Predator powerboats warranty issue

[bor]

Hello Guys ,

It took me a while to decide if I would make this public as I intended to help Predator to grow and sell more boats and they gave me the opportunity to own a boat I normally couldn’t afford but when you buy a new boat even when its a good deal it need to be good , here’s my story .

I want to show, tell and warn everybody how Predatorpowerboats out of Patochoque ,Long Island , NY how the thread there customers when there occurs a problem that need to be solved under warranty .

My story take us back to beginning of 2016 when I took delivery on my new Predator C306 on the Miami boat show where it was displayed to show it to the big public in real live .

I ordered A new white gel coated C306 in 2014 whit the plan to let people see one in person in the Usa so Predator could jump in the flat deck wrap around windshield hype that was started and that I could try and set them on the market in Europe .

Because of the opportunity to build the first one and show it on the boat show and act like a dealer in Europe I got a very good deal and was able to fund a boat that I always wanted with the money I had available .

As it was the first one it took a lot time and effort from Predator to get it done and because of the longer build I was able to get more money to also buy the interior and most of the rigging parts .

Predator asked me if they could do a paint job for the boat show but I had no money for that so had to say I m sorry can t do it , because of the show he painted the boat in white as that was better looking then gel coat with a better shine and he even had made graphics on here what absolutely looked great !

Just before the boat show the boat was shipped to PPI for the interior and I was flying in there to mount my dashboards , helm ,steering wheel and throttles to make it more boat to show ,I never forgot the words Predator told me that when I should cut holes in the dash I needed to be very careful that the edges don’t damage the paint as it was very fresh , and we did that .

After the boat show the boat was shipped directly to Europe where I picked it up in the Port end of march and not long after that we cut the transom for the drives and discovered that the paint came off soon as we pulled the masking tape that protected the sides we then also checked the paint on holes in the dashboard ,bow light ,cleats and tank fills which had the same problem so the whole boat have very bad till none adhesion between paint and primer or gelcoat !

We invested a little more on the piece of transom that was cut out and did some test on the surface under the paint which was very smooth like it was waxed ,I put on some epoxy glue and try to get that of the next day which was only one small hit whit a hammer and screw driver after this I did again on a new spot which I sanded before I put it on and the next day it was impossible to get it of .

We also did a adhesion test by making 10 cuts whit a razor blade next to each other and then another 10 on a 90 degree angle so we got 100 small squares of 2 by 2 mm after this you should put on some duct tape and when pull that off there shouldn’t come any spot of paint off …. well in my case soon as we made the first 90 degree angled cut all paint cam off already that tells us we have about zero adhesion !

This was bad but there always can something wrong in a build so I informed Predator about the issue and they where shocked and we agreed that I send them one of the pieces of my transom so they can look at it for them self what went wrong .I took the boat to a paint shop to let them quote me for a complet new paint job and have that send to predator as I want them to pay for that to get the boat right ,to get the price down on that I offered to completely strip down the boat and build it up again when its done and order and pay for a set of graphics to make it look the same again so I help on my end as well .
This was the beginning of may 2016 and up to today its a long discusion that only take place when I ask about it because there is absolutely no activity from Predator ,I have asked it nice and offered also a payment schedule also have my lawyer send him a letter that he is responsible for the faulty paint job but he even answer that unfortunately we can’t do more then that because of the big distance and small amount of money involved according to my lawyer .
As I was filling the notches in the boat which took me quite some time I gave them time to react but there comes nothing I decided to make this public as I feel people need to know about this so you can think if you want to deal whit people like this by yourself .

Its a great looking boat designed by a great designer and build by a builder that can make beautiful things but not stand behind his product and solve his **** !


I have made a compilation of pics and a videos so you can see what s the problem ,it took me 1,5 hrs to get the boat clean of 75% of the paint and it took me 2,5 hrs to clean the property of paint chips !




Bor




https://youtu.be/J_ti6iaOAOA

[Hot Shot Merc]

Damn that sucks!! Its a shame when you have to paint the brand new gel coat boat because the brand new gel coat looks bad Happen'd to me years ago also

Looks like they waxed it before they painted it

[Onetime]

Wow! That’s terrible.

[CUDA]

https://www.speedonthewater.net/new-...w-widebody-cat

[Radiant]

I agree, they probably weren't happy with the boat after they waxed it and decided to paint it. Probably didn't get all the wax out either. Not taking sides at all. But you can't exactly just take the boat to the factory seeing as how you're in Europe. I do think Predator should pay.

So you've had the boat since 2016 and it hasn't been on the water yet? I'm a bit confused on the timing. At this point I probably would've just paid to paint it. It sucks, but you got a good deal on the boat and it isn't doing you any good just sitting on the trailer

[CUDA]

My guess was the use of mold release agents,

I tried to use one years ago, because waxing a mold properly is a pain , what i mean by properly is letting the wax cloud over before removing ,

At one point I hired a Cuban from Miami that told me he worked for his father that owned a boat making business , I told him to wax the mold , came back to the

shop, him and another guy were waxing then right away removing the wax without letting it dry ? I was pissed, told him he was just wasting wax and time,

he said oh I'll just do it a extra time and It'll be good, Bull **** . Yes it is a real pain to remove after it dries but that is how it's done ... right.

[Forkin' Crazy]

Hate to hear that. I hope after they see this and that video they will step up.

[bor]

I agree, they probably weren't happy with the boat after they waxed it and decided to paint it. Probably didn't get all the wax out either. Not taking sides at all. But you can't exactly just take the boat to the factory seeing as how you're in Europe. I do think Predator should pay. So you've had the boat since 2016 and it hasn't been on the water yet? I'm a bit confused on the timing. At this point I probably would've just paid to paint it. It sucks, but you got a good deal on the boat and it isn't doing you any good just sitting on the trailer

I have informed predator soon as i cut the bravo holes in 2016 after that i changed my propulsion there for I needed to fill the. Notches which is not a easy thing as it need to be perfect and also have a lot layers of material as it’s completely foam and balsa coared , also I do this in my spare time which isn’t very much .
And I want to give predator time to work out a solution only that didn’t come .
as all my mods are done now it go to paint shop so I can move on but this is also a pretty big whole in my boat budget as I’m not a millionaire

hooe this make sense

bor

[Boss]

Unbelievable, I've never seen paint come off that easy! Is there even evidence that it was sanded before it was primed and painted? For that matter, is there any primer/sealer of any type under the paint?

At least it all came off incredibly easy, that would be a lot of work to sand the entire boat down if it only bad in areas...

[Scream And Fly]

@bor I’m looking into this. I’ll be contacting all involved. I’m talking with Arnaldo today. I may need to lock this thread if there is litigation involved.

Greg

[Scream And Fly]

Just an update:

I spoke with Arnaldo at Predator about this situation. I think there could be a simple resolution to this without getting lawyers involved and creating a big mess.
I'm locking this thread for now until there's more developments. @bor I am sending you a message right now.

Greg