Negative experience having boat painted and windows replaced

For the last 15 months I have been living a nightmare after contracting a boat painting company in Florida's west to repaint my boat (Awlcraft) and replace the windows on my 1999 Ocean Alexander 426 Classico sedan. Both the paint job and the window replacement was a disaster. After 10 months and a lot of excuses it still was not finished and my boat was trashed. Finally, I gave up, brought in outside professionals to evaluate the situation. They were horrified at what they found and recommended getting the boat out of the yard fast. We reassembled the boat enough to take it to another yard. The new yard has had to completely strip the boat and start over. Of course this is going to cost a lot more than the original work since we had to remove most of the recent paint, all of the hardware, instruments and electronics. It should be completed sometime in January. I have a detailed accounting of the experience and and a Youtube video showing all the issues. I have posted it so it comes up very close to the businesses website. I have an action pending that I hope gets settled but I am not optimistic it will be. I wish he would just pay me back so I can move on with my life.

I have been boating for 50 years and have never had a boat painted before or a boat yard experience so negative.
My question is, is it appropriate for me to advise my fellow TF members of this experience and publish the details, the video and the name of the company? I wish I knew what I was getting into. I suspect others may like some warning too.

Were it me, I would first negotiate a settlement. Going public before doing that could put an an outcome satisfactory to you in jeopardy. Even after part or full reimbursement I would still be quite circumspect. Your settlement may include some confidentiality provisions, so "shouting from the rooftops" may not be possible after settlement either.

I think your objective should be to get as much of your money back as you can. If you are using a lawyer to assist in the settlement, take their advice on anything you would like to say about the whole experience in the public domain.

Insequent said:

Were it me, I would first negotiate a settlement. Going public before doing that could put an an outcome satisfactory to you in jeopardy. Even after part or full reimbursement I would still be quite circumspect. Your settlement may include some confidentiality provisions, so "shouting from the rooftops" may not be possible after settlement either.

I think your objective should be to get as much of your money back as you can. If you are using a lawyer to assist in the settlement, take their advice on anything you would like to say about the whole experience in the public domain.

Click to expand...

+1.

Comodave said:

+1.

Click to expand...

+ 2

Immediately after the experts came out and inspected the boat, my attorney had a videographer come out and document the issues on the boat and then interviewed me and the expert.. The resulting detailed video was put into a Youtube and sent privately to the painting company by the attorney along with a complaint in an effort to induce a settlement before going to court. There was no response after 30 days so my attorney posted the Youtube publicly on the net and also on the painting company's Facebook page. The painter still did not respond. He did shut down this review function on his Facebook page, so the video no longer appears there. So it was actually my attorney who created and posted the video Since the video is actually of the condition of the boat and is factual, there is little fear in doing so.

If your attorney already posted the video on Youtube, I see no harm in posting the link here. It is obviously your attorney's plan to get the widest possible dissemination of the information as possible. I can't speak to whether the widest possible dissemination at this time is the best course of action, but your attorney seems to think so. . . . . So, what is the link?

When the yard allowed my boat to fall off the jacks, upon reaching a settlement, I was sworn to secrecy.
The amazing part was, mine was the first boat that was determined to be a "constructive loss"
You want a great paint job, go to a Hinkley yard and bring your check book.

Yes. There a lot of great yards on the east coast of FL. They were too far to just drop by on a weekly basis and big money. In retrospect I would probably would have been better off going there, but like I said, this was my first paint job. And probably my last. The best is probably is Luu https://www.luumarine.com. I have seen their work and it is spectacular.

Painting a boat is a HUGE undertaking. Every time I think about it, it gets scary just finding the right people to do the work and keep a reasonable budget in place.



Overall, sure beats gel coat, but it's pretty simple to add gel coat with excellent results.

That is why I painted our boat. That way if it got screwed up I knew who to blame.

That's kinda my though... do it myself, however, I just don't want to spend the time anymore. Too much playing to do.

Seevee said:

That's kinda my though... do it myself, however, I just don't want to spend the time anymore. Too much playing to do.

