I have developed stress cracks around the trolling motor mounts. I seem to remember this being talked about before. Will a skeeter dealer fix these or am I going to have to pay for it myself.
I have developed stress cracks around the trolling motor mounts. I seem to remember this being talked about before. Will a skeeter dealer fix these or am I going to have to pay for it myself.
Curtis deCarion \'11 Z521 MERCURY 250 PRO XS
I think this is a cosmetic issue which i believe is not covered under warranty. But then check with the dealer and skeeter may fix it for you. Don't know until you ask.
YOU are not entitled to what I have earned!!!!!
2014 Phoenix 619 Pro / 2014 Mercury 200 Pro XS
I have the same thing on my 2004 ZX225. I have stress cracks in three places. Up by the trolling motor mounts, up in the front on the starboard side of the deck where the carpet stops and under the aluminum grab bar on the starboard side.
After speaking to my local Skeeter dealer, it is not covered. It is not considered a defect but a cosmetic blemish. Another thing that got me is that my boat was a tournament boat. This is something that was not disclosed to me when I purchased it at an auction (it was a repo). If it was tournament boat, or you are not the original owner Skeeter will not even consider covering it. The dealer told me, had it not been a tourney boat and I was the original owner they may have eaten the cost of the repair. My initial thought when I bought the boat was that Skeeter would cover it because the motor only had 10 hours on it. So the blemishes came from 10 hours of use.
I have buddies that have Basscats and Rangers and it seems to me that those manufactures stand behind their boats better, especially Basscat. Not sure what my next boat will be, but I may be looking at another manufacturer after this one. This is my second Skeeter. The first which was a 1993 Z150 seemed to be a better built boat IMHO.
I think if you look hard enough, every boat develops stress cracks. Some companies are getting better at simply hiding them. I don't know about BassCat but I can tell you from a conversation with a factory authorized fiberglass repair person in our area, Ranger is among the worst when it comes to covering cosmetic stress cracks. I had stress cracks on all my Rangers but decided to let them go because you'd have to really look if you wanted to find them anyway.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JJohnSind »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I think if you look hard enough, every boat develops stress cracks. Some companies are getting better at simply hiding them. I don't know about BassCat but I can tell you from a conversation with a factory authorized fiberglass repair person in our area, Ranger is among the worst when it comes to covering cosmetic stress cracks. I had stress cracks on all my Rangers but decided to let them go because you'd have to really look if you wanted to find them anyway. </TD></TR></TABLE>
I agree with you 100%. In my case the cracks are a bit more severe. Almost every boat I have seen has some cracks as you have stated. When I bought my boat it had 10 hours on it and no cracks were visible. After putting another 10 hours on it the cracks started to appear.
So as far as the thread is concerned I don't think the cracks fishercurtis mentions are anything but cosmetic but if the boat has low hours I also think the manufacturer should stand behind it and repair it. In my case the fiberglass guy that the local Skeeter shop uses looked at my boat before the dealer contacted Skeeter and said that the cracking was because of a flaw during production. So the dealer contacts Skeeter and they say that since I am the second owner and since it was purchased as a tournament boat I am SOL.
cosmetic or not.... if it deters someone from buying the boat at the owners fair market value, then I think its a big deal and should be taken care of by the manufacturer... its almost like walking a home to buy and you notice a crack in the drywall running across the ceiling! and the realtor saying, oh, its just cosmetic... it could be a quick mud n' paint repair or you could have serious foundation issues.
Right, and this is why I have to seriously give thought to going with another manufacturer for my next boat. I love the boat except, just wish Skeeter would have stepped up and taken care of this.
symcha:
Yours does look more than just cosmetic. If the picture was of the side of the boat, it looks like it could have taken a hit on the side at some time (something like fishing in standing timber and having a strong wind push you sideways against a stump). I heard most companies consider stress cracks on the top cap cosmetic, hull and transom issues could be more serious. Anyway, if the cracks were caused by impact, they should be covered by insurance - if you want to explore that option.
By the way, I have seen similar (but not as severe) cracks as yours on other boat brands but the cracks were caused by sideswiping standing timber or boat docks. My past Rangers have been among the most durable regarding these types of impacts but I, personally, have not had any issues with my '07 i series yet and I have a white hull (metalflake colors tend to hide stress cracks better).
JohnS
John,
I fish water that has almost no timber in it. Not sure how familiar you are with the waters in Kissimmee area but it is soft bottom and very little as far as even laydowns. The picture is the top of the boat next to where the driver sits.
The cracks were not there when I first got the boat and when the boat goes through the rough stuff, the cracks get a little worse. I also had thought that something may have hit the side but there is no damage on the sides. I guess I could make a claim to the insurance company, not sure what I would tell them was the cause but I could see if they would cover it. Once again, it was the fiberglass repair guy that said he thought it was a defect after he inspected it. The Skeeter dealer thought Skeeter was going to take care of it until they looked up the HIN and saw it was purchased as a tournament boat.
