ZX225 hull cracks

[SkeeterBob]

After reading Ron S's thread on his hull cracks I thought I had better post up. The end of March I bought the new 09 ZX225 Federation boat. About the end of April-first part of May I noticed a long crack in the gel in the forward starboard side of the hull. This crack was 27" long. I immediaitely notified my dealer and took some photos. By the time I got the boat over to the dealer about a month later cracks began appearing on the port side about in the same location but lower down in the white gel about 1 1/2" above the black. I had found two cracks here and my dealer found another. There have been absolutely no impacts what so ever to this boat. My dealer will be taking care of all repairs this Fall when I take the boat in for servicing. He and a technician are thinking that Skeeter over pressed the top cap when it was placed on the hull stressing the hull just enough to crack the gel. These photos are just on the starboard side, the initial crack. I will be notifiying Skeeter of this problem. Wouldn't you know now that I have the boat rigged out perfect including a Hamby that something like this is happening.

[TonyMc]

At least their taking care of it.

[-BjBnet-]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SkeeterBob &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Wouldn't you know now that I have the boat rigged out perfect including a Hamby that something like this is happening.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
there you have it, your Hamby's is too tight
Sorry to hear about your boat.
I hope it gets resolved quick in the fall. Document everything though.

[itsakeeper14]

Was that boat run at all in the championship, it was super nasty weather? I was looking at one of those, actually #18 and saw some video of guys running them the day of competition and decided to stay away from them. Not sure it was enough to break a boat, but in no way would I pound my equipment like that.

Keep us informed.

[SkeeterBob]

The motor showed less than a 1/10th of an hour when I picked it up and RPMs were less than 3400. We are thinking that it was never run and was a standby boat. But then,,,who knows ????

[SkeeterBob]

Here are the cracks on the port. They are hard to see but there are 3. They are right above the black hull maybe an inch or so.

[FEARTHETURTLE210]

bob, sorry to see your boat that way. there is nothing more aggravating then hull cracks, i sure hope that this gets taken care of to your satisfaction. At least it is in the white gel which is the easiest to fix and blend in. Good luck with the boat..

[Sandia]

Skeeter Bob, sorry to hear about the cracks on your Federation boat. I have number 53, just checked it out. No cracks on mine.

[SkeeterBob]

I've had more cracks popping up with one in the black gel on the portside. I will be contacting my dealer and Skeeter on this next week. I'm afraid if they simply repair it this Fall I will be doing repairs for gell cracks every year. I'm not doing that. I paid for a new boat and I expect to have a new boat without defects. Just way too expensive to think otherwise. We will now see if they honor the hull warranty.

[SkeeterBob]

&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;UPDATE&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;

Had some more cracks show up this weekend with one scarey crack. This one is located STBD just below the drivers console. Called my dealer 1st thing this morning whom called Skeeter. The boat is currently at the dealership and will be going back to Skeeter within the next few days. I'll keep folks posted as to what Skeeter does. Those who have Federation boats keep close attention to your hulls for stress cracks. Looks like these boats were used/abused pretty bad.

[FEARTHETURTLE210]

bob,my club member fished the last few Nationals and i can tell you he drove it w/o any concern of where the boat is going next, he will make runs in big water and beat,bang,slam his way to a spot..He had driven the Skeeter ZX225 at the last one at Kansas he said Kansas was rough and i know he would have put a hurtin on the boat, i sure hope you didnt get his boat, i sure hope for your sake Skeeter repairs it right the first time or give you another boat in its place good luck..

[SkeeterBob]

When my dealer contacted the Skeeter Rep and telling him about my boat and the ZERO hours on the motor, the Rep did some explaining. Many of the boats when brought back to the "Shop" were re-rigged with new motors and then sold. Mine did have a trail in the GPS on some Eastern lake. Things are making sense now. Hopefully I'll have a new boat in a few weeks. Until then I'll be back seating with some buds that I've been carrying around. Pay back time.

[Ron S]

Bob did you get a look at the inside of the hull at the cracks? Did they go all the way through? I pulled all the storage boxes and drivers rod locker out to take a look and could see no sign of any damage. I still have not been able to find someone that thinks they can do the repair and make it look factory. I do have a lead on a guy, so hopefully that will pan out.

Good luck on your issues. I am sure Skeeter will do right by you, but I am sure there will be several of us watching to see how they handle this.

[SkeeterBob]

Ron, my best advice on your repairs is find the closest Skeeter dealer and work through him. His repairman will be more able to get the correct gel.

No, I didn't look inside the hull. The last crack that showed is moving cross grain with the fiberglass. This one worried me and is deep. I have never been on any water rough enough or had impacts to cause this. Sunday's cruise on slick water dang sure didn't cause it. Most of the cracks seem to be just in the gel. But very interesting as to why they are showing up more and more and working from the bow to stern on both sides.