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Really Disappointed WIth Legend Boat


genec

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When I was getting ready to retire in 2001 i bought a 16 ft Legend w walk-thru windshield and 50 Hp 4- stroke Merc. from Nicholls in Ft. Erie, expecting that this would be my retirement lifetime fishing rig.  Last year I put new bunks on the trailer and spend over $1800 getting a major motor overhaul - Nichols said I should get many more years of usage out of it after that.  This summer the boat started taking in more water, and I had to use the bilge pump a few times during each pickeral outing.  Last time out 2 weeks ago we had water suddenly coming out onto the carpeted floor, and ended up running the bilge pump every 4-5 minutes until back to shore!  later found a 1 ft. Section of the main keel rivets loosened - I could push keel in over 3/8 inch movement! Both Nicholls and Barrie Legend dealers said welding keel from outside NOT an option, as something inside hull has let go.  Nichols closing, so ontacted Barrie for repair.  They said yesterday that it has to be rebuilt from inside, and that fix would cost me at the very minimum $7000 - more likely over $9000, as everything has to be taken out inside including floor, and very labor intensive repair!

So now I'm screwed - repair cost too high, as I have no guarantee it won't happen again, and I can't afford $25000 + for new rig on my pension!!  Guess all I can do now w boat itself is eventually see what I can get for scrap value.  Will look for another similar used boat I can put my motor on over the winter, but not much available right now. Contacting Legend in Sudbury to see if they would sell me just a boat, but not holding out too much hope on that.

 

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I don't believe legend does... lund does tho.... i stayed away from the legends when I purchased my lund because  of reviews and things ppl had told.me... I'd consider taking it apart  yourself  than having them  do the work or don't even go to legend and go  somewhere totally different... there's  no warranty so why give legend more of your money 

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The front deck of the boat should come up easily.  I've repaired a "cracker" (tracker) boat that had the same problem (welded hull mind you). Winter project I would say.  I would also reinforce the structural of the floor if you're gonna do it.  I have a guy that can weld it for you in Niagara if you want to do it.  Cost you about $500.  Pouring a foam bottom will also give more added strength to the hull.  Dont junk it and dont pay a stupid amount of money for a dealer to send it out and get done.  

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Gil posted here about replacing many rivets on his boat , check the posts out for info . I  replaced the bow piece of plywood in my older Legend and can access about 3 feet of the bow rivets from inside . Your rivet holes may larger with 3/8" of play so larger diam.rivets may fix the leaks.  I have one rivet there slowly dripping water ....should be an easy fix . There's also some kind of sealer on the front bow piece ...  If Legend has a life time warranty they should fix it , but maybe the "warranty" started with newer boats ?  Good luck genec ...  sometimes it's hard to find "quality" these days .

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That's a horrible story. Your boat might be 17 years old but has probably the equivalent of one year of use. However, trying to get a dealer to fix it at that age would be almost impossible. I guess an overhaul for a motor of that age is not unreasonable but my 90hp 2 stroke Yamaha that I bought new in 1993 and used more for skiing and tubing than fishing, has never had a wrench on it. Only about 2 sets of plugs. Sold it 3 years ago and the new owner says it's been trouble free. I'm on my second Lund boat because I liked the first one so much. 18 years and the seats, carpet, wiring, gauges, fittings etc were all in great condition. I did take care of it and always stored it indoors but it was used hard. I guess there's a reason the Lunds are more expensive, but to me they have been worth it. I wish you luck and hope some of the guy's suggestions will work for you and get you back on the water.

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BrNd new in 2001 - was actually 2002 model!.

NOW Legend gives a lifetime riveted hullwarranty, but back when I bought mine it was only a 10 year warranty ?

The section of keel that is damaged is right on the bottom of the hull, just about where my windshield line is, and at or behind livewell in floor.  Definately behind the front bow section, so everything would have to come out, including all the injected foam under rhe floor!

don't even know how to begin taking all that out

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Genec, not to worry my friend! My 01 mirrocraft was leaking bad! Water was up over the floor at times after a few hrs. Of fishing! After cuting out the mid section of the floor, i put it in the river and marked a bunch of sqirting rivets! Drilled out and replaced in about 2hrs. Wow! What a difference!! still get a cup full after trolling all day but not even enough to pump out! Its not a huge job! I dont have foam under the floor though! Git atter!!!! 

