I just purchased a new Perception Essence 16.5 Airalite (ABS)from a dealer and had it shipped to me. While inspecting the boat at the freight terminal after I had unwrapped it I found that the cockpit coaming on the left side from the thigh brace back about 14" had separated from the deck. It looks like the glue job was very inadequate in this area. It was not a shipping issue. I can move the coaming a bit in this area.
I’m waiting to hear from the dealer or Perception about how to reglue this area but I was wondering if anyone can give me any ideas about what type of adhesive I should use to make this repair. I really like the boat otherwise, I just need to get this fixed.
Thanks for any suggestions.
West G-flex would be one good option.
You might want to use the thickened variety if you don’t have quality thickening agents.
But I’d be talking to the maker and the shipper about a replacement for that boat.
HUHHHH???
The complacency and willingness to accept shitty workmanship by the kayak buying public never fails to both amaze and upset me. if you bought a new car and the damn bumper fell off on the way home, would you fix it yourself? Of course not! So why in the hell would you accept the responsibility and expense in time and money to fix a defective, shoddy kayak? Make the friggin manufacturer fix it, or replace it. If enough people started demanding decent quality with ZERO defects being the acceptable norm, maybe the boat makers would start paying attention to the crap they currently are ok with shipping. You should be as outraged at this defect as you would be with a new car falling apart on delivery! It’s pretty amazing how many posts similar to this one show up on this board.
I agree send it back and
have them send you a new boat. That is ridiculous.
Coaming repair
If I had paid full price for the boat I’d be telling them to come get it. But since I got a great deal on it I don’t mind repairing it or getting it repaired locally as long as Perception stands behind the repair. I’ve offered to drive it back to the factory to get it fixed, but I have not had any response back from the manufacturer yet. I’ve sent an email direct to Perception, hopefully I’ll hear something soon.
And it is not even a Romany 
We used to hear this sort of thing about NDK boats all the time. It seems as if quality of manufacture has actually improved in recent years. I’ve read/heard of fewer complaints about boats from respected designer/ manufacturers.
So you get on the phone and
dial the number that they say to call if you have a problem and you get the following like I did today when I was trying to put a nozzel on the end of a high pressure sprayer and it wouldn’t fit;
- Press 1 for english or 2 for espaniol
- Press 1 if I am a consumer, 2 if I am a salesman, 3 if other
-Press 1 if it is a technical problem, 2 if it is a service problem, 3 if I want to hear answers to common questions or 4 to speak with a rep.
So I press 4 and I get all reps are busy now, One should be available in approximately six minutes
Cheers,
Jack L
Then at the end of tem minutes I hung up.
So you got a deal…
Did you buy the boat new? Then the amount you paid has absolutely nothing to do with the need to accept sub-par quality. MAKE THEM MAKE IT GOOD!!! For all of our benefits. Broken merchandise should not be sold. Period! But if everyone is willing to put up with it, the manufacturers have no reason to improve their processes. Please make them do the right thing.
making some progress
I’ve exchanged a couple of emails with my local NC Perception rep this evening and I think we are on the way to a solution.
Unfortunately, the New England dealer where I purchased the boat has not really been any help at all, and not been easy to communicate with. Not sure I will want to do business with them again. Unfortunately, this boat was not available from my local dealer.
Saw the same on a Pungo abs kayak
The quality control on some Confluence boats is heinous but this should have been noticed by the vendor unless they simply drop kicked the wrapped boat to you.
Something for folks to consider when looking at the “great deal” for mail order kayaks is that you get to assume the financial risk that retail shops go through with shipping and QC f@ckups.
When buying plastic kayaks consider
Eastern Mountain Sports and LL Bean and other retailers that actually provide a satisfaction guarantee and that actually have a store in you local area. I had a wonderful experience with EMS under similar circumstances.
Perception made good
Just to follow-up on my loose cockpit rim. While the dealer I purchased the boat from in RI was no help at all (won’t do business with them again), my regional Perception rep for NC working with Get:Outdoors (local dealer) here in Greensboro arranged for Perception to replace the boat with a new one.
I drove down to the factory in SC last Wednesday and exchanged the boat and also transported an order of 6 new boats GO had ordered back to Greensboro. I thought that was the least I could do to say thanks for Get:Outdoor’s help with a boat they did not sell. Good people to visit if you are in central NC.
I’m happy with my new kayak and very satisfied how Perception stood behind their products.
Better tell us who the dealer was
It’s a service to all of us to know how dealers handle problems like this.
local dealers
Glad things sort of worked out.
The silly thing to me is that three parties were made responsible for fixing this, and none of them was the dealer who sold the broken boat! You spent your time to drive all over the place, delivering boats and getting yours fixed. The rep spent his time making the arrangements. And the local dealer got you sorted out.
I understand the lure of a good price, but I just can’t imagine getting something like a kayak from the internet, instead of dealing with your local dealer in the first place. They can likely order exactly the boat you want. And if you have a problem, they’ll deal with it for you. That’s what you’re paying them for. The guy in RI sells it cheaper, but then he relies on everyone else to provide service when there’s a problem with his sale.
/endrant
Nate
Agreed
And please, can we have the name of the RI dealer who wouldn’t help you out? He should reap the reward of his non-existent customer service. Plus, you’ll be helping other buyers avoid the trouble you went through.
Kayak Centre
The dealer I purchased the boat from via an eBay auction was Kayak Center in Warwick, RI. It was sold as a new boat, and I believe they had a responsibility to help me resolve the problem.
I have no idea how they treat customers that purchase from their retail store, but I have certainly learned not to purchase a new kayak from a dealer that I cannot deal with personally. I was sucked in by what I thought was a good deal, and I have learned an important lesson.
That’s surprising…
…as they are well-known and used to have a great reputation. I haven’t been there in several years, so perhaps that has changed.