Reply With QuoteOh man!!!!! I am really sorry to hear that. Did you get the motor dried out as soon as you got it out of the water?
So I was cruising down the parker strip one day in mild / medium chop and out of the corner of my eye I notice water rapidly rushing up by my left foot (no I didnÂ’t hit anything). I turn around only to see the blower belt chucking water about 15 feet in the air. So, being the genius I am, I immediately aim my boat at the closest beach and goose it. Meanwhile my 1980 21 foot Eliminator is sinking very quickly so as soon as I was close enough I shut it down in order to not hurt the newly rebuilt (and dialed in - finally) blown 468. My cousin and I hopped out and pulled the boat up as high as we could, and there it sat on the rudder and prop - half sunk. I sat there and looked at my project which I had dumped tons of money into in dismay (yes the bilge plug was in). So after the better part of a day and a few hundred dollars to get a salvage guy to bring his airbags out and float me to the nearest ramp I get my boat drained and back on the trailer. I took a look under the driversÂ’ side and I see that the hull has been peeled like a banana from about where your feet would be in the drivers seat all the way to the back. So it seems my hull has delaminated after years of use.
So my question is - What happened? I sent a message with pictures to Bob Leach over at Eliminator asking out of curiosity what had happened and is such a thing repairable (Well my old man wrote the letter so it may have come across a bit feistier than that). We didnÂ’t get any positive response at all. More like a big F-you, too bad. Now I have been an Eliminator fan my whole life, have gone to the regattas and such, but this has changed my opinion drastically. I really just would like to hear some insight on what caused the hull to tear apart like that. ItÂ’s just disappointing that a company like Eliminator couldnÂ’t make the effort to look at the boat and talk with an owner about what happened and how to resolve the problem. So there it is, if anyone has any thoughts on why this happened or can suggest a good repair facility that would touch it, let me know.
Some of you may recognize the boat, it has made quite a few Parker and Havasu trips since we bought it new in 1980. I am only 3 years older than the boat and have grown up with it. My dad gave up on it at some point and I took over the charge. It was very sad to see it sitting there with waves crashing over the transom - I never thought I would see the day.
Check out the pictures below.
Oh man!!!!! I am really sorry to hear that. Did you get the motor dried out as soon as you got it out of the water?
Don't take this the wrong way, but the boat is almost 25 years old. What do you expect the guys at Eliminator to do? Warranty it? Seems to me that, while it's a bad situation and totally sucks, 25 years of service is pretty good, especially considering some of the poundings a boat takes.
Personally, I'd talk to Todd (toddnjuzz on the boards and I belive his company is TRG Fiberglass) and have him take a look at it. He's the local glass guru and I would think he would be able to get it going or at least point you in the right direction.
Good luck with it and keep us posted.
I am not sure that there is alot that can be done !!!
If you have any chance in saving it Todd would be the man on this !!!
Jim
TRG Fiberglass
626-991-9031
Yes I tore the engine down to a bare block and it WAS full of water but I got it drained and dried out and it is fine.
I do not expect Eliminator to warranty an old hull - I am not looking for freebies. Being an engineer, my curiousity of why the hull delaminated drives me to look for answers. I do expect them to at least give me an idea why this happened, and maybe thoughts on repair, not just a big middle finger.
a badly chipped chinn or check your trailer maybe somting came up threw the bunk and poked a lil something somthing into the glass - that deal blows dude nice boat -
I am surprised that they wouldn't even call or write you back. Seems like a great sales opprotunity to me. Here you have this guy who has a boat for 25 years who has spent a lot of money pimping it out, seems to me that I would be all over the guy trying to help him out and then sell him another boat. In new home construction we do this sort of thing all the time and it's almost always good for either a remodel/repair referral or even a total new build.
(Well my old man wrote the letter so it may have come across a bit feistier than that).
Maybe the tone of that letter is why you are not getting the response you're looking for. :idea:
I have read so many of your posts jordanpaulk, and I am
amazed at the fact that someone hasn't dropped kicked you
yet.
Anytime you start feeling froggy go ahead and jump. :notam:
You notice that I also offered a suggestion for how to get his boat fixed. The lack of reading comprehension on this board just baffles me. I like how you just quoted that part of it.
Hell, most of the boat manufacturers out there these days are about selling a boat. Good luck getting help on a boat that is 3 years old, much less 25. That was the point I was making. Not to mention, you don't see Eliminator, or anyone else for that matter, building a whole lot of 21' cruisers these days. The boating demographic has changed. Now it's about 25'+ I/O's.
As I pointed out, I didn't just leave it at that comment. I offered a solution to the problem. Do you honestly expect Bob Leach to offer suggestions or causes on what happened to cause delamination with a 25 year old boat??? Lots and lots of variables can play into that. As far as the lame comments about boats getting pounded over 25 years of service? If that wasn't the case, wouldn't the market be flooded with old, old boats??? Not everyone babies their stuff and a boat certainly takes a hell of alot of pounding out on the water, even if you baby it, that is, unless you only run it on glass.
Thanks for your input though.
Anytime you start feeling froggy go ahead and jump. :notam:
Thanks for your input though.
Not a problem. Anytime you want me to check
your attitude, just let me know.
RIBBIT!!RIBITT!!
Sincerely
TRACI!!
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