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mpeterson · 06-01-2009, 06:11 PM

Dear boat guy64 and the others involved in the Cobalt sinking,

First of all let me say that i am so glad that you and your family are ok. Second i believe every word you say about Cobalt boat hull failure. Let me tell you and any other interested parties my story and you can make your own judgment....

I am a very experienced boater and have been since i was 5 years old. My family built planing hull boats for 20 years. Models were 16'-32' runabouts and cruisers. I have owned boats from sail to power, skiboats to large cruisers. I am a member of the Seattle Yacht Club. My family's passion in life was boating.

In April of 2005 my family and I met the local Cobalt dealer here (Seattle Boat) on Lake Washington (where we live) to test drive (sea trial) a basically new (38 hours old) cobalt 282. We were with the salesperson from Seattle Boat and did everything he asked us to do while he continued to "sell" us.

We were starting out basically from a dead stop and were getting up on plane. We were running about 45-50 mph (the boat is marketed to do 68 mph). We were going strait ahead running parallel (150-200 yards to the south) of the 520 bridge having a very nice relaxing time on the water. Suddenly, out of nowhere, and within a milli-second the port bow and port side raised up so quickly and so high that no one had anytime to react. Unfortunatly every one was ejected/fell out of the boat. The boat stopped (thank god) and layed back down about 50 yards away. We were just able to make it back to the boat just long enough (about 60 seconds) to get life jackets on and then the boat sank in about 200' feet of water. It all happened so shockingly fast.

There were multiple injuries but (again thank god) nobody died that day.

Now the really sad part......Cobalt boat company, the dealer and their respective insurance companies Chubb and American Hardware ignored us for years. You would think that Cobalt would want to know what caused the accident and bring the boat up. Instead they immediately pointed the finger at me, their client, and said I must be the cause of the accident! They had many theories (none of which admit any wrongdoing on their part of course). They speculated that I must have operated the trim tabs and/or power trim incorrectly (if those little trim tabs or power trims can cause a boat to eject its occupants in a milli-second in excellent sea conditions Cobalt should recall every boat they have ever made with trim tabs in the interest of public safety!!).. They said i was going too fast for conditions because their manual states the operator should have at least 10 hours experience. They said I was reckless and wake jumping because we crossed over our own wake! (all the sworn testimony from my family and the salesperson state the exact opposite). I find it sickening that they would accuse me of putting my family in jeopardy like that. They also said I should have read all the manuals before taking the test drive. I submit to you; how would Cobalt or its dealers ever sell a boat if you had to have 10 hours behind the wheel and read the hundreds of pages in all the manuals before taking a test drive??? (If this isnt proof of Cobalt's absence of reality i dont know what is)

Maybe because i am stubborn or maybe because i just refuse to let people make false, malicious, accusations about me and my family I spent nearly $20,000 to have the boat raised off the bottom of the lake. I have spent countless thousands on marine architects and marine surveyors and other experts to prove to Cobalt and Seattle Boat the serious problems they have with their design and quality, to restore my good name and hopefully save some lives in the process!

Here are the undeniable facts:
1) According to NOAA; wind speeds were from the south 6-10mph. Seas were 6"-12" chop. In short it was a very pleasant day on the water, a day in which any boat, including a Cobalt should be more than able to handle with ease. (Conversely if the boat can not handle those simple conditions the salesperson should have told me so and not directed me to go to the south side of the bridge and Cobalt should instruct people that their boats can not handle these mild conditions)
2) We were going in a straight line.
3) We were going just over half throttle at 45 mph.
4) We did not hit anything. The bottom of the hull is perfect.
5) The trim tabs were all the way up in the neutral position.
6) The power trims were all the way down or in their neutral position.
7) The hull to deck joint failed catastrophically from the transom to the winshield. As it turns out Cobalt does not "bond" the hull to the deck. Instead they use the cheap and easy way; sheet metal screws under a rub rail.
8) The starboard hull collapsed inward nearly 10". (We know this because the micro-commander module in the engine compartment was mounted on the starboard hull. When the hull concaved in it smashed the microcomander box against the starboard engine block.)
9) The boat has significant freeboard but has no bulk heads and little to no lateral support for the hull.
10) In the absence of bulkheads and significant lateral support Cobalt designs their boats to use the deck to obtain the needed lateral support for the hull. In short a Cobalt is a "shoe box" boat; If you put a heavy object in a shoe box the sides fold in but if you put the top of the shoebox on and tape it to the box the sides will hold and not concave in.
11) Many of the screws used to secure the deck to the hull were missing and so badly drilled at the top of the hull they provided little to no strength. In one area near the transom there was no hull to drill into so Cobalt filled the area with putty and screwed into said putty.
12) This poor Cobalt design and manufacturing of the hull to deck joint caused the hull to fail nearly killing my family.

