NEW PICTURES - ''LEMON AID '' 2018 R27 RANGER

[davecook]

I was down to see my boat yesterday . It hurts to see a dirty boat ..... New , more detailed pictures on my album on page 1 and 10 . Click on the camera icon , on the right on this page . I could not get the video to load , later ....
You will notice the hull is not scrapped in any way ( which would happen if the boat hit something ) . Once again , in my personal opinion , the boat came down hard on a block .
One person in the business , mentioned in his personal opinion , the jagged crack , was initially a regular smooth crack ( like the one higher up on the hull ) . His opinion was the lower crack opened up , becoming jagged from freezing in the unheated boat house , the 1 st winter . ( i won't submit any of these photos in the Sept. photo contest )

 

[bob daily]

Dave, Thanks for the good laugh! What a great name and logo, maybe you should sell hats and tee's to help with your repairs and other expenses. Keep up the humor and best wishes. Bob

 

[dclagett]

I am no expert on this, but it seems to me that your boat is not blocked well (picture page 10). Having boats since the mid1950s I would expect 2 to 3 block supports under the keel equally spaced and three stands on each side equally spaced tied together with chain side to side.

FM should be able to give the best approach for blocking your boat.

As far as the graphic on the transom I think it is done well, however maybe “Bad Luck” may be a better name.

 

[Katmat]

Sorry to hear this Dave.
I had met Dave last year at the Charlevoix rendezvous. I think you had your Ranger 25 there. I could tell by the condition of your tug & from talking to you that you are knowledgeable on these boats & on automobiles. Hope these is a agreeable ending to this.

 

[BB marine]

I agree with dclagett. The hull blocking could be improved. It may be a null subject based on the hull damage but.... I like to have a minimum of 2 area's of blocking 30' and smaller. I normally would put block piles at structural bulkheads and a set of stands at the transom chines and a set of stands at the FWD structural bulkhead in line with the FWD block pile. The R27 this would look to be inline with the windshield and slightly aft of the pilot house bulkhead (where the door is at). The fact that Fluid Motion doesn't use structural bulkheads I would put a block pile at the transom and still under the windshield because that is where the Grid Liner starts. This will help bridge the hull weight to the transom. This may be close to the area of the damage to the hull.

Has the dealer, Fluid Motion or the surveyor inspected this area of the interior of the hull where the Grid is bonded to the hull? It seems that this is where the exterior damage is. The components of a structurally sound built hull is consistent hull thickness, consistent saturation of resin and a strong solid stringer, bulkhead and frame system. The grid system used in Ranger Tugs makes up the stringer, bulkhead and frame system. If it has a positive bond to the hull it is very strong. This is hard to do unless all components match up perfectly. The only things that glue together well are parts with identically uniform surfaces. Allow the slightest surface irregularity and the joint becomes very weak. This is their build process so they must know how to do it right. I would assume that when Fluid Motion inspected the hull damage to your boat to advise the best repair procedure they inspected the grid bond and inspected the hull thickness and resin saturation of the layup. In doing this inspection they must of determined it was an impact that caused the failure. Repairing damaged fiberglass from an impact is not that difficult as long as it does not have damage to the structural back bone of the hull. The stringers or in this case the Grid. The fiberglass repair can be done but there must be structural support. If not the same issue can happen again. I am assuming that if it was stated that the repair can be done completely from the outside the Fluid Motion inspection revealed that the interior hull components Grid has no damage and is well bonded to the hull in the area of damage. They build the boats and know how they are constructed. A Good glass shop that repairs yachts have seen it all.They will easily be able to determine if an exterior patch will give structural integrity as Fluid Motion has verified it will.

I must admit I would not want to be you. There really is no good outcome from this Ranger Tug boat purchase. There is not a winner in this deal. The dealer I'm sure feels bad. Fluid Motion built the boat and it has been delivered and sold for 2 years and is stuck in the middle. Boat builders are knowledgable about their build. A boat designer knows where the stress points are and build additional strength into these area's. When they inspected your hull they determined the hull damage ,cracks and stresses were caused by impact stresses not structural deficiencies. They obviously feel it was no fault of the build. You has the new owner of a R27 Ranger have a damaged hull boat. When you have a successful repair completed at a significant cost to you the enjoyment of owning what looks like a pristine boat will never be appreciated. Good luck with the repair. I would advise adding a little Vodka in with that Lemon Aid to ease the pain.

 

[FWTMD]

1) That. Looks. AWFUL. To my eye.

2) Having seen it now, the legal advice you received from others here sounds right. Your best outcome is to have the dealer take this back and make you whole. Let them sort it out on repairs from here. There are plenty of other tugs around.

3) I don't recall ever seeing such little support of a boat on the hard. Is that the dealer's yard? Are they hoping a slight breeze will knock it over, and they make a claim against their insurer? If this is their yard, and that's their practice, it begs the question as to whether the damage was done by them on their yard from this practice.

4) On a happier note, I see a Pudgey in your folder. How do you like it? Its been on my short list to buy.

 

[CAPTCRUNCH]

From this distance, it's awfully tempting to conclude that the recent photos showing the boat on the hard may be the "smoking gun" in this saga, especially if this is not the first time the boat has been in the hands of whoever did this blocking job. The ABYC standards for supporting a boat onshore are summarized in lots of boating publications, and this setup sure doesn't look to comply. Basically, the blocks under the keel (a minimum of 2 locations) should bear the weight of the boat, and the jacks are there just to balance the boat. I'd guess this is not the first time this boat has been mistreated.

 

[davecook]

Brian , BB Marine had some questions . Fluid Motion started the repair procedure recommendations before one of the dealership fiberglass guys came down to look at boat on Sept 10 th 2020 . He checked in at the office , was there 10 minutes i was told . Put 2 masking tape marks on the hull , took some pictures and left .
I am not sure if he was in the boat , as i told them where the key was hidden . What i can tell you is even with the fridge and microwave out , all panels removed in the cave , you can't see anywhere close to the cracks . they are under all the tanks .
the one thing that i found was,
loose bonding putty floating around in the area under the v birth step . The transducer was also floating around , dislodged from it's sealant . My surveyor explained to me what the bonding putty does , used to secure some of the secondary framing .
As far as i know , Ranger Tugs never inspected the boat . As far as the blocking where it is now ( someone asked , that is the first time the boat has been blocked for me or the original owner , see my 2 other posts ) The person that moved it was very worried about the condition of the hull as the hull has 60-100 percent moisture readings ,60 '' aft and 40 '' forward , and delamination in areas .
I never got a copy of the repair recommendations , the dealership did , but no one will share with the owner .
the Vodka thing sounds like a good idea !