lemon?

[usualsuspect355]

No, that happened 1st summer. The crack is the new issue. Sorry to be getting frustrated but if this is to be expected what has happened to quality.

Edited May 18, 2015 by usualsuspect355

[oldjeep]

No, that happened 1st summer. The crack is the new issue.

In all seriousness, if a cosmetic gel coat crack on the floor is going to drive you over the edge then boat ownership might not be for you.

[shawndoggy]

so till you noticed the crack you were OK? I mean I do hear your frustration and it's understandable, but as your boat ages, it will develop imperfections like that. We aren't talking a spiderwebbing crack that runs through the whole boat are we?

[usualsuspect355]

Chief, you should come see all the problems cosmetically that come from replacing 2 boat engines.

[usualsuspect355]

The crack isn't that bad yet but at what point do I put my foot down. Do I wait for 2 floor replacements and call that normal wear 1st 3 summers of use.

[robbennett]

Gelcoat is thick and brittle. It is going to crack in places where the fiberglass flexes. It's completely normal for a boat. My vlx has 1020 hours and has been great. Boats have a hard life and the little things are going to pop up to fix just don't get behind on them. As for the engines there must have been something wrong with them from the start. Make sure they put NEW ones in not rebuilds.

It is probably time for them to work out some kind of deal with you on a new boat if they can't get you a good motor.

[robbennett]

Show us some pics.

[85 Barefoot]

Chief, you should come see all the problems cosmetically that come from replacing 2 boat engines.

There should be no cosmetic problems that come from replacing an engine. If there is, that's a dealer issue. All that's required to change an engine is to remove nuts holding the interior in place, bolts that hold the hatch superstructure, and unbolt the engine from the stringers.

[oldjeep]

The crack isn't that bad yet but at what point do I put my foot down. Do I wait for 2 floor replacements and call that normal wear 1st 3 summers of use.

As I said, I've got a gel crack in my floor and I don't consider a gel crack on a floor to be unusual for any brand of fiberglass boat. I wouldn't have even known it was there if I hadn't pulled the carpet out to vacuum it.

The floor replacement comment is a bit dramatic - unless you have pictures to the contrary I doubt that your floor which is somewhere around 3/4" thick is actually cracked, $20 gel repair kit from Spectrum would fix the problem if it really bothers you.

[shawndoggy]

Chief, you should come see all the problems cosmetically that come from replacing 2 boat engines.

Which one of us is the chief?

[Sride]

The crack isn't that bad yet but at what point do I put my foot down. Do I wait for 2 floor replacements and call that normal wear 1st 3 summers of use.

You won't be getting any floor replacements, the warranty is 24 months.

[haresource2]

Man. I feel your pain. I would be pissed too. It sounds like you've had many issues in addition to the engines. The replaced engine wouldn't shy me away from your boat, but the other issues sure would.

[usualsuspect355]

Someone will have to explain how to upload photo because I'm struggling. Lol

[IXFE]

Still no pics of this crack in the floor.

Sounds like your dealer has been great to you... providing you with loaners is above and beyond.

If you're so sure your boat is a lemon (doesn't sound like it to me), then sell it already and get into a new one.

I wouldn't loose any more sleep over this. I also wouldn't lose any more sleep. [emoji6]

[IXFE]

Oh, and one more thing.... thanks for bringing some excitement back to TMC. This place was dead this weekend.

[usualsuspect355]

Dealer has been beyond helpful. They understood my anger and agreed they would be expecting a new boat. However they are at mercy of Malibu other than buying the boat themselves.

[DocPhil]

Someone will have to explain how to upload photo because I'm struggling. Lol

open a photobucket account (free) and upload your pics there. Then right click on the image in photobucket and click copy image URL.

The click on the little picture icon in the task bar above where you type a post here.

"image properties" will be the header and past the URL there. Voila!

[usualsuspect355]

[usualsuspect355]

The crack is far from being destructive but what is my next issue gonna be, bound to happen this holiday wknd.

[5inthesun]

I love how someone comes on here and tries to post up complaints about a bad experience he has had and many basically try to discredit him. Telling him he probably had his radio up too loud, etc... what a joke. This site is tremendous for tech I have received tons of info and provided some as well. However, look at the big picture. He spent allot of money on an expensive boat. I think he said 80K that's allot of money. Then 2 engines fail back to back. They fix it and don't tighten screws so he has interior issues. Ignition problems, etc.. I was totally frustrated from buying an 05 and running into a wiring issue I had to track down. I mean let the guy vent. If he just ran into the gel crack he probably wouldn't be on here. If I bought a new Malibu and the 1st day I had all those problems, you would probably see me on the news.

I mean do we get paycheck's from Malibu to try and tell this guy he is full of it. Do you know more about his situation than he does? It sounds like a big giant pain to me and if that happened to me I would be mad and trying to get my story out. My $.02 not trying to be offensive but sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees!

BTW that crack isn't bad. Unless it drives you nut's I wouldn't touch it.

[Chattwake]

1 - engines failing stinks. I hate to hear this. However, the engines are not manufactured or warrantied by Malibu.

2 - if the installation/replacement of new engines has caused issues, again, not Malibu's fault.

3 - the floor having a crack stinks. However, I've owned a bunch of Malibu's boats and never had this happen. Are you running a ton of weight in your boat or holding auditions for the STOMP production in your boat or something?

4 - I'd have to see pictures of the tower and upholstery issues to comment. A lot of these type of things should be corrected before you get a boat by the dealer during its process of making the boat ready for you to use. Does that mean there should be problems, no. In a perfect world, every boat would leave the factory completely issue-free. However, that's not reality, which is why dealers are supposed to go over each boat in detail before putting it in a customer's hands to correct any minor issues that may exist.

5 - boats are going to have issues. EVERY SINGLE ONE. I've owned brand new mastercrafts, nautiques, axis, Malibu, etc. All gave me issues. I had a tranny blow in an xstar, a tower crack, gelcoat cracks and engine problems in several Nautique 230's, and then only a few minor interior bugs with my Axis/Malibu boats. To a degree, you just have to deal with this stuff as a boat owner.

Edited May 18, 2015 by Chattwake

[Chattwake]

BTW, I also find it extremely odd that a person would allow his engine to burn up and not notice a problem. I mean, I had a hose come off of a waterpump on a boat a few years back. Alarms went off like crazy and I just shut it down. We put the hose back on, tightened it up, and went on.

Oh, and all boats are shipped winterized from the factory. So, if a hose was lose and popped off and caused your engine to fail, depending on which hose it was, you might be pointing the finger at the wrong people...

[oldjeep]

I'll have to get a picture of my gel crack later. It is much easier to see than that one, partially because some of it is outside the tread pattern.

[IXFE]

Is that even a crack (i.e. all the way through)? Looks more like a scratch.

I agree with 5inthesun... I'd let it go.

Is it possible that you're so frustrated from the engine issues that you're now being over critical? That's a serious question for you to ponder. I'm not trolling. I ask because sometimes my mood takes me there too.

Finally, I said it before and I'll say it again... obviously you're mentally "over" this boat. Time to move on and get into something you feel excited again. But you ain't getting a free boat from anybody over that "crack." Likewise, the guy who buys your boat will not even see that.

[robbennett]

Crack = Normal wear and tear. It won't stay new forever. I would have them make the engine right and just enjoy it. Don't worry about the little things because if you do you will never be able to use the boat.