Has anyone had MAJOR fiberglass & gel cracking?

Go Big
Only when their not all cracked up with
the tower broke off. Come on MC make it look best again?

lolol i know my bad,my bad hasnt happen to me yet!!

Why would all the cracks happen at one time? If there were issues that happened during the manufacturing process, I would think the cracks would have shown up through regular wear-and-tear, over a long period of time. The fact that they didn't seems like a red flag to me... and probably to MC.

Anyway... note how the cracks are are all on the port side, and the tower weld broke on the opposite (starboard) side. And then note that the cracks (which, judging by the light reflection variations, look to be much deeper than the gel-coat) all center around the area around one area of the boat, near the center of the boat and the tower base.

That leads me to believe that:
1) the tower played some role in the cracks... whether it got torqued sideways (maybe from a tube catching and torquing the tower, or the tower hitting something, or maybe a fat guy jumping off the top of the tower). Or...
2) The boat was in an accident or experienced some sort of impact to the port side of the boat (and possibly the tower) that was jarring enough to leave deep cracks in the hull and break the tower weld on the opposite side. Please also note the inconsistency along the rub-rail, has bumps and inconsistencies in it.

These are just my thoughts and observations, and please take them as nothing more...

I have an idea that might help. Hopefully somebody with a drawing program and too much time on their hands can help out. Open the picture that shows the entire damage area in one photo. Draw BRIGHT lines over the cracks so they are more visible -- to see if there is any pattern to the cracks. Then post it here for everbody to see. That might help answer some questions.

Lastly, I hope nobody would make a decision about which boat to buy based on this. Remember you have only heard one side of the story. I just hate to see anybody's decision changed by a thread like this -- these issues are between MC and the original thread starter, nobody else.

This are my observations so far. And regardless of who's fault this is, this sucks because somebody will have to pay for it... whether it is the boat owner or MC. I think we need to hear MC's side of the story though.

Wouldn't doubt it could happen but 110 cracks in the fiberglass from one double up is kinda hard to believe. Trust me Ive had stories that sounded far fetched with boats so I'm sure you wouldnt be makin this up, but what did you hit the double up from a vacation cruise ship hahaha just messin. Good luck bro. I used to be an MC salesman and what I found the most is that if you stay on MC they will fix your problem. You should have a lifetime warranty on your hull assuming you bought the boat brand new. If you didn't, well that's one of the benefits of buying new and not used.

Cal nice writing, couldnt agree more...

"By Michael Hunter (mhunter) on Monday, March 23, 2009 - 5:20 pm:

Greg Taylor
Are you trying to say you cant take a MC in rough water or it might crack? Its pretty obvious that this shouldn't happen to any boat unless you drop it off a forklift. Stop trying to make excuses for a bad boat I know MC builds quality boats. This one has a big problem and it needs to be replaced not covered up.
As it says on the MC website "Held To A Higher Standard" Is this what that means?"

NO... wasn't trying to say that. I have absolutly nothing against MC... I would own one but my wife wnated an X45 and it was too big (if they had an x35 at the time i am sure we would have taken it home.) I was simply asking two questions:
1) how he knew it was that one wake crossing that caused the damamge
2) if it was indeed #1... then how fast/hard did you hit the wave?... it must have been a teeth rattling body slamming impact if it cause someone to remember it and to cause damage. I was more pointing to "must have been one heck of an impact to 1) remember it 2) cause damage.

If i were you i would back that boat up right through there front door

Cal,

The cracks AND the tower break are on the same side. And MasterCraft said that it would have made more sense if the tower break was on the opposite side. Also, I have put a receipt from Cope's that states that our boat (which had 141 hours at the time of service) runs 70% of the time at 0-2000 RPM's based on the engine history report.

http://MasterCraft-SUCKS.com/Documentation.html

So essentially, our boat REALLY has only 40-50 REAL wakeboarding hour on it.

(Message edited by gene.nieri on March 24, 2009)

NEWLY posted map of location where our boat exploded....

http://www.mastercraft-sucks.com/Documents/Clem-map.pdf

I am not really sure what that map is suppose to show?

