Hull warranty ? [Archive] - The Donzi Registry

smokediver

11-15-2008, 09:47 AM

I have a good size crack on the port side in the bilge , under the engine . Is this serious ? I will post pics monday .. Has this happened to anyone else ? the boat is a lo hour 2003 18 classic.

KRAVEN

11-15-2008, 06:14 PM

I have a 2002 18 W/Scorpion power and Bravo1 XZ Drive and had same crack issue twice.Thankfully the second time DONZI repaired it at the factory,but I only put about 5 hours on the repairs since home.

smokediver

11-16-2008, 10:41 AM

here are a few pics ... :shocking:

Carl C

11-16-2008, 10:43 AM

Hull warranty is 5 years I believe. You should contact Donzi Marine NOW!

osur866

11-16-2008, 10:46 AM

John, Call Donzi and speak to them. And :crossfing: you are close enough to just drive it by them as well. Steve

smokediver

11-16-2008, 11:02 AM

thx Steve , plan on doing that tomorrow !

LKSD

11-16-2008, 01:56 PM

Yes, definitley get it looked at & repaired.. ;) Jamie

MOP

11-16-2008, 02:58 PM

It is a common issue on the late model spread stringer boats, Donzi has a very good fix it will be better then new.

Phil

KRAVEN

11-16-2008, 03:18 PM

Here are a few after photos of Donzi Factory repairs prior to motor install
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/chevydevy/DSC00009.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/chevydevy/DSC000081.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/chevydevy/DSC00006.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/chevydevy/DSC00005.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/chevydevy/DSC00004.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/chevydevy/DSC00003.jpg

Carl C

11-16-2008, 03:40 PM

My 22 was repaired to my satisfaction and has held up well with rough Great Lakes use.

fogducker III

11-16-2008, 03:52 PM

gcarter

11-16-2008, 04:33 PM

Wow, this is the first I have heard of this problem? What is the underlying cause? I guess with my boat being 13+ years old if I have the problem I am repairing it on my own? Is it de-lamination or? Was it a problem just in the spot shown?
In the early '90's (not exactly sure what year) Donzi moved the stringers and inner strake further apart.
There's some discussion of this in several threads, but there're some sketches in a thread I started about the TR I'm restoring;
http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=50476
Unfortunately, since the server move, Harbormaster hasn't replaced the photos yet.
Anyway, there is a fix which reinforces the extra wide flat areas between the stringers and the tangent of the keel.
On my own boat, I carried out the reinforcement, but went an extra few steps. I think my repairs added a little more than 100#. I think the weightg gain on the factory repair is probably about 50-60#.

fogducker III

11-16-2008, 04:39 PM

So is it something I should consider doing or wait until the cracks appear? Does it happen to most or all 18's and 22's of that era?

gcarter

11-16-2008, 05:10 PM

So is it something I should consider doing or wait until the cracks appear? Does it happen to most or all 18's and 22's of that era?
There's been a lot of 22's and usually the big power boats.
These are the first 18's I'm aware of.

Lenny

11-16-2008, 06:30 PM

These are the first 18's I'm aware of.

News to me too with 18's Jeremy. Have a look at your's, if they are OK don't think about it again.

The 18's have few (if any) issues with hull rigidity and materials/lay-up.

KRAVEN

11-16-2008, 07:12 PM

I was told by DONZI that the problem was with air voids the size of golf balls durning layup.Watch for cracks on the outside parallel to strakes.The strakes are hollow which causes flexing while in use.My stringers were actually pulling from the hull.In the photos you can see the entire bildge from stringer to stringer was build up with foam coring and coverd with 3 layers of glass which wraps over both stringers.I had this same issuse the second season I owned the boat,however the repair shop stated it was caused by to heavly applied jelcoat in that area.When repaired at that time the motor was never pulled.I did have a crack on the bottom parallel to the port inside strake which a local repair shop repaired per DONZI'S instruction in 2005.When the current repairs were done in 2008 the strakes were injected with epoxy to stiffen the entire hull.I beleive that DONZI did a fantastic repair and feel confident I will have no other issues in years to come.I look forward to the up comming season as I only had 5hrs in her this year.:)
GOOD LUCK

gcarter

11-16-2008, 07:45 PM

One of the steps of the Donzi repair is to grind out the inside of the bottom of the stringers. Unfortunately, there are almost always voids under them. The stringers sit on the outside corners of the stringers on a literal knife edge. It's pretty easy to lay a 7" grinder on the bottom the hull and grind under the inside of the stringers into the void. Then you follow up with thickened epoxy which you force into the void w/a spreader. The following layup is covered in the thread I posted earlier.

