Beneteau Warantee Trobles

[jg91604]

thanks for your input... BENETEAU assisted in resolving my issues.

[Vasco]

Saw your photo on another website. It's an iron keel, how do you get blisters on it. Looks like the paint's peeled off a bit. Grind it clean, a bit of epoxy to protect and paint.

[jg91604]

Rick, thanks for your reply. Yes this is an Iron keel. The keel is not just painted Iron, but has an epoxy fairing. This FAIRING must be stripped off, the metal preped, epoxy, fair, prime keel and repainted... the estimate is $3,956.00!

[Vasco]

I think the yard saw you coming. It is not unusual to get some spotting, grind it out, epoxy, don't know if it needs fairing, and paint. Don't think you'll get a whole new keel out of Beneteau.

[jg91604]

Rick, I am not lookng to Beneteau for a keel replacement. Beneteau warantees the hull/keel. I only aattampted to get someone from Beneteau, even a dealer, to inspect it whileit was out ofthe water. Rick, Beneteau waratees the hull/keel for 5 years, this boat has been in theaterless than 3 years! If it were yours I am sure you wouldn't just shrug it off.

[bestfriend]

Thats insane that they won't contact you. I have been on the fence about buying a new Beneteau previously. Its stories like this that make me say "no way" and I am glad I didn't buy one . No matter what the problem is, no matter how large or trivial, it should be addressed immediately by Beneteau if the boat is under warranty. I certainly won't be giving them any good words if someone asks me. Frank Butler doesn't treat his customers like that. He calls them personally.

[Vasco]

There's always two sides to a story. I wouldn't let a post like this deter me if I were seriously interested in buying a Beneteau. There are many stories of how Beneteau has amicably dealt with owners that have had warranty issues.

Rick I
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/beneteau393/
beneteau393 : Beneteau393 Group

[k1vsk]

What amazes me is that upon looking at the pictures, Beneteau's response was frivious. One would hope that a builder of boats with iron keels would recognize this for what it is and not blow off a customer.

[sailingfool]

For whatever reason, I don't believe those few vendors who use iron keels attempt to put a permanent finish on them. They spray them with some gelcoat or thin fairing so they look good when delivered, knowing that a few years of use in salt water will lift the finish. Within say five years, it will all be gone, 100% period, that's just the way it is. I would expect if you asked a Beneteau dealer directly about the what to expect for an iron keel he'd tell you - refinish it with epoxy within 3-4 years. If you cover it properly, the situation will be fixed pretty much permanently.

If you were to get a straight answer from Beneteau, what they would say "it is NOT a defect, what did you think would happen with an iron keel in salt water, happens to all of them,,,"

When I bought a three year old Beneteau in the late '80s it had some rust spots on the keel. I stripped the keel completely, put 5 coats of West system on, and when we sold the boat three years later, the keel still looked new . A few years later I ordered a new R19 from Stuart in Maine, to race one-design. As the keel is steel, I specifically asked Stuart not to finish the keel at all, knowing whatever they put on, I'd have to take it off. The keel came bare and I did the usual, and mandatory, epoxy-coating, even though the boat was brand new.

This is not a hard job, just messy and time consuming. $4,000 for a yard to do it is a reasonable estimate. you can do it yourself for $100, and say 20-30 hours of work.

This situation is the reason I suggest avoiding steel keels - but it is a cosmetic problem that can be easily corrected = just don't expect the builder to do something under warranty they chose not to do when they built the boat. Frankly you should have anticipated this situation when you bought a steel keel. Fix it and enjoy your boat, its otherwidse a nice product, in all honesty I don't understand why they do the iron keels anymore...I've never seen one that didn;t rust unless well epoxied.

[jg91604]

Thanks SAILINGFOOL... I appreciate your wisdom, makes me feel more comfortable. But, fresh water is much easier on the faring and steel. Would you expect this from a fresh water lake boat also? Of course, still think Beneteau has dropped the ball.....