BoatFloat Boat lifts Dan Vinnik Lift is falling apart after 6 MONTHS. Seller NOT honoring warranty. Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
I purchased a Boatfloat in May 2012. I gave them all my boat's specifications and they sold me the model they deemed appropriate. After several delays I received the KIT for it in SEPTEMBER and had to hire two men to assemble it. When I purchased the boatfloat, their website's video stated that it would be "DELIVERED TO THE DOCKSIDE COMPLETELY ASSEMBLED". It ended up costing me over $1,000 for boat yard and assembly costs.
A week after I towed it and installed it at my dock, a gap started to form between two of the floats. I also noticed that the outboard propeller would always stay half way in the water and that the lift barely lifted the hull above the water. Mr. Dan Vinnik (whom I believe is the company's owner) sent a repairman to fix the gap, but it started forming again after a few days.
On October 5th I informed Mr. Vinnik that the gap was just as big as when it got fixed. After several emails, Mr. Vinnik finally sent another repairman in DECEMBER. By this time the gap had gotten so big that the locking mechanism had fallen off and two of the floats seemed to be about to float away. The repairman also had to fix one of the carpeted boards where the boat sits. It had fallen off. I had to keep my boat in storage for weeks.
The float worked okay until early February, when the gap came back. I informed Mr. Vinnik about it. I also told him about some leaks in the pump and that the lift was even lower than before, making the bottom of the hull sit on the water. Mr. Vinnik then emailed me saying that my boat was too heavy for the lift, so he was VOIDING THE WARRANTY and he would not pay for any further repairs.
Mr. Vinnik "believes" the boat's manufacturer (Bayliner) specs are wrong. I think he's just using this as an excuse to avoid paying for further repairs. I bought the boat NEW in December 2011 and have not added ANYTHING to it to make it heavier. The float is now falling apart in my rented dock- The gap is getting bigger and two of the four carpeted bunks are gone. Even Boatfloat's OWN MECHANIC stated that the product's design is flawed. I'm now having to pay for dry storage again and dont know what to do with this $12,000 piece of junk.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Arturo
United States of AmericaReply to Boatfloat's rebuttal
#3Author of original report
Thu, March 07, 2013
Mr. Vinnik is calculating the weight of my boat based on some rough measurements he asked me to make. More specifically, how far the waterline is from the top of the float. I sent him these measurements but told him that they were just approximations because the water at my marina is rarely calm.
I sent him these measurements on November 6th and on the 9th he replied:
On May 11, you sent an e-mail in which you stated that the weight of your boat was 6,479# dry to which we added the weight of liquids to total 7,180#.
Unfortunately, your vessel weighs 9,380# per the attached calculation.
How can my boats wet weight be over 2,000 lbs more than what they originally calculated based on the boat manufacturers dry weight specs??
As I stated before I bought the boat new and have not made any additions to it to make it heavier. When I first got the boatfloat and saw that the lift barely raised the hull above the water, I drained all the holding tanks and used up most of the gas to see if it would make a difference. It did not make a noticeable difference at all.
The mechanics statement about the boatfloats design came straight from an email conversation between him and Mr. Vinnik. For some reason Mr. Vinnik himself cc'd this email to me with one of his replies. This is a direct quote from that email:
The top brackets when tightened have no absolute holding or gripping strength as it is merely two straight surfaces squeezing together. This design needs improvement for turbulent rocking Sir.
I originally hired this handyman and his assistant to assemble the boatfloat. I found him on Angieslist and picked him because of all his good reviews there. Mr. Vinnik agreed to personally supervise these guys to assemble the boatfloat. He thought they did a good job so he subsequently hired him as his area repair man.
Nowhere on their website or in the sales contract did it say that they were selling kits. I found that out after I paid a $6,245 deposit and I received a pdf document by email with the assembly instructions. Thats when I voiced my opinion and Mr. Vinnik agreed to personally supervise the assembly. It took the four of us a whole day to put this thing together. I can't imagine how long it would have taken if Mr. Vinnik had not been there to tell us exactly what to do.
In the last email from Mr. Vinnik, dated March 6, 2013, there is a link at the end that takes me to their promotional video, which still states that the boatfloat is quickly delivered and installed.
I NEVER refused to get my boat weighted. I was going to do it last week but Mr. Vinnik said that it had to be done under their supervision. I WILL get it weighted for the arbitration process, and well see if Bayliner lies about their product's specs.
BoatFloat Boatlifts
Ponte Vedra Beach,Florida,
United States of America
BoatFloat Boatlifts false report
#3UPDATE Employee
Wed, March 06, 2013
The customer's complaint is false.
Customer, in writing, represented his boat to weigh 6,479 pounds and was sold our 7,500 pound maximum capacity BoatFloat which was the correct size for that weight.
In reality, his boat is 2,200 pounds heavier than the maximum capacity of the lift. The customer acknowledged in writing in his Sales Agreement that excess boat weight will void our warranty.
Free assembly supervision was provided by the factory to satisfy his erroneous understanding that we would be delivering a fully assembled lift, notwithstanding the fact that he only paid for a kit (per the Sales Agreement).
We provided warranty service prior to determining the customers' true vessel weight. Problem re-occurred due to excessive weight.
The mechanics alleged statements quoted by customer, if actually made, were those from a handyman that customer had hired from Angie's List to assemble the lift under our Company's supervision. He has no knowledge of our product from any other experience and is not qualified to make design criticism.
Customer refuses to weigh the boat himself and refuses to arbitrate his claims.