That the lake is only 3.5 miles long (total) and that it's a micro lake that can only fit a few boats on it at a time. (just an illustration) as to the ridiculousness of a MasterCraft cracking in an almost "private" ski lake setting.

Just to show that we weren't on the ocean during a sunami or something.

Not saying this is what I think happened but what is the difference between running in a big rough lake vs hitting someone's enormous surf wake? That would do just as much if not more in my opinion.

This is not to say I think you did something. Just that lake size has absolutely nothing to do with your argument.

You're right Brett. Point taken....

I feel your pain This was my boat. It was 21/2 years old and yep one day they seem to explode. I must say that Rick Tinker at Skiers Choice stood behind his product. Fixed every crack and I became a very happy customer.

These are the types if things that not very many people look into before they buy a boat it was a lesson I learned and thanks to this site and the information there is no excuse for being an uninformed boat owner

Good luck and again thanks Mr. Tinker

If MC isnt standing behind it then it's obvious that they dont beleive your BS story about hitting a double up. Like so many others on this have said so far theres another side of this story.

mhunter, I think you hit the nail on the head. "this shouldn't happen to any boat unless you drop it off a forklift". Remember the boat came from Copes. There maybe a story to the cracks on the transom.

Haha, has to be a BS story. The insurance company confirms it is a defect, so obviously Gene's story can't be true!

Mikey, go hug your Xstar everything will be okay.

Ha ha???? r u guys are on crack? If insurance confirms it is a defect AND a wake on a small lake caused damage that SHOULD NOT have occurred (if the product performed "as designed", then what do you mean that it can't be true.

Insurance confirms that the boat was "thin" on glass content, boat cracked, not sure what your not getting....

Mikey, how do you know his story is BS. Don't be an arse.

lol.... nice one bjeremi....

There is no way all you guys can be taking sides of this story. Either side. There probably is two sides to the story and I say we get to the heart of it and we have an independent person (as specialist with experience) (not the insurance adjuster and not MC) go look at the boat and give us the independent review. That would be cool. If everyone on this post pitches in a $1 we would be golden. Any volunteers? Gene where are you?
Until then it is really hard for any of us to take either side..... until then......

Cameron Park area (outside El Dorado Hills) about 15 min from Sacto. I'd even buy the beer....

Also, the guy that examined the boat was NOT an adjuster. He was a 3rd party marine surveyor..... if that means anything.

Man this sounds like fun. Lets have a WW party at Gene's house in Cali. We can drink beer and watch the inspection. This sounds like good clean fun. The nay sayers on the opposing side will have to do beer bongs based upon the inspection.

setup a paypal account and post a soft copy of a signed document stating exactly what you're doing with the money and i'm in for $1.

Tried to load that post up with sarcasm, I'm on board with you that Mastercraft screwed up here Gene. Just found the post above mine a little ridiculous.

Just trying to let them know that I've been waiting around for 8 months and am tired of looking at my busted boat that I'm still making payments on.....

Over 100 posts, and I cant believe someone from Mastercraft has not come one here to reply, or justify why they wont fix it.

I don't care if he did drop if off a forklift... The boat should not have cracked like that. Gene, can we get a picture of the bottom of the boat? Are there any impact marks anywhere??

Gene, is that report on your web site from a
"Marine Surveyor"? I hope you (or your Insurance Compnay) did not actually pay for that.

I for one would love to hear the rest of the story (Mastercrafts side) but thats between you and them and I am sure they would not post up a web site called Gene Nieri-sucks .com and tell their side.

If I was "full of it" and making stuff up...I would applaud it.

Again, any of you fellow MC owners (who bought new) know you paid a grip for your boat. And, considering 70% of the 150 hours were below 2000 RPM, that is really a boat with 45 hours of real run time. I would just think that if your boat cracked out in such a way, that they might at least do more "fact finding" on their own to determine if I was full of BS.

MasterCrafts version of fact finding on my boat:

We pulled back the carpet and it looks good to me. "Looks like you hit a wave wrong"

At least my insurance company was nice enough to drill holes in my boat.....

Even if something else may have been done by Gene to cause it (which I don't think did) the boat still should not have done that.

