You must have gotten a "lemon". I don't know if you can call a bad boat a lemon but it sounds like you got one. I have a War Eagle 1542 and beat it around pretty good. Have never had any problems. I love the boat. Mine does not have a floor in it but I have heard that floors in a flat can be a problem because of the flex in the boat. If I were you I'd ask War Eagle for a new boat. Duck season is only so long and you don't need your boat in the shop for most of it.