I have now spent well over $100,000 to make Cobalt and Seattle boat do the right thing. Frankly i have strong principles or right and wrong and I expect people I do business with to have integrity and do the right thing. Because of this simple belief I refuse to let people or companies get away with murder which is exactly what Cobalt has tried to do. Instead of being honorable they have stalled and ignored us and continued, rather feebly to point the finger at me and their very own dealer even after the evidence (the boat) was quite literally brought to the surface and put right in front of them.

Trial is set for August. There we will be vindicated and hopefully the boating public will be educated and wary of Cobalt boats, their warranty, and their claims of treating their clients as "part of the family".

Cobalt boat company's web site and brochures want their clients to believe they are "part of their family" alright......that is until their product fails and nearly kills you. They ignore you, hang you out to dry, and to add insult to injury try and blame their clients they proclaim to care so much about! Any prospective boat buyer should think twice before buying a Cobalt boat.

If anyone would like pictures of the mountains of evidence i have please let me know.

Here is some other good reading that might help explain what happened to you and I and things for people to watch out for.

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/Screwit.htm

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/HullFailPart1.htm

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/HullFailP2.htm

06-01-2009, 06:11 PM	#80
mpeterson Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 1 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Dear boat guy64 and the others involved in the Cobalt sinking, First of all let me say that i am so glad that you and your family are ok. Second i believe every word you say about Cobalt boat hull failure. Let me tell you and any other interested parties my story and you can make your own judgment.... I am a very experienced boater and have been since i was 5 years old. My family built planing hull boats for 20 years. Models were 16'-32' runabouts and cruisers. I have owned boats from sail to power, skiboats to large cruisers. I am a member of the Seattle Yacht Club. My family's passion in life was boating. In April of 2005 my family and I met the local Cobalt dealer here (Seattle Boat) on Lake Washington (where we live) to test drive (sea trial) a basically new (38 hours old) cobalt 282. We were with the salesperson from Seattle Boat and did everything he asked us to do while he continued to "sell" us. We were starting out basically from a dead stop and were getting up on plane. We were running about 45-50 mph (the boat is marketed to do 68 mph). We were going strait ahead running parallel (150-200 yards to the south) of the 520 bridge having a very nice relaxing time on the water. Suddenly, out of nowhere, and within a milli-second the port bow and port side raised up so quickly and so high that no one had anytime to react. Unfortunatly every one was ejected/fell out of the boat. The boat stopped (thank god) and layed back down about 50 yards away. We were just able to make it back to the boat just long enough (about 60 seconds) to get life jackets on and then the boat sank in about 200' feet of water. It all happened so shockingly fast. There were multiple injuries but (again thank god) nobody died that day. Now the really sad part......Cobalt boat company, the dealer and their respective insurance companies Chubb and American Hardware ignored us for years. You would think that Cobalt would want to know what caused the accident and bring the boat up. Instead they immediately pointed the finger at me, their client, and said I must be the cause of the accident! They had many theories (none of which admit any wrongdoing on their part of course). They speculated that I must have operated the trim tabs and/or power trim incorrectly (if those little trim tabs or power trims can cause a boat to eject its occupants in a milli-second in excellent sea conditions Cobalt should recall every boat they have ever made with trim tabs in the interest of public safety!!).. They said i was going too fast for conditions because their manual states the operator should have at least 10 hours experience. They said I was reckless and wake jumping because we crossed over our own wake! (all the sworn testimony from my family and the salesperson state the exact opposite). I