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Post by walleyeguy on Mar 10, 2011 20:12:42 GMT -5
Many of you may be looking to buy a new boat this year and one of brands you may consider is Sylvan. Well let me tell you about my 2006 Sylvan Explorer. Aluminum nose piece on front has loose rivots, hull had loose rivots that I J.B welded,(found out about leaks the hardway! Carpet is falling apart at most corners because the corners of wood were not rounded from factory. I have burn marks on the dash because of the sun penetrating through the glass and the carpet on one side has donut shaped burn marks from the reflection of my fishing reels melting it, What a crock! The window doesnt close properly at the step through. One of the most important things was the rigid shifting since day one. Because of the piss poor way Sylvan planned on routing the shifting cables there was "kinking" The only solution to rectify the problem was to make a new hole to route cables through exposing them and redrillling the shifter mount at and angle to alleviate pressure on cables. (Hack Job!) I should given it back. I will never buy another one! I would like to lemon law this thing! I have tried to get the carpet warrantied but so far all I got is "a roll of carpet is on the way!" like I want to put it in! What about those loose rivots? Some may say well the boat is 6 years old but for crying out loud I mentioned these issues two years ago to the dealer! Just a heads up! Buyer beware!
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Post by 4stroker on Mar 10, 2011 20:46:19 GMT -5
Sorry to hear about your problems with Sylvan. My 2006 fiberglass model has had a few issues with the "hardware" parts of the boat, doorway stops, and carpet snaps, but I think most makers have their own problems with these miscellaneous parts and pieces.
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Post by fishing eagle on Mar 10, 2011 22:01:46 GMT -5
I purchased a sylvan super fisherman back in the late 80s and fished with it for 4 or 5 years before I sold it and never had a problem with it. But that was maybe back then when people cared about what they were building in the factories.
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Post by fishinmachine on Mar 10, 2011 22:05:10 GMT -5
my 1999 Lowe is very sound all over,,,,so far
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Post by Cas (Mike) on Mar 10, 2011 22:07:38 GMT -5
This past September, I just replaced my 1980 16' Sylvan aluminum bowrider. I'm pretty amazed at how well that boat held up, given it was never stored in a garage, etc. It's too bad to hear the quality went down hill. Sorry to hear of your troubles.
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Post by schodackbassman on Mar 10, 2011 22:41:56 GMT -5
No excuse for boat that new to have so many issues. My 92 Alumacraft never popped a rivet. And that saw 4 to 6' waves on occasion and many logs, rocks, gravel, etc. The carpet was wearing out but it was 16 years old at the time and saw a lot of action. Even then it was just the front area where I fished from. The rest o the carpet was/is fine. I've never heard of a carpet burning. That's just weird.
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Post by lateforsupper on Mar 11, 2011 9:01:27 GMT -5
I've got 2 16 foot sylvans one is a1992 and the other a 1999 I've never had a lose ribbet the carpet only laste about 8 years I love my Sylvans.sorry you had bad luck.
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Post by in t h e o f f i c e on Mar 11, 2011 12:06:22 GMT -5
Wow! Sounds like you got A TON of use out of your boat to have so many items weather like that and rivets loosen up.
Do you keep your boat covered? Keeping a boat out of the sun and rain when not on the water has shown itself as one of best ways to preserve UV-sensitive plastics like carpeting and polyethylene.
Sylvan makes a pretty good hull, and conveniently appointed boats. Five or six years seems a *little* short on carpet, lifespan, but from the sounds of the use you have gotten out of it the new carpet that they sent you (apparently without charge) should buy you another great 6 years of use.
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Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2011 13:32:28 GMT -5
With anything there is always a few isolated issues outside the bell curve.
I was told once that Sea Nymph boats had rivet issues and had a bad rap for leaks. Well, mine is going on season 27 with no leaky rivets. Structurally very sound. Then again I have always been ultra careful with it in the waves and have never abused it.
I believe you can make any riveted aluminum boat leak if you slam it into the waves hard enough over a period of time.
Sea Nymph was later purchased by Lowe in the early 90's.
Sorry to hear your issues with your Sylvan. The good news is it's repairable.
Ron
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Post by fishinmachine on Mar 11, 2011 14:05:54 GMT -5
I had a friend who had a 19 alumacraft bowrider who caved in the hull on big O by slamming it into waves over there,,the factory repaired it at no cost to him...My Lowwe is all welded,no rivits,,thank the lord
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Post by salmoneye on Mar 11, 2011 14:35:37 GMT -5
I had a friend who had a 19 alumacraft bowrider who caved in the hull on big O by slamming it into waves over there,,the factory repaired it at no cost to him...My Lowwe is all welded,no rivits,,thank the lord My Crestliner has no rivits below the water line...The ones it does have hold the seat bracket's etc...
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Post by fishing eagle on Mar 11, 2011 17:02:12 GMT -5
I must ask a few questions about your boat and the problems you have with it.
You say it is a 2006, are you the original owner and purchased it new? If so what has your dealer done for you and what is the warranty on the hull. Many boat manufactures offer at least 10 year warranty on the hull and some lifetime warranty to the original owner. Some warranties are also transferable if you follow their policy.
A second question is how do you store you Sylvan boat off season and between fishing trips. Is the boat inside or covered so that water can't enter the boat? Boats do well floating in water, but if they fill with rain water or snow, the hulls can be damaged as they were never designed to hold tons of water inside them.
I have owned more than a dozen boats and if I ever had a problem with any of them, I was there to see the dealer. I did have one idiot for a dealer but I did not put up with his BS and did what I had to get what I needed corrected.
Why have you gone 6 years with a dealer blowing you off? You said you had problems with the motor shifting from day one. That is a safety problem for sure and if you talked to the dealer and he didn't repair it, I would have contacted Sylvan A.S.A.P and if they did not satisfy me... then I would have contacted the US Coast Guard and I guarantee you would had it fixed so fast some heads would spin.
Did you ever check the USCG web site for recalls to see if there were any recalls on you year & model boat. They do have a recall list!
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Post by walleyeguy on Mar 11, 2011 17:07:28 GMT -5
When you look at where the carpet is falling apart you can tell it was bad workmanship. As far as the carpet melting I would think that the carpet would have been better in the heat. I have gotten fair use out of the boat the problems are not wear and tear because I notified the dealer two years after i had it. Yes I typically keep it covered except for last year I stopped caring so much. Bad R+D and workmanship. I got a P.M from someone that has the shifting problems as well. If anyone else has that issue consider pulling the cables out and shifting with them out of the boat and verify it isnt anything else. The cable exit holes were to close to the shifter binding them up in mine so they now exit further back and I have an extra hole in that area. Yeah thank god they are fixable right at whose expense!
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Post by Sundown on Mar 11, 2011 18:37:53 GMT -5
I have a 2007, 16 ft, Sylvan Sport Troller I have not had any problems what-so-ever, but between trips it's always stored inside and covered. It's been a great boat.
Sundown
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Post by walleyeguy on Mar 11, 2011 21:11:59 GMT -5
There is a difference between being stored hard and just poor craftsmanship. The carpet is tearing on the edges because of sharp corners in lumber. Not weather. The shifting was because of the way they ran the cables through the boat. I had never seen carpet melt because of a reel reflection before either! I do take care of my boat and I guess that is why I am so discouraged because it didnt seem to mater. The sharp corners really killed it. I would show picks but I havent uncovered it yet. Maybe four years is about how long carpet should last. But I just wanted to share with people these issues. I couldnt get book value with it this way and believe me I would like to and by another.
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