GELCOAT CRACKS AROUND TOWER

[Keaton]

HAS ANYONE HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH GELCOAT CRACKS AROUNT THE MOUNTING PADS OF THE TOWER? WHERE IT MOUNTS TO THE BOAT. I FOUND CRACKS AROUND THE PADS OF THE TOWER ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BOAT. I DON'T HAVE ANY ADDED BALLAST. NO TOWER SPEAKERS SO EXTRA WEIGHT CANT BE A FACTOR AND IV NEVER TOWED ANYTHING BUT WAKEBOARDERS WITH THE TOWER. I THINK THE HEAVIEST PERSON IV EVER PULLED BEHIND MY BOAT WITH THE TOWER IS ABOUT 170 LBS SO IM REALLY CONCERNED WHY THIS HAPPENED. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY INSIGHT. EVERY SINCE IT WAS NEW IV HAD ALOT OF PROBLEMS WITH GELCOAT CRACKS ON THIS BOAT. IM STARTING TO WORRY.

[Yellowmobius]

e-mail me [email protected]

[BensonWdby]

I have some short ones, maybe 1-2 inches, that have been there since I got the boat with 33 hours on it. The tower was installed by dealer, not factory. Previous ownser indicated, and was confirmed by dealer, that these are just surfact cracks resulting from less-than-careful drilling of mounting holes. My body guy and my maintenance guy both were not too worried about it. They have not really grown.

Out of curiosity - do you trailer your boat a lot? I trailer mine all the time and I bet the tower really shakes around when on the road.

My bigger concern is the hull flex, but not much you can do on that either.

Dave

[Keaton]

I VARY RARLY EVER TRAILER IT. I LIVE ON A LAKE SO ITS JUST FROM THE BOAT RAMP TO THE GARAGE MOST OF THE TIME. UNLESS I TAKE IT TO THE DEALER.

[Rob Loucks]

Inliner,
Any time something is bolted to a gel coated surface of a boat, it has the potential to cause gel coat cracking. Towers magnify this fact since they go through a repeated loading, unloading and shock cycle during an average run. This can cause the gel coat to crack. At Moomba, we continue to test different tower designs and mounting techniques to help minimize the potential, however the possibility still exists. Keep in mind that just cause the gel coat cracks, the laminate, which is the structure behind the gel coat, is not damaged.

[BensonWdby]

Be glad it's just cosmetic. Here is a story about mounting hardware that is more than cosmetic. Years (decades) ago I was skiing with a guy who had just had a tripod pylon installed in his outboard runabout. Floor mounted pylon with support arms back to the flat surfaces on the outside edges of the boat. They were just bolted through the fiberglass with washers on the back. After a couple of turns he ripped out one of the mounting brackets (duhhh).

So he had the installer add a plywood backer about the size of the mounting pad, probably 3 inches in diameter. I was the first to ski behind the new and improved mounting. After about 5 turns I ripped the entire assmebly out of the boat. This included the mounting plate on the floor of the boat and all 12 screws securing it, as well as both support arms. This left about 5 inch diameter holes in the top of both sides of his boat.

We were in about 25 feet of water and the handle did not float. But the next day we went back with a hook anchor an dragged the bottom of the lake and found the stupid thing. He had it remounted again with significant reinforcement and it ultimately lasted for decades....

So I guess the moral of the story - be glad it is just gelcoat.

Dave

[Schmitter]

I have a crack in the gelcoat, where the windshield support mounts to the drivers console. I am having the dealer fix this under warranty. I just hope that I can't tell is was fixed. I don't feel that a brand new boat should do this, and hearing that it is just a cosmetic thing is unacceptable to me.

[Keaton]

I couldn't agree more.

[smokedog2]

Does this correlate, or would anyone admit to, running with more than one wakeboarder, tuber or kneeboarder hooked to the tower?

I just read the 2005 LSV manual and they are real big on blower, then ignition - and only one rope off the tower. My son is 9 and we ran three kneeboards off my friends 198x Supra (which he loves and led to my Moomba) ski post. Are these towers really that muck more fragile? I would probably not run more than two, just to avoid someone catching a board in the head, but the kids really like kneeboarding together rather than taking turns. I know they are going to want hooked to the tower.

I just don’t think these kids are going to pull anything like a professional boarder does, and when they start getting that aggressive they are going to want the wake to themselves.

Any informed opinions? My dealer frequents my lake so he will know if I’ve been naughty.

Tx

SD2

[sextons]

I have one small crack right near the tower on my 03 LSV that's not too noticable. This really isn't an isolated event to Moomba's, my neighbor has an 03 Malibu that has a lot more cracks near his tower than my Mobius and I've ridden on a few Mastercrafts with cracks near the tower too, I'm not trying to say this is acceptable but it's not issolated to Moomba either.

[Keaton]

Im not saying that moomba has more gelcoat problems then other manufactures either but at the same time I don't feel like I should have to fork up 800 bucks to fix it. Esspecially when there is an updated repair for it. And it only has 70 hours on it.

And a responce to the pulling two at one time or pulling tubers. I've only pulled a tube behind my boat once and thats because my nephew begged me. I made sure I was where no one could see. I attached it to the slalom pylon. Any one who attaches a tube to a tower is just flat out asking for problems. Its a wakeboard tower not a tubing tower. Iv never pulled more than one boarder on the tower. All the people I ride with would be doing ralley's and crow mobes into each other if we did two at a time. Not a pretty site.

