Cracks in Gelcoat

[bteeter]

I have a 2019 Craz purchased new in '19 from Southtown Water Sports in Raleigh, NC. I noticed 3 separate ~6" cracks in the gelcoat coming from the surf tabs on the back of the boat (2 cracks on the starboard side and 1 on the port). They each seem to be coming from one of the screws that secures the tabs to the transom. Took it to the dealer and they said it was out of warranty (I only get 1 year on the gelcoat). They told me it doesn't qualify as a hull warranty claim. Cost is ~$2k to fix.

Anybody ever seen this issue?
Any thoughts or advice on reaching out to Skiers Choice to see if they will cover this? I'm concerned even if I do fix this it will crack again as this really shouldn't happen on a 2 year old boat with 150hrs (less than 1/4 of that is surfing). I do have some pictures. Dealer said it doesn't appear structural but I personally haven't looked at the inside of the hull.

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[bteeter]

Better pics

I




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[sandm]

I'd reach out to skiers directly if dealer is no-go. based on where they originate, likely something that was developing under warranty but didn't telegraph enough until this year and not somewhere that most would notice right away.

be surprised if there is any structural concerns. transom is pretty thick.

[jcarter20]

That is BS if they won’t cover that in my opinion. I would highly doubt that is structural. Most likely they didn’t prep the screw hole correctly and the spider crack has just kept growing. I would call Skiers choice for sure. Not sure who quoted you $2k to fix it either. That sounds crazy! I just fixed a 6” scrape out of my gelcoat in the bottom of the boat. I have no idea how it even got there. Pretty sure I didn’t hit anything, so I wonder if it didn’t happen putting it on the trailer. Since it was on the bottom of the boat I bought the color match gel coat patch kit from Spectrum. It turned out really good. Since yours is on the back of the boat under the swim platform, you may consider fixing it your self vs. spending $2k. Just a thought.


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[SONIC]

I've got a couple small ones too and no one locally could work it in before summer and my warranty will be out by the end of summer (1 year BS)
What sucks is they said no to documenting it and fixing it this winter which makes no sense to me. The crack is there now and it's under warranty, but no one can do the work without me missing my summer. Seems logical to take some pictures and then have it fixed whenever the available appointment is but they are saying no so I'll just do it myself this winter.



IMO that's pretty obviously a factory issue, they didn't predrill the hole large enough for the screw and it cracked as a result.

I get the shorter warranty on gel because they don't know the conditions you're using your boat in. You could be jumping it 3 feet out of the water or running through 3' chop at 40mph. That being said it still sucks to have cracks in a new boat.

[bteeter]

I reached out to Skier's Choice today to see if they would help. I'll update my post when I hear back.

On another note, my dealer could do the repair next week (I'm sure there's lots of margin in that $2k). I'm not gonna pay $2k to fix that so plan B is finding someone cheaper (I don't know many places that do this), doing it myself or just letting it be.

Any issues if I just leave this alone and not repair it?

Anyone tried to repair black gelcoat? Online videos don't look crazy hard for anyone reasonably handy. Seems main concern is color matching (not sure how hard it is to match black). At least its at the back of the boat under the swim platform and not readily visible. And if I did a piss poor job I know where I can get it fixed for $2k.

Any comments from smart people who have been there and done that???

[sandm]

fixed a few gel repairs. black will be hard to match but again under the boat i'd take that on all day long. even if it doesn't come out perfect it's on the back.
spectrum sells the gel coat and they will have a match for you. only 2 years old fading should be very minimal.
if skiers choice doesn't assist, personally, I'd try it myself before coughing up some coin to get it done.

right now boats and boating labor are at a premium. might find a better deal during winter if you end up not happy with the repair.

[russellsmojo]

That crack will spread and can be fast. It may not move for 6 months and then the right pressure/temp change/full boat day etc it will shoot 2 inches.

It for sure will not stop on it’s own.


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[Nerickson]

Any updates on skiers choice response?
Got a ‘19 Makai that has been doing this since day 1…
Submitted another claim recently for a bunch of cracks that occurred over the winter while the boat was in storage that was denied.
Waiting for a response to an email I sent to the warranty dept today…

[SONIC]

I just had mine covered, they actually did honor it after documenting it (see above).
I think it all depends on your dealer and how good they are.