The New Hunter Experiernce

Status
Not open for further replies.

Stitch

.
Jun 1, 2007
9
- - Racine, WI
I never did accept delivery of the boat. Racine Riverside moved the boat to my slip to "finish" the delivery. The only papers I signed stated that systems and warranty were explained to me. The entire Hunter Delivery Checklist was not completed.

I dealt with Racine Riverside because I purchased a boat from them before and was happy with how they handled it. I had no idea they would have failed so miserably at delivering this vessel. It was also a little easier as my trade-in vessel was already sitting in their yard. Had I known they would not be capable of properly setting up the vessel, I would not have purchased from them. And again, they didn't really give me a chance to "accept" the vessel, they just left it in my slip and told me they were finished.

I'm not sure why Hunter owner's are so accepting of a windlass that does not work properly. Maybe it's a lack of experience with other makes of boats. This is the only boat I've owned that had a windlass that needed "help". Had this been explained to me prior to the dealership so willingly taking my money, it might not have been as big of a deal. Then again, it might have pushed me to a different boat. I'm quite sure that is why it was never even mentioned that Hunter believes a properly working windlass needs "help" One of the greatest reasons for my choice of the Hunter 33 was the ability to single hand the vessel. It is well set up for that. However, it is not possible to steer the boat and "help" the windlass at the same time. On a boat this small, the only real reason to have a windlass is to make single hand anchoring possible. Hunter completely missed the mark on this, and I believe it is fraudulent to sell an option that "needs help", and not inform the purchaser.

As far as an attorney, I do have one. We are currently in the process of surveying the vessel. This does take time, and I am also trying to work with Hunter and Racine Riverside. However, with Racine Riverside's failure to return my emails, or inform me how they want to handle the issue of them delivering the vessel with contaminated fuel, they don't appear to be trying to work with me. As for the lemon law, it does not exist for boats, however other laws are in place under witch I am seeking damages.
 
Oct 22, 2009
2
hunter 33 jacksonville
Well if your boat was built wrong and there certainly seems to be some issues i hope you get you money back and than they should look at who built you boat and see what there doing.. esp if your coat is cracking already thats a huge problem.. keep us informed. good luck.
 

Stitch

.
Jun 1, 2007
9
- - Racine, WI
More problems again

Did the repairs fix the refer and the inverter/charger? Keep us updated, this is being followed thru many other sailing sites. Sounds like Racine is just trying to wear you down. Hang in there!
Apparently not! I stopped by the boat tonight to find no AC power to my outlets or microwave. I had good AC power coming in from the dock, and the air conditioner and water heater were working fine. I looked at the inverter / charger remote control:



As you can see, it gave me the message "No Inverter Comm", however the fault light was not illuminated. At least it was keeping the batteries charged as you can see. I checked the GFI outlet, and it was not tripped. I removed AC and DC power to the inverter / charger. That is I turned off the main AC circuit breaker, and the battery switch. I turned on the battery switch back on and the inverter / charger was stuck on connecting with the remote and all lights were illuminated.



The remote never went beyond this screen. I turned off the batteries, and turned on the AC circuit breaker. Again, I got the same screen and it never went past this screen. So now, for safety I have removed AC power from the boat and left the battery switch off.

You know, I would love to come to my boat just once and have it working. I might pass out as I have been waiting more than 6 months for this to happen just once. I wonder what that would be like.
 

Nodak7

.
Sep 28, 2008
1,249
Hunter 41DS Punta Gorda, FL
Could you share?

Hi All Sailors,
I am not at all surprised the poor built quality, the dealers should not shoulder all the blame, if Hunter builts quality boats like Toyota or Honda than there are no issue at all. In this competitive business the the strongest will survive that is who built quility boats will normaly do well so as in auto business. Basically the Hunter has a good design, with better trained employees and managers they should have a better products. When I received my 33 last year, I was shocked by the poor workmanship and built quality. It took me a year to have them rectified. Sonny
Sonny, could you tell me what items you needed rectified? I purchased our new H33 last year and took delivery of it in May. We have issues (not as bad as decribed above) and would like to know if they are similiar to mine. I will say we are thrilled with our boat though. Though imperfect it is wonderful to sail!
 
May 31, 2004
3
Hunter 240 Rocky Fork Lake
Did Stephen King write this story? I own a Hunter 240 that has been an excellent boat, but after reading this; there is no way I would buy a new boat. The kicker is the letter finding fault with the customer. My wife and I were considering a new boat, but now I think we will wait and for one specific reason Hunter's Customer Service !! Good Luck I hope you can work it out.
 
