I did notice that the center locker was a tad "funky" feeling when I opened it. Its an extremely heavy piece especially when you factor in the metal dual 3700 box holder that hangs from the underside, and when you actually put full boxes in it. The dual gas shocks seem to struggle with it in early stage of opening but then take over at about halfway. I was curious why they ran dual shocks at the far end which is also the narrowest and lightest end. I assume they didnt want a shock at the wider end to avoid interfering with reels at the butt end of the rod holder?
The boat I looked at was a demo boat and it had signs of abuse to show it. The rod locker closed fine on that one w/o having to open port storage to get it to lay down like you explained. Either way I am sure basscat will recall/fix any issues that come up