SS 188 OB Rear Seat Back Rest

AJW

I recently purchased a SS 188 OB.  Today, we attempted to take it to the lake for the first time.  We were extremely disappointed when we got there to find that the back rest on the rear seat was gone.  We backtracked and found it a few miles away on the side of the road, completely damaged beyond repair.  We did not have the cover on the boat as we were only going a few miles.  Is this a common occurrence, or did we get a defective back rest on the rear seat?  The seat appears to be removable as there are just 10 metal clips that the back rest slips/clips onto.  Is it designed to be towed without the back rest flying off?  I don't see a warning anywhere on the seat or the boat telling me it is not safe to tow with the back rest in place.  We now need to get a new back rest.  Ideally, I would like Hurricane to replace this since it appears to be a design flaw, but if not, where can I purchase a new back rest?  Once I get a new back rest, I am concerned about this happening again.  I guess I can always tow with the cover on the boat, but I'm worried that the back rest might still come flying off while we are out on the lake cruising around.  Needless to say, this was a horrible first-time experience with our new boat. 

Capt_Steve

Wow...very sorry to hear this. First time I've ever heard of this happening...and I have towed these boats numerous times for considerable distances without a cover. Need a little more information to figure out where to steer you. Is this a new 188 your bought from a dealer or a private sale? If it's older, please let me know what year and hull number. When I get that info, I'll discuss with Hurricane Customer Support first thing Monday. 

AJW

Thanks Captain Steve.  It is a 2011 that I bought used from a dealer (it was like-new with only 18 hours on it).  The hull number is GDYJ4014C111.  I'd appreciate any response you can get from Hurricane.  I also plan on calling the dealer on Monday morning.  Digging around this forum, I do see that someone else had the exact same problem earlier this year with their 2002 GS 201 IO (see post by al2sc "Lost seat back cushion while trailering Hurricane" on March 22).  Is this a common problem that I need to be more concerned about?  As I said before, I will take extra precaution when towing, but I do not want this to happen while out on the lake.

Capt_Steve

Definitely shouldn't happen at all. I will get some info from Hurricane on Monday...hopefully we can get this resolved quickly. 

nquirk

I have a 2010 version of this boat.  The clips at the back should insert into the seat back and push down.  However, at the bottom of the seat should be small little brackets that are screwed in place.  This keeps the seat from riding up on the clips and coming off.

I know these clips exist, because I've removed them several times to access the access port behind them.  If these clips are not there and/or not screwed in then yes, this seat back would come off.

Hope this helps.

AJW

Thanks for the feedback on the brackets. Were those brackets factory installed or were they aftermarket? I do not have any brackets on the seat back rest, and there is nowhere on the boat that brackets could even be screwed into to secure the cushion. I like the sound of adding them though... once I can get a new back rest.

Capt_Steve

Hey AJW...here's the response from Terri in Hurricane Customer Support: 

This is not common.  Yes, they should be able to tow with this attached.  I would have them get with the selling Dealer – they will need to check the clips to make sure they are not defective causing this to have happened. 

AJW

I just lost a lot of respect for Hurricane. I called Terri at Hurricane customer service. The end result is that I need to purchase a replacement cushion from a dealer (most likely with a mark-up). Terri at Hurricane stated that this should not have happened. However, since I am the second owner, Hurricane will not stand behind their product. This boat had 18 hours on it when I bought it. The original owner barely touched it. The bottom line though is that there was no remorse on Hurricane's end. I was basically just pushed aside and told to contact a dealer to resolve the issue, all for an issue that Hurricane admitted shouldn't have happened.

Also, as for the brackets that nquirk noted were on the 2010 model, Terri from Hurricane told me they stopped using those in production a couple of years ago (must have been right between the 2010 and 2011 model years).

The only boat I even considered buying was a Hurricane. I like the product, but it seems like there is not much support from them after it's out of their factory. I'm going to have to look at some other manufacturers the next time around.

yzfmik

That doesn't make sense, I bought a 2012 ss188 last June (new from dealer) and it has 2 brackets that screw the seat back in as to stay in place. Wonder why they said they stopped using the clips?