OK, here goes. About a half mile into the sea trial, an alarm sounded, and and icon on the Honda digital gauge was blinking. Looking it up in the manual showed it as the water separator alarm. Water in the tank had overwhelmed the Racor and tripped the float in the Honda separator. At least we made it back to the dock. The dealer siphoned out some (most?) of the water, but it is I still need to drain the water from the Racor every few miles. Next were the scratches in the port windshield. Pointed out to the dealer, he replied "huh". I asked the rigging mechanic if he had rigged the water heater drain, and he said it came from the factory that way. (See photo album).
So I was sent home with a 2003 Load-Rite trailer that had been used and sold to me as new. The trailer tracked real strait, probably due to the 580 pound tongue weight. I happened to be under the trailer in my driveway, (fixing the short in the trailer running light circuit), when I spotted the crack running the full length of the keel. It was pretty easy to spot because the lousy wax job made it stand out much better. Next I pulled a deck hatch to see why water was getting in, and found an oversize cutout and an undersized caulk bead and no sealant on the screws. These are just a few of the more obvious deficiencies that I have noticed in the 7 days that I have owned this boat.
I'm sorry if all my posts have been negative, but I still think that this boat is the right one for me. I just hope that the dealer and the factory will do right by me. I will most certainly let you know.
Brady on Minnow
