Trouble with my Weldbilt

[mbweimar]

When I talked to the dealer this week, I double checked with them on cost. They said that they only charge for repairs under certain circumstances. Like if the boat came to them fully rigged, and they had to tear it down to repair it. Another example he used was if the boat was blatantly misused, which mine sort of has been. It's been in intracoastal water only, and the only rough water its seen is from boat traffic. Nothing an aluminum boat couldn't handle.

But I do plan on fixing it up before it sells. I believe fresh paint will improve resale value, especially since I have bare aluminum showing on the bow where I had some fab work done. I also have a brand new Bluetooth stereo to put in, which was replaced by West Marine under the product replacement plan I purchased. So overall, I won't be putting a lot of money into it. But I already have something close to $16K into it. If I can get $10K I'd be happy.

 

[CMOS]

Best of luck to you. Hopefully you will come out on the positive side of this.

CMOS

 

[Inkman]

This boat is only 2 years old wtf, I agree there are limits to where waranty goes, but every blind horse can see that this is a monday morning product.

Pushing them a little with a boat comunity following and passing by this thread daily...waiting for the outcome is serious business...who wants a weldbilt iff the quality and customer service is ******...its going viral weldbilt!!!...ur done [-X

They need to take good care of you otherwise you could make a documentay about your boat and expirience with them. opcorn:

We all gonna share it every week on social media to support you

I will look out for the outcome.

Best of luck mate.

 

[riverrat717]

I sure hope this problem is only with the .08 gauge boats and not the .1 gauge. I'll be keeping a close eye on mine. [-o<

I also agree with everyone else saying to bash them up and down, all over the internet if they do you wrong. And start on their Facebook page!

 

[wmk0002]

Good luck!

I was actually planning on stopping by Backwoods Landing today after work to check out what all they have in stock. If you see a guy in an orange Auburn shirt it just may be me.

 

[onthewater102]

Playing devil's advocate on Weldbilt's behalf for a moment (I do not own a Weldbilt or have anything to do with them), as a businessman I cannot deny the poor craftsmanship that lead to the issue, but I could not take responsibility for the quality of the repair if it wasn't handled by one of my people - unfortunately that means making arrangements to get it to either my production facility or a dealer that I have a relationship with where I can trust and or warranty their work.

That being said I think they should have had you send pictures of the outside of the boat to show it wasn't damaged from an impact and then made arrangements with you to cover the shipping somehow. But they clearly don't care that this type of post is up on a public forum discussing their product and their support.

As far as the thin material being the cause of that issue I don't buy that excuse for a second. I purchased a 1985 Tracker III which has welded sections of the hull along with welds on the transom but is made of an extremely thin gauge aluminum compared to today's standards and the only cracking in the welds is a crack through the center of the weld on one of the braces for the transom. By the age of this boat alone if it wore like yours every seam should be cracked wide open.

 

[mbweimar]

I dropped the boat off on the 20th at Backwoods. I arrived an hour after they closed and made arrangements with them for someone to meet me. Well, I get there and no one is here. Had to leave the boat on the trailer outside the gate overnight. I called the next day to confirm they had the boat, and again told them about the issues, and to call me if they had any questions. I'm hoping no news means good news, bug its hard to tell. I just want my boat back!

 

[richg99]

You have the patience of a saint. That's a good thing, right now, I think. richg99

 

[onthewater102]

Definitely, keep playing the part of the understanding customer who really just wants to get his boat fixed and working again because you loved it so much before this all went wrong...otherwise you're just the pissed off half-dead road kill that's just fun to poke with a stick.

 

[mbweimar]

Yeah, if I get my boat back and its not completely fixed, this thread will be posted on Weldbilt's Facebook page. I will not tolerate being treated this. I'll be as nice as possible, and give them ample time to make things right. But if I'm not satisfied in the end, I will have to resort to making this issue known on social media.

 

[Inkman]

Any news?

 

[mbweimar]

I haven't heard back from the dealer at all since I dropped off the boat. I even had to call them the day after to verify they had my boat. I'll wait until after new years to call them to check on it. That way they're no excuses.

 

[richg99]

While I agree with your frustration...and you have far more patience with this issue than most of us would have had....expecting that anything will get done for the next week is probably not realistic.

I dropped my boat at my trusted mechanic a few days ago. if I hear anything at all before the middle of the week after New Year's, I'd be surprised. Even then, I won't expect that they accomplished anything, but rather that they might have questions about parts to be ordered.

richg99

 

[mbweimar]

Update: I spoke with Jeremy at Backwoods last week and he said the boat has been delivered to the factory in Arkansas, and to check back in a couple weeks. I need to get a hold of the factory to make sure they know what to fix. There's a tiny crack on the bottom that lets water in, and I doubt they'll know its there unless they fill the boat with water. The only problem is I can't find a number to the factory...

 

[Fishfreek]

This what comes up when I searched MANTA for Weldbilt 11802 Jody Drive
Benton, AR 72019
Phone: (501) 794-0648

 

[mbweimar]

Just contacted the factory this morning. They estimate the boat will be returned back to Backwoods the week of Feb 8th.

I asked specifically about my transom brace, and the problems with it cracking. He had two solutuons: add more transom bracing, which would keep me from having my fuel tank in the bilge, or adding a transom saver, which is also not an option because of a clearance light mounted on my trailer. I also brought up the crack on the bottom of the boat. The guy on the phone had plenty of info on why cracks form there, but when I asked again if it would be fixed, he told me he when they were finished I shouldn't have any problems with it.

These people genuinely don't care. To me it doesn't seem like they even have a customer service department. Whoever happens to be closer to the phone when it rings is who you get to talk to. Unbelievable...

 

[KRS62]

My bet (hope) is that you get it back and there will be no charge. Good luck with it. If I was in charge there, you would be getting a new hull.

That said, I can see their perspective (the business side of it.) Just like anything else, I am sure there are tons of people out there that mistreat their boat and blame it on the boat. (I beat the hell out of my dad's bass boat when I was a teenager.) Certainly not the case here. Like someone else said, it is just not Weldbilt. I have 2 different boats in my back yard with cracked welds. (Albeit, not ALL welds cracked....)

Good luck!

KRS

 

[onthewater102]

Assuming you don't sell it the moment it comes back I'd be looking to remove that light from the trailer and get a transom saver on there. I always use one b/c that's a hell of a lot of torque exerted on the transom having an outboard bouncing around as you go down the road. Even if you add bracing I'd still find a way to fit the transom saver.

 

[xXOnyxXx]

bro the bouncing motor issue is a thing of the past .. a transom saver is a great idea, but if your transom is so weak that it CRACKS under the stress of hauling it down the road, what do they think it will do to it running in water with waves ... man O man am i glad i passed on the weldbilt ... they are flipping unreal. ..... well good luck with all the drama

 

[onthewater102]

he must live in an area with much better roads than CT...around here it's no doubt the worst punishment the transom takes is while trailering the boat.