For the record (not related to this boat fault), I have had a beef with Fi-Glass. When they installed the outlet pipe that drains the anchor well, they made it too long and it had a tight kink in it. That meant it blocked up with any bit off stuff in the water, and so the anchor well didnt drain properly, so it had a high water level, that drowned the motor of the anchor winch  - which they knew was there as they installed it. 

Yeah I reckon you should throw the book at them Schampy via the commerce commission . I bought a Senator 520 about 20 years ago after looking at all the pontoon boats . The Stabi's always had a clunky looking design for starters, but the cost cutting measures were also evident . The windscreen was just slotted into an aluminium frame that had been riveted to the fibreglass cabin that had been tacked onto the aluminium hull. The Senator had a windscreen that had been housed in with Sika on a welded aluminium frame that was integral to the aluminium cabin. The Senator was also cheaper than the tacked together Stabi. If you are going to build boats they need to be strong and safe for starters, ie fit for purpose. If there is a fault, you would expect the firm responsible, to bend over backwards to put it right . The aggressive attitude from Stabi is such that they have no place in the marine industry,  as they are too irresponsible and don't have the moral compass to be in a business where lives are at stake. 

We recently sold a custom built aluminum boat from a name builder from Kumeu/Waimauku that had no end of QC issues.  Initially the boat builder was good at sorting out the first bunch of issues but after a year or two he became a bit less keen.  The major issue we had was holes in welds that allowed water into the two separate hulls and the vee between the hulls.  This resulted in corrosion through the vee after just 4-5 years.  The boat builder was very good at coming up with excuses why the water was in the hulls (leaking outboard bolts, leaking screws on the sealed compartments, and condensation from the hull into the vee).  We ended up pressure testing the hulls to ascertain if there were any leaks in the welds and we found over 20 leaks, mostly at the stern where there is quite alot of water.  I videoed the pressure testing process we undertook and posted them privately on you tube to communicate exactly where each leak was located.  Each video also included the boat makers brand.  Towards the end when he was a little tardy in taking ownership of the issue I advised him that the videos were currently set as private - they could easily become public.  He was more prepared to repair the leaks after I passed this information on to him.  He did repair the boat in the end but the welding he did, whilst airtight was quite agricultural. You may find the threat of using you tube to publicly display issues as a good way to inspire a tardy boat builder to take ownership of issues in their build.

I am enjoying how many have come out of the woodwork and posted on here. Thought everyone had died.

letsgetem wrote: I am enjoying how many have come out of the woodwork and posted on here. Thought everyone had died.

This must be very stressful and frustrating, Schampy.

Hey guys. Really appreciate the comments and support.Its been interesting reading other peoples owner experiences with regards to other brands of boat manufacturers. At this point the boat has been de-rigged and we are waiting on the new components to be freighted up from Invercargill. So its just a case of letting the engineering firm do its thing.

Crap situation schampy, please show us photos of the repair when done if possible 

Manaia#2 wrote: I'm sorry to hear this Schampy, buying a new boat for some of us (competing with houses, kids and cars) may be a once in a life thing. The money involved is no small bag. NZ boat-builders owe customers a reliable product that goes a way to live up to the marketing. Something that can be sold or passed on. To be brutally honest, you life could depend on the quality of your boat. If your car breaks down you can get out and walk. I along with others should tell this story to others. Until Schampy replies and says Stabicraft have put things right. It's the best and most powerful way to keep boat-builders honest. The boating community is a small one. So that's what I'm goin' do. Stabicraft - sort your **** out!

I think they quietly made the upgrade last April. So about 18 months ago. There was obviously plenty of unsold stock lying around the country. My boat wasn't the one I actually ordered..... The One I ordered from Whakatane  got lost. Yep that's right. lost. After paying a deposit ....then waiting several weeks after my expected delivery date, then asking the dealer where my boat was..... Only for him to reply  "somewhere between Invercargill and Whakatane... but no idea where. Sorry mate"