Stingray problems...

[John Kasprzyk]

Please do your homework before buying a Stingray boat. In particular,
pay careful attention to the hull integrity before buying. If you own a
Stingray 240LS, you may want to examine the transom area for cracking.
Our 2000 Stingray 240LS is unusable and has been since we bought it.
We've had to retain a lawyer to resolve this with PFC, Inc doing
business as Stingray Boats. Caveat Emptor!

John

[Spooky]

"John Kasprzyk" <kasp...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:3B5F6D18...@ix.netcom.com...

Was it a new boat?
What caused the cracks? Design fault or misuse?

Spooky

>
> John
>

[Jerry Steele]

Cracks where exactly? How deep? Cosmetic or structural, and who made that
assessment?

[Dave Hall]

I'll add in on this one as well. I had a 1995 698zp, which after one
season of use in the Chesapeake Bay developed fine cracks along the
lifting strakes on the hull bottom.

Stingray boats are known for their ability to squeeze the most MPH from
the available engines. They credit this to their "ZP" hull design, but I
suspect that it has more to do with a very light fiberglass layup. The
hull is light and will jump out of the water with just a goose of the
throttle. But the downside is that it allows the hull to flex more than
it should, and the gelcoat cracks are a result.

If you use the boat of a relatively calm lake or river, with nothing
more than other small boat wakes to contend with, you should be ok. But
if you intend to run with the big boys, in open water, a Stingray is not
IMHO the best choice.

Dave

[John Kasprzyk]

Jerry Steele wrote:

Major structural cracks - the assesment was made by Horan Marine
Surveyors, Inc. of McClean, VA.

The survey says ..."laminate to core debonding, almost full length, port side

plywood to transom laminate interface." ... "we detected severe and alarming
longitudinal running stress fatigue crack, port bow. An identical parallel
crack
is also developing starboard side, however, the port side contains a large
number
of cracks in a series running a distance of approximately 4 feet. ... "

...

Cause of Deficiencies:

... "We suspect that laminate technicians simply neglected to properly mate
bond the entire port side transom pannel before installation of second ply
member and inside encapsulating covering. Above average number of air pocket
voids, most predominately in the chines, are also indicative of low quality
control, improper, incomplete laminate layout/bonding at time of
construction. ... continued navigational use without inside reinforcement
repairs may lead to a hull structural failure in the near future."

I wish the surveyor had given me an electronic copy of the survey so I could
publish it easier.

Thanks for your interest,

John

[John Kasprzyk]

Dave Hall wrote:

Hi Dave,

I agree with you completely. The sad fact for us has been that the boat
has structural failures without even getting on the water, but for a few
miles!

John

[Dave Hall]

In retrospect, I was only assuming that the stress cracks on my boat
were a result of the pounding it received while on the Chesapeake Bay.
They very well could have occured as a result of the "pounding" it
received on the trailer, going and coming from there. In any case, the
boat seems to flex more than it should and gelcoat, being somewhat
rigid, will crack as a result. I don't know if these cracks are any more
serious than surface gelcoat.

I traded my boat in on a Checkmate the next year before I found out the
hard way if the hull was going to give me serious trouble.

Dave