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2012 GCW won't respond

cwag911 said:
Does the center toon on the new ones have an oval hole at the bottom in the motor area. Our 2007 has one and that's where the muskrats got in and had a party before we got our lift. $2400.00 worth of wiring (engine harness)and fuel lines. It was however covered by our ins co. When we first got the boat, the salesman told me to put a rock by the hole as it would let water in and out but no critters. Well I didn't do it and the rest is history. While my dealer had the boat for repairs I brought him an aluminum plate that I drilled 1/2" holes in and they welded it over the hole. Problem solved and you can't see it when it's in the water. Might be an idea for you.
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Thanks for the idea. Because of what's in that area, I am hesitant to think about permanently welding something on there. The fuel line with the bulb is in there along with battery connections. I am thinking of something that I can remove when we take the boat out and then put back on like the playpen cover would be more to my liking. My insurance specifically calls out the exclusion of coverage from vermin damage. The chewing was not too extensive to the point that I was able to fix it myself for now.
 
When it stops raining, I'll take a pic for ya.
 
Wanted to let you know that for now I added a layer of flexible conduit held on with zip ties to help protect the wires. It looks clean and neat. I am still considering a cage or cover but I am hoping that the conduit solution holds them off for the rest of the season. :)
 
Let's get back to the dealer that said the repair would be $1,100. You've got to be extremely careful with such an operation, even if you limited repairs to factory paid warranty claims. They can still stick it to you for other items, supplies and lot fees for moving the boat around.

I would be hesitant to ever place my boat in that dealer's possession. I can understand a 1 hr. charge for such a very small electrical repair, but not approximately 10 hours service time.

I'm not above paying a dealer for their time, but don't try to take advantage of me. They'll never see me again.
 
Well, I have a tri-toon boat with the wave shield. They estimated the labor time at 4-6 hours. The cable was $400 alone. So, I guess $900 to $1100 was the total estimate. The way that I repaired it myself was not what I would say is a professional job like replacing the cable would be in my opinion. For how cheap flexible conduit is I would recommend to all of my friends to add some as a safety precaution to avoid this same issue.
 
Just my 2 cents here, if you made the repair with heat shrink wiring connectors, i would consider that a good fix and would not consider replacing the wiring harness as being necessary.

As Carl suggested, put a plate on to cover the entrance, it could be bolted on so it can be removed if need be. Be sure to use stainless steel bolts.
 
I'm a little slow getting back to this thread with the pic of the critter cover but here it is. After $2500.00 damage from a muskrat, it's cheap insurance. We were lucky that Farm Bureau paid the claim.

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cwag911 said:
I'm a little slow getting back to this thread with the pic of the critter cover but here it is. After $2500.00 damage from a muskrat, it's cheap insurance. We were lucky that Farm Bureau paid the claim.
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Thanks for the pic. That is what I am looking at having fabricated right now for the two hole opening at the back of our ESP. I am just waiting for some price estimates. The conduit is working so far (or the animal has been laying off). :unsure:
 
The quote I got was for $79 installed to have two aluminum mesh guards bolted onto the center elliptical pontoon drain holes in the back. I am going to go see them to see if they look like something that we would want on the boat. :unsure:
 
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