Even if he beached it at 20 mph (which I've seen done) and that boat was fine afterwords.

When someone spends 50k plus on a "toy" for summer it better be tough, and if it isn't the company selling it should tell you so, or at least stand behind it all by replacing things.

I think 99% of the time MC's are one of the best boats you can buy... in Gene's case I think he got that 1%....it sucks to be that guy and MC should have done something.... but now with the posts he has made and the MC-sucks site I would guess MC will cut there loses with Gene and move on....

but again, I think that MC should have replaced the boat in the first place.... even if there was boat neglect Gene clearly went above and beyond by getting his own tests done to prove the boat was faulty.

Sam Ingram - I'll get you picks of any part of the boat your want. No impact marks ANYWHERE.
front back, side to side, stickers, rub rail, swim platform.... Also, I was told by my dealer that "impact cracks tend to go sideways" (like if I was crashed into or crashed.)

Wait a minute. There is a mark when I filled it up with gas and took off without screwing the gas cap back on where the cap flopped around for about a quarter mile..... My bad.

But, that was on the opposite side.

Also, the "report" is just a lab report for the glass content. The report from the surveyor was requested yesterday and I'll post it as soon as I get it.

I have to agree with Mikey. Posting MC sucks would not make me want to come to your rescue. 4000 boats a year, but somehow MC sucks because you say so. I think there is another side to this story.

I'v also held out for 8 months before going the "sucks" route. Countless phone calls & emails. My dealer came and took my boat to their shop to examine. They thought I was getting a new boat. My boat sat in an open yard for almost 6 months. It was clean & detailed when they received it.

It was dirty, nasty, moldy & had a ripped boat cover & 2 dead batteries when I got it back. After some complaining my dealer gave me a new cover.

I even sent MC an email BEFORE I started the website telling them I would not go away & be swept under the carpet. I gave them every chance (8 months worth) before getting to this point.

mastercraft has nothing to do with your boat being dirty, nasty, moldy, or having a ripped cover. sounds like you have a dealer problem.

MC says that because the tower broke AND the cracks where in the same incident that they believe it was an accident and this was impact damage.

I drive through a roller. I've done so a million times. Never had this happen though.....

I know. That isn't why I put up the site. That was just insult to injury.

Site is up because they won't back their product.

Gene,

Mastercraft may indeed have done you wrong, but I feel like we're only getting limited information. I've looked over your documentation and frankly for 8 months of working on the problem it appears to be very limited. In that time, you've only gotten the written response from them on a very basic core sampling that you're showing? No initial letter to them of the overall problem and response back? It's like you're spinning a story by having us all look at only a couple trees instead of the forest.

look, I dont have blinders on and have seen Mastercraft "step up" on a few occasions and replace things - including boats - when its their fault. I have also seen many customers try to get something from the dealer or manufacturer when its their own fault. I could tell some stories about what customers will go through to substantiate their side. Look, Gene, I dont know you and I am sure you are a good guy, but keep this between you and Mastercraft - not your dealer, or anyone else.

gene,
I feel for you. It sucks that this happened, but there must be 2 legit sides to the story. I hope that it somehow gets fixed. I'm just not sure that this is the right approach. I really think that it has a lot to due with your dealer. I am on my 4th mastercraft. They are the best built boat that I have ever owned and I think many people agree. I have been reluctant to add this to this forum, but here goes. I had a boat that started with "m" and I had the same problem. Nobody would say how it happened and I fought it just like you, but I did not take it to this level.
They knew that I was considering a new boat and had a new VLX in my sights. To make a long story short, They took it back to the factory and fixed it. If you call getting a boat back with 7 12" x 10" rectangles of a different color gel fixed. Additionally, when I got the boat back from TN., it had the ballast full and it had 4 gin and tonic glasses with limes in them in the boat. Also, the boat had been flooded and my bilge ran to remove the water for a couple of minutes. This all happened at their factory. Their gelcoat guy took my boat out on the lake and had a fun weekend, 10 hours worth I might add!
So my point is, it sucks that this happened. And I am glad that I sold that boat out of the country (sweden). I never took it to the "this boat sucks" level. I also think that if this thread were about the other brand, David would have taken it down a week ago.

Hey Mikey Marsh!

You are obviously either sponsered by Mastercraft or trying to be...Mikey Marsh Interview

Do you really think that you sticking up for Mastercraft, that you are doing anyone, including yourself, any good?

Oh, wait, your dad owns a Mastercraft dealership!!

New England Freshwater Marine

Maybe you could talk to your dad about a new boat for Gene...

(Message edited by wakeboardsam on March 24, 2009)

Hey Sam. Glad you checked me out.

And sure, have Gene bring his boat by. If there is something wrong with it from manufacturing my Dad would be the first to fight for him.

Yea, I'm just getting it out there that you or your dad, has a relationship with Mastercraft and that you have a reason to defend them...



Nice outfit by the way!

I actually called our new Malibu dealer (since Cope went under) and talked to them. I would consider getting rid of our boat & going the way of the Bu.

But, in this economy I won't get "jack" for my boat and I can't feel warm and fuzzy about "offing" it to some poor sucker as a "not my problem now" scenario.... that whole karma thing you know?

With bad economy + rumors of MC filing a Chapter 11 + MC actually laying off most of it's workforce = Gene trying to stir it up and get noticed.

You know, a year ago when boats were flying off the shelves.... I can almost bet I'd have a new boat or repairs with no questions asked.

As I've said, all I want is what's fair. I don't need a "free ride". I don't want anything for free. I just want my pride & joy that I paid alot of $$$ for not to fall apart. Again, if I did something stupid, like crash it or ram it into a dock at 25 MPH or hit a submerged tree or something retarded, That's all on me. But driving a "wakeboard" boat through a "wake"..... C'Mon now....

Mikey.... where exactly are you?

I also think that the other reason MC wants me to go away is that they're not selling boats. No one is right now.

Gene I am in Pembroke Mass.

sam is envious of you mikey!

Ughhhh.... that's only 3,039 miles.... I'm on my way.

---

quote:

By Mike Parker (roughrivermike) on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 - 4:37 pm:

sam is envious of you mikey!

---

Definitely... I wish I had legs like that...

I am sure if there is a manufacturing defect with your boat that your local dealer should back you up. If they are not backing you up that tells me maybe they see it a little different than you want them to see it? Try another dealer?

Mike, Sam secretly worships me. Him finding that pic of me makes me a little nervous.

Mikey,
His dealer went under... it was Copes. Copes will not offer any support because they have no stake in the game and are out of business, therefore they don't give a flying *#(@ about Gene.

You know what is kind of interesting, at least to me? There a currently over 130 posts about this boats problems. The vast majority of the are at the very least not showing MC in a good light. And to be fair there may be "more to the story". But face it, this is a lot of bad publicity. My point is that if I were MC or any boat manufacturer with this situation, I would take this boat to a local dealer, send in MC's best people along with an independent marine engineer [surveyor?], and get to the bottom of this. If Gene is wrong, then MC is right, and all this goes away. If Gene did get the one in a thousand lemon, they correct the problem, issue a short statement, and all is good again. Simplistic maybe, but what could MC be afraid of?

boy this has gone on and on. i made a earlier post in re: to my old supra. after reading mike parker's earlier post thought i would expand.

when they were repairing the cracks i had they also found that the hull had blistered where the boat sat on the trailer bunks. at first sc wanted to ship the entire boat back to tn and split the deck and hull apart and wanted to put a new hull on the boat. i did not feel good about having the boat split apart and after a lot of begging they finally agreed to grind the gel down and redo.

problem was the blisters came back the following year . dealer again did the repairs but it was a 4 1/2 hr drive each way.

gene, i wish you the best of luck.

Gene i feel for you this suck bug time. i know of the lake were you say this happened i have been there my self nice quiet little lake.

it just seems stupid that a company would not do what ever they could to make you happy.

i am a small business owner and when our customers have any problems even little stupid one we do what ever we can to make them happy cause they might tell there friends how great we were then boom magicaly new business comes our way.

i personaly think they need to do something for you and show some good customer service .
besides folsom lake is full and ready to ride


(Message edited by chevychris on March 24, 2009)

sucks to be gene for sure, and i want to be clear i'm not taking sides. i did wonder about the rest of the "documentation" on the site though. as someone else above pointed out, there's only 1 letter.

again, sorry to hear about it, but imo (and don't take this the wrong way please) i think the mc-sucks domain and website was a poor choice in your efforts for resolution, regardless of the timeframe (you can blame your lame dealer for 6 months of that wait it sounds like). that site imo may ultimately cost you a new boat.

best of luck

Bruce, so your saying they probably would have fixed his boat if he didn't create that sight. I don't think so.

oh gosh, i should have just kept my mouth shut.

i didn't say that.

all i'll say is, it's not how i would have handled it and i don't think it is helping his search for resolution. i think it's hurting it.

again, best of luck gene.

is it hurting him?

Mastercraft has put him in a position with nothing to lose. They have already failed to stand behind their defective product, saying they will not help him.

what does he have to lose? a new boat? ha-ha, that is not something they are offering him. didn't you read, he's been trying to work with them for 8 months on this issue.

I think you guys need to put yourself in his shoes for a minute.

I live on a small private lake like he's talking about. I love my boat, it's the reason i live for summertime.

If something like this happened to my boat this summer i'd be devastated.

If i had to fight with my boat company, who is supposedly one of the "best" in the industry, about it for 8 months to have them ultimately tell me "your on your own" I would go ballistic.

tell me you wouldn't?

^ well said.... if anyone can say: "No, I would be cool if my great new boat took a ••••••• me", bravo, you're an idiot

Question is the product defective or was something done to incur the damage.

Maybe Copes damaged the boat, half ass fixed and the first real "hit" the damage came to the surface.

Can't deny the damage.. but their is a unknown side!

Not saying it's the customer... but there is a unknown.. and we all know Copes wasn't the best dealer in regards to being clean.

Nice pic Mikey... halloween?

for sure i would be upset, but i guess at the end of the day the difference between myself and gene in this case is that i wouldn't register a mc-sucks domain to try and help aid in resolving the issue--plain and simple. reason being, is that i've found from my own personal experience in similar matters, albeit much smaller by comparison, the strategy simply doesn't typically work. it is what it is right? so pony up, get your documentation together and get a lawyer. again, i'm not trying to personally attack anybody in this thread or say who's right or who's wrong. the entire thing regardless of circumstances is sad. i truly wish you the best of luck gene.

(Message edited by brucemac on March 24, 2009)

Is Bob Cope really working at Mr. Pickles? How ironic if so. You pay more for a sandwich no better than Quiznos or Subway.

No joke. (about Bob) I also heard his brother fled the country too with whatever they had left. I think the Mr. Pickles is in Willows, CA or something....

Gene, you may be telling the truth, but the website is doing you absolutely no good. My family owns two MC's, and I'm not biased towards MC (I would gladly own a Nautique or a Bu) and we have had no problems that were not immediately addressed by either our dealer or MC. You may be getting mistreated by MC, but come on, do you think that putting up a Mastercraft sucks site is going to do anything to help you with your problem? And you have to understand that when you say that you simply hit a double-up (I'm not saying that it did not indeed happen) that many people are going to skeptical. When someone stumbles upon your site and happen to be a happy MC owner, they are going to think you are scamming. I thought that when I first looked at your site. I thought that either you were a dealer of another type of boat or just a MC hater in general. And that is what you are going to find on this board. People that are saying that they are not going to buy a MC because of your website, with 99.999% certainty were not going to buy a MC before reading your post. People that are set on buying a MC are still going to buy one even after looking at your site. And happy MC owners such as myself, are not going to get rid of their boat because of your bad experience.

So, with all of that, I believe that you should take down the site and try to make ammends with MC and handle the situation MATURELY. Obviously, the path you have chosen to take is not getting you closer to a remedy, so why not try a new approach?

With all of that said, I hope you get your problem fixed and you are back on the lake soon, whatever brand of boat you are on.

Jeremy,

The site has only been up for less than a week. and has had 1786 unique visits & 59,290 hits. I have begged & pleaded with MC to take care of this. They have turned a deaf ear, in hoping I will just "go away". I have told them (in emails & on the phone) that I would go public. I also told them that I was a lifetime MC customer and would like to continue to be.

I contacted "Call 3" (one of our local TV stations) who gave me the advice to give MC a deadline to get back to me and MC didn't even acknowledge my email. Call 3 called MasterCraft and MC declined to comment. I have also contacted KOVR Channel 13 as well.

I do agree that the site name is a little harsh, but I've reached out to MC & given them every opportunity and figured that I'd try something to get noticed.

All of this aside, I'm not a MC hater. (that's why I've bought 2 so far) I just don't like the business practice that I'm getting stuck with when the purse strings get tight & think people should know about it.

(Message edited by gene.nieri on March 24, 2009)

Hey Jeremy,
It kind of sounds like you think this was Gene's first approach to solving this problem. Or maybe his second approach? I don't get the impression that this was a first effort & it wasn't malicious. I imagine he'd like to draw attention to the problem so that MC will resolve it. But it doesn't sound like he's had much luck..... till about a week ago. If the site & this thread catches MC management's eye, don't you think they will be tempted to do some damage control? I have to imagine they will want this to go away & have them appear in a good light. Will Gene closing the site be a step towards doing that? Maybe you have some real suggestions as to what "new approach" he should try.

It looks like the domain name was registered 10/1/08. And this thread started 3/20/09. So does that mean Gene has been trying this method for about 5 months now? But he's obviously gotten way more exposure in the last week or so. I'd be curious to see a timeline of what Gene has tried to get this resolved. Reading his site, he seems to have been working with the dealer (who was dieing at the time), and with MC themselves, even getting a 3rd party involved to evaluate the problem. I see an update on 3/4/08 but I assume this should be 2009.

I'm a former MC owner myself. But when it came time for me to purchase again, I found issues with the current models that I didn't like..... mainly the towers & how much movement I found. I know lots of guys who say theirs is rock solid, but I've been on board more than a few boats built in the last 3 or 4 years that had WAY TOO MUCH movement when underway. And I know of at least one west coast tower manufacture who REGULARLY replaces MC towers due to problems MC owners have had. The issues have been documented in a number of places, including this video and this video on my own dock.

It would also be interesting to know if any pleasure boat manufacturer has any kind of "minimum glass" standard in their QA process. You know damn good & well there is some QA spec out there about this.

(Message edited by bill_airjunky on March 24, 2009)

Wakeboats in general are expensive and MCs are freaking expensive. I just love it when people post that 'all manufactures have their problems'. What a ploy by the industry, sell people boats for $50-$100k and somehow set expectations so people expect problems with their boats. For the money the industry charges, we consumers should demand near zero defects. Yes if I were buying a $15K boat I might expect some things to pop up, but not when paying over $50K and if things did pop up I would sure expect them to be fixed in a hurry.

Initially I was skeptical about this particular case and thought this might be a sign of owner abuse or accident, but after reading the whole thread, I am more inclined to believe MC has not handled this well, but must say that the jury is still out as Kevin keeps pointing out. MC and I think nearly every boat manufacture offers a 'Lifetime Warranty' for their hulls and it is disapointing that MC is not getting behind this. D-ups are hard on the hulls but I think these boats should be built to withstand that kind of driving.

I think one of the main lessons learned is to refuse delivery of a boat with defects at the outset. Most of us have been there just beaming with pride to drive off that lot with that new boat, but this case showed me how important it is to take the emotion out of it and walk away from a new boat that is not 100%.

Well Bill, first I would recommend that Gene locate another MC dealer near his area since the one he has been dealing with seems unable to help and since the dealer from where he bought the boat is no longer in business.

Second, I would send via USPS, UPS, or Fedex (NOT EMAIL) everything that he has concerning this incident. I would enclose a letter summing up my feelings for how MC has handled the incident. And I would send a letter to the president of MC explaining the situation.

If that did not work, I would sue. I would sue for enough to cover legal fees, downtime, and a new boat.

I should say that step one should be to take down the website. Yes, you may get lots of hits, but I don't think it will get Gene a new boat. Unless someone sees the site and gives Gene a boat.

