Replacement Seats?

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Good morning,

We stored our 2016 Bennington in a new place this past winter and picked it up yesterday only to find a raccoon must have been living inside all winter and has eaten every single seat in the boat. Unfortunately our insurance policy has an "exclusion" for any damage caused by an animal, of course, so we are looking at out of pocket replacement costs for all of it. Has anyone had a similar experience? We are assuming we can order the seats and just replace them ourselves, but not positive. I have calls into two local dealers, but assuming the labor to do all this work is far more than the cost of the seats themselves. Also unsure if replacement is the way to go, or just recovering them, but they would need stuffing as well. We are just sick over all of it. Thoughts?
 
I am SO SORRY to hear of your situation. That is horrible! Sick to my stomach for you. I wish I had good ideas for you, but I do not have any. I guess I’d be looking at ordering new furniture and trying to find someone more competent in these ares thaN myself to put it in for me. I’d get a dealer replacement check on just ordering OEM furniture, and then I’d also cross check online with perhaps some generic replacement furniture through Greatlakesskipper too? Go from there....

Good reminder to ALL OF US to really double check the details of our boat insurance policies. Many policies can be very restrictive.

As expensive as these Bennington’s are (all boats really, but Bennington is a premium brand with a premium price), it is not about getting the cheapest policy. Not implying that is what Mark and Kristine had above either.

For boat insurance, getting the best coverage you can afford is probably prudent. I know I scruitinzed mine when I first got the boat, but I’ve been riding that policy out for 3 years now. I think I will be double checking the details of it this month to make sure it’s still very solid, and I haven’t missed any changes that make it insufficient in an emergency.
 
Thank you. Our agent is seeing it there's anything at all that can be done as he feels the section regarding animal damage is vague. I have calls into three dealers to try and get replacement info and then we can decide how to proceed from there. Since most are closed, or on reduced hours, we will just patch it as best we can, cover up the seats, and put it in the water for now. Once we know what we are looking at for replacement costs, then we can determine how best to move forward.
 
I’d buy some raccoon traps and when you catch them, give them swimming lessons.
 
Welcome to the forum Mark and Christine. Quick question.......Did the new place you stored your boat at have any kind of insurance??? They must have some liability in this situation.
 
Welcome to the forum Mark and Christine. Quick question.......Did the new place you stored your boat at have any kind of insurance??? They must have some liability in this situation.
Unfortunately none that they've offered. We normally store it at the local fair grounds, inside, and last year we stored it at a residence not far from our house at the suggestion of our next door neighbor, who has stored theirs there for years, without issue. We have emailed and left voicemails for a few local Bennington dealers but haven't received a response from any of them.
 
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