find it sickening that they would accuse me of putting my family in jeopardy like that. They also said I should have read all the manuals before taking the test drive. I submit to you; how would Cobalt or its dealers ever sell a boat if you had to have 10 hours behind the wheel and read the hundreds of pages in all the manuals before taking a test drive??? (If this isnt proof of Cobalt's absence of reality i dont know what is) Maybe because i am stubborn or maybe because i just refuse to let people make false, malicious, accusations about me and my family I spent nearly $20,000 to have the boat raised off the bottom of the lake. I have spent countless thousands on marine architects and marine surveyors and other experts to prove to Cobalt and Seattle Boat the serious problems they have with their design and quality, to restore my good name and hopefully save some lives in the process! Here are the undeniable facts: 1) According to NOAA; wind speeds were from the south 6-10mph. Seas were 6"-12" chop. In short it was a very pleasant day on the water, a day in which any boat, including a Cobalt should be more than able to handle with ease. (Conversely if the boat can not handle those simple conditions the salesperson should have told me so and not directed me to go to the south side of the bridge and Cobalt should instruct people that their boats can not handle these mild conditions) 2) We were going in a straight line. 3) We were going just over half throttle at 45 mph. 4) We did not hit anything. The bottom of the hull is perfect. 5) The trim tabs were all the way up in the neutral position. 6) The power trims were all the way down or in their neutral position. 7) The hull to deck joint failed catastrophically from the transom to the winshield. As it turns out Cobalt does not "bond" the hull to the deck. Instead they use the cheap and easy way; sheet metal screws under a rub rail. 8) The starboard hull collapsed inward nearly 10". (We know this because the micro-commander module in the engine compartment was mounted on the starboard hull. When the hull concaved in it smashed the microcomander box against the starboard engine block.) 9) The boat has significant freeboard but has no bulk heads and little to no lateral support for the hull. 10) In the absence of bulkheads and significant lateral support Cobalt designs their boats to use the deck to obtain the needed lateral support for the hull. In short a Cobalt is a "shoe box" boat; If you put a heavy object in a shoe box the sides fold in but if you put the top of the shoebox on and tape it to the box the sides will hold and not concave in. 11) Many of the screws used to secure the deck to the hull were missing and so badly drilled at the top of the hull they provided little to no strength. In one area near the transom there was no hull to drill into so Cobalt filled the area with putty and screwed into said putty. 12) This poor Cobalt design and manufacturing of the hull to deck joint caused the hull to fail nearly killing my family. I have now spent well over $100,000 to make Cobalt and Seattle boat do the right thing. Frankly i have strong principles or right and wrong and I expect people I do business with to have integrity and do the right thing. Because of this simple belief I refuse to let people or companies get away with murder which is exactly what Cobalt has tried to do. Instead of being honorable they have stalled and ignored us and continued, rather feebly to point the finger at me and their very own dealer even after the evidence (the boat) was quite literally brought to the surface and put right in front of them. Trial is set for August. There we will be vindicated and hopefully the boating public will be educated and wary of Cobalt boats, their warranty, and their claims of treating their clients as "part of the family". Cobalt boat company's web site and brochures want their clients to believe they are "part of their family" alright......that is until their product fails and nearly kills you. They ignore you, hang you out to dry, and to add insult to injury try and blame their clients they proclaim to care so much about! Any prospective boat buyer should think twice before buying a Cobalt boat. If anyone would like pictures of the mountains of evidence i have please let me know. Here is some other good reading that might help explain what happened to you and I and things for people to watch out for. http://www.yachtsurvey.com/Screwit.htm http://www.yachtsurvey.com/HullFailPart1.htm http://www.yachtsurvey.com/HullFailP2.htm