Gents, I heard and seen that most brand of aluminium boats will crack eventually due to time and the pressure they are put under e.g. running into rocks, sandbars, being towed over hard roads on improperly setup trailers and such things. Aluminium does have a tendency to stretch and will crack at the weakest point which is normally the weld. Any aluminium boat can and will crack due to different circumstances, and by the way I own a bluefin wildcat and am very happy with it.
Cheers,
CLARKY
Yeah sure Pinhead and when you allow the volume of Telwater's boats their failure rate may be quite small...maybe even lower than Bluefin or many others. I think the legitimate concern is their reported response to the customers who have had problems more than the statistical percentage of failure which frankly, nobody here would know..? It doesnt take many customers to be given the cold shoulder by a manufacturer to trash their reputation.Originally Posted by PinHead
Well I happen to know that person who has the Blue Fin boat that has had two cracked welds as well but here are some facts. That boat was 1 of 6800 boats built by Blue Fin in Australia alone and to date is the only example in Australia that has had this issue. Do the maths if you will but that is a very low failure rate by anyone's terms and hardly a reason to "Beware" of the brand as some have stated. The end result was the welds were not only repaired perfectly, but also welded inside as well as outside making the welds stronger than standard out of the factory. Once re-welded the entire front section was fitted out with extra ribbing making it even stronger than previous production models. Anyone planning on buying a new model Blue Fin can take extra comfort in knowing that all new models will now be fitted out with the extra ribbing and re-enforcing as a result of this one example that ended up coming back to them. Now I have to ask how many boat manufacturers would be willing to not only provide such great backup service and then completely redesign something based on one boat that had issues? Not many if any. Highly recommend Coorparoo Marine and Blue Fin boats to anyone.
Regards,
Poodroo
He who aims at nothing is sure to hit it.
Mindi..you posted the following "Basically they were impressive..and they have never featured in the hull cracking stories on here that I have seen anyway."
I merely made a point that there had been a report about one of their boats cracking...I have no idea about what % of boats Telwater and Bluefin have warranty problems over nor do I really care.
We know you know the owner well Poodroo..seeing it is you and I will give you credit..you have the patience of Job..you waited so long for the delivery of the boat then 2 cracked welds in what? just over 12 months..I would have been asking for a replacement boat.
I do know of another BF split..the owner is not an AF member..poor bugger had a stacer that had a split then bought a BF...also from Mr T's. He paid to have it repaired somewhere here in Brisbane. Not the same model as yours Poodroo.
The main thing is...as long as the owners of the boats are happy then that is all that matters..I even knew a bloke that had a Leyland P76 and loved it.
So Pinhead, you are happy to admit that your business also has warranty work required from time to time yet you seem to have an issue with a boat builder with the same responsibilities ONLY because he builds something different to you that carries people on water. I guess that your Utopia would have suppliers of Aircraft, Motorcars and Outboard Motors put to the stake if they, just like yourself, had warranty issues ONLY because their specialty lies in a more challenging environment than your own.
I even bet that boat of yours came with some sort of warranty implied ?
I would imagine that anyone who purchases anything these days considers the after sales service, warranty etc just as importantly as the creature comforts of their boat., I know that I did.
And if an issue arises then it is comforting to know that there are businesses out there like BlueFin Boats, PinHead Enterprises, Boeing, Mercedes Benz etc, that are more than prepared to make good any claims during their warranty period, which is what it all boils down to - Some manufacturers / suppliers are re-known for excellent warranty service whilst others are market leaders at dodging responsibility for shoddy workmanship.
Regards Cameron.
what are you on about??? Mindi posted that he had not seen any posts regarding BF boats having a split..I only pointed out that there was one...quite simple isn't it ???
What that has to do with my business is totally irrelevant.
Then I said something about being careful in buying one of those or a Q..perhaps I should have said be careful about buying any alloy as any weld can potentially crack...talk about going off the deep end over nothing.
Fair enough Pinhead I stand corrected...dont remember that one, just lots of whinges about Telwater and Stessco mainly. Still I maintain that an occasional structural failure is not good, but the worst thing is manufacturer walking away from it as customers posting here have claimed in the past.
Just want to endorse the comments about Theo and his service. When I was struggling to choose between the Bluefin and the Mako - Theo was just brilliant. I was really sad that I couldn't buy from him but it was personal choice to go with the Mako. Pacific Marine Centre have also been fantastic with their service and, like Theo, have gone the extra several miles. Isn't it great in this day and age to be able to point to two exceptional outlets with amazing customer service. Well done guys!
so why after all those negitive post we keep buying these THINGS ????
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