gary can you answer the unanswered questions. A chronology/timeline would be most informative and help everyone understand your side of the story. As you've now been asked the same questions be several people and prevaricated, are we to assume that the answers would not support your case?

Answering 1-6 from jky together with who you bought the boat from (I assume Merc don't sell direct in the US like the UK) would be a good start.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by willk

...a triple video posting wingnut crank

quadruple - he double posted it the first time he put it up too!

[garyboat]

Originally Posted by captnjack

Nobody missed it the first time. Was Defender the original dealer?

You still don't seem to want to answer people's questions about how old the boat is, when the problem started, your correspondence with Mercury and your dealer, and the rest of the questions people here have asked you.

So you are coming off as a wingnut crank.

The double posting seems to have something to do with how the forum is handling the link. I did not insert it twice. The boat is a 2005 boat bought in 2007. Bought from Inflatable Service and Supply in the state of Washington - a Mercury dealer at that time. Do you guys have any link to Mercury or interest in defending them? Certainly seems like it. Again, if anybody is considering buying a Mercury: Do yourself a favor and call me at 212-684-0200 during East Coast business hours. You will see very quickly that I am not a "wingnut" or whatever.

[willk]

Originally Posted by garyboat

Do you guys have any link to Mercury or interest in defending them? Certainly seems like it.

I doubt that they do, I certainly don't. You however are still being VERY shy with the details, although we're getting somewhere with you.

You have finally revealed after 11 posts (and quite a few in the naughty box too) that the boat is a 2005, bought (by you?) in 2007. You might do us the honor of telling us if it was you and what the remaining warranty was on the boat when you acquired it. You also haven't said what the original fault/damage was, just that the repair didn't hold.

All in all, I still think that you're trying to manipulate a complaints process by using this forum to badmouth Mercury. I don't think that anyone on here is buying your story and I strongly suspect that Mercury have had a long and difficult time with you.

Anyway, now that you're here - welcome to RIBnet