Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

Hairline cracks


Recommended Posts

I was in the garage today, jumped inside the boat for a few minutes and walked up to the bow and noticed 2 hairline cracks . One was off the base of the grabrail at the bow and the other was at the cup holder, each were about 3 inches long. Has anybody heard of this before or what might cause it? Will definately be calling my dealer but i cannot understand what might cause this . This boat has never been tied off at this location nor has it ever hit anything.

Link to comment

Usually a direct result of how the holes were drilled in the factory. If they were just drilled leaving a sharp edge around the perimeter of the hole, it is very easy for a crack to initiate right at the edge with little or no stress at all. Once it begins, propagation of the crack is inevitable. The hole should have bee sanded/filed slightly to round the edge - creates an edge that is much more robust to cracking.

Link to comment

I would expect so - the OP has a VTX which is pretty new to the lineup. Not sure how they would treat it if the boat were older, but I suspect at some point the owner would get to pay for it. Stress cracks, particularly above the water line, are not usually a structural concern that the lifetime hull warranty covers you for. Hard to imagine Malibu covering it on a 10 year old boat, not sure where the cutoff point would be in practice (3 years?). Probably somewhat dependant on your dealer.

Link to comment

It is also possible that the gel was sprayed a bit thick in that area and more prone to cracking. Pressure caused by using the rail for its intended purpose or having a snug cup holder could then work some black magic.

Link to comment
Or if they over-torqued the bolts that mount the rail. That's a really common one.

I have 5 cracks on the bow of my VTX and 2 out of the three are overtightened bow rails. The other ones on the boat are by the intake vent and the cup holder as well as the popup bow light.

Link to comment
Check your swim platform mounts. It's common for them to use an impact gun to put those in & as often as not it will crack the gel.

Thanks for the heads up. THe boat is booked in for repair in 3 weeks. I will check it out when we go out tonight. You have to love Canada, September and it is going to be hotter than most of August. The water should be about 55 deg F.

Edited by trentj6930
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...