Stress crack in the gel coat

[wentbroketryingtogopro]

those cracks look like the ones on my 2000 javelin renegade 19 and my neighbors 2000 stratos 19ss only ours are worse.they are just cosmetic but to me they are an eye sore on white boats.i know any boat can get them but i am kind of surprised to see them on your model skeeter.i am sure that is a high dollar boat.with you only having that boat 4 years i feel like skeeter should at least help you some way.some people say if you have them repaired they will come back.just goes to show all these boats are way over priced.good luck to you on whatever you decide to do

[TOUCH OF CLASS]

Stress cracks that’s why it’s called stress some how it has stress either from rough water rough roads bumping docks but something caused it and a boat is always moving even temperatures can make fiberglass expand cold to hot etc.Extra thick fiberglass will help the flex but not guaranteed. Also to much clear or gel coat will aggravate the problem or a miss mixed resin or bad resin or a number of other things .Some boat companies will replace the hull or cap some won’t.

[John Jackson]

No stress cracks on my 16 year old Stroker. Those on that Skeeter look bad. To crack that bad there had to be too much flexing of the boat in those areas. Could be from impacting of dock, running too fast in rough water, or just a bad structural design. Don't know, but I would be upset as it probably kills resale value.

[Hunna]

You think they would do something for you, WOW can't believe it.

[champy]

I have a 2005 Nitro with a beautiful finish until last week where after coming off Lake Oneida I noticed spider cracks all over in one area and was extremely disappointed.
But after seeing yours I shouldn't complain. That is ridiculous. What are we supposed to do on our part to stop this?
This to me is all about boat construction.
Sure just sell and buy another $60,000 bass boat. You should be good for a year under warranty.

[ourflat]

I have a 2005 Nitro with a beautiful finish until last week where after coming off Lake Oneida I noticed spider cracks all over in one area and was extremely disappointed.
But after seeing yours I shouldn't complain. That is ridiculous. What are we supposed to do on our part to stop this?
This to me is all about boat construction.
Sure just sell and buy another $60,000 bass boat. You should be good for a year under warranty.

I believe the cracks although are cosmetic will devalue a boat in the “eyes” of a buyer. A big part of my boat search was the way the boat looked. I was not going to buy a boat with cracks in the fiberglass.

Frank

[kybluebullet]

That is a damn shame. It brings back very bad memories of my cookie cutter days. I wish you more luck than I had.

[jrh_67]

That sucks! My 15 year old Triton doesn't have a single crack like that! I'd be upset if it were me and that happened on a newer boat....

[Javman389]

I have a good friend that worked for a skeeter dealer for several years, he told me it was not uncommon to have to send new Skeeters to the fiberglass repair shop as soon as they got them off the truck.

[Gsmith223]

Just wondering about what other boat brands would do in this situation. I found a couple of imperfections in my Gel coat on my new Falcon. I was told to bring it in and Falcon would take care of it no issues. They are not real noticeable so I haven't worried about it but if they get worse I will.

[Tlit]

This boat has been very well taken care of. I’m the kind of person that wipes the boat down every time it come out of the water. Cleans the inside regularly. Checks nuts and bolt, on top of all the service regularly. So that when it is time to trade or sell it is in tip top shape fore the best value I can get back and for the next person to buy. With this damage none to my doing except using a bass boat the way it should be used and I do not beat the piss out of the boat in rough water, I will be lucky if not even guilty to sell to someone else or even get what it is really worth clean. I intend to make another call to Skeeter today and speak with a higher up and go from there.

[kry29]

Looks like a good bit of those started at screw holes. Probably the root cause of some of those cracks was poorly installed screws

[basscat tyler]

Sucks for sure man. Good luck

[LTZ25]

Some get them some don't. On about all brands. To me it seems white is worse not sure maybe they just show up worse. My fiberglass guy says gel goat is like egg shells wish he hadn't told me that. Sucks I would be disappointed also. One reason I think buying a good ten year old boat is best. If it's clean it probably won't get stuff like this. Problem I have been told is if you fix them they will probably come back.

Agree, theres a reason you get the cracks in the first place , this is why all boats are not the same price .

[wmitch2]

WOW !! That seems "Excessive" to say the least. Do you run a lot of "Big Water"? The pounding of running in big waves can cause some of that. Some (like MOST) of those are from Screws that appear they used too small a pilot drill and the screw cutting the glass stressed it. A few are bumps from docks or ( ? ). Still there seems to be way too many for there not to have been a problem from the factory. I'm really surprised that Skeeter won't step up ! You might get an estimate on repairing it and file a Small Claims suit. The problem is, what about "Future" cracks. If it were me, I certainly wouldn't let them off the hook without a fight.

[Flip Flop Fisher]

very noticeable, wish you the best man

how long did you have the boat before you started noticing these?

[Bassman Ia.]

Just wondering about what other boat brands would do in this situation. I found a couple of imperfections in my Gel coat on my new Falcon. I was told to bring it in and Falcon would take care of it no issues. They are not real noticeable so I haven't worried about it but if they get worse I will.

I can tell you what a certain boat brand did. Two friends of mine own the same brand of boat completely different models. One had a crack in the hull under the rod locker, I don’t remember where the other one was cracked. These were not new boats. The boat manufacturer replaced both boats. They remounted the outboards, trolling motor, graphs, ect. on a new boat.
Nitro——- both boats were nitros

[Tlit]

I take extremely good care of my equipment. Do not beat on it. I keep a $50.000 boat in the best shape as I can because most Blue collared hard working People struggle to be able to afford a boat like this and I want to get top dollar for it if the day comes I would like to sell or up grade. I did get a Estimate from a local fiberglass repair shop and it was rejected by Skeeter.
I have made another phone call today and try to push my case to a higher level. I guess we’ll see where it goes from here.

[JHelms]

I believe the cracks although are cosmetic will devalue a boat in the “eyes” of a buyer. A big part of my boat search was the way the boat looked. I was not going to buy a boat with cracks in the fiberglass.

Frank

I agree. Even if "cosmetic" they are not the standard that used boats are valued. There should at least be a prorata warranty based on years of ownership IMHO.

[falconpilot]

Hate what you’re going through...I went through same thing with another brand....only mine boat was less than 5 hours old when it stress cracked. Company told me they aren’t covered under warranty, but would do me the favor of looking at it. I wanted to burn my shop down every time I walked by the POS..it’s unfortunate that a lot of companies think it’s ok to build a product that they know stress cracking is an issue and then skate out from under it with they BS “it’s cosmetic only” not covered warranty. If a person is looking to buy a used boat, these stress cracks destroy the resale value..hell, I’ll not buy a boat with stress cracks..ever..for no amount of money. I think manufacturers owe their customers more than selling them a $70K plus boat, knowing their build process is flawed, knowing the boat will crack, knowing the value of the boat will plummet once it does crack..

I couldn’t stand to walk by the boat in my shop everyday..it kept me pissed off for months..best thing I ever did was sell it..took a beating...and bought a brand that I don’t have to worry about cracking.