Transom separating from hull during normal use
Walker Bay 310 Deluxe
Transom is cracking and splitting from the hull, seems to be a weak point and under stress during normal use, cracks expand during motoring.
This is not a single case, please see link:
Here I will be posting the contact I have with Walker Bay Customer Service and Warranty Department
So far the customer service has been the worse I have ever encountered, they have offered a $500 discount from the MSRP, the dealer I asked for a quote doesn't even sell at MSRP, so Walker Bays offer would be more expensive than buying from a dealer ? Go figure.
"· Hull replacement part number 3001030193 price MSRP $ 999.99 USD you price as customer appreciation $ 700 USD plus freight (anywhere from $ 300 USD to $ 425 USD ) this includes just the hull and a repair seal kit for the transom plus you will have to incur on labor for installation.
· Genesis 310 DLX part number 5001060003 are not avail at this moment we will have to add it to our production plan and the lead time is anywhere from 6-8 weeks.
· New 325 Odyssey Supertender Deluxe Hypalon part number 5001090010 MSRP $ 5197 USD, your price $ 4573.36 USD plus freight , please find the link below as a reference on the features on the boat that will answer your question below. "
https://walkerbay.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Supertender.pdf
Thanks in advance
if you have question please feel free to contact me
Ivan Gamez
Warranty Administrator
I wrote them back and then they went on to offer a free hull without installation or shipping, as I wrote them back, I have talked to multiple people that has taken the offer of free hull, but have had to pay a high price to have the tubes move over on the new hull and pieces coming apart afterwords.
"What I can do if offer you a new hull free of charge , but you will have to cover the freight & labor for installation since this out of our warranty process ."
I told them I would be happy to take offer if they would cover labor and confirm the "new" hull came with 10 warranty...... Then I got the reply below ?
"New 325 Odyssey Supertender Deluxe Hypalon part number 5001090010 MSRP $ 5197 USD, your price $ 3786 USD plus freight , this boat comes with warranty for 5 years and 6-10 prorated."
So it looks like they would rather sell me a 325 Odyssey, than another 310 Genises, probably because they know it might fail again....
And at the same time, they price they are offering is more than what I would be charge from one of their dealers.
As of July 2019 Ivan from Customer Support is still dragging on about given a small discount on a replacement dinghy.
As of July 26 2019, Ivan is emailing saying they can not offer anything else than a small discount of the MSRP that would still make it more expensive than buying from a dealer.
As of July 2020 Still no solution from Walker Bay !!!!!
Composite Hull
Walker Bay uses a kind of plastic for the hull, that is hard to repair, finding someone who is willing to try is even harder.
If you want a dinghy that is easy to maintain and repair, Walker Bay is not for you.
Get another brand that makes them from fiberglass or aluminum and you can easily find someone to repair them no matter where you are.
Warranty might not be extended
WATCH OUT, Walker Bay only honer extended warranty under these conditions:
This warranty is transferable to another owner within one (1) year of original date of sale; provided that an original warranty registration is on file with Walker Bay.
We have had it since 2 weeks old, but the original purchaser fail to register for extended warranty within 30 days therefore the warranty of the dinghy was not transferred.
That was the excuse for them to deny. Others have been giving a runaround that it was due to lifting with the motor attached or lifting from the wrong spot.
Manual doesn't specify to remove the motor before lifting.
Experiences from other Walker Bay customers
LIBRARY70:
"I had the same wheel well cracks on a WB Genesis that was 1 1/2 yrs old. When I first talked to Ivan at Walker Bay warranty he said it was caused by hanging the dingy from the davits with the outboard attached. I told him that lifting points (factory) where attached to the transom and their was no way that could have been the cause and the manual said nothing about removing the outboard before lifting with davits. After dozens of phone calls to Ivan, he finally shipped a new hull to the dealer who eventually swapped it out. I sold it a week later and purchased a new Highfield - which I love"
SKIPGUNDLACH:
"The dinghy in question is a warranty replacement for a previous dinghy with multiple issues other than this one.