osur866

11-17-2008, 06:21 AM

Mine, I believe was the first 18 to go back to the factory to be repaired early last year, and I am very pleased with the repair and the way Donzi handled everything, since I got mine back I have put about 140 hrs on it without any problems and I have been in some nasty water with it. Goodluck John and let us know how things work out. Steve :crossfing:

Cuda

11-17-2008, 06:59 AM

Warranities, like most things you buy, are worth exctly what you pay for them.

yeller

11-17-2008, 10:08 PM

George, your off by a decade. I was in the early 2000's that the stringers were moved and that is when the cracking issue started. 90's boats are fine.
Kraven the pics of your repairs are much different than what was recommended by Donzi previously. Besides yours, I know of another boat that cracked again after the repair, so maybe that's why they changed the method.

Edit: I looked at Kraven's pics again and now I'm not sure what is the repair. Are the pieces (with the big hole in them) on the outboard side of the stringers the repair or is the repair simply the additional material on the bottom of the inboard side of the stringers...or both?

RickSE

11-17-2008, 10:51 PM

Yeller,
Sounds and looks like they cored Kraven's inner stringer to stringer panel and added fillets at the base of the stringers. You can see the coring or lack of where the depth sounder will mount. This bugs me if this is the current repair method since it'll be the 3rd major revision of this repair and a far deviation of the last two revisions. It may be that Kraven's boat required a unique solution or this is the 18C method since I don't think the 18's were having the same problems as the big power 22's.

The big holes are access holes for the motor mounts on the 18's & outboard of the stringers.

gcarter

11-18-2008, 05:58 AM

[quote=yeller;477669]George, your off by a decade. I was in the early 2000's that the stringers were moved and that is when the cracking issue started. 90's boats are fine.
quote]
That's what I thought too. But personal experience since then has shown me the light.
I agree the '90's boats don't seem to have the same problems, but the stringers and strakes are in the same place as the later boats.
Sometime in the early '90's the stringers and inner strakes were moved outboard and the engine mounts were moved to the inside of the stringers.
So, what happened in the '00 boats? Dunno. Maybe a change in the layup schedule.
The sketches I posted previously are still in Limbo. Maybe later when I get to the office and get my lap top up and running, I'll re-post them.

CJmike

11-18-2008, 07:52 AM

Working on a similiar repair on the 27zx this winter. Found a crack in the bilge when we pulled the motor. So we decided to fix that. Then when looking around it seemed the stringers were getting soft around the motor mounts so they came out as well. Stopped by last week to look at it. New stringers are in and reglassing should start this week.

gold-n-rod

11-18-2008, 08:03 AM

Has anyone heard of similar issues with late model 16's?

:confused:

mike o

11-18-2008, 08:33 AM

KRAVEN

11-18-2008, 03:47 PM

Transportation is owners responsabilty!

smokediver

11-18-2008, 04:13 PM

glad it is just a few hours north ! I didn't hear back today from Donzi but I am optimistic .. It isn't like I am a 38zr owner with a problem !

joseph m. hahnl

11-18-2008, 04:35 PM

My Minx had a delamination crack on the port side way up from the stringer:eek: I believe that this was not a defect :wink: but a stress crack from the boat being dropped:shocking:. I force filled it with resin put some matting over it and more resin. It has held up very well:crossfing:. No worries:shades:

mike o

11-19-2008, 07:59 AM

Transportation is owners responsabilty!...That too bad, sorry. The reason I asked is because theirs a high end glass shop near me that has fixed (16) or so 19' glastrons that are only 2 yrs old, with osmotic blistering problems on the bottoms. Being that the mid west is a major market for donzi. I just wanted to be clear on how donzi is handling the 5yr hull warranity issues's, across the board (as a company) for their complete line. Or if they let the dealers do the repairs in some instances. Im in the market (kinda of) and theres a brand new 2yr old leftover 18 around here. If anybody wants to know why glastrons boats doing this in only one summer in the water... you can ask me.

yeller

11-19-2008, 10:00 PM

Yeller,
Sounds and looks like they cored Kraven's inner stringer to stringer panel and added fillets at the base of the stringers. You can see the coring or lack of where the depth sounder will mount. This bugs me if this is the current repair method since it'll be the 3rd major revision of this repair and a far deviation of the last two revisions. It may be that Kraven's boat required a unique solution or this is the 18C method since I don't think the 18's were having the same problems as the big power 22's.
The big holes are access holes for the motor mounts on the 18's & outboard of the stringers.Well if I would have read Kraven's post (#16) I wouldn't have asked the question. :bonk: