Stress fractures in my boat
 

I bought my boat new. its an 05 Moomba so the boat is just beginning its 7th season with about 750 hours on it. I realize that Moomba is an economy brand so some problems that I have such as the tearing upholstery was expected. What is really concerning me - and I am wondering if anybody else is having this problem - is the amount of stress fractures that are showing up. The worst ones are near where the swimdeck mounts. Those cracks are so deep that I can see them on the inside of the boat. Also, as some of my bolts loosen up I am finding that they are not bolts at all but simply wood screws drilled right into the fiberglass. The fiberglass around the screws is cracking away.

I am not bashing Moomba here I have absolutely loved this boat in all other respects. But as it comes time for me to consider buying a new boat I am uncertain where to go. My original plan was to get a Supra. Since Supra and Moomba are both Skier's Choice boats I wonder If i will see the same problems in the Supra. What brand boat is safe so far as I can expect it to last many years? Thanks for your input.

If they were just gel coat fractures I wouldn't worry about it. If it's actually stress cracking in the hull I would have a dealer look at it. The hull should last almost indefinitely. My Sanger had lot's of cracks in the gel around the tower mount. Our X-star had some cracking around the floor inside the boat. neither were structural. The wood screws into fiberglass thing is lame. I've come across that in a lot of places that I considered it poor craftmanship. I've seen it on all almost all boat brands.

I'm not sure about Supra, but Master Craft and Malibu are very solid boats. Our new LSV is so nice and should last well into the thousands of hours. One of our local riders has over 2k hours on their '07 Malibu VLX and it still looks new. You pay a bit more for the nicer interiors and thicker lay-ups, but they're really worth it in the long run.

lets not leave nautique off that list. very well made and very solid. upholster will last in them(nautique) as long as you take care of it.

Contact your local dealer. I do believe that Skiers Choice, ie Moomba and Supra offer a lifetime warranty on the hull..;)

And if you get it repaired when you put the swim platform mounts back on put better backing plates so it doesn't happen again.

I, too, have an '05 Moomba. I do not have the stress cracks that you are describing but over on the Moomba forum ( http://moomba.com/msgboard/index.php ) people have mentioned on some of the older models that when the swim platform was put on at the factory the installer missed the backing plates that the screws were supposed to screw into leaving the platform installed to only the fiberglass. I would take it up with your dealer as if that is the case with your boat it should be covered as a manufacturer defect.

I would not judge the entire SC line or Moomba specifically based on this. EVERY manufacturer has an issue now and then. Moomba is a price point boat but it is a good quality brand and Skiers Choice stands behind their product. Supra is on up there with all of the other "Luxury" brand and priced boats and yes, there is a difference in material quality between the Supra line and Moomba line.

If you want a quality built boat for a great price deffinately look at MB boats. You can check out MBBOATOWNERS.com for info or questions

LOL...alright, then don't leave out Sanger. My '98 interior looks like showroom condition (and I've got tons of kids doing there best do destroy it every year). Sanger makes one of the most solid boats and probably has the most dedicated owner's out there.