Question about a Hamby"s Beach Bumper

[cpower23]

I know the keel protectors were talked about a little bit in an earlier thread but I have a question about mine and what I found yesterday. I just bought a pristine 2004 198 with a white hull and it had a black Hamby's on it. My OCD was getting the best of me in regards to the black guard and white hull. I actually had a brand new KeelShield brand protector that I got as a warranty replacement for my boat that I just sold. It was white so I was going to remove the Hamby's and put on the white KeelShield. I got to looking closer at the Hamby's and noticed that it was not stuck on very good anyway. It was starting to come off at the top. So i decided to just go ahead and remove it. Well it came off very easy. Basically just popped off. No scraping or prying or anything to remove it. The glue or epoxy was very brittle. What I noticed under it was that water had been trapped under it for sometime causing the paint to bubble. Needless to say I was pretty upset when I saw this. Any one else have any issues like this? I called Hamby's and talked to them about it since they are supposed to carry a lifetime warranty. They told me they would replace the guard but couldn't do anything about the boat being damaged as that had to be from poor installation. But this protector can only be installed by a authorized Hamby's dealer/distributor. So if it was put on by one of their professional dealers then shouldn't any damage done caused by poor installation be covered under their warranty?

Needless to say when you buy a boat like this you don't exactly plan to spend another $2-3k in hull repairs. And I am in no way blaming the guy I bought it from as I'm sure he had no idea it was like that. It showed no signs of any issues at all until I got up close and just happened to notice it was starting to peel off.

Any ideas or suggestions on what to do next would be appreciated.

Thanks!!

[dkennimer]

Maybe contact the shop that installed it. That's about the only thing you can do. Good luck!

[Tx Champ]

Sounds like the surface wasn't prepped correctly when it was installed. If what you have is in fact a Hamby's original, you probably killed any chances at any remedy on the part of the installer by removing it. But if you know the dealer, you can give it a shot. My bet is that the best you'll get out of them would be the installation of the new protector that Hamby indicated that he'd replace. I installed Hamby's Light duty on my previous 2 Champs myself. On my current 2007 210, I had a Hamby's Original installed by a fiberglass shop that is one of the authorized dealers. It's been on there 6 years with no issues so far. I wouldn't worry about a black protector on a white hull. I've seen lots of them and they look just fine to me.

Good luck!!

[cpower23]

I have reached out to the guy I bought the boat from to try and find out where it was put on. He is the original owner. He bought the boat from a dealer in Tennessee somewhere. I don't know if it was on the boat when he bought it or not. I'm trying to find that out. The Hamby's is wider than any of the other brands out there. The guy at Hamby's suggested that maybe a professional installer could sand the bubbles out and then put the protector over top of the sanded area. I don't know if that is a good idea or not but it would be a lot cheaper than repairing the damaged gelcoat. It's just frustrating when you buy a boat that you think is damn near perfect only to find out later that it isn't. Guess that's part of owning a boat. Break Out Another Thousand as they say.

[Bruce2]

If your handy you could sand out the bubbles and put either marine tex or gelcoat mixed with cabisal and sand it all down smooth and then get a new shield on it. I had to fix the keel on my boat due to previous owner beaching it without a protector, i used gelcoat mixed with cabisal which makes a putty then sand it all down.

[95202DCX]

You are never going to see the blisters from moisture so just have a Hamby's dealer install one correctly this time, if they see something that needs addressing before install I'm sure they will let you know before one is put on.

Here's how a factory install looks in case you want to do it yourself...

[Fidgetcranker]

I would go with a black color of whatever you do. I've seen the white keel protectors of different brands get discolored over time, and it looks like a dirty strip of white rubber under your boat. Won't clean off either.
Best wishes getting things right!

[Dan21XRS]

Hamby warranties the keel protector. They didn't install so I wouldn't expect them to cover any of the repairs. Good luck with the dealer, it's been 13 years doubt they will do anything for you being outa town and all... Dan

[Lea]

If you are OCD about a black Hamby's on a white hull, just imagine how it would be if your white keel protector yellowed over time....which is very possible. Stick with black!

And let us know the end results here....it might help others, tho I have never heard of the professionally installed Hamby's having any issues. Are we sure this is not the Do-it-yourself one?

[gleninaz]

Sounds like the stick on Hamby's. Mine was glued on with epoxy. I have black on a white hull.

[cpower23]

It is not the "do it yourself one". It was some kind of epoxy or something that failed. The stick on kind are only 5", this one is 6". It was factory installed from Champion or put on by what ever dealer sold the boat new because it was on there when the original owner bought it. What will happen if I put a new protector over the blisters? Is that a bad idea?

[RL552]

The blisters should be repaired before installing protector. If not the gelcoat will get brittle and start chipping off, then the water will move to the fiberglass and rot will start

What are we looking at in the picture?

[cpower23]

That is the old Hamby's after it was removed. That is the surface that was against the boat. You can tell where the water was trapped in it. A couple suggested that it was the "do it yourself" guard. I was just trying to show that it wasn't.

[RL552]

Looks like the edges are lacking adhesive. I think I'm going to run a bead of sealer around mine.

[Dan21XRS]

Someone half-@ssed it... Good luck with the repair... Dan

[jarhead175]

The blisters should be repaired before installing protector. If not the gelcoat will get brittle and start chipping off, then the water will move to the fiberglass and rot will start

What are we looking at in the picture?

+1 have the blisters repaired before installing the new guard. As far as who originally installed I would let that go after 13 years odds of them fixing are probably somewhere between slim and none.

[BigMouth]

Going out to check mine now, if nothing else this board keeps me on my toes with maintenance and upkeep tips.

[Spidergrub]

My Hamby's is just as tight and solid as it was when it was installed in 2003. I called Hamby's to find the closest authorized installer and drove over 2 hours to Lake Anna, VA to get it done. Have never regretted it. I have the Black Hamby's on a White Hull.

[cwils71]

my last boat was a 2005 skeeter with a white hamby's original on a white hull, looked good and never faded. bought it when it was 2 or 3 years old, sold the boat in early 2016. JMO

[ChampioNman]

If the guy bought the boat in TN new there were only so many Champion dealers there. I'd ask the seller who he bought it from and go back to them. I'm still confused on the angle of your picture. I've circled your foot in blue, then the damaged area in red and the 2x4'? in Yellow. Is the boat inverted??