In a predicament with my Gel Coat

[Jason B]

If they are blistering at the seams something very wrong is afoot.

[loudelectronics]

I will say the dealer is very surprised. They have never seen cracks spread like this. They have even started cracking the decals that are on the boat. They know I take care of it cause I brought it back to them in better shape then I bought it. I dont use it on big water either, not that that should matter. I use it alot, around 80-100 hours a summer so far. I cant see it slowing down either. The biggest waves we encounter are double ups. Only use factory ballast too.

[loudelectronics]

Talked to dealer today, and they are working on a solution. My biggest concern right now is having a boat for the summer. They assured me that I will. I trust that so I am not getting to worked up. Only thing I am losing sleep over is that I am dreaming of being out on the lake and wake up only to find more snow on the ground. None the less something is going to be done, dealer appears to be working for me, so no issues there. I will keep you guys posted on the outcome. I'd rather this take time then be rushed. I don't want to see a gel repair that is not up to par.

[Tanner]

Loud if things are as bad as you make it sound... Tige might be getting you a new boat. I just can't see something that bad not being structural.

I don't think we'll ever hear about it if they do though, as I'm sure they'll make you sign a non-disclosure agreement (kind of like a nautique owner over on Wakeworld). Good luck!!!!

[SPBFAN]

What about freezing. Did it get left out in freezing temps for a long time with out a cover over the whole boat and would that cause cracking?

[loudelectronics]

Loud if things are as bad as you make it sound... Tige might be getting you a new boat. I just can't see something that bad not being structural.

I don't think we'll ever hear about it if they do though, as I'm sure they'll make you sign a non-disclosure agreement (kind of like a nautique owner over on Wakeworld). Good luck!!!!

I personally dont think it is structural. The boat is solid. I should find out what is happening in the next couple of weeks. But something has definitely been stressed and keeps getting worse.

As far as freezing goes. Boats freeze in the winter. It does not matter if they are covered or not (mine was). The gel should not be affected unless it was not cured properlly.

[yllw20]

Please post some pixs if you get a chance. Why would gel crack? It woudl be the fiber that is actually cracking. You stated it was on the seams? or are you talking about the seams of the cracks. If you are talking seams? ie where the rubrail attaches the deck to the hull, then it could have been re-rubrailed and if someone did that and didn't redrill pilot holes to rescrew these in then it can cause cracking from these holes.
I like many others would like to see pixs and please keep us informed. Sounds like your dealer is working on it.

[TeamAllen]

Couldn't they fly a specialist out to do repairs? I mean, why do they need to ship the boat?

[loudelectronics]

I wish I could post some pics of the damage. All of our pics have nothing in them cause of glare off the water. The cracks run perpindicular to the rubrail as if they started under the rub rail and moved down. There is also a crack that started under the tower and the front grab bar in the bow. There are literally hundreds of cracks on the hull that go from the rub rail to the bottom of the boat.

Yellow20 I was talking about the seems of the cracks.
Teamallen, part of the problem is having a facility to handle the boat. You actually need something to lift them so you can paint the hull (that is how bad mine is) and then have someone remove the interior to repaint it as well.

[sse01]

You stated that they were approximately every 4 inches. The rivets that hold the deck to the hull are spaced around the same. It would be interesting to look under the rub rail to see if there is any correlation.

If they do line up, there could be all sorts of theories & speculation.

[loudelectronics]

What if they do line up? Cuase I am pretty sure they do?

[sse01]

I may be way wrong, but the following came to mind:

1. The wrong sized rivets (too large) were used on the right side causing the cracking to occur.
2. The deck and the hull were not fiberglassed together on the inside. This would put all of the stress on the rivets. It would be tough for something like this to slip through Tige’s Quality Control, but possible.

There are others with much greater experience than mine, so correct me if either or both are not plausible.

[loudelectronics]

Well I have my boat back for the summer. Nothing has been done with the gel coat yet. They are shooting for next winter now. The sales guys have been pretty good about honouring our verbal agreements on the sale of this boat. Kudos to them. However there service department is not so good. Everything they do seems to be half arse. Kinda dissapointing and takes away from the visual appeal of the boat.

I will be able to get some pictures now as the boat is now home.

[loudelectronics]

Pictures

This is through out 24 feet of the driver side only.

[loudelectronics]

These cracks run from the molding down to the bottom of the side. They have not yet reached under the boat.