New iTrek 9-concerning workmanship

I purchased an iTrek 9 (my very first Hobie) 2 days ago at my local dealer who mentioned that Hobie had warned him some of the first production run might have some "crooked handles and other cosmetic defects" in his words but were not being sold as defective. Well I didn't inflate at the dealer, but got around to inflating it in my living room tonight and found that there are many small flaws in workmanship (this I say comparing it to my Zodiac PVC and Achilles Hypalon boats, and my Bote inflatable paddleboard) mainly involving areas that have not been glued down evenly (rubbing strip, d-ring and handle attachements), but what is for me a dealbreaker is that the Mirage drive well is crooked when the boat is inflated. It was clearly not centered when it was glued in and the drive tilts to the right-- probably by about 10 degrees. This boat costed $2200 + tax and I am quite disappointed this was shipped out as a first quality item. I'm not interested in spending the next few years pedaling a boat with a crooked drive. If the dealer knew this I wish he had given me a heads up. The constrained supply made me overly excited to buy this as soon as it was available.
I'm going to contact him tomorrow and either swap it out if he has an acceptable replacement, but if he doesn't have one with a straight drive well, I might just ditch this idea and get a refund until production quality improves. Anyone else run into this problem

Get it back to the dealer and they can file a warranty claim.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Thanks Matt!
Went back to my dealer and was very happy about how they handled it. Offered to take the boat back and was very forthright about the production run. Seems it has been very difficult to get usual production quality owing to supply chain issues. He had another one in stock that looked better-- will check it out in detail later today, another living room dry run LOL. Was planning on buying 2 but will likely wait for the next run, and/or buy a Mirage Lynx as the second yak. Hope what I brought home is a keeper. The itrek 9 form factor is just great.

So I inflated my 2nd sample of the iTrek 9 at home and the tilt of the drive well is less than the first one I bought but is still evident- I've photographed with the boat hull level using a long spirit level, and the drive well is approximately 5-6/32" off level. The seams anchoring the drive well are notably asymmetric and could be weaker as a result. The first sample was about 12-14/32" off so this is an improvement. The seamwork is also worse than any other inflatable sup or boat I've had with numerous areas that water could enter seam as the edges have open folds.. Hopefully it doesn't affect longevity. Not sure at this point whether to turn it back in and wait for next run or just use it and go for warranty support if these flaws affect function. I've heard great things about Hobie support and I'd really love to just get on the water. Matt, welcome your suggestions! thanks


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