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Gel Coat Issue With New BU


Rincon

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Well my new BU has finally arrived at the dealership, but it looks like there's some damage to the fiberglass/gel coat around the grab rail in the front. It looks like either something hit the grab rail and pushed the grab rail down into the boat's surface or else the grab rail was tightened too much at the factory and it cracked the fiberglass. Anyway, there's a black circle all the way around about 1/2 inch out from where the grab rail goes into the boat, and a slight indentation around the same place.

The dealership is going to send the boat out to have it fixed by a gel coating place.

Should I be concerned? Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Edited by Rincon
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Personally, I wouldn't be concerned about it. Just make sure you don't accept delivery until you are completely satisfied with the fix. A good fiberglass/gelcoat guy will fix it so you never know it was there.

Daniel

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Yep, I agree with Daniel. Nothing to be overly concerned about other than to make sure it's fixed to your satisfaction before you take delivery. Mine had a gel coat issue around one of the cleats that was repaired and I couldn't tell you today which one it was for sure.

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While I agree a good gelcoat repair shop can work wonders, any fiberglass/gelcoat damage can re-appear down the road due to a spiderweb that can be created if if sustained a good enough wallup (it's a technical term). If the web can be seen "spreading" already, I'd be concerned. Pictures?

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A good gelcoat & glass guy would insure the integrity of the fiberglass was still there before repairing the gelcoat...if not the repair wouldn't hold and he'd end up with a pi$$ed off customer. If it was "walluped" Crazy.gif to the point where it drove the rail down and created a depression around the railbase...I'm guessing there will be glass repair required as well as gelcoat. Yes.gif

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Thanks everyone for your replies so far. Unfortunately I don't have photos of the spot -- the dealership still has the boat and I asked that they get this fixed before I take delivery. But your comments about it reappearing down the road do concern me. :unsure:

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But your comments about it reappearing down the road do concern me.
When you go see the boat "post-repair" get up under the front gunwale and look at the fiberglass underneath the spot where the damage was. If the fiberglass was compromised the area will be "whiter" in color than the rest of the glass.
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So should I ask for an extended warranty on the gel coat around the damaged area? think the standard warranty on the gel coat is only 2 years. But if the repair ends up cracking in 3-5 yrs, it seems as though Malibu should stand behind that.

Thoughts?

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Don't sweat it...

Agreed...there should not be a lot of stress on the gelcoat where the front grab rail is. It's not like it's on your transom or where your tower may mount.

You're probably right about something slamming into it during transit.

If it looks good when they are done, that should be fine...it's unlikely you'll have any issues down the road.

Enjoy your new boat...

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