I’m the orginal owner of a 2004 Champion 198 Elite DC. Last year I took my son out on the Potomac and hit some pretty nasty wakes on our way back from a day on the river. I didn’t notice at first but when washing the boat a few days later, I found a 3-4 inch crack in the port side rear top just prior to the transom. I took the boat into the shop for some engine maintenance a month later and an additional crack was found near the throttle lever. That crack is about 6 inches long. I take great care of my boat and its super clean - I never had cracks in the boat prior to this. Other than those 2 cracks my boat looks darn close to the day I picked it up from the dealer. Since then the crack on the port side rear has almost tripled in size and is now 12-14 inches long. I haven’t really noticed if the crack near the throttle lever has gotten any larger.
I got an estimate for the repair and called Progressive today and without looking at the boat was told the cracks are cosmetic and not covered. How should I handle this? I realize the cracks are in the top of the boat and not going to cause the boat to leak. If the cracks get larger each time I hit a wake at what point are they not cosmetic? I have full coverage on the boat and $0 deductable. At this point if I sell the boat how much value is going to be lost with a clearly visible crack in the boat? UGH —- I hate insurance companies.