My new Hobie Revo hull warped!

Demonick,

I understand why you're upset. What I don't understand is why you haven't fixed the boat yet. Both MMiller, and Jbernier are Site admin's, so I'm assuming that they both work for Hobie, and they've both tried to tell you how to fix the boat. That's not getting "brushed off" by Hobie, that's outstanding customer service. There aren't many industries who offer to help the way that jbernier did even though it's not a warranty issue.

The standard procedure with any Hobie issue is to go to the dealer first. That's why they sent you there. When you came to the forum, you had two employees offer what knowledge they could to fix the issue.

You should be out enjoying the fixed boat by now! Like I said, I get that you're upset, but it sounds like it's not a warranty issue, so do what you can to fix the boat, and then get out there and enjoy it. The summer is too short as it is!

I think it's time to stop trying to get things covered under warranty, and just get the boat fixed so that it looks and works like new.

_________________

Neither MMiller nor JBernier brushed me off. They have both been as helpful as they could be. My first email contact with Hobie felt like a brushoff and I would suggest Hobie do a bit of training in that regard. A simple email template would be sufficient. I would even help them write it. When dealing with customers perception is reality.

Also, no where did I state I thought it was a warranty issue, though that was my first reaction. It may still be a warranty issue but the only way to determine that is through non-destructive testing of the hull thickness in the affected area. I am looking into it. Hobie does not believe me when I state I have not abused the boat. I am not new to plastic kayaks and I have had absolutely no issues with my T13. What I do suspect is that my problem with the Revo is due to a DESIGN flaw. In that case replacing the boat will change nothing. My point in posting here was two-fold. First to determine if Hobie thought it was a warranty issue. Second, and this is a separate issue from my own, was to try and convince Hobie that it was reasonable of a new customer to expect to be able to store their boat on a well padded cart without straps in a cool covered location without damage. Basically, Hobie's position is ANY hull down storage of the boat is abuse. By that definition I would guess most Hobie owners are abusing their boats. (Check out the Caddilyaks subforum on AquaHunters forum for examples.) I think that is an unreasonable position and is the result of a product design flaw. A smart manufacturer would adjust one's product to the expectations of an expanding marketplace. That was my ultimate point, and it was meant to be helpful. It is advice from someone who has been in a customer service business over 20 years. Customers do the damnedest things. When a large portion or a majority of your customers have expectations different from the manufacturer's, it may be time for a design modification. This is the process by which fishing kayaks came to be. It is simple product evolution.

The fact that I have not yet had the opportunity to try and fix the boat is irrelevant to the issues I raised. In the interim if I had the time to kayak fish I could just use my T13. However, a combination of weather (little sunshine in western WA) and scheduling (work/travel) has prevented me from trying the black plastic/sunny day and/or hair dryer tricks on the Revo. I would rather not try pouring a few gallons of boiling water over the hull until safer alternatives have been explored. I have located local sources of high density closed-cell foam to keep the boat in the proper shape once fixed. I also have an aviation inner tube off a small plane that may work even better/easier than the foam. Unfortunately this coming weekend I am on an ocean salmon powerboat trip. When time allows fixing the Revo is my highest priority.

The issue has been resolved.

We have had a run of sunny weather here which coincided with some time off. When I got the Revo out of the garage and upside down on the lawn I found the hull had mostly returned to its original profile. I covered it with a layer of black plastic and let it sit a few hours.

I had a small aircraft inner tube available so I flipped the boat over and stuffed the deflated inner tube into the rear hatch, positioning it flat just forward of the edge of the hatch. I inflated it with a hand pump until the hull profile was relatively normal. It provides a good support for the hull in the sensitive area behind the live well scuppers. At a later time I may replace the inner tube with some closed cell foam or a different shaped air bag.