[RickT]

Keaton,

Which dealer are you dealing with?

Rick

[Keaton]

Im dealing with Rinkers in Houston but thats besides the piont. This is a manufacture concern not a dealer concern. My dealer has been nothing but good to me every since I bought the boat. They have outstanding service.

[waterboy]

Um, maybe Rick just wants more info on your particular case, not to come down on the dealer. I'd be glad to see someone so high up in the company take a personal interest.

[Keaton]

I didn't realize that RickT was with moomba. Thanks waterboy for the headsup. And thanks RickT for everything yall have done to help me out. By the way if you ever talk to Chris at Rinkers, let them know they do a great job. They deserve it.

[clark]

Rick is the President of Skier's Choice. I met him at the Atlanta boat show 3 years ago and he is a great guy.. I plan on seeing him Saturday at the Atlanta show. I hope to get a new Mobius LSV.

[gayle]

i,ve got an '04 lsv. been dealing with the cracks since before last october. had 5 when it went in for the repair appointment. it sat for a month at the dealers (gonnason boats, kent, washington). didn't get repaired. picked it up and took home. took back the the dealer. glass guy buffed and waxed for "repair". owner of dealership hit trailer with forklift and gouged paint. gave him a piece of my mind of supposed "repair" and trailer damage then took possesion of boat. found 12 more cracks after getting it home. contacted skiers' choice. now we are dealing with the fiberglass guy (john @ tern boats, FANTASTIC) and skiers' choice directly. no word from the dealer about the trailer. picked up the boat from the glass shop and found ANOTHER 12" crack in the back by the rubrail. now we have to take it back again. about the cracks around the tower, the tower mounts are epoxyed on, so to remove the tower mounts you have to remove about 7 layers of fiberglass,too. these were repaired as best possible without taking off the mounts. but we're informed the cracks will come back.
now we can't get a call back from rob at skiers' choice customer service. majority of these cracks occured while sitting on the trailer in october. what is going to happen next june, july, august? what about '06,'07,'08..... supposedly the dealer signed us up for the 3yr extended warranty. rob said we're signed up, too. no proof though. STILL don't have ANY paperwork, don't know what's covered, where else we can go for repairs. not having a lot of "dockside" pride now, little faith in the manufacturer and will never darken the doorway of gonnason boats. time to make right.
if any one has any information or knows of whom else we need to talk to, reply here.
anyone @ skiers' choice can talk to rob in customer service to get more information.
harris/culver 2004 mobius lsv

[gayle]

well, rob has called us and is in the process of trying to make us happy. yeah rob!other than the cracks, the boat runs great!

[gayle]

i have to say, i am now enjoying a big plate of crow. rob, here at skiers' choice, has really come to the table with some awesome repsonses. we're even talking to the dealer(gonason boats), kevin and jason are dynamite! things will be right here in seattle. talked to some other moomba owners and heard that if you have a problem, after the 1st repair thay have never had another problem. makes us feel better. my freind tom irwin even went down and bought an '05 lsv from the guys this week at the boat show and was treated real good. again, we're very happy now. :) :) :)

[smokedog2]

Well, that makes me feel better. I cannot believe how hard it is for some people to return a phone call. Folks tend to get hot when there is a lack of communication and/or information. Add to my list for the web page a description of gel coat cracks, why they form, what SC does to minimize them, why they can occur down the road and how they are fixed (for good) when they occur.

Glad to see you happy

SD2

Oh, I recommend drowning that crow in the new spicy A1 Sauce.
:p

[boatnuts]

I have had some less than adaquate results from Gonnason's service department :( Their sales guys Jason and Kevin are great, but they can only do so much. Gonnason's has had my '04 XLV since September 1st. The service department continues to tell me that I am next in line for the glass shop. I have several gelcoat cracks around the tower mounts, windshield, and next to the glove box. I hope their glass guy is as good as you say, because I live north of Seattle and it is extremely inconvenient to drive to Kent.
Their solo service guy during the off season, Brandon, doesn't give me the impression he knows what he is doing. I had him install my GG tower speakers/light bar combo and he left garbage all over my boat (metal shavings, electrical tape, wire ties, etc, and even candy wrappers) Plus, he did not insulate the wires where they come in contact with the sharp edge of the drill hole in the tower....wore through to the wire and kept shorting out.
I have a friend who just bought a used Supra and has had nothing but headaches with their service department.
My boat is there for now, but in the future, I will take it to Ski Masters in Kenmore....I have heard nothing but excellent reviews about them and they are a Moomba/Supra authorized repair dealer (including warranty issues).

[Yellowmobius]

Boat nuts,

If they have not started on it I would get it and take it to the shop with better service.
Poor service or a poor job is not worth it.

[Will Watters]

I too have nothing but good things to say about Jason and Gonason's sales team, I just bought an 05 Mobi LSV from them at the boat show. I think they gave me a great deal. I have done business with there shop in the past, nothing major though, winterizing and such.... I have heard not so good reports also, but no personal bad experiences to relate. I think their service has the best of intentions, but possibly they are too small to handle then volume of service. What are altenatives to service (always good to have a second and third choice) at Gon's. I live in the south end, however, if I find another shop with a history of outstanding service, I will consider them. Are Ski Masters of Kenmore authorized to perform Moomba warranty work? Are there any other service centers in the Seattle area authorized for Moomba warranty work??