However, at the outset, I want to say that my, and several close cruising buddies, and a dinghy repair specialist I know all agree that trying to deal with Walker Bay warranty issues is about as close to a black hole as you can get.
It took having met the marketing manager at a boat show, and extensive correspondence later as the issues with the original dink arose, and his (finally) upset at the runaround and time lapses seen in an attempt at resolution of our several issues, to eventually having him declare the warranty/service department incompetent, firing the head of that department, and shipping me a replacement dink (the one with the current problem). Unfortunately for me, while the last name is the same, his replacement is not intimately familiar with me and our circumstance, and has not offered any intervention of any sort"
S/V MOONDANCER:
"We had a Walker Bay that failed at the transom to tube patches but my persistent wife, who had bought the dingy at the boat show">Miami Boat Show with their national sales manager present, just wore them out and they shipped us a new dinghy to Puerto Rico. She dealt with the national sales manager and it took her over three months of persistent complaints to get the new dinghy!
Within 6 weeks the replacement dingy failed at the transom patches, this time WB refunded the purchase price and told us to keep both dinghies. We did an extensive repair by adding new transom patches over the existing patches."
AINIA:
"We had no joy at all from WB after repeated failures on our dinghy. Perhaps we were not persistent enough but we eventually wrote them off. Not great when the failures pile up as you cross the Pacific and beyond. Not a good product and a bad company. On my list of companies to never deal with again."
MIRELOS:
"I do like my Walker Bay, it's a very comfortable inflatable and does what it's supposed to do quite well, however we had the exact problem that you have. It took a year and a month to get everything straighten out, we did get a new WB but not for free, at the cost of $500 and I sold the damaged one for $500 to a friend who MarineTexed it and went on to sail in the Bahamas, the boat is holding up well
At first WB tried to blame memoir the damage saying that it was cause by lifting the boat to the davitswith the outboard on (9hp), everyone does that but since I go offshore a lot I keep the outboard on a separate mounting bracket on the transom so I proved to them that that was not the cause. They finally decided to fix it at a rep in Annapolis, I was in the area at the time, I did not like what the repair was going to be and so after more talking (phone) we came to the agreement of a new one for $500, but it took a few more months before I got the boat.
All in all it was very frustrating to deal with them, luckily I speak Spanish and was able to have a friendly dialogue with the person in charge (apparently they are now manufactured in Laredo, the Mexican side, or so I was given to understand at the time).
I'm giving you the name and access of the person in charge at the time; Ivan Gamez,..igamez@walkerbay.com.....phone, 888-315 1410 or +52-511-916-5171
This whole affair lasted from 9/2016 to 10/2017
Good Luck"
ALTERBOY65:
"I too have a leaking problem with a 10.6 genesis . No help from WB.
Very frustrated . Going with a Rigid Boat I think next time . The only way the leak stopped sort of was to leave it in the water and let the algae growand fill the cracks . Wore out several bilge pumps ."
CAPTNGD:
"I bought a 46' Shannon that had a WB Genesis 10' on cradle atop with lifting davit. The dingy had a 20hp Honda and was 5 years old. I had the identical cracks under hinge which flooded the boat severely and supposedly had a 10 year warranty. I sent pics of water flowing to WB. I was informed that the warranty was not transferrable and was out of luck. I complained to WB and they offered me a new dingy off the production line which took about 4 months.
They charged me 3,500.00 plus freight for the new dingy. I replaced the 20 hp carbureted Honda with a 2018 Suzuki fuel injected. So far the new dingy is doing fine but was very disappointed the the warranty was invalid. BE CAREFUL THE WARRANTY IS NOT TRANFERRABLE. Wish my replacement was only 500. The new boat has the aluminum transom."
Cool Change:
"I had one was a 340 but it was a foot too long for my davits. I would have kept a 310. There are too damn expensive and their customer service really sucks, the seats in mine broke and they wanted like $300 each for them, after admitting the new ones were built stronger. No discount or even free shipping was offered. "
Vickie H:
"Hubby and I bought a WB folding transom rigid bottom...not cheap. They had a design flaw in the transom of the dinghy and we started regularly taking on water...well we weren't the only ones. They knew they had a problem and instead of helping owners find solutions or reimbursement or re-work or whatever...they stopped contacting their buyers, took their contact info off their website and we ended up trashing a dinghy that was only a few years old and shelling out for a new AB. This, in my opinion, is very poor business.
