My worst nightmare

myv10

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Was supposed to have my new boat delivered on Monday, The salesman was running behind plus the weather was going to get bad in the afternoon. The salesman put the boat in the water and then proceeded a short distance to our slip. My wife and I were standing on the boat dock with breathless anticipation when the salesman misjudged and hit the dock hard as he was trying to enter our slip. The solid keel has significant damage. The salesman said he would replace the damaged pontoon, but I have no idea how long that will take. I realize it was an accident but Why Me!
 
The longest part of the wait ,will be getting the replacement . Bennington has to ship it on a load with other orders .


Ask for a loaner . 
 
What a dumb dumb. Man unless your a sales person with boat driving skills "don't drive anyone's new boat" especially when they are waiting to take delivery right in front of you. What a complete idiot. I understand wind conditions and current always make docking tricky, and we all know he didn't mean to do it. if I was a boat sales person. And I had any doubt about parking.  I would just park the boat on a common dock that's easy to get to and let the new owner have at it. 


"With that said" try not to let this mistake and boat Dammage ruin your new boat experience. Try and wash it from your mind. Have peace knowing, the dealer will take care of it this winter time. Enjoy your new boat. The upside is you could have done the exact same Dammage yourself and you would be on the hook for it. 


Some advice. Have your dealer order a toon right away. Don't wait for the (let's do it in the winter time) speach It's gonna take 3-4 weeks to get it made up and or in the system. And then it may take a few months b4 it gets here (shipping)  assuming the right toon shows up with out damage your 2-3 months down the road from now. If the wrong tube shows up or it's damaged then you have to start the process all over again. So my advice is "the sooner the tooner " the better :)  it will take them a full day to remove and replace your room. 


Sorry that happens to you but it could be worse. 
 
That sucks. I agree with G, get on the horn and tell them to get the replacement toon asap. They can send a guy from PA to Indiana with a truck and trailer if they have to.
 
Was supposed to have my new boat delivered on Monday, The salesman was running behind plus the weather was going to get bad in the afternoon. The salesman put the boat in the water and then proceeded a short distance to our slip. My wife and I were standing on the boat dock with breathless anticipation when the salesman misjudged and hit the dock hard as he was trying to enter our slip. The solid keel has significant damage. The salesman said he would replace the damaged pontoon, but I have no idea how long that will take. I realize it was an accident but Why Me!

Wow I bet that was one of those slow motion deals where your mind slows down what is happening just to survive the traumatic event. I can't imagine what I would have done and I already know what my wife would have done (not pretty). Suddenly our delivery issues seem very small compared to you. Seems like your dealer would jump through hoops after that one. You know social media and all.
 
I have boated on this lake for many years, and in the roughest weather without hitting a dock head on. I have put my share of scratches on the pontoons. This new boat was ordered last September and paid for 2 weeks ago. I also rent my boat slip off the same marina. Anger would have been the easiest emotion to express at the time, but as I have aged I realize that staying calm and rational works most of the time. I can't guarantee that I won't lose my temper, but I will wait until I find out what the repair process is. This marina sells alot of Benningtons so I am hoping that may have some bearing on getting the needed parts/repairs done in a timely fashion. Thanks for everyone's support on this forum.
 
As Robin Williams once said, "I'll buy it! It's been pre-disastered". That said, your calm reaction is spot on IMO. Frustrating, yes, but fixable.
 
How bad is the damage to the solid keel?  In my case, the solid keel was pulled away a little bit from the pontoon, but it was still usable.  Is the pontoon itself still OK?


If so, have them order the new pontoon, and you continue to use the boat over the summer.  Something else to put on the table to the dealer is: have them pull one of the toons off of an existing stock, install it on your boat, and let them eat the time it takes to get a new one shipped from Elkhart.  As busy as they are up there, I don't think you'll see your pontoon before the 4th of July.
 
How bad is the damage to the solid keel?  In my case, the solid keel was pulled away a little bit from the pontoon, but it was still usable.  Is the pontoon itself still OK?


If so, have them order the new pontoon, and you continue to use the boat over the summer.  Something else to put on the table to the dealer is: have them pull one of the toons off of an existing stock, install it on your boat, and let them eat the time it takes to get a new one shipped from Elkhart.  As busy as they are up there, I don't think you'll see your pontoon before the 4th of July.

