Fuel Gauge Doesn't Work (Repaired)
They delivered my Hanover with a 12-inch sending gauge (in a 36-inch deep tank!) Obviously that wasn't going to work! They've replaced the sender twice now and still can't figure out how to get it calibrated. Last I heard, they were getting a tech from Mercruiser to come take a look.
Update: Just got word from the Mercruiser tech that the issue was that, to use his words, "There are a lot of grounding issues on this boat. Nice boat, but not sure about the wiring." He installed a variety of ground wires throughout and grounded all the batteries together, as they should be (they were not). This fixed the fuel gauge issue, and he said it may well solve some other electrical problems we've been experiencing since bad grounds are the root of many marine electrical problems (though he did not test for every issue, as I believe that was beyond his scope of work.)
Battery Charger Stopped Working (Repaired then Broke again.)
The battery charger just stopped working about two months after delivery. Even though it's been replaced, a cause was not determined. Note that the mechanic had to remove the generator just to get to the house batteries and charger, turning an otherwise pretty simple repair into a multi-day project.
March 2024 update: I went down to my boat last night, and all the house batteries are totally dead. The breaker on the electric panel for the battery charger is tripped and won't reset. So not sure what's up, but once again, my boat is unexpectedly unusable. And it seems to be more electric gremlins. I'm starting to think that the electrical work on this boat is the underlying culprit to many of the issues.
Under-seat Fridge Doesn't Work
The Panel lights are on, and it shows the current temp (19.7 C), but the controls (on/off and temp settings) are non-responsive (they used to work.) And of course, the interior is not cold anymore.
Grill doesn’t work (Repaired)
Hanover installed a 110V grill and plugged it into a 220V electrical outlet, which fried the grill at first use. Note that the electrical outlet was a typical residential-grade 110V style outlet with no indication that it was getting 220V. No marine-grade or GFCI socket! Big safety issue!)
Both cockpit windows are leaking from above (Repaired)
You can see daylight through the caulking around some of the windows, so it's obvious as to how water is leaking in when it rains.
The port mid-ship window (below deck) is leaking
Water is leaking into the boat when it rains. It's all pooling in a wooden cabinet (with no drain), so there's usually an inch or so of water sloshing around in there. Despite multiple repair attempts, it's still leaking.
Sliding cockpit window separators fell out on both sides (Repaired Poorly)
The quarter inch piece of plexiglass that looks like it was glued in there as an afterthought is not rigid enough to maintain its shape when the windows slide open. The glued connections have come loose on both sides, the window sweeps that were glued on have come off, and nothing about these pieces seems like they will work. This was repaired, but it looks like something I would do and not something factory (gaps, etc.)
Missing fuel gauge on diesel tank (Refused to address)
The diesel tank (for the generator) has no fuel gauge of any kind. Hanover says that's how it's supposed to be and refuses to install a gauge. But given how many other things they simply forgot to install per specs, this feels more like an oversight than a design decision to me. (And if it is an intentional decision, it's a pretty bad one in my opinion! Who doesn't think knowing how much fuel one has is important??) If you have a Hanover boat with a separate fuel tank for the generator that has a gauge, please reach out to me!
Missing TV (Addressed)
As part of the premium package that I purchased, there was supposed to be a TV in the cabin. It simply wasn't there upon delivery. After making them aware of it, Hanover did drop ship me a TV from Amazon after delivery.
Missing Fire Suppression System (In Progress)
The brochure clearly indicates that an automatic fire suppression system is included as a feature on this boat. But it was never installed. Hanover did arrange to have one installed after delivery. They started that process in November 2023. As of March 2024, it's still not working.
Missing backsplash tile in galley (Refused to Address)
As part of the premium package I purchased, there is to be a tile backsplash in the galley. Hanover says that they put the tile in the shower instead, so they didn't need to put it in the galley as well. We disagree on this, and this is one of the items I believe they should cover under warranty, but they are refusing to do so.
Missing 'push-button' lift for engine hatch (Refused to Address)
Again, as part of the premium package I purchased, there is to be an electric actuator to automatically lift the engine hatch. It's not there. I was originally told that there was no room to install it (there is), then I was later told that this is not something they do. So despite being clearly listed as a feature, Hanover is refusing to provide this feature that I paid for.
Speakers hum when LED accent lights are on (Repair in Progress)
The speakers hum when the LED accent lighting is turned on.
LED accent lights on the ceiling stopped working (Repair in progress)
These lights worked fine, but then stopped working. It's worth pointing out that based on the app I have to use to change the LED colors, these are "DuoCo strip lights" (which are sold for under $50 on Temu). Hardy seems like marine-grade equipment, which would explain why they cause line noise and then broke. This is one of many examples of non-marine grade equipment/materials I've found used on this boat.
