Marine technicians lament: Who approved that?

Seal of approval

As part of my job, I am lucky enough to prepare and test a lot of new or nearly new boats, ranging from small runabouts up to large motor yachts costing seven figures, it gives you a good "feel" for what is good design, quality construction and obvious attention to detail.

Unfortunately it also shows you how too often there is a great lack of quality control, not just the odd little thing now and again, repeated instances of the same previously reported issues, and then, just when you thought you had seen it all, something completely new and unexpected comes along.

Most new boats come with various papers with ticks and comments, informing the selling dealer or end user than the installation is the same as what was ordered, has been checked, serial numbers and all sorts of other information. There is nearly always a signature somewhere written by a doctor (such is the illegibility), "Approved by (insert squiggle)". I would like to know who these people are and what makes them qualified to approve the finished article, moreover, what exactly are they approving? I think sometimes that are just  approving or confirming that it is a boat, for some of the serious problems encountered should definitely not be present.

Although I am painting a picture of gloom, not all new boats are like this, and, when there is a problem a lot of boatbuilders (and the better boatyards) will snap into action to remedy the situation with the full support of the factory. Things happen on the journey from factory to the customer´s berth, its normal, what is not normal is the serious issues that get repeated, some are not costly to fix but require time investment and possibly subcontracting certain skills.

I would also like to point out that during the break in period or first hours or even the first year, it is inevitable that a snagging list will be drawn up, I would be surprised if it wasn't, typical examples of a snagging list include;

• Software updates, such is the world we live in, lots of items, ranging from stereos to multi function screens require updating, some boat owners do this themselves, others leave it to the dealer.

• Loose screws, hinges, catches and closures, once things have had time to settle in and move around they often need some sort of adjustment, its completely normal and rarely anything to worry about.

• Engine sensors, modern, electronically controlled motors often have sensors issues, either replacement sensors or calibration, again, usually not serious.

• Gelcoat, once panels and fibreglass has moved about its not uncommon for some minor cracks to develop in gelcoat in certain areas, I don´t mean serious structural issues, more minor cosmetic issues, easily solved.

More serious

• Listing, this is leaning to one side or the other more than would be considered normal, static listing is when the boat is on its berth or otherwise not navigating, dynamic listing is when the boat is navigating and it leans to port or starboard. Listing goes from being mildly annoying, it creates a poor aesthetic but, potentially is corrected when the boat is loaded correctly, so full tanks and all aboard spread out evenly, at the other end, especially dynamic listing can be potentially very dangerous. 

Why was it not caught at the factory? A lot of the better factories have pools inside, they drop the boats in the water to check for leaks before delivery, static list could have been caught then and should have been corrected. On larger boats where a pool is too small, the better shipyards will sea trial each boat, both static and dynamic listing should be noted and corrected.

I will admit, it is impossible to test for all listing scenarios, but far too many boats arrive with this problem and I just don't mean being picky, I mean they have a lean or list that is clearly visible to the naked eye, the kind of angle that makes you tilt your head to make sure.

Correcting listing goes from being quite easy, such as moving batteries around or adding ballast for correction right up to the factory build team going to where the boat is to correct the problem.

• Connections, this is really one of my pet hates. Some factories use poor quality electrical connectors that are badly installed to boot, others use poor or average quality connections but have made the best installation they can. The real villains are the ones who use very expensive connectors the, crimp them with the cheapest tool on planet earth, do not seal the heat shrink and then install them badly on top of it.

Top: Badly crimped, silicone stain, heatshrink not sealed. This was the negative connection to a trim tab pump.

Middle: Closeup of the top photo, just look, possible wrong sized terminal, badly stripped cable that is not fully inserted into the terminal, loose strands of wire.

Bottom: one side crimped correctly, the other not, cable not fully inserted into crimp on either side, heatshrink not sealed. These connections are for the navigation lights on a brand new boat.

I am a member of many forums and groups, dedicated to all things boating, one of the main topics of discussion and criticism is crimped terminals, there is one basic agreement though, heat shrink tinned copper is the way to go, so why is it that a group mixed of pros and amateurs can get this right and a boatbuilder can´t?

