Crestliner pt20 problems

[Kam.dfishing]

So bought a pt20 october 2019 and its had problems from the start, first porpoising but crestliner sent wedges and fixed it although it took 2 months for them to send them, than the transom cracked which crestliner had the dealer weld it up but by time i picked it up and brought it back to the lake the bilge pump was constantly running, found about a 4 foot stress crack in the keel, send the boat to the dealer they weld the crack, go to pick up the boat and the dealer tells me the transom has recracked just from the trip on the trailer to the welder from motor weight, it still remains cracked. 2 trips to the lake later the weld cracks. Crestliner says they will send a brace but they haven't so far even though they gave shipment info that it would arive it never did, well the dealer re welds the boat after i miss the first tournament of the season still waiting for the part and we go to the lake to test before practice days for the next tournament and it cracks after 2 trips again, the dealer says crestliner stopped replying to emails and wont give an update on whats next, also there is some broken stitch welds in compartments. Anyone had a similar experience with crestliner? On going issue since october of 2020.

[Kam.dfishing]

I forgot to mention we stop drilled the crack before welding a 2nd time to see if it would help.

[tcesni]

I would think that Crestliner would be sending you a new hull. Something is clearly defective with yours.

[madmurph]

I would think that Crestliner would be sending you a new hull. Something is clearly defective with yours.

I agree. A replacement seems to be the only "repair" at this point.

[Kam.dfishing]

The dealer pushed to see if they would send an mx21 hull to move our motor and everything on to, due to the pt20 being discontinued and crestliner refused and said they would send a brace of increased thickness to be welded over the keel. Honestly just sounds like a bandaid and not a fix.

[3dees]

I had porpoising problems with my PT18. wedges didn't work. Crestliner built me a new hull.

[madmurph]

The dealer pushed to see if they would send an mx21 hull to move our motor and everything on to, due to the pt20 being discontinued and crestliner refused and said they would send a brace of increased thickness to be welded over the keel. Honestly just sounds like a bandaid and not a fix.

I recall numerous PT 20's with hull problems. I sure hope it works out for you. Keep us posted.

[j791]

I don’t think enough is put into honoring warranty issues. I had a Crestliner years ago and it had a weld crack outside of warranty coverage. No problem. But if you are within the warranty period and Crestliner is refusing to replace the hull that’s not good. Ranger has a lifetime warranty and in the video below they appear to honor their warranty. The guy in the video had 2017 Rt198 with a hull crack. Ranger sent him a brand new 2021 boat.

[Kam.dfishing]

So update, the dealer allowed me to get in direct contact with the customer service rep. Apparently crestliner had a shipping issue that caused the part that was supposed to be sent 3 weeks ago to just now leave the factory today. from what I hear the dealer plans to weld the crack up again ,and than weld a brace over the keel thats being sent by crestliner. At a later date after i return from a tournament in Missouri they will work on the transom and repaint the boat. Crestliner has no plans to replace the hull or extend the warranty assuming the part falls under the 10 year structural rib and brace warranty and not the life time main seam weld warranty due to it not being a broken weld but a stress crack in the extruded keel. The part should arrive by the end of this week and I will post pictures of the unpainted repair, not very happy about the possibility of it breaking again out of warranty if this continues!

[Tim Kelly]

That's really poor of Crestliner. They've clearly had problems with that hull design and it's all down to their design, not your use. They really need to step up and replace the hull with one better designed. MX21 or whatever. Not at all fair that you have to put up with their bad design, bought in good faith.

[Lorico]

Hummmm stress cracked welds and broken welds are different ? Sounds like semantics to me , personally I'd file for divorce from that particular boat .

[Kam.dfishing]

This is what the orginal crack looked like before it was repaired the first 2 times.

[kybluediver]

Man, that is sickening. I hope they change their tune and actually take care of you properly with a new hull. Like others, i have seen too many horror stories of Crestliner boats specifically the PT series to consider them especially when you hear of them hiding behind fine print instead of replacing an obvious lemon of a hull. hope you get back on the water soon with something reliable.

[Redngoo]

At this point LAWYER!! As many times as your crack. Being a metal guy my self crack dont just happen. To much movement somewhere. Not to speak killing the value of the boat being welded all over.

[Jeff Hahn]

At this point LAWYER!! As many times as your crack. Being a metal guy my self crack dont just happen. To much movement somewhere. Not to speak killing the value of the boat being welded all over.

THIS^^^^. There is no way I would allow any more repairs. At this point they are all bandaid fixes. Crestliner owes you a new boat or a full refund. Bring the boat home, document everything and contact an attorney. They also owe you for your time, your lost fishing days, and your attorney’s fees.

[Kam.dfishing]

At this point I plan to get through my april and may tournament if it even lasts that long and file in small claims, hopefully they'll buy it out, even if they replace the hull crestliner has left a bad taste in my mouth with customer service, I plan to deal with crestliner how ever long I have to before I can get into a Gator trax strike series. Im sure other people have had great experiences with them but so far its spent 6 months unusable out of 17 months of ownership.

[SWbass]

makes you wonder if John Cox had any problems that Crestliner buried especially with some of the places he took his PT20, I personally think they overpowered those boats and rushed them to market, now I own a 2017 PT18 with a 115hp and haven't had any problems but I don't tournament fish and don't "need" to be in a big hurry to get to a spot in the morning or to weigh in, another thing John Cox switched to the Bass Hawk pretty quickly from the PT20

[Tim Kelly]

I expect there was a reason Cox had the v hulled bass boat as well as the PT20 last season.

[Mechanic Bob]

Good luck.
To those saying Lawyer Up, good luck finding one wanting to get involved. I am having MAJOR issues with my Ford Truck and a can't find a Lawyer who wants to get involved.
(Engine Fire on July 1, 2020 and it is still not fully repaired)

[Tinman90]

Are you original owner? If you are you NEED to get a lawyer ASAP. I imagine this would directly fall under lemon law