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New 2010 Gelcoat Cracks already?!


lapenna77

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2010 23 LSV already has a spider crack up front as well as a 8 inch crack up front where the contour of the hull/color changes near the windshield. I bought it new two months ago with 5hrs and it has 30 hrs now. Dealer told me unfortunately this is common but I haven't read anything confirming this.

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2010 23 LSV already has a spider crack up front as well as a 8 inch crack up front where the contour of the hull/color changes near the windshield. I bought it new two months ago with 5hrs and it has 30 hrs now. Dealer told me unfortunately this is common but I haven't read anything confirming this.

pics would help. I've not heard of such a thing without an impact.

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Definitely not common and definitely not acceptable in my book. If I spent that much on a new boat and was told by the dealer that it's common I would contact Malibu directly with pictures, dealer information, sales persons name and a full description of what happened to me.

I know you will get some response from others with much more experience dealing with unsatisfactory dealer type responses and and possibly contact information on who within Malibu would be your best resourceful person to contact next.

If you can post some pictures of your boat and keep us informed of what you learn.

Sorry to hear about your boat and good luck!

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2010 23 LSV already has a spider crack up front as well as a 8 inch crack up front where the contour of the hull/color changes near the windshield. I bought it new two months ago with 5hrs and it has 30 hrs now. Dealer told me unfortunately this is common but I haven't read anything confirming this.

no way i would accept as common. I have a 2002 and not a crack like that to be found. any pics you can share?

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Whether it is common is not the issue... It may be more common than we know about but that should not make it exempt from any warranty. Is the dealer denying warranty? I have a Gelcoat defect in my boat that is getting covered under the warranty and there was no question that mine was a defect and Malibu approved the claim almost instantly.

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Calm down guys it is fairly common on a dealer level. Comes from people at the factory not chamfering gelcoat holes before installing hardware. Unless its an impact it will be covered and fixed in the off season.

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Sorry about leaving out that the dealer said it would be covered under the 2 year gelcoat warranty but that they need pics to send to Malibu. I'm working on getting some detailed pics but it seems like the lighting needs to be perfect for a good detailed picture. I also feel the same if you pay that kind of $$ for a boat this shouldn't be happening.

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I thought you were saying it would not be covered. Thanks for clearing that up. Frankly, I don't understand the reason you posted this. Were you trying to get confirmation that gel cracks are common on 2010 Malibu's? If so, in my experience that is not the case. Cracks around the tower base were not that unusual with the Illusion towers. I have not heard of any cracking around the G3 tower. I have definitely not heard of any gel cracks forward of the windshield regardless of which tower is on the boat. On a positive note, I have had gel work done on several occasions and the repairs were 100% invisible.

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Guys, it is quite common. Most of the time you would see the cracks where a screw has been installed (vents, bow rails, window screws, etc.) Don't worry, just make sure it is captured in pictures and documented by the dealer. Then get them fixed after the season.

I had 4 on my 2007 in the bow area, under the screws and bow rails . Also if you look on lots of other manufacturers you can look where the platform supports are are there are quite often cracks there as well.

Enjoy the summer and worry about it later.

I also could not find any of the repair marks on my boats either. I am sure that The dealers on here can chime in as needed.

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Probably a dumb question but I am still new to this. Are gel coat cracks more common on just the newer boats or all of them? We just bought our '04 VLX with a titan II tower and there are no cracks to be found. Are gel coat cracks something I will get to look forward to in the future?

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I had one gelcoat spider crack in my last boat which was not a Malibu and it was an '08 which I purchased brand new. It was back by the swim platform brackets, about 2" long, barely noticeable. When I was shopping for used boats a few years back, I ran into a few different makes (mastercraft and Tige) that had gelcoat spidering/cracks. The darker colors (black especially) will show them up easier than the lighter colors. Regardless, they can be fixed and take care of.

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2004wakesettervlx............Titan tower? Absolutely not. It would be a good idea to check the bolts on your platform brackets. Anything less than real tight could lead to cracks.

Edited by skyskier
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2004wakesettervlx............Titan tower? Absolutely not. It would be a good idea to check the bolts on your platform brackets. Anything less than real tight could lead to cracks.

I guess I don't quite follow what you are saying. Are you saying that gel coat cracks are common among all malibu's or that with a titan tower I shouldn't have a problem as long as the bolts are real tight?

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I had an 02 that was bad (Monday boat) had cracks everywhere but the factory stepped up and fixed every thing.

On my 07 the cracks were at the 2 rear tie downs and 1 in the bow at the grab rail this time they told me to take it to a shop of my choice which did a fantastic job and they paid them direct.

Is a little freaky on a new boat but cracks happen I just found 1 on the rutter when I waxed the bottom last week?? Oh well I will wait until I hit another submerged boulder at Powell before I get that one fixed.

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I guess I don't quite follow what you are saying. Are you saying that gel coat cracks are common among all malibu's or that with a titan tower I shouldn't have a problem as long as the bolts are real tight?

If you don't have them now you probably won't get them. Gel coat cracks are common on all boats that have had improperly installed hardware, its not a Malibu thing.

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I guess I don't quite follow what you are saying. Are you saying that gel coat cracks are common among all malibu's or that with a titan tower I shouldn't have a problem as long as the bolts are real tight?

Sorry, what I meant to say is that cracks around the tower base are more common with the Illusion towers than Titans. Illusions have more movement than Titans. When I said keep the bolts real tight I was referring to the platform brackets. Letting the platform flop around in the rollers is sure to crack the gel.

To be clear, I was definitely not saying cracks are common with all Malibu's.

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Sorry about leaving out that the dealer said it would be covered under the 2 year gelcoat warranty but that they need pics to send to Malibu. I'm working on getting some detailed pics but it seems like the lighting needs to be perfect for a good detailed picture. I also feel the same if you pay that kind of $$ for a boat this shouldn't be happening.

Rather major omission from your first post. Thread started out sounding like a dealer slam. Good that you corrected that before this got out of hand. :rockon:

Edited by WakingMeHappy
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Sorry, what I meant to say is that cracks around the tower base are more common with the Illusion towers than Titans. Illusions have more movement than Titans. When I said keep the bolts real tight I was referring to the platform brackets. Letting the platform flop around in the rollers is sure to crack the gel.

To be clear, I was definitely not saying cracks are common with all Malibu's.

Thanks for the clarification. I knew there were a lot of problems with the illusion towers and didn't know if the titan towers were as susceptible. I'm hoping to never have to deal with gel coat cracks!

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