Sep 20, 2006
2,912
Hunter 33 Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada
Did Stephen King write this story? I own a Hunter 240 that has been an excellent boat, but after reading this; there is no way I would buy a new boat. The kicker is the letter finding fault with the customer. My wife and I were considering a new boat, but now I think we will wait and for one specific reason Hunter's Customer Service !! Good Luck I hope you can work it out.

John, the OP is going through an experience that I hope no one else has to go through. Keep in mind tho, there are three parties involved here, the buyer, the dealer and Hunter. That letter was from the dealer.


Most of the problems here are a dealer trying to commission a boat from a distance, WI to FLA. New boat owners will tell you, there are many issues to be dealt with after a boat is delivered. It is much easier to fix those problems when the boat is readily available to your service techs. If you have to fly down to look at every problem, it is difficult to quickly resolve anything that comes up.

Unfortunately, the buyer bought from a dealer that he had dealt with before and trusted, the dealer wanted to sell a boat to a customer they had dealt with previously and both did not think through the outcome of their expectations. The buyer needed quick service on resolving problems on his new boat. The dealer could not fly down to Florida with each issue and ended up having others do some of their installation and service work. From what I understand, the end result is they are now talking through lawyers.

Hunter had some problems on the boat which are usually handled through the dealer.

There are many new boat owners that are very happy with their purchase from Hunter. There are many buyers that are happy with this dealer. In this case all three share some responsibility in this failed experience that does not necessarily reflect the norm of a new boat purchase.
 

Nodak7

.
Sep 28, 2008
1,249
Hunter 41DS Punta Gorda, FL
Absolutely right!

John, the OP is going through an experience that I hope no one else has to go through. Keep in mind tho, there are three parties involved here, the buyer, the dealer and Hunter. That letter was from the dealer.


Most of the problems here are a dealer trying to commission a boat from a distance, WI to FLA. New boat owners will tell you, there are many issues to be dealt with after a boat is delivered. It is much easier to fix those problems when the boat is readily available to your service techs. If you have to fly down to look at every problem, it is difficult to quickly resolve anything that comes up.

Unfortunately, the buyer bought from a dealer that he had dealt with before and trusted, the dealer wanted to sell a boat to a customer they had dealt with previously and both did not think through the outcome of their expectations. The buyer needed quick service on resolving problems on his new boat. The dealer could not fly down to Florida with each issue and ended up having others do some of their installation and service work. From what I understand, the end result is they are now talking through lawyers.

Hunter had some problems on the boat which are usually handled through the dealer.

There are many new boat owners that are very happy with their purchase from Hunter. There are many buyers that are happy with this dealer. In this case all three share some responsibility in this failed experience that does not necessarily reflect the norm of a new boat purchase.

Scott, you are absolutely correct! I purchased a new Hunter 33 last December and took delivery this past May, This was our first season on her (after having owned a Mac). Our dealer is about 500 miles away from us and there is no one closer. This has been a bit of a hassle but mostly because I had questions or concerns that I wanted to share with him. Yes we have had a couple of issues but overall the boat has been good and solid. We just love it and would do it again. I read this through pretty closely to see if there might be something I am overlooking. He does get into a few things that I would not have had an issue with but the refrigerator problem I did experience. I am still working with my dealer on it and I feel confident it will be rectified. So, yes this owner has had problems but he is definitely not the norm. For the money I was willing to spend it was the best boat available to us. I think it has lived up to its expectations (both dealer and boat) quite well.
 

Ed B.

.
Jun 21, 2010
1
N/A N/A N/A
Follow-Up???

I am new to this forum and may be in the market for a Hunter 33. I am curious if you ever got a resolution to all of your issues?

Thanks and good luck if not!
 
Jun 10, 2004
135
Hunter 30_74-83 Shelburne
Blaming the guy who bought 3 boats from you for "trying to save money" by having the boat delivered in FL is really ludicrous. Obviously he would save money, the boat never had to be moved. He doesn't decide whether Racine takes trades, Racine does. They do it to sell more boats. He probably would have gotten less money for his 29 had he sold it outright in WI and bought a new boat in FL from a local dealer, but Racine wouldn't have stood to make a dime. If Racine agreed to the transaction with all it's known perils, they did it for their own potential profit. Racine is not saying they have some extra cost relating to the traded boat that they wouldn't have with every boat they take in in trade, because they don't. Unless Racine warned HunterBlows in unequivocal terms that the transaction would become a nightmare for him as soon as all the profit evaporated and there was a high probability it might, they are blaming their customer for a decision they made alone. The cost of shipping a 29 foot sailboat is peanuts compared to the issues that HunterBlows will be contending with long after Racine and Hunter stop bellying up for this boats defects. And Hunter's response time and competence to the refer, engine, A/C, floorboard, windlass and inverter problems does not instill confidence.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.