Hairline cracks

[mrousseau]

Hello,

I have e-mailed you personnally.

Thanks

[canuck]

We bought our 2004 C34 (1678) in April, 2004 in Vancouver. In my opinion, do not accept this boat as is. Do not pay for it. Hopefully you have just a deposit on it. The dealer or salesman will lie and be less than truthful. They want their cash and they will go to any length to complete the deal.  Assuming you have paid only a deposit, the problem right now is the dealers' and Catalina. DO NOT MAKE THIS YOUR PROBLEM. 
These are not normal issues. Place colored tape on all stress cracks. Do not be forced to accept any verbal assurances or promises. If you are accepting this vessel, be very demanding that all irregularities are resolved to your satisfaction prior to balance of payment. How can this crap come out of the factory? I bet a Lexus would have been 25% of your boat? Do you think the Lexus dealer would deliver a car in this condition?
When was this boat ordered? Maybe request another one..with the Canadian dollar at an all time high, a newer boat might be a few bucks cheaper. The euphoria of new boat ownership quickly rubs off when you have major service issues. The dealer will only absorb so much of them and you!
Good luck mon ami!

[mrousseau]

Hello Canuck,

We payed in full for the boat beginning of May 07.  At that time there were no cracks, they only appeared all of a sudden last weekend.  Our only leverage now is to not accept an in water delivery as I don't think anyone would when it comes to such an important investment.  Our dealer has sent pictures with a copy of our letter to Catalina.  I personnaly spoke to Mr. Nelson yesterday at CY and he did assure us that Frank Butler was going to call us on Monday as he's been made aware of the situation.  I guess we are lucky because the owners of the Dealership are capable of understanding and are doing everything in their power to help us.  There should be more dealers like them. 

We are leaving this morning for the boat so we may make a more thorough investigation inside and outside and take our own pictures.  I'm sure that our Dealer and Catalina want to see us enjoy our boat.  No one gains with unhappy clients.

A bientôt.
Bon vent

Michel and Annick 

[John Langford]

Hi Michel and Annick,
I hope your crack saga is working out to your satisfaction. This gel coat cracking problem is quite common with Catalinas in my limited experience. I had some at the mast step on my 320 purchased new in 1994. The 1999 C34 I now own (bought used in 2003) has cracks at the scoop on the transom by the lower step and amidships on the deck/hull connection (both sides) above the rub rail. Two surveyors have told me that the cracks result from the application of too much gel coat in a particular area so that the gelcoat in that area will not flex as readily as the underlying laminate. Thus it cracks. Apparently it is not a structural problem and, since (in my case) the underlying laminate is sound, will not lead to water getting into the laminate or the interior. I have thought about getting the cracks fixed but the bill would be large (finicky work), the colour might not be perfect and the cracks could reoccur if the gelcoat was not sanded down to the appropriate thickness.

On the strength of my own experience, I would hesitate before buying another new Catalina. It is one thing to find some cracks in a used boat and have them factored into the price. It is quite another thing to hand over your money for a new boat and then discover that it has significant cosmetic blemishes. I found that pretty hard to swallow.

[mrousseau]

Hi John,

We had a meeting on Saturday with our dealer and they explained why we have cracks.  They also gave us a guarantie that the Marina would fix all cracks and also tap the entire boat in order to see if there are any voids.  If so, then they will have them all fixed.  As for Frank Butler, well we were told he would call us today but he never did.  Maybe it will be for another day.

Annick and Michel 

[mrousseau]

Hello,


Here's an update to our hairline cracks.  The marina has started to fix them and the one under the mast was cracked right to the first layer of the glass but thank god there was no water damage.  The stanchions are also being fixed.  What we have seen is that there are no water infiltrations and the cracks come from the gelcoat being to thick.  The marina is sanding them all down and matching patters.  So far nothing shows.

Thanks to all

Annick and Michel 

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