Walker Bay Warranty: Sunburnt RIB Tubes

[Pete R]

Is this a good place to post that my 30-yr-old Nor'easter fiberglass dinghy looks and works brandy new? I thought not.

[Stillraining]

Is this a good place to post that my 30-yr-old Nor'easter fiberglass dinghy looks and works brandy new? I thought not.

LOL...

But thanks for reviving the thread ..it was a good read and educational..Not the type of good will response I want to hear about from a home state Company.

I think they could have did better for the poor fellow and saved face..All I can think of is they were afraid to get stuck doing it for many, many more..sounds like PVC should be pulled from the tropical markets to me...or offered without warranty period.

FWIW I may never buy another Zodiac either..there coustomer service for us having to deal across the pond is like what the OP experienced with Walker bay.

[DeborahLee]

If you read Walker Bays guarantee you'll soon learn that it is usless. They advertise 5yrs 10 yrs but the guarantee list 10 reasons it won't be honored. These ten cover everything so forget it. The eleventh is "attack by sea monster" just incase you should find a way around it.
I puchased a Walker Bay and the first time I towed it the second time it was in the water the D ring tore out. I had to go through my state Atty. General to get it fixed. The repair shop after repairing it inflated it and discovered seams coming apart and two Hull Identification Numbers. One saying it was a 2007 and the other a 2008 model. Guess which year I paid for. I'm still waiting for them to refund my money for the D ring repair, I only sent them a bill for one D ring even though I had both replaced. They are no longer talking with me and it is now back in the hands of my state Atty. General.
If you purchased yours with a VISA card you might want to check with them as they usually double the guarantee or will return your money. GOOD LUCK and CHECK BOTH YOUR HIN'S

[CarlF]

To provide an alternative view, I've owned a Walker Bay RIB for two years and have been very pleased. It handles better and is drier than my old Avon 3.11. Quality is at least as good as the Avon - maybe a bit better (I'm not sure about Avon today but in 2001 they were turning out great boats).

It seems that the Deborah's complaint is that a glued D ring pulled off while towing. This is hardly an unheard of event. While it may have been faulty manufacture -- it could also have been because an outboard was left on, the bridle wasn't set up right, an odd wave, or even rainwater weight in the dinghy. It's also cheap and easy to fix with a tube of glue from West Marine in less time than she's spent filing complaints. My Walker Bay RIB has a large stainless tow eye through bolted in the solid hull. A much better tow point.

I'm also confused why a boat built in 2007 or 2008 has just seen water. Did the dealer really have a 3 year old new boat in inventory or is this in some way used? Most manufacturers only warranty the first owner for obvious reasons. And if new, why didn't Deborah first call her dealer instead of going to Walker Bay? Maybe she did.

As to the first poster's unhappy experience, buying a inflatable dinghy made from anything but Hypalon is a mistake you only make once. It's not uncommon to see Hypalon dinghies that are well past their 10th birthday. He evidently got 2 1/2 years from PVC exposed full time to the sun. That's better than average in my experience. Hypalon is amazing stuff and the only suitable choice for full time sun exposure. I would agree that manufacturers (and almost all make PVC versions) should put a big sign on the PVC dinghies that says "Do not leave in sun".

Should Walker Bay have done more? Perhaps but in both complaints there seems to be unrealistic expectations and -- at least in Deborah's case - an aggressive litigious approach that rarely leads to a "win-win" conclusion.

I've got no relation to Walker Bay except happily owning one.

Carl

[DeborahLee]

Too answer the questions Carl raised. The boat was purchased as a left over in Sept of 2009 as a 2008 model. It saw the water in June of 2010. The D ring didn't pull away from the glue the web strap that it goes around shredded. Where the D ring was welded together it was off set with a sharp edge pulling against the strap cutting it. There was no motor on the dingy no rain water and seas were fairly calm, I don't tow in rough water. The problem with the HIN is that if it is checked by DNR or Coast Guard it appears that it could be stolen. The repair shop questioned me about this when they found the different numbers they are supposed to report those sort of things. With the other seams seperating it makes one wonder how old the boat really is? After buying it I learned that this model was discontinued and the dealer stop selling Walker Bay because of problems which is why I had to go to Walker Bay. I've been somewhat in the middle. This is also why I've had to go to the Atty. General. I glad you got a good one but even BMW has a lemon once in every so many.

[rebel heart]

I got a WB 8 for $400 with a sail kit. It's performed great and for the money it can't be beat.

[zeehag]

i got my walker bay 8 ft withut warrantee and with my solitary bird-- who needs a warrantee ???? lol never tow a dink --is what i learned even before i bought my first one..... is what happens- they get gone.many , even most times, not to be found by owner, whether alleged or real owner..... go figger.