We had always heard about how great Walker Bay was and hubby did a lot of research...but the company handled this badly. I think it was called the Genesis...it was a great dinghy...dry storage, cup holders..got up on plane great but they made the transom out of the wrong material and then just abandoned us and we lost $"
Phil P.
"Transom patch failed on two Walker Bays. On a dock in Grenada there were 4 failed WB's and they were slow to honor the warranty."
Tim L:
"I've owned Walker Bay RIB's for a while with mixed results. My first one, after about 2 years and still under warranty, started both leaking air but also showing delamination of the "Walker Bay" emblems. After a number of discussions with a then VP over the course of well over a year, they agreed to replace the boat. I've had the replacement boat for about 3 years now and it holds air fine. Would I buy another? Not sure. I like the light weight but now that I have davits weight isn't as big an issue and fiberglass RIB's seem to both track better and plane a bit faster. Good luck!"
Addison C:
"So far everything that is glued on, lift handles, oarlocks, transom brackets etc. is either loose or has fallen off. Bow rub strip have cracked and fallen off. It just shouldn't happen on a 5 year old dinghy. Warranty service??. Fuggetaboutit!"
Marian R:
"We have a Walker Bay Genesis. In it's 6 season (only used 4 months per year and in covered storage the rest of the time) the tubes began separating from the hard bottom at the stern. Warranty is 10 years. Repair guy in St. Augustine tried for warranty. Ivan in Mexico said it's an old boat. No warranty. Our friends bought the same model a year after us .. same problem in the 6th year. Obviously a manufacturing defect. Bet there are a lot more out there too."
Paul A:
"If they don’t stand by their product perhaps its time to rename them “Walk Away”. Contact their customer service with that thought ......."
Sand S:
"Yes our Walker Bay, Generation model dingy has a crack on the hull as well. This is very disappointing since this dingy was pretty expensive."
Skip L:
Further to your site, which seems to be a mirror of the Cruisers Forum post I originated, and to the above:
Our original hull and tubes had many issues. It took an extraordinary number of emails to everyone available, president included, but especially the then-manager who I'd met at the Annapolis Boat Show not long after purchase, to achieve resolution. That Cruisers Forum thread has more details on that part.
His instructions for lifting other than with the transom and bow eyes resulted in severe floor distortion. That, combined with transom delamination (flaking, top strip gone) and horrible delamination from ANY scrape or scuff in the tubes resulted, eventually, in a full replacement. However, the warranty for our current boat is only the continuation of the original.
While that seems bizarre (if you have a 10 year warranty, and a new boat, it seems it should start over), I can see the point.
Having documented that WB (the manager) directed me to a solution which was unsatisfactory, and that the selling dealer had recommended the lifting solution I have (to which WB's initial posture was that such installation not only voided the warranty, but CAUSED the wheel well failure, now seen to be bogus as it happens whether lifted or not), they have now offered to send me a new hull, but I have to pay shipping and gear exchange (every part attached to the hull plastic) costs.
It's not ideal, but given that the original boat's warranty had expired of its own age, it's acceptable. No movement on the simple questions I've asked (do I have to buy a keel strip as mine departed long ago, and remove everything bolted, screwed, latched, or otherwise attached to the hull, AS WELL AS doing the tube exchange [putting mine on the new hull] and reinstall it on the new hull), and my window to have that work done while I'm in the area is closing, AND we want to get cruising ASAP when we return. Therefore, it may not be until next fall that we actually DO get the replacement.
I have no problem whatsoever being attributed. I'm fairly visible in FB and forums and a board member of SSCA, so reasonably well known...
Mark B:
Wow, we almost bought a brand new Walker Bay last week ( I like the double bottom) But after seeing this site, I asked around in our marine, and found a fellow cruiser just down the dock from us with the exact same issue.
