Bent and broken waveshield

[mtudb24]

After the last 2 weeks of wondering why the carpet rearward of the stern playpen gate (between the rear loungers), I had a chance to crawl under the boat while tied up in shallow water. Found 2 sections (port and starboard) just after of where the motor pod starts (twin elliptical tubes) were bent and welds and pop rivets broken.

No other damage anywhere under boat. My temp fix will to be using sheet metal screws to hold the plates back down until the end of the season. My bigger question, is how do boats without splash shields, keep the carpet dry?

Todd

 

[Jim_R]

After the last 2 weeks of wondering why the carpet rearward of the stern playpen gate (between the rear loungers), I had a chance to crawl under the boat while tied up in shallow water. Found 2 sections (port and starboard) just after of where the motor pod starts (twin elliptical tubes) were bent and welds and pop rivets broken.

No other damage anywhere under boat. My temp fix will to be using sheet metal screws to hold the plates back down until the end of the season. My bigger question, is how do boats without splash shields, keep the carpet dry?

Todd

I leave mine out in the sun. Seriously though, to date mine has only gotten wet from below decks when at full throttle, in certain wave conditions, even then it was only a little in a couple areas within the playpen. I would get more water from reboarding swimmers. Recent mods may have changed that. Perhaps it's more of a problem for you 30 mph plus guys. :envy:

Having said that, I do get water in the same area you describe after it rains. I attribute this to the ladder cutouts in the mooring cover.

 

[mtudb24]

I got the boat pulled out of the water for the season and got time to survey the damage to the waveshield. When I did my temporary fix, I could see no damage to motor pod or eitiher toon in the vicenity of where the waveshield section was bent and where the pop rivets had busted loose.

I still see no damage anywhere and I's not sure what caused the waveshield to bend and break. The portion of the waveshield that is broken is a piece on both startboard and port (port has broken pop rivets and starboard side is just bent up in the middle of 2 welds) just aft of where the motor pod starts. It would seem impossible for me to hit something with the boat that would have caused damage to the waveshield in this area with damaging the leading edge of the motor pod or any section aft of the motor pod. Upon further inspection, the section of plywood doesn't seem to be buckled as the 2 pieces are bolted in place by a crossmember in this section. I was hopiong I could see some sort of deflection in the 2 pieces of plywood which would warrant the bubbling line in the teak deck. After measuring from the stern of the boat, the bubbling line is rearward of the damaged waveshield.

I have attached pictures in my gallery under waveshield damage. If you guys could take a look at them and give me a "fresh eyes" approach to what you think could have caused this damage, I would greatly appreciate it.

I have 1 picture loaded in the gallery which was my fix. Bascially the waveshield was bent so far "up" towards the deck, that I had to use a piece of wood with 2 screws into it. The piece of wood spans from the pontoon riser on the port side to the motor pod. This acts as a "brace". I ran 2 screws from the brace up into the bent waveshield. The force of the screws going through the brace between and into the bent waveshield caused the waveshield to be "pulled flat" and back in place.

The reason I even noticed i had a issue was that the rear carpet was getting wet behind the rear gate while travelling at speed. Then I noticed the bubble in the rear teak deck. Its about 1/2" in diamemter and spans between the 2 rear super loungers.

Thanks for your time and help

Todd

 

[Ben & Suzy]

TB states of another brand: "They are often priced less than a Bennington, but are built on a cheaper frame with lesser quality fittings. That's okay for some folks, no problem understanding that. Word on the street is that service from mfr to dealer AFTER the sale is dismal at best. That's where the rubber hits the road."

Well Todd, I say since you didn't hit anything and your boat is under warranty, let Bennington put some rubber on the road. :lol:

 

[RiverBill]

Mtudb24,

I once owned a 20ft other brand pontoon with no wave shields, the carpet would get wet from the under spray almost every time we went out. The more load the wetter the carpet!

As far as the pop rivets & shields, possibly the rivets popped loose allowing the shield to drop down and catching a wave, causing them to bend! I have had a few pop rivets pop loose on our 2012 22 SSI. I think it's from the stress of the toons twisting & flexing during operation & towing. I just replace them and keep on boat. Now that the boat has 50hrs the rivet problem has gone away. Kind of like new shoes, they fit better after you break them in!

RiverBill