I think this also sends out a poor message to consumers looking to buy used tourney boats in the future as well. You may save some money in the short run, but if something comes up you are stuck with the cost. You would think Skeeter would stand behind the ZX series a little better. Especially because a major marketing point is that pros that use ZX boats win tournaments. It is hard for me to justify paying big bucks for a new boat so I have always opted to buy used ones that are in great shape. I may have to rethink this position as well. Not sure what the next boat will be, but I am leaning more towards Basscat or Champion right now.
I would have to say that if you bought the boat as a repo then you gwt just that a repoed boat evidently the first owner did not care for the boat or it would not have been a repo so don't hold this against skeeter as far as a tournament boat what does that hurt? Thats my .02 worth no offense intended
The more I think about it, I don't know how a tourney boat has anything to do with warranties, not to mention 10 hours on the motor hardly qualifies a boat as a tourney boat, it just finished break-in. Being an auctioned item may have something to do with it (a lot of auctions are "as-is"), but there should have been a transferable warranty available to you. Your dealer may not be fighting for you enough. A manufacturing defect is a manufacturing defect - there may be implied rights. I'd like to hear what Matt Plapp has to say about this from dealer perspective.
As far as tournaments go, that's what these boats are designed for. I fish a few tournaments and I haven't had any issues with warranty work with any of the boat's that I have owned (Skeeter included). I haven't had any insurance issues either but I have disclosed tournament fishing to my company (most don't but people should read the fine print in their insurance policies - there is definitely a lot of policies that exclude tournament fishing coverage specifically).
If anything, I believe that tournament fishermen are more experienced and know how to drive a boat safer than weekender's.
JohnS
I questioned that the boat was a tourney boat because when I purchased the boat at auction it came with all the original paperwork. I know that in 2004 the person that bought it (I even know their name and address), paid almost $50k for the boat. The local dealer tells me that the amount was too much to be a tourney boat as they are usually up to $5k cheaper than a non-tourney boat. This really does not matter anyway since I would be the second owner. The fact that it was tourney boat and the fact that I am the second owner is really two strikes against me. If I had bought the boat off of an individual or pro I would most likely be in the same "boat" (pun intended).
Also, I do agree that the boat was purchased as is from an auction. Skeeter has been great to deal with regarding things that they acknowledged were defective as whole for the entire boat line. For example they are replacing the touch pad which has started to flip out on occasions lately. My bigest problem was that I did not research their warranty prior to purchasing the boat as I assumed it would work similar to an auto. In the Skeeter world which is probably the same for most manufacturers the fine print states "original owner". The only warranties that are transferable are for the motor and the hull which are done as a cost to the new owner.
Don't get me wrong, I love the boat and if the cracks did not appear I would feel like I got a great deal purchasing the boat at auction. Even paid a mechanic to look the boat and motor over, this is how I knew the engine only had 10 hours on it when I purchased it. Several other manufacturers have stepped up in similar cases from what I have read in the archives and found online. There was a great writeup from someone I read about 8 months ago regarding a Champion. To me at this point this is more of a customer service issue than it is about fixing a possible major manufacturing defect. Well the defect isn't even major. When the fiberglass guy removed parts to examine it, he felt it in no way compromises the integrity of the boat. It is just very unsightly.
The Skeeter dealer sent pictures to Skeeter and it was Skeeter themselves that determined it was cosmetic from the digital photos which contradicts what the glass person said. I also agree with John, where if the original owner was a pro since this boat was supposedly used in the Bass Federation National Championship in 2004 I would assume a pro owned it, Skeeter should stand behind the boat since by giving a price cut they were giving the pro sponsorship in a way. This may be far fetched, but I live in Florida and we are indecisive about everything, not just voting.
I am not even going to say what I paid for the boat because I would probably not get any sympathy at all. Most would say, hey you got a great deal so eat the cost of the repairs. I did have to sink money into the boat though and the great savings was quickly eaten up by such things as a front pedestal seat and a rear seat. GPS until, trolling motor, batteries and lots of other odds and ends that did not find their way into the boat when the bank took it back. I am not even sure if I purchased one from an individual I would be in any better shape. The boat only had 10 hours on it. What would you think would be wrong with a boat with 10 hours on it?
Oh, and I would like to apologize to fishercurtis as I unintentionally took over his thread. I just sorta find it my mission to point out what I have learned regarding cracks on the boats finish when I see this topic come up from time to time. I as well had started a thread on this months back after dealing with Skeeter regarding the cracks.
The main thing to understand here is that stress cracks are expected somewhat and unless the boat is under a year old and you are the original owner Skeeter will not repair the damage. Well they might, but don't bet on it. (most manufacturers wouldn't). If this is something you find important find a manufacturer that has a good track record of taking care of their customers. It can be night and day at how different companies deal with this sort of issue.
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