Click to expand...

I could work on my naturally aspirated Lugger but, my Cummins electronic I know nothing about it other than change the oil, filters and zincs and the impeller and belts. I do carry a spare alternator on board too.

Forget the lawyer - $ - depending on how high the small claims court in your area goes. In Canada as of Jan 2020, the top limit is $35,000. Lets say you agreed to $42,000 and the upper limit is $35,000 - forget the remaining $7,000 and go for the $35,000. This will be cheaper than using a lawyer possibly.

You've already done the smart thing bring in the pro, you now have an expert witness. Small Claims might be your answer depending on limits, etc.

Florida is $8,000 for small claims. Also, in Florida they might be able to recover atty. fees.

Small claims is not an option. $8,000 is the max. By the time I am done, with what I already paid and what I will have to pay to repair and repaint, I will be into 6 figures plus legal fees. Legal fees are not recoverable.

I have decided not to to put the specific information about the painter or the video or the website on TF because I would not be able to remove it like i can now if we settle. If we don't settle, all bets are off and I will post everywhere. If someone needs specific information because they are considering a paint job just PM me.

"Pearl" will be beautiful again, and will probably be my last boat.

It’s a puzzle how things could go so wrong, but they do. I was not present during a bottom job in a Florida yard some years ago when they didn’t even sand the surface before clumping on the paint. Two years later, the next bottom job took 100 days on the hard to clean up the consequences of that mess.

I’m really sorry for your pain, but since I’m also on the west coast of FL, I’d rather know who to avoid. Meanwhile, I’ll look for your Youtube video.

CDB first, sorry for your problems. This was supposed to be fun and here you are with a massive pita.

Perhaps on a separate thread "lessons learned having a boat painted" or something, would be helpful to describe what you'd do differently. No names, but potholes along the way, etc. I'm having my boat painted top to bottom along with a significant amount of fiberglass repair to restore old holes for electronics and such. Although being woefully behind schedule, it's going pretty well. I've read many threads and see it's a popular topic as many people think about having their boat painted but few do.

Not saying to divulge any sensitive information, just a lessons learned conversation if you're up to it.

Best success.

Peter

Seevee said:

That's kinda my though... do it myself, however, I just don't want to spend the time anymore. Too much playing to do.

Click to expand...

Working on my boat is my play time. I enjoy the work. Usually when I get it all done I end up selling the boat and starting over. But this one may be the last one since I can’t do as much as I used to be able to do.

slowgoesit said:

If your attorney already posted the video on Youtube, I see no harm in posting the link here. It is obviously your attorney's plan to get the widest possible dissemination of the information as possible. I can't speak to whether the widest possible dissemination at this time is the best course of action, but your attorney seems to think so. . . . . So, what is the link?

Click to expand...

He probably posted it as private - only those with the link can view it.

To help others it would be good if you were able to post public reviews on Google, Yelp, here and anywhere else people might check before going to that place.

Like someone else mentioned if looking back you can identify some red flags or things you might have vetted more or differently sharing those would be great too.

And very sorry this happened to you. Even good boatyards mess up but only the good ones will make sure it doesn't happen again.

It is getting to the point if you post a negative review on Yelp, the company or individual will sue you.

Hi Andiamo,
I have posted reviews on Google, Yelp, YouTube and set up a Facebook page. I even have set up a webpage. All of this is findable if someone was looking for the painter on Florida'a west coast. All off this is removable if the painting company make this right. The reason I have not identified the company on this forum is because forum posts are not removable.

If I do not receive an acceptable settlement, then all bets are off and painter and all the links will be publicized. Meanwhile some FL based TF members who are shopping paint jobs have PM'ed me and I have responded.