There is a raw water leak at the strainer for the AC cooling system (Repaired)
Loose hose clamps. Not a big deal to fix, but indicative of poor attention to detail.
The synthetic teak flooring is awful! (Refused to Address)
I could probably create a whole separate site about the flooring situation. The stuff they put down, in my opinion, shouldn't ever go on any boat. It appears to be a 'peel n stick' product, and it stains if you just look at it funny. The quality of the product aside, it was installed poorly and has been coming up since the day I took delivery. There are visible seams and other defects with it. More to the point, my build spec (submitted after ordering the boat) specifically calls for Flexiteek, by name. Hanover's position is that they don't use Flexiteek and will not have it installed now. They have offered to replace what is there with the same material, but that won't solve my problems, so this item is in dispute.
The multi-function displays are only partially hooked up (Refused to Address)
The displays (particularly the Raymarine Axiom units) seem to have sporadic integration and false readings on a lot of the operational parameters. For example, the Fusion audio is not hooked up at all (via NCMA2000 cable). The fuel gauge doesn’t provide a reading (this is a separate issue from the fuel sender being too short that has since been remedied.) Trim tabs and steering don’t provide accurate readings. The battery gauge doesn’t read any volts or amps. The app-based remote control doesn’t seem to be working. Hanover's position is that setting up and integrating these devices is not included in the boat and that I would have to hire someone else to do it if I so choose.
Shower door backstop is a piece of foam tape
The shower door will bang into the wall and damage it without a back stop. Instead of providing one, Hanover just put some foam tape on the door knob.
Some of the finish wood/trim is coming apart at the seams
One of my big gripes with this boat is just the poor craftsmanship all over the place. There's just a lot of sloppy work. The carpentry is a great example, as a lot of the wooden pieces simply don't line up perfectly, and there are visible gaps in the wood and the covering over the wood. (Also, I think the wood is particle board. I need to investigate further, but if I'm right, there's no way this stuff is going to hold up in a marine environment!) Hanover has ignored multiple requests to have these issues addressed.
Fridge under seats is not insulated (Refused to Address)
There is no insulation around this fridge, so when it’s running, there’s a ton of condensate all over the place around it, which is likely going to cause mold since it’s in an unventilated space. Hanover says it's supposed to be this way and will not remedy it, but I've never seen a fridge that was designed to have condensate all over the outside of it.
LED strip lights on the bow ceiling are not working (Repaired)
As with other equipment, these led light strips look to be of the peel and stick variety, and not made for a marine environment. While Hanover did replace them after they quit working, they did so with a bright white version of the lights that doesn't match the 'temperature' of the other lights in the cabin.
Electric panel LED indicator lights need to be fixed
The electric panel has some oddities. For example, the breaker for the BBQ grill needs to be on for the electric awning to work. Also some of the lights that illuminate the text on the panel either don't work or are the wrong color. Sometimes 'red' means off and sometimes it means 'on,' which makes it very confusing to work on the panel.
Rubber seal on sun roof is tearing off (Repaired - for now)
The rubber seal between the sliding roof and windshield came apart after a couple of dozen uses. While Hanover did have it repaired, I fully expect this to be a recurring issue because of how the parts come together. They're just misaligned enough to cause an imperfect fit that is always going to be a problem point. (Also the screeching noise the roof makes when opening it is very disconcerting! I suspect there will be future problems with this mechanism.)
Audio system is not set up properly (Refused to Address)
As part of the premium package I bought, I got an upgraded audio system, which is a Fusion head unit with a separate amp and 6 speakers. While it technically works, all 6 speakers are on the same zone (even though the head unit supports multizone.) And all 6 speakers are hooked up to a 4 channel amp (by piggy backing two sets of speakers on each channel.) I've been told that this could burn out the amp or speakers over time since the impedance may be mismatched. At a minimum, it means I'm only getting half the power the system is otherwise capable of, and it makes zoning the speakers impossible without getting a new amp. I'll also note that the Fusion head amp is not connected to the MDFs--something that could have easily been done with a $20 wire during the build, but now is a major project to re-wire. There's no sub, and overall, I find the audio system and setup very disappointing (especially for an upgraded package that I paid extra for.)
Deep fiberglass scratches in the black hard-top finish need to be repaired, but fore and aft (Repaired)
There were several significant scratches in the surfaces at delivery. They have since been fixed.
There is a dangling, exposed power (presumably) wire in the anchor chain compartment.
