riverhawk boats

I almost bought one, glad I didn't... New manufacturers that have a history of bankruptcy under different names are always risky.

As was said it does look like impact damage. On the chine near the bow, not exactly the strongest part of any boat, well built or not. Curious to know why insurance wouldn't cover that kind of damage.
 
ryanb said:
I almost bought one, glad I didn't... New manufacturers that have a history of bankruptcy under different names are always risky.

As was said it does look like impact damage. On the chine near the bow, not exactly the strongest part of any boat, well built or not. Curious to know why insurance wouldn't cover that kind of damage.
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If the insurance company has seen multiple RH boats with damage in the same spot, I don't think they should be responsible to fix the issue. Maybe it's a wave that pushed in that part of the boat and the paint cracked to make it look like scratches from an impact. Maybe it is truly a very weak spot that should have had reinforcing. Time will tell and it will become well known if RH had an issue or not.

Or maybe the guy just came in a little too hot into the dock. That is probably the more likely situation.

Aluminum doesn't like to be bent twice, then hammered back into its original position. I wonder how they would fix that. Cut it out and weld in a new patch? Weld a patch of sheet metal over the bent spots and not try to bend the existing aluminum back out? The whole boat needs to be repainted. It's not a cheap fix for a little boo boo
 
Corey_lax said:
If the insurance company has seen multiple RH boats with damage in the same spot, I don't think they should be responsible to fix the issue. Maybe it's a wave that pushed in that part of the boat and the paint cracked to make it look like scratches from an impact. Maybe it is truly a very weak spot that should have had reinforcing. Time will tell and it will become well known if RH had an issue or not.

Or maybe the guy just came in a little too hot into the dock. That is probably the more likely situation.

Aluminum doesn't like to be bent twice, then hammered back into its original position. I wonder how they would fix that. Cut it out and weld in a new patch? Weld a patch of sheet metal over the bent spots and not try to bend the existing aluminum back out? The whole boat needs to be repainted. It's not a cheap fix for a little boo boo
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Cut out and re-weld. Bow got smashed in on our Wooldridge and they just cut out the section and welded new in. Would not be able to tell except the new section is all shiny.
 
I've been told by some trusted boat owner friends that the RH boats' hulls can buckle in a decent chop. Anyone else out there that owns one of these care to chime in?
 
I often wonder if someone has to die before manufacturers will actually start caring about this product and clients. It's shameful.
 
That guy has been posting his Riverhawk rant/for sale ad on CL for a while now. I would have expected that he would get the boat repaired by his insurance provider and the insurance provider would in turn pursue legal action against Riverhawk. Who knows...maybe he didn't have insurance!

Riverhawk is now in bankruptcy proceedings in Oregon.
 
Never owed a RH (never will) but I still say, trust your life and use a boat for something it was not designed for and sooner than later something must give. I have looked closely at most of the aluminum hulls, push hard on the sides, some flex, others are solid feeling. Look closely at the welding and I often think that some have added welded on metal that looks like an after thought, why? I asked a sales man about what happens when the big bow well floods and instantly makes the bow dangerously heavy as the 1.5" holes cannot drain fast enough, he told me that some place a bow inner tube under a wooden cover, I laughed in his face and ran, the price was $260 000. I think we know the solid ones, designed for salt BC waters, been around for a long time (Sooke's company still and since I was a dreaming kid), wait time to buy and yes maybe larger amount of money needed. What does surprise me is there are not more issues. Never heard of a problem with the built for BC saltwater boats, don't remember any name changes either.

HM
 
all of of porosity in the weld, i would say it is the wrong grade of aluminum, the way it cracked
 
The one thing I remember with those boats was all of the welding was either bondo-ed and painted over or ground down. That's always suspect.
 
I am familiar with this story, and this boat. The insurance company and several marine surveyors have indicated the boat had a structural flaw and was damaged by simple water pressure on the bow, and not from any hard impact. In fact, if the owner did hit something, insurance would have covered the damage fully. Instead, the insurance and surveyors are saying it's a manufacturer's defect and therefore unwilling to pay a claim. The manufacturer's position has been, "we're in bankruptcy", you can talk to our trustee, be named a creditor, and maybe one day be paid out a few dollars after big legal costs in USA courts. The local dealer who sold the boat dropped the RiverHawk brand immediately after selling their last one in stock, so they've been no help resolving this either. As a result the owner is suing RH Boats and Marine One in Canadian courts. Not exactly a great customer experience when your boat is deemed a 'total loss' less than 6 months after buying it through no fault of your own.
 
There’s another one surfacing on social media even worse. Cracked welds and both sides of the bow have caved in. It’s pretty sad
 

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There are a number of lawsuits ongoing right now. Imagine buying a brand new top of the line truck, driving it off the lot and within a few weeks it's a total write-off because of a serious manufacturer's defect. The auto-maker would do everything they could to look after you, and protect their brand's good name. Apparently this is not in the case with boats, or at least certain brands of them, who don't seem to care or have the finances to look after their customers.
 
FishFen said:
There are a number of lawsuits ongoing right now. Imagine buying a brand new top of the line truck, driving it off the lot and within a few weeks it's a total write-off because of a serious manufacturer's defect. The auto-maker would do everything they could to look after you, and protect their brand's good name. Apparently this is not in the case with boats, or at least certain brands of them, who don't seem to care or have the finances to look after their customers.
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It is only due to lawsuits and consumer protection laws that automakers do look after customers, but even then look at VW!
 
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