As for warnings, initially the painter was very prompt and gave me an in-person estimate. The best warning I had was when I brought the boat in at the time planned, he was not ready, so the boat sat for a couple of months before he really started. After I dropped the boat off I was away for a month. By then the boat was out of the water, with all canvas, electronics and gear removed so it was really hard to just splash it again and go. Of course the painter promised me he would make up for it and promised the work to be done in short order. The second warning in retrospect is I should have inspected the prep work while in progress. There was little more that I could have done before actually bringing the boat. I had spoken to a number of boat owners that had paint jobs there earlier for references and they seemed happy. The dockmaster at a local marina recommended them too.

Dan,
I guess anybody can sue anybody for anything. But nothing I posted is inaccurate and is backed up by an expert witness and a YouTube video of the actual boat at the actual boat yard. The story from the 10 month timeline, to the window problem, to having the boat removed and repainted is all a matter of record and simply factual.

Good work! That guys is going to lose a lot of business. I had a similar experience while restoring an old car. The guy switched businesses entirely afterwards but when he reached the 'apologize' step in his 12 step process it made sense why he blew his good reputation

cdb said:

Hi Andiamo,
I have posted reviews on Google, Yelp, YouTube and set up a Facebook page. I even have set up a webpage. All of this is findable if someone was looking for the painter on Florida'a west coast. All off this is removable if the painting company make this right. The reason I have not identified the company on this forum is because forum posts are not removable.

If I do not receive an acceptable settlement, then all bets are off and painter and all the links will be publicized. Meanwhile some FL based TF members who are shopping paint jobs have PM'ed me and I have responded.

As for warnings, initially the painter was very prompt and gave me an in-person estimate. The best warning I had was when I brought the boat in at the time planned, he was not ready, so the boat sat for a couple of months before he really started. After I dropped the boat off I was away for a month. By then the boat was out of the water, with all canvas, electronics and gear removed so it was really hard to just splash it again and go. Of course the painter promised me he would make up for it and promised the work to be done in short order. The second warning in retrospect is I should have inspected the prep work while in progress. There was little more that I could have done before actually bringing the boat. I had spoken to a number of boat owners that had paint jobs there earlier for references and they seemed happy. The dockmaster at a local marina recommended them too.

Click to expand...

boat painting

I recently did a vinyl wrap on a 36 foot Silverton. We practiced on our 27 foot trawler. It was not as difficult as a paint job, and looks great. I am sure that vinyl will not hold up as well as a good paint job. After two years the hull still looks new. This doesn't help solve your problem, but it may be an option for some folks considering a paint job.

REO, did you do the vinyl wrap yourself?

An FYI. I bought my 37 foot North Sea trawler with a paint job on it from PO.
Interestingly, I have great difficulty finding a detailer who wants to polish and wax a painted boat. They are all familiar with gelcoat and have that technique down. Detailing paint is different. I have a few thin spots now where the paint was dull, maybe not applied well, maybe to thin, and now there are a few spots with slight shadow of the dark primer underneath.
Have your attorney sue them ASAP, take them to court. The sooner the better. That yard may have difficulty with all of its customers and may decide to shut down, or declare bankruptcy. Good luck!

My wife and I did the vinyl wrap ourselves. The marina where we stored the boat in the winter moved it to the middle of the storage building and held the temperature at 65 degrees. We used a couple of step ladders to reach the toe rail. I studied u-tubes for a few months, ordered the vinyl over the winter and did the job before the spring launch. It took us three 6 hour days because we are old and weak. I won't say it was easy, but a couple of 75 year olds got it done. I know that we could not have acquired the skills and energy to do an actual paint job. The cost of materials was less than $700. The hull is the easiest thing to do. I am not sure we could have done some of the complex areas above the deck. It is amazing what the pros can do with this stuff. Watch a u-tube on how to cover a rear view mirror on a car. Another thing we like is the ease of patching. A boat near us had the hull professionally done several years back and had to patch a docking bo bo. He just put a patch over the scratched area. You have to know where to look to notice it.

I would love to know whop this is as I am in the area and about to have the boat painted and want to avoid the same issue

Shaunc said:

I would love to know whop this is as I am in the area and about to have the boat painted and want to avoid the same issue

Click to expand...

PM the OP and ask him.