Just picked up my new Necky Zoar Sport LV from the dealer tonight after having it on layaway for what seems like ages. New boat - very exciting! Except…
My husband was looking at the hull and discovered two “bubbles” - bumps on the hull that appear to be caused by the bolts that hold the seat in place. They’re not huge, but definitely there. One of the bumps is scratched, which seems to be evidence that that area does get more abrasion because of its protuberance. Husband (who is an engineer and pretty smart guy) says plastic is very durable if it is smooth, but anything that puts pinpoint pressure on an area will eventually cause it to fail. He thinks I should return it to the dealer.
I wanted to get a second opinion (well, third actually, thanks RR)… is this something I should be concerned about? The dealer has a good reputation and is a nice guy; I’m pretty sure he would take it back if I wanted to return it.
AND if I do return it, do I order another one? Was that one just defective and the rest are fine, or will they all be that way?
HELP!
Donna
you’re probably ok
if it makes you feel better, take it in to the shop, by all means, but I think what you’ll discover is that the beauty of polyethylene boats is that even small deformations (which is what it sounds like you’re talking about - the material flexing to accomodate a screw head) aren’t a big deal. There’s essentially NO stress in the area you’re talking about, and without a fair amount of movement and stress, there’s no way the material will break (hubby’s concern).
I’ve literally seen poly kayaks go flying off cars on a highway (not mine, thankfully) and emerge after a 60 mph collision with the pavement with no more than a few scratches. Biggest danger to polyethlene boats is the cold - here in the midwest, we make sure that no one goes to move their poly boat on a -20 day, since the extreme cold can make the material brittle, and prone to breakage from impact.
The boat’s covered under a 3 year warranty in any case, so if you don’t feel the need to take it back, you can start using it right away knowing that Necky will take care of issues having to deal with possible manufacturing defects. Since Necky’s part of the Johnson Outdoors group, there’s not much chance the line will be going under anytime soon…
I know Necky is a good company
as I have had dealings with them before and was very pleased with the outcome. (That’s why I’m on my second Necky kayak.)
Thanks for the input. I think I will run it by the dealer, if only to go on record as telling him about the “bumps” so if it would fail (a year or two from now) hopefully he will remember I expressed concern about it. Or should I put something in writing? Maybe e-mail…
Donna