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I took the console , LiveWell ,storage compartment and floor outta my smoker craft and all the foam.i did it through the winter months but it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be .all the foam was saturated the floor was rotting out and rivets leaking . plywood was rivetted down to beams in the floor so you have to drill them out to get the wood up  and theres quite a few.Removed the under floor gas tank rebucked the majority of the rivets.filled it with water to see if there was any drips .once it was completely gutted clean I refilled the floor between the stringers with 2" blue board high density.reconstructed the floor in three sections .sealed it with a resin epoxy sealer .PL the plywood back down .uses zip screws into the stringers.recarpeted reinstalled console ,axed out the LiveWell for space because I didn't use it.left one compartment for storage .all this took about 60 man hours alone .there was 80 lbs of saturated foam in that boat I took to the dump not to mention wet ply wood also .I gained about 8 mph after that but now after a few rough rides on Erie shes leaking bad again . about 10 gallons over 4 hours!good luck genec!

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Fishking, thats what I'm afraid of - spending a whole lot of hours tearing everything out to try and fix it, then just have it start leaking again the next year.  With a walk-through windshield setup it will be a HUGE job just to get everything out, let alone fix the problem.

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14 hours ago, Gil said:

Genec, not to worry my friend! My 01 mirrocraft was leaking bad! Water was up over the floor at times after a few hrs. Of fishing! After cuting out the mid section of the floor, i put it in the river and marked a bunch of sqirting rivets! Drilled out and replaced in about 2hrs. Wow! What a difference!! still get a cup full after trolling all day but not even enough to pump out! Its not a huge job! I dont have foam under the floor though! Git atter!!!! 

Regular pop rivets  or solid rivets  ?   I helped a guy use solid rivets years ago ....one guy on the outside holding a sledge hammer head against each rivet while the guy inside the boat used a hammer and  punch ...  some co-ordination  required !

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Pop rivets are a no-no in my book!! Do it right! Once!!! Proper rivets installed with an air riveter and bucking bar! Its really pretty easy! Yes it takes two people and some practice! Cost is very low compared to what genec was quoted! 

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I bucked all the rivets on my 14ft tinner and sealed both back corners with 3M 5200 as  I did that section. I used my airgun with an air chisel that I rounded with dremel to be concave to fit rivets and a friend on the other side with a sledge. Once you get going each one takes about 5 seconds. I wonder if you could get someone to weld that section from the outside. It shouldn't cost much to do it. I have had friends get aluminum trailers welded with side dropdown gates for their atv etc and only cost them a couple hundred dollars.

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Fish  Farmer, if I can ever get everything out of the boat to get at the bottom hull, I will contact that place you suggested in Hagersville to see if they can do the repair.

However, as you can see from the photo of my boat that I included below, everything in there is carpeted, and it will be a BIG job to get everything out from inside.

Oh well, I guess it can be a fall project for me whenever I'm not out turkey or deer hunting, but its going to take a while!

 

boat3.jpg

 

 

 

boat3.jpg

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On 8/25/2018 at 2:07 PM, genec said:

 NOW Legend gives a lifetime riveted hullwarranty, but back when I bought mine it was only a 10 year warrant

I'd check that out ....I read that Legend had a lifetime warranty on the hull but 10 years on the rest .....( manual ) ?

Since it started leaking badly,  could there be other leaks such as the livewell  hose or plug ? 

It's not good business for Legend to say it's your problem ......  we do take this into consideration when buying a new or used  boat .   :read:

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I would call their corporate office and try and talk to someone in Customer Service.  Make sure you have all the info relating to the boat at hand (model serial number etc) ... might be something out there such as a defect that is covered

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I'm really sorry (and disappointed) to hear this and your struggles.  This is the last thing any of us want to deal with whenever we buy fishing stuff, whether boats, gear etc.  I hope you can find a sound and economical resolution to this problem.  Thank you for sharing because these reviews and insight from others are so valuable.  So far my 2012 Alumacraft has been OK but you never know and I will report any type of issue like this.

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5 hours ago, smerchly said:

I'd check that out ....I read that Legend had a lifetime warranty on the hull but 10 years on the rest .....( manual ) ?

Since it started leaking badly,  could there be other leaks such as the livewell  hose or plug ? 

It's not good business for Legend to say it's your problem ......  we do take this into consideration when buying a new or used  boat .   :read:

Checked w Legend head office - mine is 10 yr warranty, so no support from Legend.

the riveted hulls from Legend are NOW a lifetime warranty, but not when mine was built :(

 

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