• Screws, Poor quality stainless steel screws and seemingly only overlength types are allowed, so long that when anyone puts their hand behind a panel that they are impaled. Marine technicians lament: Two lengths of screw

• Poor fitting upholstery, not just a bit of a squeeze or the cover needs pulling or adjusting but completely the wrong size or, so badly fitted every time you open an engine hatch or locker the backrests fall off. Ikea can sell you a cheap sofa or chair and the upholstery fits perfectly, this is also repeatable, why can´t a boat that costs hundreds of thousands enjoy the same luxury?

• Sealant, to be more precise a lack of sealant, the number of leaks that could have been avoided by simply adding more sealant, this is basic boat building 101. If it does not ooze there is not enough!

• Covers, this is especially true with smaller boats such as bow riders, its not often that the actual boatbuilder has an upholstery shop in house, covers get sub contracted out, a lot of space is required to make them. Usually a pattern is made that will be used for the whole run of that model of boat, the studs and canopy clips are then custom fitted on each boat.

The major problem, is that the covers don't fit. They are either so difficult to get on that you give up, or, when they are in place they are so tight its like a drum skin, covers do shrink over time, in these instances and the smallest of size changes will render the covers useless, fixing it is not a problem, it can be expensive though. These things should have been noted at the factory.

Why are defects and faults approved?

This is a very fair question, I think it correct to point out that due to the errors of the human condition, some defects or faults will inevitably not be seen, this is normal, major faults though is another matter, the main reasons for approved defects are;

Staffing

This includes managers and those responsible for others, if the boss says its okay, then it must be so, no? Not quite, when the standards of those in charge are low, is it a surprise that other workers will follow suit?

Although we cannot carry on blaming COVID19 for everything, but there is no doubt it had a huge effect on the boating industry. Experienced workers who had been in the industry a long time did not return, the training and formation for new workers was far less as there were fewer people to teach them, demand for boats went up, prices of materials and delays in delivery all took their toll, as a result, prices went up, quality control went down. QA department workers with not enough experience were approving finished products, also, given the demand for boats post pandemic was so high, orders had to be fulfilled as quickly as possible, and, in some instances, however possible.

Apathy

The "I don't care" attitude, this could be down to lack of training, lack of knowledge is another possibility, but I see and hear far too much of an apathetic attitude, not just on new boats, but also on repairs. A sloppy job, subpar materials and a lack of desire to do things properly. I would be the first in trying to find the most economic solution to repairs, but there are areas where you simply cannot cut any corners or compromise, either for safety of the boat users or integrity of the boat itself.

Areas where you cannot cut standards or approve anyone else to do so include; Fire extinguishing systems, bilge pumps, thru hulls and seacocks, batteries and chargers, yet it does happen, not so much on new boats as they are built to standards, but aftermarket repairs vary from top end to "words fail me".

Greed

Boatbuilders are in business for profit, to make money, this is obvious and to think otherwise is foolish, the same goes for boat dealerships and boatyards. What I have noticed is as companies get bigger or get absorbed into conglomerates or larger entities that are not related to boats, they become profit & loss columns in a spreadsheet of an anonymous board meeting somewhere, margins, shareholder dividends and market value become more important than anything else.

In a fairly short time we went from the recession of about 2008 to the pandemic about 12 years later, a lot of boatyards, boatbuilders and related industries were hit extremely hard, some did not recover, others were absorbed in order to survive.

Conclusion

This is not some rant about "the good old days were better", things have changed, what should not have changed is quality control. I do not have a definitive answer as to why so many new boats are so very badly turned out from the factory. I don't think magazines are overly helpful, they are held to ransom by advertising revenue, online reviews are also not likely to tell exactly how it is (except yours truly!).

Boats are expensive, but please do not be fooled into thinking the more expensive a boat is the better quality or longevity it will have. There are still some some boatbuilders out there who turn out every boat with attention to detail and a control of quality that others can only hope to aspire to, these boatbuilders tend to be the smaller ones with fewer models and a dedicated workforce as opposed to mass production, a more bespoke approach, some are practically a cottage industry.

As consumers we need to be more demanding, more informed and more clued up, once you get past all the oohs and arghs, like the song says "we´re not gonna take it any more", vote with your feet, on the other hand, its exactly instances of everything I just wrote about that keep me gainfully employed and have something to write about.

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