I did register the domain in October, however did not do anything with it until a week ago. I just had it as a "standby.

I guess a lot of you guys spent the night in a Holiday Inn Express or something because none of you seem to know anything about basic contract law. Every manufacturer warranty out there is written in a way that the manufacturer has outs. In this case they simply say that the boat was mis-used and void the warranty. In the most basic warranty cases this case wouldn't even be heard. Gene would first have to prove that a defect did exist and then would have to prove that the defect resulted in a loss that was not due to his mis-use. The case would be very, very tough and very, very expensive. Gene really has no recourse in this case other than making as much noise as possible. If anyone on this site is actually a lawyer then I would love to hear from them, not from some kid who has a dad that is a divorce lawyer either, a real contract law practitioner.

If you guys really feel for Gene then call your local Mastercraft dealer and make some noise, demand some answers...

I was planning on buying a new CSX 220 this year. I called my Mastercraft dealer and asked their side of the story. Of course they said they new nothing about it. I told him to call the factory rep and ask him and that I wanted an explanation before for I bought my CSX 220. I won't buy the CSX until I hear their side, no way I'm going through what Gene is going through!

I am also begining to think that Mastercraft does have a problem with glass in some boats. Wasn't it on this site a while back that the "barbed wire" X-Star was pictured with all the stress cracks up on the pickle fork? What about the red metalflake with gold trim X-Star with the big crack down the center, wasn't that guy having the same problem?

I think the layout of the CSX 220 would fit my needs better than any other boat, but really if it falls apart and you have to deal with this doeas the awesome layout really account for anything?

I didn't read through all of these posts, so sorry if it has been said, but, you pay for insurance. It is not your problem if your insurance company thinks its MCs fault. FIX IT and go after them for reimbursment. It sounds like you are taking a very long approach to the problem. Just hire a lawyer.

BTW, Do you have any pictures of the top of the tower?

Paul,
You have probably not looked into your insurance policy lately. Read it carefully. The insurance company will not cover this because it is a manufacturers defect.

How much weight did you have on the tower at the time- tower speakers, racks with boards, etc, I'm just curious why this might have happened

Obviously the defect part is debateable. Mc says it isn't. The insurance company says it is. They are both trying to wiggle out of it. Get a lawyer and go after the insurance company. You pay them a premium to protect your assets. They need to do exactly that.

Hey Guys,

Here is the first "kick to the curb" email from MasterCraft. Also coincidently, the date happens to co-incide with when I bought the domain name. Per the recommendation from a good friend of mine, I did not put the site up until I got the FINAL "NO" from MasterCraft.

________________________________________
From: Gregory Clower [mailto:
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2008 1:50 PM
To: Gene Nieri - Gene Nieri Consulting
Subject: RE: question

Mr. Nieri,
After further inspection of the boat by our dealer, as well as by a fiberglass repair shop, it appears that these damages are a result of impact and not from a defect or failure. The fact that all of these issues seemed to happen as one event is also indicative of a severe impact. While these boats are built extremely solid, depending on the way the boat hits a wake, it is possible, though rare, to cause the boat to flex in such a way that it could cause this type of damage. The tower breaking should not have had any affect on the armrest coming off. Also, in regards to the stress cracks, the stress of the tower breaking would have been displayed more on the side opposite of where it broke as the stress from the broken piece moving back and forth would have been shown more opposite the break, not on the same side. It is our opinion that this would come under an insurance type claim more so than a warranty claim as it is not due to a manufacturing defect or failure. Nor Cal has received an estimate of $16,000 just for the fiberglass and gel coat work. You or the insurance company would need to speak with them for further estimates on the tower and other parts.

Greg Clower
Customer Service Manager
MasterCraft Boat Company

Yeah.... fix it and have it crack out again in a year..... That's my fear.

Also, as to the weight of equipment on the tower.

1 - 7 light bar
4 - 6 1/2" MB Quart "Q" seperates
factory board racks with 4 wakeboards

And that's it.

Post pics of the top of the tower.

Gene,
I would hire Zane Schwenk to do a nice video for you... Have him show off your boat...