windshield shifting

[canuckskier]

Hey there,

After a rough day on the water I noticed my winshield wasn't lined up evenly when I folded the centre one closed. The bottom is spaced correctly (like it's always been) but the top has a larger gap than before. (probably 1")

I called my dealer, and he said that is common, and nothing to worry about. he said they would re-allign it next time I come in for service. I have 2 questions regarding this:

Is he full of bs, is this normal?

Can i re-allign it myself? It drives me nut when my 40 hour boat isn't just right.

Cheers

[BensonWdby]

Rumor had it was that they fixed this problem. I have a 99 Mobius and after 33 hours it had the same problem. Since I was the second owner my warranty was no good so it cost me $400 to have the dealer remount the windshield. That lasted about 3 months - then back to same issue. Fortunately for me it has not gotten so severe that the window actually falls through the opening, but if you search this site you will see that it has happened..

Dave

[NCSUmoomba]

I don't know if you have searched the forums yet, but I can tell you what you will find. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, there is nothing wrong with your windshield, but your hull is spreading apart. My Outback was like that when I bought it used, and I think most of them do it. I think it has something to do with the stress from using the tower, but I am not sure. I know that my hull on the port side has an obvious flat spot in it, right where the vertical hull reinforcement is, the one you can see when looking into the port "behind the seat" storage. It looks like a vertical crease in the hull and I am guessing this is related to the hull spread issue. I am not sure if Skiers Choice has done anything to remedy these frequent occurances, but since I am not the original owner, I believe the lifetime hull warranty is not longer valid for me. It also looks to me that if the windshield is "adjusted" that it will have to remounted closer together, which would mean the old mounting holes will have to be patched since they may be visible once the winshield is shifted. Good luck.

[canuckskier]

Thanks guys,

That IS bad news. I have looked for an obvious flaw or shift in the hull, and can't see one. I also can't see how or where the windshield would have shifted. Sounds like you may be right, I hope not though. Guess I'll take it into the dealer, and see what they say...

If anyone else has had this problem please let me know how it was rectified. I am curious what SC is willing to do if you get a hull that spreads that much after 40 hours.(%90 of which is spent skiing on glass, and NOT using the tower)

Cheers

[BensonWdby]

I think this is one area wher you might find SC pretty tight lipped. This was actually the issue that got me started on this forum several years ago.

After having the windshield remounted it moved again. Which is actually kind of strange when you think about. It really has not gotten any worse in the last few years. But I would be willing to bet that if I had it fixed as I did last time (remove, fill holes, reinstall ) , that it would happen again.

This would suggest that it really is in the windshield mounting, but that no one really knows how to correctly deal with it.

Any how, as long as it has stopped and not completely fallen through I quit worrying about.
I though about attaching some kind of wider flange on the top third of the windshield, but never got motivated. Seems like the only time we have the window closed is when trailering or when cold. We don't trailer much anymore and I can't ususally get anyone to go out when it is cold, so a non-issue.

Dave

[zabooda]

I had windshield problems but I haven't had any problems since closing the walkthru windshield and latching it when I trailer the boat.

[canuckskier]

Thanks guys,

I ALWAYS keep my windshield closed for trailering, and it is closed ALL the time when the boat is underway... As you may have noticed I am a skier, so it is very rare I have more than 3 people in the boat, hence no need for the window to be open to the people in the bow. Since my first post I have been out 3 times, and it seems to be stayingput where it is. No better. no worse. I guess I'll live with it until winter, and see what the dealer can do then. Summer in Canada is nearly over, I'm not losing any precious lake time over a windshield!

Thanks again guys. This forum and guys like you who post helpful responses have made first-time DD ownership much easier.

Cheers

[Smrtz]

I was told when i bought the boat to make sure I keep the window closed.. the reason given at the time was that there have been probelms with the pin in the window working its way out from the vibration and falling out..

Based on that warning Ive always kept it closed and have no issues..except the clips that hold it closed need to be tightened frequently

[Catdog1]

On ours, the hull flexes far more than the aluminum windshield. The symptom is the windshield shift. The root cause is insufficient hull stabilization.


The way to convince one's self of this is to attach a yardstick across the walkthru opening, one end firm, the other allowed to float. Go to rough water and watch the scale