We went with a AB instead, thank you for sharing this, I think we just saved our self some headaches."
Lady G:
"OMG........we had the exact same issue and same experience, customer service offered a new hull.
But we were in Panama at the time and it wasn't feasible to have the hull imported and swapped out, so we ended up buying a new Caribe that we have been very happy with."
Revere:
"Same problem with both wheel wells cracking and leaking on my WB. Spoke to factory rep who just quit. No chance of getting any warranty repairs due to being out of warranty period. I never lifted the dink up on the davits with the engine
mounted. I only used the lifting eyes supplied by WB. Just looks like a poor design. I glued it back together for now.
Folding transum nice idea but it always leaks.
I do like some of the other features but I wouldn't buy a WB again. I would look for the same features on a another brand."
Jmcdan5655:
"Wow, I am having the same problem currently. Leaking at the same place. Yep second owner so “out of warranty” offer has been to buy new dinghy for a great price of which I have yet to be given... no offer of hull replacement for reduced cost. I’ve been in contact with Ivan and nice and cordial so far, hope it stays that way as it should.
No way all these are caused by exactly the same thing... some lifted without motor some were... it’s purely a bad design. Wonder what the failure rate is currently. I’m guessing those that haven’t cracked eventually will. I asked for a repair solution and was told there is one but we don’t like to give it out as it’s unsafe... or something like that. I’ll take a shot with some JB plastic epoxy repair and see if that holds for a little while."
R. Watson:
"The Walker Bay Genesis dinghy clearly has a serious design/ construction flaw. The hull at the transom develops cracks. I tried several recommended glues, none of which worked. I also bought a plastic welder and it worked for a while. But I couldn’t access both sides of the crack. After years of frustratingly trying to deal with Ivan and others, Sean got involved. Unfortunately he no longer works there. I was in the Pacific, and New Zealand making things more difficult - no dealers to do any repairs. His plan, which was great for them, was to sell me a whole new unit at a huge discount ( their cost?) and I also pay the shipping across the Pacific to the Marshall Islands. Not cheap, but I had a brand new dinghy, upgraded model (I had to change many parts of my chaps). The new dinghy now has cracks in exactly the same places. Outboard is 9.9, within their limits, and is always removed for passages, but the dinghy is hoisted every night (it has never had excess weight because of water). However, the weight of the outboard is supported by the same structure as the lifting points. So the weight of the outboard is not directly straining the failed point. I kept the automatic electric bilge pump which I installed on my first one. Nice to have after a tropical storm too. Although I very much like the handling of the Walker Bay Genesis dinghy, and neither of them have had any other problems, I strongly recommend avoiding the company. Unless you reside where the dealer is located? 1. I was assured when I bought the replacement dinghy, that the flaw had been fixed. (The defect was already there in the 2007 model.) They obviously lied. They haven’t answered my recent question if it has finally been fixed now. So it is probably still not fixed. 2. Their warranty for a well known, blatant defect, has been to avoid dealing with you. Classic Stonewalling brought to a fine art. Forget it if you aren’t near a dealer! I will probably keep my Walker Bay, since I like it, and the auto bilge pump is a simple work around. But I certainly will not get another, or recommend getting one."
Alterboy65:
I have sued Walker Bay in Small claims court for $7000 and won. They did not show up or acknowledge the claim but they did NOT refuse delivery in Laredo of the summons so they know about it so I won by default. If they continue to ignore this an arrest warrant will be issued for Ivan Gomez, Raul Medina , Mario Martinez and Mr. Carroll in the warranty department . I have been dealing with this issue since 2011 . Everyone should know that . Try to get a hold of any of these people and they avoid you . Try to find the Corporate Headquarters and call all the numbers ...they don't work .
SHADY COMPANY at best . I urge everyone to NOT BUY WALKER BAY BOATS until they take care of the people who are having problems with the Genesis that they KNOW is defective . .
David S:
My Walker Bay Genesis 340 has same cracks around the wheel wells. Just found them yesterday and looking for options to fix/replace. Will contact WB but it doesn't sound fun.