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2005 Pathfinder 2000v with hull damage


ChelsieO15

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Bear with me as I post this to try and help my husband get some information. 

We bought a 2005 Pathfinder 2000v in November. As my husband was pulling in the drive way, I noticed something on the bottom of the hull. Upon further investigation, we noticed that it looks as though the gel coat is separating from the fiberglass. We did not hit anything. Has anyone else had this problem?

We do not have any information regarding the warranty. Rumor has it, there is a life time warranty on the hull. Does anyone know if this is true? 

 

Attached are the pictures...

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AF2ED396-2C32-46D2-97BD-0FD17E958458.jpeg

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3 hours ago, ChelsieO15 said:

We do not have any information regarding the warranty. Rumor has it, there is a life time warranty on the hull. Does anyone know if this is true? 

No, they do not have a lifetime warranty....5 year.  I am sorry to hear about your problem.

 

1.) What you are seeing is called delamination. it's the result of the stringers separating from the hull and flexing the outer skin of the hull.

2.) I would suggest you contact Skip Lyshon or Ray Ayers at the factory to see if anything can be done by them or if it can be repaired by a local shop.

3.) Unfortunately, this is not an easy fix. and will required most likely the floor being cut out, stringers re-attached, then fiberglass skin replaced.

This is not good.

DC

 

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DC was spot on as far as 1 of the possibilities. Fear not, there are other reasons for this to happen. During the lay up process they spray the gel coat first in the mold with whats called "mold gel coat" there are other names for it like exterior gel coat. The gel coat is supposed to remain tacky while the fiberglass is laid upon it and removes the oxygen and creates a bond between the two and they dry together. Possibly the gelcoat flashed (dried) in that area not allowing that bond and MAYBE the stringers are fine?!

  The best thing is to have a quality shop inspect it (someone on this site can recommend one in your area) and have them determine what happened and the best way to fix it. 

  We feel for you. Had friends almost sink in the shipping lanes because of the same issue but a different brand of boat. Coast guard had to escort them in because of the fear of them sinking.

  Best of luck and let us know how this turns out.

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It appears the skim coat is delaminating from the hull.  Capt DeWalt is correct, it's usually caused by the stringers not being attached to the hull.  This allows the hull to flex.  Hard use tend to make this kind problem worse.

Norm and his crew do unbelievable work and has experience in fixing this issue.  I strongly suggest  that you have MBG fix the boat.

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12 hours ago, ChelsieO15 said:

@MuddyBottomBluz  thank you for the response. I will keep the gang updated for sure!  I sure hope big Daddy can seriously rescue us!!!!! 

 

@slyshon we are taking the pic and emailing now. I really appreciate the quick response! 

 

Chelsie015:

 

You will find that MBC is very fair and responsible.  If it's something they can help you with...they will....just remember, it's only fiberglass and gelcoat...worse damage can be fixed with a bit of $$ and time....I've been there over the years on various boats....it's part of the game when you buy a used vessel vs new...sometimes the dice roll the wrong way....a new Pathfinder in the 22 range (you have a 20) is well over $60K....if you need to put out $$$ and MBC can do the repair with you....you are still thousands ahead.  Yep, not what you want to hear....but, part of game we play when we buy used....there are others on the forum who've been in your same position over the years...

 

Couple of questions for you, and I know, they are probably not what you want to hear?  

1.) Did you have the boat surveyed by a Marine Surveyor prior to your purchase?

2.) If so, what were his results based upon the hull inspection?

DC

 

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5 hours ago, ChelsieO15 said:

@justfish @Bamaskeet we talked to Pathfinder yesterday. They said they will do the repair for $2,500/side. We are undecided on if we will make the 8+ hr drive, but I can tell you that we will probably be done wth Pathfinder boats after the repair is made! 😬

Kinda interesting that they would quote a repair like that without knowing the true issue. It’s a whole different ballgame if it’s a stringer issue vs a gel coat bonding issue. Leads me to believe they think it’s a Stringer issue  

There is another thread by whichwayisup on here of a stringer repair. Check it out and maybe he can tell you more about process. 

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4 hours ago, HoneyB said:

If you have them repair it price shipping to have it delivered to them. I would imagine it will cost 5 grand for any one to fix it. Cutting the deck glassing and gel coating everything .. 

 How do the local prices compare?

Deck prob isn’t coming off at factory...

 

I looked at a 2200 a few years ago that had a stringer repair that was fixed at factory. Obviously skeptical of the boat’s history, I Called Ray and pulled the records of it and explained to me. When I asked about the cap being pulled. I was told these repairs were done from outside of boat. I was surprised but he said they were better than new when done. 