I don’t know what it goes to, and I have not noticed anything that is not working. But it doesn’t seem right that there are just exposed power wires dangling around. Even if they don’t go to anything by design, they should at least be capped.
Screws missing in dinette table below
For the dinette table, Hanover drilled the pilot holes but only put in 2 of the 6 screws on both sides!! See https://photos.app.goo.gl/crsRB1KgFTduuvuG8. It's an easy enough fix, but this kind of lack of quality control and sloppy workmanship is infuriating for a boat that costs as much as a house!
Several small bolts/nuts need to be installed/tightened. (Repaired, though we tend to keep finding new examples of these.)
There are examples all over the boat where there are loos bolts, bolts without nuts, left over pieces (like bolts/nuts) left in the bilge or other hidden places)--almost as if the person installing something dropped the nut, and then just left it there and moved on.)
Spider vein cracks in the hull around railings (repaired)
There are stress cracks in the hull where the railing connects to the fiberglass. These have been repaired (though I'm not sure how. Looks to be painted over?)
Gas cap is only held on by one screw
As another example of poor craftsmanship, the gas cap fitting--which has 3 screws to secure it to the hull--is only being held on by one screw and some caulking. There is no backing for the screws to grip to, so they are just pushed in by hand and caulked to hold them. The fact that they are caulked in means that this wasn't an oversight. Someone had to see that they weren't securing anything and then made the decision to hide this fact by caulking them in instead of installing appropriate backing.
Cabin is not 9' high!
Hanover's brochure clearly states that there is 9' of headroom in the cabin. And while I actually find the cabin to be quite spacious for a boat this size, there is nothing close to 9'. Maybe just over 6'? I've brought this to Hanover's attention, but the continue to advertise 9' of clearance.
Roof doesn't drain
In my opinion, one of the biggest design flaws with this boat is how the roof is essentially a bucket and holds water. It seems to be designed this way so that the sliding roof can slide back into this recessed area. But it ends up collecting all sorts of debris and water. There are drains in the middle on each side, but at least my boat seems to lean back such that the drains are no longer in the low point of the cavity, so it basically turns into bird poop soup up there. There's also no good way to get up there to clean it. I have to put a ladder on the dock, which is very precarious. There's obviously not much Hanover can do to fix this at his point, but I consider this a major design flaw.
Roof paint peeling off (repaired)
In several places on the roof, the paint appears to be shrinking, cracking, and peeling off. While Hanover did send someone to fix the two instances, I expect that this will continue to happen over time and keeping the roof looking nice will be a constant battle. (I'm guessing this is largely in part due to the pool water up there. Paint doesn't like to live under a pool of water.)
Shower is leaking
Something in the shower area is leaking when it rains, as evident from the staining water collecting at the bottom.
Kill switch doesn't work (repair in progress)
That switch that you attach your lanyard to to kill the engines in case you fall overboard? Well, mine doesn't work. (Which we discovered when they installed the fire suppression system since it uses the kill switch to kill the engines. So my fire suppression system doesn't really work then either. Major safety issues!
Galley sink drain leaks (self-repaired)
The sink drain was cross threaded on delivery and leaked everywhere. It wasn't a big deal to fix myself, but goes to show the lack of quality control since no one even bothered to test the sink before delivery.
USB outlets have glue in them
In two separate places, the USB outlets have glue inside the ports. How the hell do you even get glue in there???
Wooden step is coming apart at the seam
The headline pretty says it all.
Under-seat panels have paint and dents on them
In several places, the panels under the seat cushions look like the were used for work benches. They have deep scratches, paint, etc. Even though they're generally out of sight, It's ridiculous to get a brand new boat in such a condition.
AC remote is for the wrong system
That white remote control came with the boat, but does not go with the installed AC system. I'm not sure it's even a marine system. I think someone at the boat yard is probably missing their AC remote! Not a big deal, but just another example of the lack of quality control.
Velcro that holds the seat cushions on is coming off
Mind you, this boat is 4 months old. I know velcro and glue don't last forever, but they should last 4 months!
Dinette table is at a very awkward height (Not a Warranty Item)
This is not technically a defect, but look at the dinette table height. It's too low to be a table and hits your knees. Just another example of needlessly poor design in my opinion. 6 more inches on the risers would have made this fine. But in fairness, since I bought the boat sight-unseen, I don't know that I can reasonably hold Hanover accountable to "fix" this under warranty.
Leaks into the cabin have ruined the bedding
When it rains, the cabin leaks in multiple places, in some cases pooling water. In this particular case, it got the bedding wet and ruined it. (Given how many places this boat leaks that I can see, I'm very worried about where it is leaking that I can't see that may result in mold or other longer-term damage.