New Boat, Wind and Bad Dock - I am sick!

lakelivin

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Hey All, I am so sick over a mishap on Saturday that it took me until today to calm down enough to even make this post.. New G22 (a total of 8 hours), met a gust of wind that threw her toon into the corner of a dock - I had no fender(s) which I will never do again resulting some pretty deep gouges and one approx 3 ft surface scratch.  The gouges have sharp edges,  I have attached some pictures for reference (each picture represents 3 different sections of the toon)  I have read that folks use 600- 1000 grit sandpaper to get these filed down (although I don't want to attempt that myself) I've also read that folks have had toons replaced due to dock damage.  I am not only worried about this cosmetically on brand new boat but also concerned about structural problems this may cause.   All advice will be much appreciated. 


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It is inevitable, your first hit is in the books, you can't see it from inside the boat.  Hammer down through your stages of grief and go boating.  Sand down any sharp points.  I was pushing mine into the barn the day I brought it home, wasn't checking, pushed her right into a shelf bracket, took a nice little chunk of fiberglass right out of my motor cowling.
 
It actually doesn't look that bad Lakelivin........


See if you can sand down the edges a bit. You won't even notice it after a while! (Trying to stay positive)
 
Agreed that it doesn't look too bad, sand it and forget it
 
Leave it alone and enjoy the boat!
 
Don't sweat it.  I had a similar wind incident where my rookie butt had the trailer too deep (after getting frustrated watching Bubba try to load a custom jet boat for 20 minutes and churn up the no wake zone) and knocked loose a guide board allowing the metal strut to scratch the inside of a toon.  


I chalked it up to a learning experience after I got over being mad at myself. 
 
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Hit it with some 1000/2000 grit ..... then apply a little sharkhide (if you have it on them). It may hide it enough to be less painful, but it's inevitable .......... **it happens. The first is the worst. 
 
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My guess is that the damage is well under your deductible. If you can't stand it and are unable to repair it yourself, have your dealer look at it this Fall. Like others have said, try not to beat yourself up too much (a difficult concept for some of us, anyway). It could have been much worse so consider it a lesson learned. 
 
That's not to bad....really it could have been a LOT worse.  I've bumped a few docks and lefts some marks on the toons over the years.  I like to call them beauty marks.....it shows that you actually USE your boat and don't just let it collect dust docked in the marina.  Should get some new pics of our toons and I do have a few marks where the sharkhide has been scuffed off and the toons look dark colored.  Not really damaged other than a little cosmetic blemish.  


Like mentioned before the first mark/scratch will sooner or later happen and now that it has there are no more worries of putting that fist beauty mark on the shiny new boat.  Get it out and enjoy the rest of the boating season and don't worry about it.  


You CAN'T see the scratch from the helm but you can see things like this from the helm!  It's all about making memories with family and friends out on the water.
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My first year I slammed into the dock leaving a 1/4" notch on the tip of the port side toon. Everytime I cleaned her the rag would catch on the burr left from the hit. It always reminded me it happened, and I'd laugh at myself for not paying more attention. BUT, when it first happened. I was PISSED! It'll get better with time.
 
I have a gouge just like that, only it's nearly 2 feet long.  Pretty sure the marina owner scrapped it up against the dumpster.  They denied it, of course. 


I had to decide whether to let it consume me and ruin boating, or just let it go. 


The next scratch won't seem so bad since you'll already have one.
 
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It's the first blemish. Don't loose any sleep over it.Hopefully it will be the last bang for a while. The way I look at it, little bumps and bangs show that you are enjoying the boat. We all get them. Have a great rest of the summer!
 
I feel for you.  Sorry!
 
Thank you all for your words of wisdom (I'm sorry it has taken me a couple to respond since initial post). I feel slightly better but I have avoided looking at the toon all week ;).. I might try sanding down the sharp edges this weekend - if I am not successful on the first one, I will let the dealer have at it during the first service appointment.  Thanks again for all the words of encouragement and for sharing your stories and advice. 
 
Kinda like DUI's, the first one really hurts, but after a handful you just accept it's simply another normal expense of driving.
 
The sales manager delivering my brand new 2017 24 SFX hit my dock so I know how you feel. No docks are pontoon friendly, the scratches fade with time, enjoy the boat.
 
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