This pontoon isn't a pontoon it's a sub

stef

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Brand new pontoon just bought and brought it to our house. total boat ride 20 min. went inside for several hours and decided to go fishing. Got to the pontoon and noticed pontoon sunk on once side. Got pontoon out of water and notice pontoon dented and hole in the weld. what is a man to do? what is policy for receiving pontoon from dealer in that type of shape. could not see the dent when was on trailer. Anyone in the world of bennington can answer my question.
 
You either make a fuss with the dealer and lose your boat and several weeks of boating while it gets fixed, or drill a new hole (if needed) to let all the water out and have an aluminum welder weld both holes shut. If the dent is below the water line, probably not harming anything.

I know you're not wanting to hear that with a brand new boat. I had a very similar problem, but those are your two main options. I chose to have someone weld mine. Only lost two days of boating, and Bennington reimbursed me the $100.
 
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1st step contact dealer. Typically they either do it, or have access to a local welder to do a repair. If you are even thinking about replacement, you will be waiting a while. It’s just the way it is. It’s not a common occurrence, but it happens. See if they can get it fixed quick, and get you back on the water .....
 
What a total bummer. I feel for you. The advice above is solid. I’d say start with the dealer, and see what can be done to expedite a local welding repair. Fingers crossed that they can hook you up soon with the fix.
 
I agree with Kay, Semp, and Vike. But the more I thought about it.........Man that boat is 20 minutes old and there's a dent, a leaking weld and it's partially sunk! And Stef didn't do ANYTHING! He paid a lot of money for that boat. He should have received it in tip top NEW condition. What if you bought that new Cadillac and you find out there's a dent and the tires flat. Well, plug that tire up and since the dent really can't be seen don't worry about it. Ha! Maybe this isn't the best example but you guys know what I mean.......
 
I agree with Kay, Semp, and Vike. But the more I thought about it.........Man that boat is 20 minutes old and there's a dent, a leaking weld and it's partially sunk! And Stef didn't do ANYTHING! He paid a lot of money for that boat. He should have received it in tip top NEW condition. What if you bought that new Cadillac and you find out there's a dent and the tires flat. Well, plug that tire up and since the dent really can't be seen don't worry about it. Ha! Maybe this isn't the best example but you guys know what I mean.......
when purchased the pontoon, it was on a trailer. didn't see the crushed pontoon in the back perhaps because the carpet on the trailer prevented me from seeing it...… Picked it up and brought it to the ramp. put it into the water a drove it to my house. got the pontoon to the house left in tied to the dock. Went inside for several hours and decide to go for a ride. Got to the pontoon and found it suck in one side. Called the dealership and told them to come and pick it up. know they only want to weld the hole but it remains a dent in the pontoon. In the event that I want to sell it, what will the potential buyer think? The problem was that the pontoon was brought from mall to mall for display and was put on the floor. that tells me that they must of drop it hard on the floor once. Off course the dealership won't take ownership of that. I assume that one pontoon must be worth 3000+/-$
 
when purchased the pontoon, it was on a trailer. didn't see the crushed pontoon in the back perhaps because the carpet on the trailer prevented me from seeing it...… Picked it up and brought it to the ramp. put it into the water a drove it to my house. got the pontoon to the house left in tied to the dock. Went inside for several hours and decide to go for a ride. Got to the pontoon and found it suck in one side. Called the dealership and told them to come and pick it up. know they only want to weld the hole but it remains a dent in the pontoon. In the event that I want to sell it, what will the potential buyer think? The problem was that the pontoon was brought from mall to mall for display and was put on the floor. that tells me that they must of drop it hard on the floor once. Off course the dealership won't take ownership of that. I assume that one pontoon must be worth 3000+/-$
Mine was also damaged, I finally got the pontoon replaced. the dealer took a pontoon off a new boat in inventory and changed it out. A pontoon replacement takes approximately 6 hours. You bought a new boat, the dealer should make it right. Good Luck.
 
Mine was also damaged, I finally got the pontoon replaced. the dealer took a pontoon off a new boat in inventory and changed it out. A pontoon replacement takes approximately 6 hours. You bought a new boat, the dealer should make it right. Good Luck.
Thanks myv10. It's a bit discouraging because I've wanted one for the past 10 years and I figure now is the time and that's the end result.
 
I would accept a repair for now unless they can replace it in a day. Then wait for the off season for a new toon. Contact Bennington as well.
 
Just to be clear .Based on the information give by the op .This is Not a Bennington issue . Dealer issue ,yes
 
Yeah I know, a little added pressure from above never hurts.
 
Yeah I know, a little added pressure from above never hurts.
just really sad shopping for ten years and that's what happens. You pay so much money and then they don't take ownership
 
Sorry to hear this, I can feel your pain. Call your dealor and take some pictures, they may be useful in the future.
 
Sorry to hear this, I can feel your pain. Call your dealor and take some pictures, they may be useful in the future.
told them to pick up the pontoon and fix it. they know what needs to get done but they said they will only do a weld.It's not good enough. they dropped it or something like that to have the damage to that pontoon aka log on one side. They took pictures and send it to me. Let's just say for what happen to the end of that pontoon would not get done just by running clay or send. I'm going to call the manufacture Monday or Tuesday.
 
If the damage is the weld on the end cap, I'd say that's probably the strongest part of the pontoon. The must have hit it pretty hard.
 
I'm not an engineer but I really don't think that if that pontoon would of hit the bottom of a clay/sandy bottom that this kind of damage would of occurred. Further more, It's very important to note that this pontoon was brought from the dealership, put in the lake and +/- 20 later docked and that was all. Was only driven forward except when leaving ramp.
 
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