2.5 years ago I purchased a
West Marine 10' RIB. Admittedly it was under duress as there were no others available in the area.
It certainly was not my first choice. I have rebuilt my boat largely through a
PORT SUPPLY account through
West Marine and I purchased this dink at a discount but it was new.
Turns out my instincts were dead on.
For a good deal of time the dink was not in the water but on deck. When it DID start getting used as a cruisers dinghy, problems were almost immediately evident. the hypolon was wearing through were the driver sits and the bottom was blistering.
After just one trip from the Bahamas to the Virgin Islands, the port and starboard seams were failing and the port internal baffle had failed as well. She would not stay inflated for more than 18 hours.
The dink was often towed but this is no excuse for these failures. After considerable effort to make a warranty claim on this dink
PORT SUPPLY stated that it was bought at a discount and the 5 year warranty was only good for one. After 7 years of doing business and spending many 10's of thousands with
PORT SUPPLY, I was shocked that this was their position and that of the manufacturer.
![EEK!](https://www.cruiserlog.com/forums/images/smilies/eek.gif)
Does this mean that ALL items purchased through
PORT SUPPLY have altered warranties????
I just wanted to share this with other cruisers as I would hate to see anyone else get burnt like this.
We wound up with a slightly used AB and she seems to be doing just fine thank you very much!
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