[Mata'irea]

Just to second Carl's experience -

During the 5 years that we have owned our Walker Bay Genesis RIB we have had several replacement parts provided to us and repairs done under warranty. Our experiences with Walker Bay's warranty representatives have always been professional and positive.

[DeborahLee]

That was one reason I went with Walker Bay was I thought I was getting a quality product from a reliable company. Not one that was changing HIN's to clear out old stock as new on discontinued models that had seams coming apart. Defender has been very helpful in trying to get Walker Bay to honor the warranty but to no avail one reason why they no longer handle Walker Bay. If you read back over some of the older post I am experiencing some of the same problems. It took me over three months to get their address Shame I didn't check here first. This wasn't my first dingy it was my third and I only bought it to have a larger motor. My last Boat US dingy is still good after 10 years. The Zodiac I had went 15 years PVC 15 years because of good care. The Walker Bay less than 30 days.

[bstreep]

Originally Posted by DeborahLee

It took me over three months to get their address Shame I didn't check here first.

I just googled it:

Walker Bay Boats Street Address: 717 Butterfield City: Yakima Province/State: Washington Country/Region: United States Zip: 98901 Telephone: 1-604-682-5699 Fax: 1-604-683-1877

That being said, if you have a new (first time owner) dinghy with TWO serial numbers, you DO have a problem - and so does Walker Bay. Now that you have their address, file a complaint with their local BBB. I've files against companies before, and had decent results.

[Tomaz473]

1. About two HIN plates: The hull alone is one boat with rated capacity (motor, people, ..). When you add a tube you get a new boat with higher capacity rating and therefore needs a new HIN plate.
I bought my WB 310 RIB in Europe and the dealer had to remove old HIN (hull can be bought without a tube) and to install new HIN when adding a tube.
You get new HIN plate with the tube.
So in your case it might be that the hull was one year older and the tube newer. Nothing fishy to me.

But I have another problem: I bought also a sail kit. I hammered out the keel insert in the bottom (as shown in the instructions), but can not remove the insert in the middle of the boat.
Anyone had a similar problem?

[DeborahLee]

Here in the US the HIN are 2 seperate plates that should match, the plate bearing capacity engine size etc is a seperate plate and this model you can't change tubes. The repair shop said they are supposed to check both because people were stealing them and changing the plate on the transom that is most often checked by the police. There must be some reason they discontinued this model. I read in here that they were having trouble with the transom angle. Plus I'm still waiting for the check they said was in the mail for the first repair of which they are only paying $150 out of $225. They still haven't address the seams that are coming apart either. I think they believe that if they ignore someone long enough they will go away.

[Lancerbye]

I also have a WB Genesis RIB with Hypalon. It gets a lot of use and only one small problem with the oarlocks shortly after the purchase. New parts were replaced with no hassles. I had seen the results of diesel fumes destroying a PVC Zodiac inflatable. So being aware of that problem I would never purchase a PVC inflatable. I personally think they shouldn't be sold by anyone. I was wondering if the softening of the PVC by the OP was only due to UV or if diesel exhaust fumes had a contributing factor.

[DeborahLee]

Just wanted to post an update to our problem with Walker Bay. They were usless period. Defender stepped up to the plate and refunded my purchase price and took the Walker Bay back. I lost money on the repairs and sales tax but consider it a good trade off. I purchased an Achilles from them and have towed it with the same bridle and painter that Walker bay said I was towing their dingy wrong with. Towed it for over 25 hours in some pretty good chop and NO damage. I did like the design of the WB but it was a piece of crap that was falling apart and Walker Bay didn't want to be a real Company when it came to dealing with it. They just discontinued the model and could care less about their customers. On the other hand Defender is a company that is concerned about their reputation and will work with you to protect it. Can't say enough good about defender.

[CarlF]

I continue to be extremely happy with my Walker Bay hypalon Genesis RIB. No warranty issues. Looks and works like new after almost three years of hard use. By far the best dinghy I've ever had (including Avon and Caribe). If it falls apart tomorrow, I'd be pretty unhappy but so far so good.

While it's a shame you had so much trouble, I think there are lessons:

Defender is my "go to" supplier but I would never buy a "left over" dinghy from them in a line they are dumping (they dumped Garmin this year). Lowest price is not always a good idea.

PVC is not a suitable material for a dinghy that will see hard use or be left outdoors. People with an unhappy inflatable story almost always bought PVC.

Never assume a dinghy's is built to be towed. Many people (including me) don't tow their dinghy. In your situation, "Built for offshore towing" would have been a top buying criteria.

Carl