Cracked tower - low hours UPDATE

[mart_it]

2400$!!! wow!
Probably took them 1hr max to cut and re-weld!

[MIskier]

The front half of the tower would have been replaced, a complete tower runs about 5k

[petermegan]

Originally Posted by Cloaked

Without seeing the tower and weld joint, I will say this from first look; the skewed angle of the weld joint on the inside of the angle could possibly have had undercut at the toe of the weld. Thus a stress riser point, thus a weak point for material failure from cyclic stress. Merely a guess from a limited view but I can clearly see the opportunity for undercut (a weld defect that impacts the base material) to have a part in the origin of the crack (on relatively thin wall material allowing a crack to begin).

Take it or leave it....

I say manufacturing weld defect....and I also say KAKA to the price that guy gouged you... What exactly did they do to repair the issue? Cut out the cracked component and reweld in a new piece? Repair the crack with filler material (I hope not)? I am not making light of the cost or scenario, I'm curious as to the process of repair to justify some $2,400. Heck, a new tower is just around $3K, no?

$0.02

I am with him

[Jim@BAWS]

Originally Posted by mart_it

2400$!!! wow!
Probably took them 1hr max to cut and re-weld!

Not correct..If the tower is being rewelded the way it should be, some of it must disassembled and the wiring removed. It is not as easy as just re welding it. Don't jump to conclusions till you have all the details

Jim@BAWS

[mart_it]

Originally Posted by Jim@BAWS

Not correct..If the tower is being rewelded the way it should be, some of it must disassembled and the wiring removed. It is not as easy as just re welding it. Don't jump to conclusions till you have all the details

Jim@BAWS

I agree with the wiring having to be disassembled and part of the tower in order to weld but basically part of the job is just cutting and re-welding. No way that should of cost him 2400$. I understand not everyone here on the board has a tig welder and the skills to use it but that's a pretty easy job to do!

[LaRue]

wow! that price is ridiculous. Last year we bought a NDT with two racks for $2500 shipped. Not to make you feel worse but i feel bad that you felt you had to pay that kind of money for a tower weld repair. I hope you have no more expenses.

[FourFourty]

Originally Posted by mart_it

I agree with the wiring having to be disassembled and part of the tower in order to weld but basically part of the job is just cutting and re-welding. No way that should of cost him 2400$. I understand not everyone here on the board has a tig welder and the skills to use it but that's a pretty easy job to do!

Agreed..... Removing the wiring is a 10 second job. Simply de-pin the connectors, and pull the wires up through.

When I had my 2011, I removed the entire ZFT-3 tower, replaced the 18 gauge speaker wires with 12 gauge and reinstalled in about 2 hours.... Removing one of the front supports, and removing the wiring from it, is less than an hour worth of work.

I would find a local shop that specializes in welding/fabricating, and get a quote from them.

[broncotw]

In my opinion, minus any evidence of some type of collision, I would think MasterCraft should cover this..... It's pretty obvious the weld did not fail.... This would lead me to believe the metal failed.... $2,400.00 would be a bit tough to swallow....

I would also consider filing a claim with my insurance carrier in the event MasterCraft would not help out.....

[FourFourty]

Originally Posted by broncotw

It's pretty obvious the weld did not fail.... This would lead me to believe the metal failed....

I think it would be an act of "good will" for MC to help out with this, however, your statement above is the reason that I would say that MC is not responsable. That extruded aluminum tube is going to be 99% identical to every other tower that MC made in that time period. Nobody else is cracking tower frames, so it would suggest, that the tube, that was used, is strong enough for its intended purpose.

If the weld had failed, that would leave more for interpretation....

It is an odd failure, though. It would be very hard to determine the actual cause. I am surprised that so many think that MC should cover this, when the boat is way out of warranty. (even if it has only 100hrs). Every other manufacturer, on planet earth, is going to have the same response, in most cases. I think we need to remember that we are talking about a BOAT here.....

I feel bad for the owner, but I think he should look elsewhere for the repair. This job could be done by a reputable welding shop for less than 25% of that quoted repair..... I would scribe alignment marks on the tube, remove it from the boat, and bring it to a welding shop. Have the welding shop sleeve the tube, bevel the edges of the crack, and weld it all back together. Based on the repairs that I have had on the aluminum booms on my grain trucks (they are essentially a 10" diameter version of this same thing. and yes, they crack periodically as well), this should cost less than $250.00. It may run upwards of $350.00 if the sleeve needs to be machined to fit.

[kyfooter]

Sure sounds like poor customer service, and an unfortunate business decision on MasterCraft's part. Unless the boat looks abused, or shows signs of hitting the tower on something, with 100 hours on it I give the benefit of doubt to the customer. Never mind the unbelievable pressure/torque it should take to crack a steel/aluminum tube...Can't understand how the metal would crack before a rope would break.

But...what's a customer worth? Fix it right, and take care of the customer and we all read about it and get energized about MC standing behind their products (or those of their suppliers). Stiff a guy, and we all read it, and give second thought that we could be that same person. Since when did $100,000 on a toy become insignificant, and something that customers should settle for being less than perfect?

That $2,400 could well be worth 2-3 future boat purchases from Overdraft (which will probably still happen...it will just be a Nautique or BU). What a shame.