crack in tower...help?

[blackbeauty02]

so we were out drinking at the beach after a day of wakeboarding and came across this http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v43/surferbum21/DSCF0720.jpg.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v43/surferbum21/DSCF0719.jpg
there is a small stress fracture in the right inside part of the tower http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v43/surferbum21/DSCF0722a.jpg. a buddy of mine said that i should contact the manufacturer and try and get a replacement b/c they should never do that. if so does anyone know what type of tower this is? i just bought the boat this summer. if not, does anyone know how much a welder would charge to fix this? thanks again guys.

[Maristar210]

If your boat is new your dealer should replace it. I have seen this before and it does happen from time to time. Fatigued metal.

Steve

[peason]

I had to have my aluminum boat lift welded this summer due to a crack at a weld joint. I found a local aluminum truck trailer welder and he did it for $30.00. The catch was I had to take the part off my lift and leave it with him for a couple of days why he fit it in when they had another job. They did a really good job. Good luck, it shouldn't be too expensive if you find a good welder.

[blackbeauty02]

it's an aftermarket tower but we figured that they might be lifetime warranty or something. my buddy says that should never happen. i'm hoping so or i'm hoping a welder can fix it for cheap but also fix it right.

[kalanic]

From looking just at the pictures, it looks like the the joint will need to be ground apart & re-welded. It looks like the crack is going around out of the weld & into the base metal. If a welder was to re-weld it, he/she would have to insure the crack is completely removed before re-welding. It looks like a pretty tough repair but not impossible. I would push for a manufacturer replacement first.

[blackbeauty02]

anyone know who makes this tower?

[kalanic]

It looks like a older Pro Flight tower is my guess.