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Author Topic:   What is the hull warranty on a new Whaler?

KeysNole posted 05-13-2002 12:30 AM ET (US)
A recent discussion of boat trailers raised the question of hull warranties and Boston Whalers on www.floridasportsman.com.
First off, what is the warranty on a brand new Whaler? I've never looked into a new boat, so I have no idea.
The discussion was about trailers with bunks vs. trailers with all rollers. A poster said that BW actually voids the hull warranty if you use a trailer without bunks, because the rollers don't evenly distribute the weight and often cause cracks in the hull. It would seem to make sense.
Any truth to this?
B Bear posted 05-13-2002 08:33 AM ET (US)
BW has a ten year hull warranty which begins on the date of manufacture, not the date of sale.
The issue with trailers is that the hull weight rests on keel rollers, bunks or rollers may be used to stabilize the hull on the trailer, this I know is fine for the newer whalers, after taking issue with it to my Dealer, the older whalers might only be able to use bunks. The warranty states that use of any trailer not configured and condoned by BW will void the warrenty.
I am not sure about cracking the hull, I believe it will cause the foam to delaminate from the fiberglass skins. This would reduce strength and cause void spaces in the hull, and depressions on the hull.
Maybe someone else can be clearer on this for you.
Bear
B Bear posted 05-13-2002 10:35 AM ET (US)
Another thing is the warranty is a degrading one with each year the coverage is reduced by 10%. For example if you bought a new hull in 2002 that was a 2001 model built in 2000, you would have already lost about 20% of the warranty coverage on the hull.
Honestly this policy sucks hard, and not what you would expect when buying a new late model.
Bear
JFM posted 05-13-2002 11:13 AM ET (US)
Hull warranty on a Whaler! Hell there isn't more than a handful of people on this site with one new enough to matter:) Regards, Jay
B Bear posted 05-13-2002 11:21 AM ET (US)
You would be suprised Jay at just how many people on this site have newer whalers and how many people visit here considering buying a new whaler. It would be a good poll to see how many model years are represented in the membership. I am always seeing members that have new whalers making a post once in a while but not enough to be noticed.
Regards Bear
JFM posted 05-13-2002 11:27 AM ET (US)
Sorry B, perhaps you are correct as I never look at the "Post-Classic" section. Regards, Jay
Tom W Clark posted 05-13-2002 12:25 PM ET (US)
I don't know if the warranty on the new Whalers is the same as the classics, but if it is then it is for ten years, transferable, and yes, it's prorated as B Bear points out.
In terms of the trailer issue it was always recommended (strongly) that bunk trailers be used in lieu of roller trailers but it wouldn't void the warranty if a roller traler was used.
Before 1990, my local dealer, Jacobsen's Boats and Motors in Seattle, then the largest Whaler dealer in the world, sold almost nothing but Calkins brand roller trailers under the Whalers they sold. Those trailers worked just fine. I owned three of them myself.
Perhaps the new Whalers don't hold up as well and they have had to rewrite the warranty as a result.
It's also interesting that Whaler has zero warranty information on their website.
Salmon Tub posted 05-13-2002 02:00 PM ET (US)
The warranty only covers the hull and not any of the "accesories" such as railing, steering, console... though all those have their own warranties. The warranty basically covers very little since, realistically, there is not much that can be defective with the hull that you could identify readilly. Items such as delamination, or structural defects would be covered. I am not even sure if the rub rail is covered or is considered an accesory. The manual that came with my boat was archaic in that is would state some obvious things over and over, there was mention that they recommend roller and not bunk trailer. The dealer told me to ignore that because the language was outdated. The wood diagram was from '96 - '98 while my hull is a 2000. It made it clear that the gel coat was not covered by the warranty. This I feel is a bit cheap on their part, because if you buy a new car, the warranty covers the paint job. It is obvious that if you scratched your paint, it would not be covered. Same here, If you damage the gel coat, then you should not expect it to be fixed for free, but if there are defects such as areas where it was laid on too thin, this would not be covered. They must be very confident in their quality control. I have not had any problems though with my hull where I needed to make a warranty claim.
Dan posted 05-13-2002 08:01 PM ET (US)
If you buy a newer used whaler from the original owner it costs $50 to transfer the warranty and your cancelled check is the proof. It would've been nice to get a warranty certificate or an official letter and person to contact if I needed warranty assistance. Whaler wastes the opportunity to welcome a new customer, and to market to them. Not good business if you ask me. The person who buys a used Whaler today may very well trade up to a newer, larger Whaler in the future. Why not send the person who transfers a warranty a catalog or something. Okay, that's my two cents.

