Stress Cracks

[charles steele]

I have a 2005 Tige 22V and have just started to notice stress cracks in the gel coat. Interestingly enough, they are not around the tower mounts. These cracks have just started showing up during the last couple of weeks. Took the boat to my local dealer and they indicated that although stress cracks are not covered under the structural warrantly, Tige was normally pretty good at covering the expense to have them repaired. To be honest, after owning several boats my Tige is the first to have stress cracks. Didn't see too many messages concerning stress cracks. Just curious if anyone else is experiencing stress cracks in their gel coat?

[xpjim1]

Only stress cracks I Had were self induced. I tightened the tower when the tower was down on my previous Tige. When I lifted the tower I heard the cracking occur. Sickening sound. Never tighten the tower when not in the upright position.

[Bog]

stress cracks can be caused by a number of different things. I am pretty sure Tige gives a 1 year warranty against them so they should fix them. You shouldnt worry because they are not structural just a pain in the ***!

[harv]

Before I picked up my Switch V from the dealer I had them fix one large stress crack. It took Tige' at least 3 weeks to approve the repair after receiving photos from the shop.

Since picking up the boat this spring I have another 6 or so cracks in the gel coat. They are not real obvious but they really bug me considering what we have to pay for quality and not receive it. I owned my previous ski boat (Moomba) for 9 years without any stress cracks at all.

Other than that, I love my boat.

[raythompson]

My prior boat had many stress cracks, especially in the corners. Gelcoat is extremely brittle and fiberglass is not quite as rigid. When the main hull flexes ever so slightly and the gelcoat does not you will have stress cracks.

How many and how severe they get is a matter of how rough the boat is treated. Lots of rough water, slamming, etc. will result in more stress cracks more quickly. Improper loading on the trailer will also place significant stress on the hull and may cause cracks.

Even delivery of the boat where the boat is improperly hoisted off the delivery truck and placed on the trailer will cause problems. Using straps under the hull rather than the lift hooks can sometimes cause problems. Even uneven lifting of the boat by the boat lift should be avoided.

[dcsnowwake]

I have stress cracks on my left rear tower, on my left under the windsheild, coming out of both handles on the bow of my 2005 swtich I.
Everytime I ride it seems like I find more. Its pissing me off. I ride in the river, so yeah its rough, but have never damaged the boat, just annoying.

and I think it should be covered under tige' lifeplus. it is part of the structural hull I believe

[raythompson]

Originally posted by dcsnowwake
and I think it should be covered under tige' lifeplus. it is part of the structural hull I believe

I would suspect that gelcoat is considered cosmetic and not part of the hull structure. Stress cracks will not affect the integity of the boat, only the looks.

I have a 2005 V and I have not found any stress cracks on my boat but I suspect they are there, just very tiny. I ride on the river, albeit a large river, but the water is usually very smooth so there is not a lot of slamming.

Another cause of the cracks may be thermal stressing. On my old boat most of the cracks occurred when I kept the boat in Texas. In TN, with the boat covered and ventilated under the cover, the temperature extremes are not that great.

Of course all of this does not help you. I just mention this so that you may understand that Tige may not be able to provide any relief for your problems.

[snoopy]

Originally posted by xpjim1
Only stress cracks I Had were self induced. I tightened the tower when the tower was down on my previous Tige. When I lifted the tower I heard the cracking occur. Sickening sound. Never tighten the tower when not in the upright position.

yikes!!

[xpjim1]

my reaction was a little more severe

[holiday13]

I had two show up this year, one is under the front tower mount (big guy torquing on the tower will cause this I guess) but the second was there when I took it out of storage, between the back sun deck and seat backs. Strange place for it to show up IMO. The boat was stored on the trailer in an enclosed building. Strange how that happened and when, guess it was the freeze and thaws we had this year.

[tigeone]

Stress Cracksssss

I have stress crackes around the underside of my rub rail.Also the rub rail is comming up in the lr corner.It almost looks like the rub rail was srcewed in right in the center where the top half and the lower half of hulls are seamed together....I do have one thin stress crack in the top of the hull at ther very rear of the boat...I was freaked when I saw the first one,It`s about 1/4..!!! But after reading this posting I see it isn`t unusual,,,Then the swim deck brackets broke and the swim deck fell off!! (good thing we were in the water!)Look at your bracket weldsI have an 06 20v.I`m not impressed with even the welds on the new brackets..Oh well I guess I`ll have new ones built.

[gman]

harv, I also did not have any stress cracks with a 20 year old boat and at times it was in serious waves.

[raythompson]

Re: Stress Cracksssss

Originally posted by tigeone
It`s about 1/4..!!! But after reading this posting I see it isn`t unusual,,,

I would consider a 1/4 crack a serious problem as that goes beyond my definition of a stress crack. I consider stress cracks hairline cracks, barely visible, almost like thin pencil marks. A 1/4 gap is a serious crack that needs to be repaired. If not water can get under the gelcoat and cause more serious problems.

[talltigeguy]

Both my old boat and my new boat have these:
I don't know what I must do to cause this, but they don't seem to grow and don't bother me much.

[Ruune]

hmm... that actually looks like the result of an impact at the molding level. Perhaps during docking or trailering?