Hi Folks. Has anyone had problems with the outer hull layer cracking in the winter time on Hunter 170's? I just got the boat out of storage and the hull has a huge crack starting at the hull drain and spidering forward and to starboard and traveling up into the upper hull section and starting around to the top of the seat. Is this a common problem with this boat in very cold temperatures? The temperature dropped to minus 46 fahrenheit (minus 45 celsius)for several days over the winter. It was consistantly hovering around minus 25 farenheit (minus 35 celsius). Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated. The boat was bought new in 2005. Thanks, Dave
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it's a plastic boat
so i would expect it to get very brittle at such low temperatures..but it shouldnt crack like that! was it cinched down on the trailer really tight?
so i would expect it to get very brittle at such low temperatures..but it shouldnt crack like that! was it cinched down on the trailer really tight?
It may be plastic, but it's gotta be tough
No. Igt wasn't tight at all. It would have been too loose to travel with. If it was too tight it would have broken accross the top or at the contact point with the hull and trailer bunks. I think it was a stress point. I hope. If not maybe this hull design is unsuitable fof the frozen north.
No. Igt wasn't tight at all. It would have been too loose to travel with. If it was too tight it would have broken accross the top or at the contact point with the hull and trailer bunks. I think it was a stress point. I hope. If not maybe this hull design is unsuitable fof the frozen north.
Very common on the 170
Dave, Cracking on the 170 is very common. There is a guide on this site to fix the crack. It is easy to fix and you can buy the parts at Wal-mart. There are a lot of people here who are very good at fixing this. I had to repair a 12" long crack in mine this spring. Good luck and feel free to ask any questions. Tim
Dave, Cracking on the 170 is very common. There is a guide on this site to fix the crack. It is easy to fix and you can buy the parts at Wal-mart. There are a lot of people here who are very good at fixing this. I had to repair a 12" long crack in mine this spring. Good luck and feel free to ask any questions. Tim
Thanks Tim
Thanks for the info. This crack is huge and runs from the top of the hull twisting down and arround until it meets up with the drain hole for the hull at the stern as well as spidering back up in a couple of places. There is a section of approx. 2 sq ft that is cracked all arround as well as a couple of smaller areas of a few sq, inches. It must have been a helluva bang when she let loose. How is Hunter for warranting this kind of crack? Their warranty says 5 years and the boat is only 3 years old. Dave
Thanks for the info. This crack is huge and runs from the top of the hull twisting down and arround until it meets up with the drain hole for the hull at the stern as well as spidering back up in a couple of places. There is a section of approx. 2 sq ft that is cracked all arround as well as a couple of smaller areas of a few sq, inches. It must have been a helluva bang when she let loose. How is Hunter for warranting this kind of crack? Their warranty says 5 years and the boat is only 3 years old. Dave
Don't know. Call Hunter
Dave, I am not sure how Hunter handles these issues. You should call your Hunter dealer and see what they say. Tim
Dave, I am not sure how Hunter handles these issues. You should call your Hunter dealer and see what they say. Tim
Don't bother calling Hunter
Don't waste your time trying to call Hunter Marine's Customer Service. They don't answer the phone, don't respond to voicemail, & don't answer email! Must be a helluva job @ Hunter. You don't have to deal with the people who buy the boats. Although I like my 146 (despite the cracking). Customer Service is a joke & I'll never buy another.
Don't waste your time trying to call Hunter Marine's Customer Service. They don't answer the phone, don't respond to voicemail, & don't answer email! Must be a helluva job @ Hunter. You don't have to deal with the people who buy the boats. Although I like my 146 (despite the cracking). Customer Service is a joke & I'll never buy another.
hasn't been my expereice
Scott said "Don't waste your time trying to call Hunter Marine's Customer Service. They don't answer the phone, don't respond to voicemail, & don't answer email! Must be a helluva job @ Hunter. You don't have to deal with the people who buy the boats. Although I like my 146 (despite the cracking). Customer Service is a joke & I'll never buy another". This hasn't been my experiece nor, apparently from the comments of others, has it been their's either. Hunter has a consistently excellent reputation for customer service and equally cares about their dealers customer relations and I would definitely contact either of them to help resolve your issue. Especially in today's market, no business can survive without good customer relations which they well know so I think there is more to Scott's statement than stated here.
Scott said "Don't waste your time trying to call Hunter Marine's Customer Service. They don't answer the phone, don't respond to voicemail, & don't answer email! Must be a helluva job @ Hunter. You don't have to deal with the people who buy the boats. Although I like my 146 (despite the cracking). Customer Service is a joke & I'll never buy another". This hasn't been my experiece nor, apparently from the comments of others, has it been their's either. Hunter has a consistently excellent reputation for customer service and equally cares about their dealers customer relations and I would definitely contact either of them to help resolve your issue. Especially in today's market, no business can survive without good customer relations which they well know so I think there is more to Scott's statement than stated here.
Maybe
Yes, I was pretty pissed off when I wrote that last entry. I wrote that after another round of trying to get someone on the phone @ Hunter Customer Service. I've been trying on & off for a couple of weeks now. I sent an email about 3 weeks ago & a voicemail over a week ago. Neither answered. Tried calling about 8 times today. Was transfered to voicemail 7 times, put on hold until I gave up once. Much calmer now. Maybe I'm just unlucky. I used to work in Customer Service - I know how hectic things can get. And, it's my impression there is only one guy who handles customer service calls for the ACP Daysailors. Understandable, since these smaller boats are pretty simple. Gonna try one of the dealers tommorrow. I bought my 146 used & when something breaks, I fix it myself - maybe they'll give me some advice anyway.