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Author	Topic: What is the hull warranty on a new Whaler?
KeysNole	posted 05-13-2002 12:30 AM ET (US) A recent discussion of boat trailers raised the question of hull warranties and Boston Whalers on www.floridasportsman.com. First off, what is the warranty on a brand new Whaler? I've never looked into a new boat, so I have no idea. The discussion was about trailers with bunks vs. trailers with all rollers. A poster said that BW actually voids the hull warranty if you use a trailer without bunks, because the rollers don't evenly distribute the weight and often cause cracks in the hull. It would seem to make sense. Any truth to this?
B Bear	posted 05-13-2002 08:33 AM ET (US) BW has a ten year hull warranty which begins on the date of manufacture, not the date of sale. The issue with trailers is that the hull weight rests on keel rollers, bunks or rollers may be used to stabilize the hull on the trailer, this I know is fine for the newer whalers, after taking issue with it to my Dealer, the older whalers might only be able to use bunks. The warranty states that use of any trailer not configured and condoned by BW will void the warrenty. I am not sure about cracking the hull, I believe it will cause the foam to delaminate from the fiberglass skins. This would reduce strength and cause void spaces in the hull, and depressions on the hull. Maybe someone else can be clearer on this for you. Bear
B Bear	posted 05-13-2002 10:35 AM ET (US) Another thing is the warranty is a degrading one with each year the coverage is reduced by 10%. For example if you bought a new hull in 2002 that was a 2001 model built in 2000, you would have already lost about 20% of the warranty coverage on the hull. Honestly this policy sucks hard, and not what you would expect when buying a new late model. Bear
JFM	posted 05-13-2002 11:13 AM ET (US) Hull warranty on a Whaler! Hell there isn't more than a handful of people on this site with one new enough to matter:) Regards, Jay
B Bear	posted 05-13-2002 11:21 AM ET (US) You would be suprised Jay at just how many people on this site have newer whalers and how many people visit here considering buying a new whaler. It would be a good poll to see how many model years are represented in the membership. I am always seeing members that have new whalers making a post once in a while but not enough to be noticed. Regards Bear
JFM	posted 05-13-2002 11:27 AM ET (US) Sorry B, perhaps you are correct as I never look at the "Post-Classic" section. Regards, Jay
Tom W Clark	posted 05-13-2002 12:25 PM ET (US) I don't know if the warranty on the new Whalers is the same as the classics, but if it is then it is for ten years, transferable, and yes, it's prorated as B Bear points out. In terms of the trailer issue it was always recommended (strongly) that bunk trailers be used in lieu of roller trailers but it wouldn't void the warranty if a roller traler was used. Before 1990, my local dealer, Jacobsen's Boats and Motors in Seattle, then the largest Whaler dealer in the world, sold almost nothing but Calkins brand roller trailers under the Whalers they sold. Those trailers worked just fine. I owned three of them myself. Perhaps the new Whalers don't hold up as well and they have had to rewrite the warranty as a result. It's also interesting that Whaler has zero warranty information on their website.
Salmon Tub	posted 05-13-2002 02:00 PM ET (US) The warranty only covers the hull and not any of the "accesories" such as railing, steering, console... though all those have their own warranties. The warranty basically covers very little since, realistically, there is not much that can be defective with the hull that you could identify readilly. Items such as delamination, or structural defects would be covered. I am not even sure if the rub rail is covered or is considered an accesory. The manual that came with my boat was archaic in that is would state some obvious things over and over, there was mention that they recommend roller and not bunk trailer. The dealer told me to ignore that because the language was outdated. The wood diagram was from '96 - '98 while my hull is a 2000. It made it clear that the gel coat was not covered by the warranty. This I feel is a bit cheap on their part, because if you buy a new car, the warranty covers the paint job. It is obvious that if you scratched your paint, it would not be covered. Same here, If you damage the gel coat, then you should not expect it to be fixed for free, but if there are defects such as areas where it was laid on too thin, this would not be covered. They must be very confident in their quality control. I have not had any problems though with my hull where I needed to make a warranty claim.
Dan	posted 05-13-2002 08:01 PM ET (US) If you buy a newer used whaler from the original owner it costs $50 to transfer the warranty and your cancelled check is the proof. It would've been nice to get a warranty certificate or an official letter and person to contact if I needed warranty assistance. Whaler wastes the opportunity to welcome a new customer, and to market to them. Not good business if you ask me. The person who buys a used Whaler today may very well trade up to a newer, larger Whaler in the future. Why not send the person who transfers a warranty a catalog or something. Okay, that's my two cents.