Boston Whaler warranty cover of shrinkage of caulk in caulked seams

A conversation among Whalers
libertastoo
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2021 9:45 am

Boston Whaler warranty cover of shrinkage of caulk in caulked seams

Postby libertastoo » Wed Sep 22, 2021 11:01 am

Is [a defect such as leaks of water into the interior of a console of a boat due to shrinkage of the caulked seam] covered by the hull warranty [for a four-year-old boat]?

[Moderator's note: moved from another discussion on how to repair caulked seams.]

jimh
Posts: 11673
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

Re: Boston Whaler warranty cover of shrinkage of caulk in caulked seams

Postby jimh » Wed Sep 22, 2021 11:29 am

A warranty covers only what the warranty explicitly states is covered, and usually a warranty lists many exemptions for covered items due to improper care or improper use or damage caused in use.

That Boston Whaler offers a ten-year hull warranty should not be inferred that the warranty covers every possible problem that could occur in use of the boat for the next ten years.

A Boston Whaler dealer might, at his own discretion, offer to a good customer a no-cost repair to some problem that might not always be interpreted as being covered under the hull warranty.

If you think the warranty provided by Boston Whaler on a particular boat includes free re-caulking of caulked seams for ten years from date of purchase, please post the entire text of the warranty that you are referencing so it can be read by others.

User avatar
Phil T
Posts: 2602
Joined: Thu Oct 22, 2015 6:08 pm
Location: Was Maine. Temporarily Kentucky

Re: Boston Whaler warranty cover of shrinkage of caulk in caulked seams

Postby Phil T » Wed Sep 22, 2021 1:48 pm

Boston Whaler updates its warranties yearly.

Here is the latest version online from 2020. It is 5 pages long.

https://www.bostonwhaler.com/content/dam/boston-whaler/technical/resources/Boston-Whaler-Domestic-Warranty-MY2020.pdf

- edit: corrected link
1992 Outrage 17
2019 E-TEC 90
2018 LoadRite 18280096VT
Member since 2003

Jefecinco
Posts: 1592
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 6:35 pm
Location: Gulf Shores, AL

Re: Boston Whaler warranty cover of shrinkage of caulk in caulked seams

Postby Jefecinco » Thu Sep 23, 2021 10:04 am

Perhaps, if the boat were stored inside a climate-controlled environment free of direct sunshine and harmful emissions and the boat was used only a hundred hours per year. As previously recommended, read the warranty.
Butch

jimh
Posts: 11673
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

Re: Boston Whaler warranty cover of shrinkage of caulk in caulked seams

Postby jimh » Fri Sep 24, 2021 7:57 am

Regarding what is covered in a boat that is four-years-old: the warranty statement (linked above) mentions three terms of length of coverage. There are items covered for one year. There are items covered for three years. There is the hull itself, which is covered for ten years. Since the question was in regard to a boat that was four-years-old, the only possible element of the warranty that would apply would be the ten-year section.

The ten-year-warranty seems to only cover "structural" defects in the hull which would render the boat unusable. I don't think a leaking in a caulk seam at the joint of the console to the deck due to shrinkage of the caulk would qualify as a structural defect, nor would it render the boat unusable. Here is an except from the warranty, and note it is identified as being the first element of the warranty:

Warranty Statement wrote:1. Ten-Year Structural Hull Limited Warranty: Any Structural Hull Defect in material or workmanship
which is reported within ten (10) years from the date of sale to the original retail owner will be repaired
or replaced at Boston Whaler’s sole discretion. The “Hull” shall mean the single fiberglass molded
shell and integral structural components. A Structural Hull Defect shall mean a substantial defect in the
Boat’s Hull which causes the boat to be unfit or unsafe for general use as a pleasure craft under normal
operating conditions


Note that any repair or replacement is "at Boston Whaler’s sole discretion." This is a another limitation in the warranty coverage. From what I know, in the past Boston Whaler has demonstrated good will in making repairs to structural defects that arose in the first ten years of a hulls normal operating conditions, and I don't believe they would attempt to avoid making a repair under warranty when such a repair seemed to be reasonably justified.

ASIDE: Thanks to PHIL T for digging up the link to the current warranty statement.

jimh
Posts: 11673
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

Re: Boston Whaler warranty cover of shrinkage of caulk in caulked seams

Postby jimh » Fri Sep 24, 2021 9:22 am

Moderator's note: a completely off-topic and non-boating topic and several posts on that topic have been deleted from this thread. The general interest in THE GAM and in the entire boating section of the website is for information about boating topics. Non-boating topics seldom contain any information about boating and are generally never archived.

New participants should read posts in INTRODUCTION TO THE FORUM SOFTWARE forum, and in particular

Mandatory Style Elements
https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewto ... f=1&t=3844