Yes, I was pretty pissed off when I wrote that last entry. I wrote that after another round of trying to get someone on the phone @ Hunter Customer Service. I've been trying on & off for a couple of weeks now. I sent an email about 3 weeks ago & a voicemail over a week ago. Neither answered. Tried calling about 8 times today. Was transfered to voicemail 7 times, put on hold until I gave up once. Much calmer now. Maybe I'm just unlucky. I used to work in Customer Service - I know how hectic things can get. And, it's my impression there is only one guy who handles customer service calls for the ACP Daysailors. Understandable, since these smaller boats are pretty simple. Gonna try one of the dealers tommorrow. I bought my 146 used & when something breaks, I fix it myself - maybe they'll give me some advice anyway.
Good News
Hunter sent me an e-mail Monday requesting more photos and replied back Tuesday that they would replace the hull. They will remove all of the hardware from the old hull and reinstall it on to the new hull. It will be interesting to see how long the warranty lasts for. I am betting it will still be 5 years from the date of purchase. The big question is if to keep the boat if it is going to crack every time we get a cold snap in the winter? It's tough to find a comparable boat for the price. I suppose it supports the old adage that "you get what you pay for". Dave
Hunter sent me an e-mail Monday requesting more photos and replied back Tuesday that they would replace the hull. They will remove all of the hardware from the old hull and reinstall it on to the new hull. It will be interesting to see how long the warranty lasts for. I am betting it will still be 5 years from the date of purchase. The big question is if to keep the boat if it is going to crack every time we get a cold snap in the winter? It's tough to find a comparable boat for the price. I suppose it supports the old adage that "you get what you pay for". Dave
There are other boats !
I sold my 2004 H170 before she had any cracks, This was a hard decission to sell but evertime I read a post it was about a 146, 170 or 216 cracking. Caprie 16, or Vanguard make really nice boats that would be a good replacement boat of about the same size. Good luck with what ever decission you make . Glenn
I sold my 2004 H170 before she had any cracks, This was a hard decission to sell but evertime I read a post it was about a 146, 170 or 216 cracking. Caprie 16, or Vanguard make really nice boats that would be a good replacement boat of about the same size. Good luck with what ever decission you make . Glenn
two sides to a coin
I cannot answer for the difficulty you had with hunter but in the end a new hull is coming. Not many other manufacturers would do that. Many would disagree with you regarding Hunter warranty. Often, I saw cracks and half the time, the truth was not told like hitting a wall or the boat falling off the trailer and so forth. However, I dare anyone to tell me that Hunter Marine warranty is marginal. They go the extra mile even though I was a major small boat dealer for over 25 years and gave Hunter the boot for other reasons. HUNTER WARRANTY DEPartment is considered to be one of the best out there and I will debate that any time any where you want. Let me tell you about one experience. A rudder was damaged on a large Hunter in the middle of the Pacific about four years ago. The owner thru his Sat telephone was given a solution for temporary steering by Hunter Warranty. The boat put into port several days later at a remote island. Well, there was a brand new rudder for his boat waiting on him from Hunter. End of conversation
I cannot answer for the difficulty you had with hunter but in the end a new hull is coming. Not many other manufacturers would do that. Many would disagree with you regarding Hunter warranty. Often, I saw cracks and half the time, the truth was not told like hitting a wall or the boat falling off the trailer and so forth. However, I dare anyone to tell me that Hunter Marine warranty is marginal. They go the extra mile even though I was a major small boat dealer for over 25 years and gave Hunter the boot for other reasons. HUNTER WARRANTY DEPartment is considered to be one of the best out there and I will debate that any time any where you want. Let me tell you about one experience. A rudder was damaged on a large Hunter in the middle of the Pacific about four years ago. The owner thru his Sat telephone was given a solution for temporary steering by Hunter Warranty. The boat put into port several days later at a remote island. Well, there was a brand new rudder for his boat waiting on him from Hunter. End of conversation
Warrenty
Ive never had any trouble with hunter love my boat it cracks in a few places but the way I sail it (on the edge) I would expect it to crack where it does. I fill the cracks and wait till it does it again. I havent really dealt with the new Hunter in Fl. outside of ordering parts but I loved it when I could call Lind in Ct. and ask him anything about the boat and got alot of answers.
Ive never had any trouble with hunter love my boat it cracks in a few places but the way I sail it (on the edge) I would expect it to crack where it does. I fill the cracks and wait till it does it again. I havent really dealt with the new Hunter in Fl. outside of ordering parts but I loved it when I could call Lind in Ct. and ask him anything about the boat and got alot of answers.
Kyle Boyette
I had a great experience working with Kyle Boyette at Hunter. He walked me through how to fix the cracks in the boat about this same time last year. You can email him at customerservice@huntercomposite.com Good luck. Jon P.S. It was last year, so I'm assuming he's still there...I can vouch that he was the only guy handling these issues & was very knowledgeable.
I had a great experience working with Kyle Boyette at Hunter. He walked me through how to fix the cracks in the boat about this same time last year. You can email him at customerservice@huntercomposite.com Good luck. Jon P.S. It was last year, so I'm assuming he's still there...I can vouch that he was the only guy handling these issues & was very knowledgeable.
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