Spoke with one of the owners of SDB last week and had a very good conversation. They arranged to have the boat fixed at a local shop and cover all the charges. On that end of things I think they've handled the sitauation well. Thanks to Jason for that.

Now, for the fixing. I tore the rest of the flooring and foam out yesterday. I discovered some things that explain a lot about this boat. If you look at the stringers, they go all the way to the transom. It is almost impossible for water to drain from the outside "channels" in the floor. I washed the floor with a hose and you can see the results in the side pockets and the rear of the hull. I think the water that gets trapped in those areas can weigh the hull down a lot.
What do yall recommend for fixing the draining issue? I'm planning on drilling some 3/8" holes in the stringers by the transom.
As for the bracing, I'm thinking of having the bracing between the stringers similiar to the seat base bracing. It shows in red where I was planning on putting those. That way I can have one flat piece of .100 decking riveted in. Skip the foam and go with stiffer decking.
Any more advice? C'mon FE's this is your chance to shine

Man if i were you I'd sell that thing to the scrap yard and get a V bow Phowler like Willets!

That sure is a good lookin crown you have there. I would be more worried about that bad boy.

let them pay to fix it, put the floor back in, and cut your losses. You're never going to win with long runners that are in pieces, and not one solid piece of material the length of the boat.

are they using like mini I-beam peices for the runners? might be just the way the pics were taken just looks like it

Why is there only the one cross brace in front of your seat pods then nothing in middle?

Dunno if those pods are welded all way to transom one other drain problem you have is underneath those because they didnt seal off the fronts to keep water out and certainly has no place for water to go.

i beams

C channel on edge for the stringers.

If you read the other thread, the front cross brace broke loose.

The rear pods are not welded to the stringers in any way.

sink the bitch, collect the insurance money and tell Marketfucker to call me

I have a 1650 PolarKrap in the back yard....You interested.

Dats a forked up boat!!! Get it fixed and dump dat thing!!

Id worry about those 3/8" holes clogging with mud and vegetation. I think you will need alot bigger hole than that to do the job. Sorry, but Man Im glad I didnt pull the trigger on the SDB when I was looking at them. They almost had me talked into a 1860, said it was the toughest boat made. Would handle most anything I could throw at it

Sorry about your boat, I really am. If I where you ID cut my loses and get a new boat. S#cks but I think that would be your best bet.

Well, they're paying to fix it. I won't sell it until it's right. I wouldn't feel right selling the boat knowing it had serious structural issues. Once I feel it's good, we'll see. I'm not really out anything. I've used the boat for almost three years.
Any actual advice on the best fix other than scuttling it?

I would definitely agree with scabbing those Ibeams together at the seams. piece of plate along the web on both sides. put bracing over the top like a PD boat.

WHAT THE FUK IS THAT

No offense Mud....but that's a fine piece of shit they built you

I would like to see a close up of the welds where the two peices meet up and has that crimp in the bottom

Also just now noticed this but why the heck did the weld a peice of whatver it is i-beam/c-channel in front of the transom when that should be the strongest part of the entire boat plus its creating your drain problem...i thought you were having problems draining because of the runners bein run all the way to the transom (again just now noticed that)

Obviously because they don't know how to build a fukin boat


I woulda double welded that floor on there so no one else woulda seen it either....dang

Dropped it off at a local boat builder today. He's gonna make it right. SDB is making it right.

Update:
Got the boat to the local shop. His suggestion was to weld in 4 new 2x3 box stringers the whole length of the floor. Several welds on the orginal stringers are cracked so he suggested re-welding those and cutting the stringers back at an angle at the transom so water can drain to the drain hole. Or put in a drain on each side. Re-foam with blue foam that won't waterlog and then a solid floor.
He spoke with Markethunter and I thought we were good to go. Jason and I have a phone conversation and he tells me they will pay 475.00 since there is some depreciation involved in the hull. Not knowing the total amount I called my local guy and he tells me that the total is $950. They're only paying for 1x3 and they're not paying for the foam replacement or the new floor since I tore it out.
He said that Markethunter also told them that they'd had issues with some of the hulls built by the guy that built my hull and that they no longer use him. They also don't build hulls this way anymore.
In my opinion, the hull was built wrong the second they welded that butt splice in the stringers. (As my man said, if they had at least flipped the butt splices so 2 were in the back and 2 in the front it wouldn't have been AS bad)
The cross braces cracked after running in open water at Lake Anna. In the note they sent to the local shop, they made mention that the hull was dented from the bottom. As if that's the reason the boat fell apart. It has been insinuated several times that I'm abusing the boat or using it in some manner inconsistent with its design. 131 hours on the Pro-Drive BTW. Mostly all open water running.
Now, they only want to pay part of the fix. The way it was put to me was I was taking in a Ford and expecting a Mercury to come back. Better foam and a heavier gauge floor. Plus the fact that I tore the floor up somehow made this more expensive.
Bottom line, the floor had to come out to get to the stringers. The foam was waterlogged. I told Jason I'm not asking for upgrades I just want the boat to perform like the almost 6 grand hull I paid for. Yes, the hull is three years old. The problem has been around the whole time.
I'll be at the local shop tomorrow.

Hate to hear it. You must not have been on the recall list for known problems. I thought they were the boat building gurus.

who is sdb?

Southern Douche Bags AKA Southern Duck Boats.

Sounds similar to Willy's deal. Hope it all works out for you. SBD should pay any and all costs as if you say it was defective from the start. Just my opinion.

Got a check for $475 in the mail with completed warranty paperwork when I got home.
I guess I get to eat the oher half.
Oh well.

It would cost more to recover the remainder in legal fees than the payout.
Caveat emptor.

Hey, sorry we built you an inferior, weak ass boat. Oh, and by the way, we fired the incompetant A-hole that was building the boats. Oh, and also, we don't even use that design anymore, cause we know it's a P.O.S.

But as far as getting it fixed, well, that's on you.

Good day sir!!

sorry to hear about this. I was looking at their boats too. I hope everything gets worked out the best it can. I would get it fixed and cut my losses. Not that I follow my own advice but......

file in small claims court in VA and make them spend the money to come to you. IIRC it costs $100 to file.

I would just whup the man's butt.

How's it goes ~ Curiostity kilt the cat ..... But satifaction broughts him back !!!

no wonder Market Hunter dont come around here


why didnt they issue a recall when they knew they had a defective builder ?

btw your signature aint helping your cause