It is very possible that the solid keel pulled away from the pontoon, and may leak.
 
It is very possible that the solid keel pulled away from the pontoon, and may leak.

It's OK if it pulled away as it's not an integral part of the pontoon.... it's welded on along the bottom.  If it just pulled away it's still seaworthy, so you can enjoy the boat until they get you the new pontoon.  Take a look at this picture:


222048-albums8856-picture86523.jpg



It's kind of hard to see.  What you're looking at is the bottom of a pontoon - from the side.  The pontoon is running horizontally (stern to left, bow to right).  Underneath the pontoon, you see a bright white line, and underneath that you see another piece of metal.  The "bright white line" is actually light.  The other piece of metal is the solid keel.  That bright white light is the space between the pontoon and the solid keel, showing that it's just pulled away.


So, assuming that the pontoon didn't get punctured, you've still got a boat you can enjoy until the new pontoon comes in.
 
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First question, Did the boat get reloaded on a trailer right away? Or did you leave the boat in the water?


 Second question. Has anyone done a air test on the damaged toon? If not,request one to be done! Hopefully there will be no leak and you could use the boat for the season and have it repaired during the winter. 


Either way,+1 on getting the toon ordered right away. GOOD LUCK with the sucky situation.
 
The world according to Garp! I said the same thing right after it happened.

Too funny! I thought I might have been the only one to see the movie...
 
It's OK if it pulled away as it's not an integral part of the pontoon.... it's welded on along the bottom.  If it just pulled away it's still seaworthy, so you can enjoy the boat until they get you the new pontoon.  Take a look at this picture:





It's kind of hard to see.  What you're looking at is the bottom of a pontoon - from the side.  The pontoon is running horizontally (stern to left, bow to right).  Underneath the pontoon, you see a bright white line, and underneath that you see another piece of metal.  The "bright white line" is actually light.  The other piece of metal is the solid keel.  That bright white light is the space between the pontoon and the solid keel, showing that it's just pulled away.


So, assuming that the pontoon didn't get punctured, you've still got a boat you can enjoy until the new pontoon comes in.

In my opinion, The space between the pontoon and keel should not have happened on a properly welded keel. The purpose of welding is to join two pieces as one by using welding rod. The fact that your keel pulled away is because of poor penetration of the weld at some point.I have been a welder for over 40 years and that is why I want a factory welded pontoon as a replacement. Aluminum is a difficult metal to work with so I feel comfortable having the factory do it in a controlled environment.
 
First question, Did the boat get reloaded on a trailer right away? Or did you leave the boat in the water?


 Second question. Has anyone done a air test on the damaged toon? If not,request one to be done! Hopefully there will be no leak and you could use the boat for the season and have it repaired during the winter. 


Either way,+1 on getting the toon ordered right away. GOOD LUCK with the sucky situation.

We reloaded the boat on the trailer immediately. Because the keel was welded to the pontoon, the impact pulled the keel away from the toon and ripped the aluminum.    I can tell Bennington knows how to weld because the weld didn't crack. The bottom line is I spent a lot of money for a boat I can't use. Oh well, life goes on.
 
We reloaded the boat on the trailer immediately. Because the keel was welded to the pontoon, the impact pulled the keel away from the toon and ripped the aluminum.    I can tell Bennington knows how to weld because the weld didn't crack. The bottom line is I spent a lot of money for a boat I can't use. Oh well, life goes on.

The dealer should be putting a rush on this and picking up the tab to facilitate this. We refer to these as expediting expenses.
 
Unreal.......


If there is any question to its seaworthiness.........Don't use it! The dealer should give you a loaner to use for however long it takes to properly fix your boat.
 
OMG 


Hope It Is Handled To Your Liking 


home-alone.jpg



Better Them Than You 


They Will Replace or Repair 


Hope You Get A Demo To Enjoy Until Remedied
 
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Hopefully the dealer is doing everything they can remedy the situation at hand!! Obviously maintaining yourself when it happened was tough but hopefully your handling of the situation will assist you all the way through. A demo boat won't be the same although it's something, if it was my dealership I'd have a guy (or myself) waiting at Bennington with a trailer for a new toon and yours off already. I've worked in and out of the powersports business for years and damaging a boat is no different than damaging a snowmobile, they both only have a couple months to run in our neck of the woods!! Keep us posted on your progress! Time is of the essence!!
 
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