The guys who built these know exactly where everything is, I doubt a lot of other shops would have the knowledge of the boat to go at it from outside (maybe I’m wrong I just speculating) so the deck would come out and I bet ultimately cost more. 

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7 hours ago, ChelsieO15 said:

@justfish @Bamaskeet we talked to Pathfinder yesterday. They said they will do the repair for $2,500/side. We are undecided on if we will make the 8+ hr drive, but I can tell you that we will probably be done wth Pathfinder boats after the repair is made! 😬

Just wondering if you had the boat surveyed prior to purchase? Do you have insurance? If you deal with insurance, from what others here have experienced, know the reason for the damage. Also don't forget you bought a 13 year old used boat. Good luck with your repair.

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Chelsea, if Pathfinder is offering to fix it, you have a pedigree on the repair that will help in the resale.   If they had offered to help me out with my delaminated stringer on my MA, I would have jumped on it.  I wasn't so lucky.  My repair guy actually reached out for advice and the response was apparently "Good luck with that."  I am trying to get the actual email exchange to confirm that.  A little disappointing, but if they are offering you help, its worth considering.

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Chelsie let us know which way you go with it. I’m boat shopping now and in the last 3 days I’ve seen TWO Pathfinder hull Delaminations and over the last 6-7 months TWO 18 Master Angler stringer delaminations. Seeing Gus’ boat opened up and the second stringer being cracked bc it only had one layer of glass and a wood screw glassed into the inside of the hull....I’m not sure I want to go the MBG route after seeing all this. 

It’s unfortunate that you’re dealing with this. I hope you can get it ironed out. Good luck. 

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15 hours ago, justfish said:

he guys who built these know exactly where everything is, I doubt a lot of other shops would have the knowledge of the boat to go at it from outside (maybe I’m wrong I just speculating) so the deck would come out and I bet ultimately cost more. 

$5K for the factory to do so is a more than fair....I'm with just fish...don't even think about it and have MHP do the work...and, while it's there, have them clean up any nics or cracks in other areas....your boat will come back factory new.....if you don't want to drive and you are in the panhandle, call the factory and ask about a dealer to deliver your boat to, they have boat delivery services that are going back and forth from Vero to all over...if you don't want to make the drive, it's probably a PUSH when you consider gas and others.

Giving it to a "friend" who does this type of work, unless he is a real expert, can end up a disaster and then unrepairable.

Right now the boat is worth only the rigging...get it fixed and it will last another 10-15 years if you plan on staying in the hobby.

DC

 

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20 hours ago, ChelsieO15 said:

but I can tell you that we will probably be done wth Pathfinder boats after the repair is made!

I missed this note earlier.....interesting perspective after the factory offers to help you take an out of warranty boat, yes, that has a severe damage, that you didn't get checked prior or know how it happened ?

BTW, as I mentioned, delamination mostly occurs from stringer flex, however, if you hit something hard and opened a scrape in the gelcoat, it can end up peeling back the gelcoat like an onion as you are running at 30 plus mph....your damage is pretty extensive and I'm doubtful it occurred on just one trip, or maybe so..I don't know how much you look at your hull after each trip....

again, $5K seems like a lot, but, to just replace gas tank on a skiff can cost $2K....you are looking at a min of 30-40hrs work, the boat has to be drained from fuel, properly secured, then set into a frame, tilted so it can be worked upon if they do it from the outside....or, if they need to go through the floor, it will be more challenging...

I feel your pain, I've been there over many years...it's part of boating....keep us up to date on your final solution....

 

dc

 

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We had to take some time to figure out all of our options. Our friend in the area is the expert in the area at this kind of work, but he said that we should have MBG do the work because it will be as good as new. It was also recommended that we have insurance take a look because we truly have NO idea what happened. Could we have hit something and never noticed? That’s possible... could it have just happened? That’s possible too. What we know is my husband was backing the boat in the driveway and I saw this damage! My husband generally looks over the boat and cleans it very well after each trip (which is 1-2x per weekend).. that boat is his baby  

 

We did not have the boat prior to buying it. 

MBG would not fully cover the damage because of the age of the hull. They said they have to make a cut off somewhere.. which IS understandable. They are cutting us a deal.. giving us about half off of what it would usually cost. 

 

@Wanaflatsfish great idea about getting the boat to the dealer. We have a huge dealer about an hour from us is Destin. 

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