Gelcoat cracks at tower base and ski pylon?

[retox1]

Would a small gelcoat crack at one of the tower bases scare you away from a boat? Specifically a 2007 RZ2 with a E-series tower?

So, some of you may have seen my other thread about the RZ2 i'm supposed to be buying. The boat looks in great shape with just a few small things i wasnt too concerned about. We are in the process of getting things worked out so the boat is mine upon completion of a water test but no money has exchanged hands yet. While i was looking at the boat i did notice a few spider cracks around the base of the ski pylon and i understand these are actually pretty common on these boats as the pylon is only really held in by the fiberglass. BUT, as i'm sitting here and looking at the pics i took of the boat i noticed at one of the tower feet it looks like there has been a little movement and i noticed a very small hairline crack in the gelcoat. I didn't notice this in person and it doesn't look serious but i'm wondering what peoples thoughts would be on something like that if it was them buying the boat. Is this common on boats with the E-series tower or is it likely that the tower base is loose and it caused the crack? I'm not sure what to make of this now, i was pretty excited about this boat but now i'm starting to wonder what else i missed.

[jzts0214]

Did the boat sit outside during the winter?

[chpthril]

Gel-coat cracks around high stress areas can be like door dings on a car. perfectly common and no cause for alarm since the gel is the cosmetic finish.

[retox1]

Did the boat sit outside during the winter?

No, its stored in a heated garage all winter and a covered lift most of the summer.

[retox1]

Here are some pics. In the first pic you can see where the tower has been moving and its hard to see but there is a small crack running rearward from the mount. I took a pic of this mount because i noticed the plastic shim(?) was exposed but i didnt notice the hairline crack till i was looking at the pic and zoomed in. All the other tower bases looked fine, i think. Are these E-series towers prone to stuff like this? Are they a pretty sturdy tower? It does have the 4 factory tower speakers and a light bar so thats alot of weight up there if it gets shaking.



You can see the cracks around the pylon in this one. I've read on here that its somewhat normal to have cracks around this due to how its actually mounted. Apparently its just into the fiberglass and not into any type of metal frame? The guy told me they pulled some big tubes from the tow pylon and submarined one pretty bad one time. He said that was when most of the cracks appeared. I would have to reinforce this area since i have a big 3 man tube i pull with my nephews and nieces on.



So is this stuff anything to worry about? I had a few big cracks around the tower bases of my last boat but that was a aftermarket tower on a 99 Mastercraft 205 and was mounted by someone who did a really bad job. I was really hoping to avoid stuff like that on a newer boat. My inlaws do own a marine fiberglass/gelcoat shop and would fix these things for free, but i hate the idea of owing them a rather large favor.

[talltigeguy]

These things will crack more if the nuts underneath them are loose. I would bet that the nut underneath the ski pylon is loose, make sure to tighten it up. I am not sure what is under that exact tower, but I think there is a nut under there too. If you can tighten it, you should.

Those are cosmetic, not structural, so I would not let them persuade you from your purchase, but you can use them to get a few hundy off the price.

That rubber tower pad commonly wiggles its way loose, and it would be good to loose the mount and put it back straight. I had to do that with my 2005.

[skippabcool]

On my 2007 Ve IIRC the front legs have a nut to tighten underneath and the back you just use an allen on top, the underplate acts as the nut.

[boatwakes]

Nothing to worry about. If you see gelcoat missing from cracked areas and exposed fiberglass and such, thats a problem. I agree with tall too, check the nuts and backing plates for tightness and alignment.

[luke]

Nothing to worry about. If you see gelcoat missing from cracked areas and exposed fiberglass and such, thats a problem. I agree with tall too, check the nuts and backing plates for tightness and alignment.

X3

[retox1]

Ok, so then nothing to be worried about i guess. I didnt really think it was much of an issue but considering this is a pretty big purchase for me, i like to check with the guys who might know. I did find a few things about how to reinforce the ski pylon so that will be on the list of things to do, and i'll have to keep an eye on the tower legs. Any body ever make new tower pads to help with the cracks? I know over on the Mastercraft forums people did that alot on certain towers to help with the stress.