Skeeter ZX225 Federation

[SkeeterBob]

I recently made a post about hull cracks showing up on my Federation boat. The boat is currently at Skeeter being repaired. A few folks made comments about the tournament that my boat was in and the extreme weather. Can anyone give me the dates and lake the Federation Nation Championship took place on? The Skeeter rep I spoke to said my boat took a severe pounding for two days.

[5 keepers]

Go to bassmaster.com and do a search for the Federation Nation National...I think it was in May but not sure...the boats did take a pounding...one of the days was cancelled due to wind.

[go-fish]

If I'm not mistaken that was held on Milford Lake in Kansas. Can't recall dates but yes it was windy and cold then. Kansas lakes are known for their wind.

[SkeeterBob]

I finally did a search and yes, it was on Milford Lake. Thanks

Now I am trying to find who was in my boat,,,#21

[smkur50]

Hate to ask...but does it really matter? Doesn't skeeter have the info? didn't skeeter supply the boats? Doesn't skeeter offer a warranty on the hull?

[smkur50]

and yes Milford can have some HUGE swells on it when it's windy....ouchy!

[carp_mstr]

I was an observer for this event and the boats were only used for two competition days with one competition day canceled along with the only practice day. The winds were an honest 30-40 mph with five foot swells. Some of the competitors were not very good at handling the situation fortunately the boater I drew took it easy and we didn't have many problems other than the Lowrance unit coming loose. Several units were lost along with trolling motors. The temps were also from 30 to 40 degrees Brutal!!! I was a little concerned about some of the boats after watching the way some of them were being mishandled. Good luck with the repairs. Larry Brumley

[shawn18182000]

Skeeterbob,
Go to skeeterboats.com click on events and programs then scroll down to bass federartion nation there are pics of the event and will kind of show you what type of conditions those skeeter boats went thru.
I too was an observer,was in boat #30,Conditions were brutal! My boater was from canada and fished the great lakes so was very comfortable with these conditions.
Others had no clue how to deal with these big waves. Had seen some boats that had the powerhead completely submerged by poor boat handing and big waves.
Hope you got a boat that was handled by one who knew what they were doing.

[Sandia]

SkeeterBob, I am interested in what Skeeter finds wrong with the hull and what they attribute the cracks to. As I mentioned in a PM to you sometime back, I have Fed boat #53. I currently have about 25 hours on mine, and so far no signs of any kind of issues. Got my fingers crossed. Hope you get the satisfaction you paid for.

[SkeeterBob]

I talked to Darby at Skeeter and what he told was that my boat was beat up pretty bad during the two days of fishing. I was hoping they would replace the boat or at least put a new hull on it. From what Darby was telling me they are just refinishing the gel. Heck, they would have to strip the gel from bow to stern to make sure they got all the cracks out. I am supposed to have the boat back by Aug. 25th. We'll see what they did as far as repairs. What ticks me off is I was sold the boat as new and paid a new price for a beat up used boat that is now repaired. One more crack and it's attorney time. I have been trying to find out if anymore FED boats have been returned to Skeeter for repairs after they were sold. The prices advertised on current listed boat is sure coming down. One is on here for 33,700. Way cheaper than what I paid.

Pretty evident that who ever the angler was in #21 didn't know how to handle rough extreme water.

I had the boat about 6 weeks of weekly use before the 1st crack showed. Then it just got steadily worse the more I ran it and I was never in any rough water. Maybe our heat caused some to pop out more, I don't really know.

[Sandia]

Doesn't seem right to me either, I think they should have given you a new boat instead of repairing it. Are they going to give you any written warranty on the repair work. Make sure and save all your correspondence and receipts or work orders, and keep a record of conversations with Skeeter and dealer. It is a shame that you would have to do that, but I know if it was happening to mine, I would be talking to an attorney about now.

I have put about 20 hours on mine and have had it about 5 months. As I said, so far so good, I got my fingers crossed. The only thing I was not happy with on mine was the two wheels on the left side of the trailer were stained real bad from something. Dealer gave me two new ones, no questions asked.

[SkeeterBob]

Boat will be done at Skeeter the 21st and should be back at my dealer by the 24th. Yeah, I have been documenting everything from phone cals with Darby at Skeeter to photos and news clippings at Milford. Funny, Skeeter will immediately pull a new motor off of a boat, which they did on the Fed boats, and slap a brand new one on. Guess they didn't trust the 2-5 hours the anglers had on them. Mine was definetly changed. You would think they would at least put a new hull on my boat to alleviate any future problems. Better yet just build me a new one. If they can eat a 18k motor they can eat a 22k boat.
I'll be talking to an attorney very soon.

[dukhntr]

Bob, I live 5 miles from Milford and was at the weigh in. That lake was incredibly brutal that day!!!! 6 foot rollers and more!!!!!! I am suprised it wasnt' cracked when you got it! If you want to, send me an IM. I think I have some pics somewhere I can send you. There were 50+ mph winds that day on a 16,000 acre reservoir.

[Texas Larry]

Bob,

Don't forget that Texas has a "Lemon Law" that I believe also applies to boats as well as autos.

Good Luck!!

Larry

[Texas Larry]

Here's a link I came across. They are familiar with the Lemon Law provision, and I know that Skeeter is conscious about their name. I would bet that you won't have any problem getting resolution if they cannot repair it to good as new condition or you continue to have problems in the future.

http://www.carlemon.com/lemon/TX_LemonGuide.html

Good Luck,

Larry

[SkeeterBob]

Got the boat back from my Dealer today. Skeeter did a bang up good job. Hull looks new except for the scratches I put in it. The one big long crack, you can't even tell where they worked on it. Spent this afternoon washing it and going over with BBS. I forgot how much stuff I had in that boat. Some of it did not go back in.
My dealer went through it pretty good and found a couple of loose wires that could have caused problems. Had a bearing seal leaking on one of the hubs I didn't know about and they fixed it also. I'll be back on the water Sunday at San Angelo.

[Ron S]

Good deal Bob. I am glad it worked out for you. I am going to wait until the fishing slows down to have mine fixed. I finally found a repair shop that will guarantee a perfect match on the repair. I will have to go out of town and leave the boat for a while but at least it will be fixed right.

[SkeeterBob]

Bad news,,,,,,put the boat in the water for the 1st time Sunday since i got it back. Water started gushing from under drivers console where the wiring goes down into the hull when on plane. Pulled boat out and checked plug,,ok. Drained boat and went back out. Did the same thing when on plane and got worse the faster I went. Water was pretty smooth. No water that I could tell when boat sitting still or using trolling motor, only when at speed on plane. Any ideas???? Dealer fixing to get a good dose when they open Monday morning.

[ZeroHour]

Water pressure gauge line is leaking At least thats my assumption.

I had a Skeeter Oddysey as well.

[SkeeterBob]

Good news ,,,,,boat is back in action. Actually it was the speedometer line right behind the instrument panel. There were a couple of splices in it and one came apart. I learned a few things while there with the mechanic. Have to admit, it scared the crap out of me when it blew apart and all that high pressure water hit my leg. The dealer and I had a pretty good laugh this morning. Glad it happened now and not when the water is say 50 degrees or less.