Cracked FCT3 on Newly-Purchased 210

[Nautiquehunter]

SkiLunautique
You joined in 2006 yet you have only posted 12 times and still you manage to throw insults and call out some of the most knowledgeable and helpful senior members on this forum. I don't know if you are trying to play the devils advocate or just trying to act like a troll and get a response. THIS ISN'T WAKE WORLD. Are companies legally obligated to replace or repair a product after the warranty is over No. The fact is Roswell has no legal obligation to do anything. So does that get them off the hook? Not in my mind the product was defective. Roswell messed up they don't have to fix it but we are not talking about a Bayliner here. Nautiques are built to a higher standard and their owners expect and demand that standard in every part of the boat. The venders that supply parts have to know they will be held to that same standard. It looks like Roswell understands that and has stepped up. This kind of customer service goes a long way with me. I have come to expect it with Nautique and I'm glad to see Roswell in in the same league.

[shag]

Glad it's getting resolved. I would have been concerned with someone slicing a hand on that thing....

[Zach@n3]

Tracy is a pretty cool guy and Roswell is a pretty stand up company (as demonstrated in this situation). They didn't have to do anything at all but because (as stated above), Nautique and the companies it works with hold themselves to a higher standard than most. This spills over to the ownership of Nautique and Correct Craft boats. Yes we pay more but because we lust after and own the best of the best, we as owners expect much more than your average boat owner. The help exhibited by this instance speaks volumes for Roswell as a company but also speaks for Nautique for doing business with such a company. Would the guy with the 5 year old bargain wake boat have been this upset or went to this level? Probably not.

[maxxwell]

"Would the guy with the 5 year old bargain wake boat have been this upset or went to this level? Probably not. "

YES I would, I have no regrets about bringing this to the forum. I would do anything that I felt was right.

[AirTool]

....Airtool,
I will be headed to Curacao next week to join the ship for the final destination to the GoM. I remember the first time we spoke, I was in Nigeria and you had just gotten back from there... in fact, that was when I bought the 2008 SV211... Thank you for all your insight and friendship... take care out there.

That reminds me. I've posted to this site from 5 continents and one ocean. Good memory but you have the trip dates reversed LOL. I was there and you had just gotten back. My 2000th useless post was from PH documented HERE You are included down at post 9 with some equally nice pics.

Back on topic, I want to add some more detail for someone that might find this thread in years to come. I'd like to go back through all the posts (like I do sometimes) and make it more thorough but it is lunch time and I don't want to miss two bad meals in a row.

1. We don't know when maxwell's tower cracked. It could have been before the letter.

2. On the structural issue. No, I'm not a structural engineer but one degree is mechanical with similar training and I've managed many structural projects including a 4000 ton structure that could support twice its weight while surviving a GoM hurricane. IIRC, carrydown was 12,000 tons. And that's not my only rodeo. Tracy can comment on this or not and I suggest he not. But if there was clearly an safety issue here, there would be more concern/action by Roswell and CC than a letter. I cynically pointed that out in one post but this one is more for the future.

Furthermore, there could even be hidden damage that an owner couldn't see. This damage could also promote fatigue cracks not otherwise expected.

If I owned a tower with these cracks and I couldn't afford to change them out or didn't want the headache, I would:

a. Drill the drain holes.
b. Drill a tiny relief hole at the end of each crack to round the bottom and reduce the chance of crack propagation
c. Carefully hammer down the material flush and seal it up.

3. After sleeping on this, one thing I would not do is repair it by welding. Now SL complimented one of us other idiots for coming up with the weld repair idea. He clearly missed my suggestion in Post 6.

But, honestly, one should not be performing weld repairs like this. In general, we do not weld on materials without the MTRs and an engineered or approved welding procedures. Now I now there are rig and TIG welders all over the world that can weld up the crack of dawn. But doing this is not right from many aspects:

a. The liability shifts but lets look beyond that
b. This material is a unique and lightweight alloy. It is difficult to weld. When the tower was manufactured, the welding was done in a factory that was probably hospital clean...on new material w/o oxidation....probably by a robot...using filler material flux and shielding gas engineered exactly for that material. Having a TIG welder butter up the weld is the wrong answer.
c. There is a good chance the welder will burn through the thin material.
d. The weld will likely weaken the weld next to it.
e. All the epoxy is going to burn off.
f. Hopefully he doesn't catch the hull on fire.
g. Alright f is a stretch but you get the point.

4. Finally, I've sat in the office of the CC CEO and face to face we discussed this site. CC and he is appreciative of the discussion that develops. They want honest comments and very little filtering by Jeff. If the truth hurts so be it. If one man tells his side, we can all read the other man's response. This is probably one reason they don't operate a forum. It needs to be third party with lots of sunshine. These are all my words but you get the point of the message I walked out with. CC reads this site so they can correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm going to lunch. Bad food is sometimes better than no food....especially if it is not bed time.

[Zach@n3]

"Would the guy with the 5 year old bargain wake boat have been this upset or went to this level? Probably not. "

YES I would, I have no regrets about bringing this to the forum. I would do anything that I felt was right.

YOU would yes, but you aren't a non luxury owner. You come to expect more out of a situation than a bargain boat owner. If you bought a 10 year old Kia and had an engine failure out of warranty you would assume you were liable for all repairs. If you bought a 10 year old low mileage Lamborghini and had an engine failure I am sure you would be much more sore about the situation and expect the manufacturer to do at least something to help you along being that their product is the top of the line, best of the best ever highest priced etc. In the boat world, Nautiques are in the same category as manufacturers such as Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche, etc. Bottom line is, if the problem was originally stated as a service bulletin and not a recall, Roswell has every right in the world to tell you to kick rocks. Because of the reputation of their company and Nautique and the type of owner of these particular boats, Roswell and Tracy rose to the occasion to better the namesake of the company (and Nautique) and help out a boat owner in need (who hasn't had the best year so far might I add!!). So Hats off to Tracy and Roswell and here's a better year for you with your new boat. Let's all pray for a spring thaw soon as it seems were all getting a little bored and irritable around here!! Haha.

[Zach@n3]

Also, didn't want to make anyone think I think telling you to kick rocks would be the right thing to do but it appears as Roswell has done the right thing to help a customer who I am sure will be appreciative of this act for years to come.

[SkiLunautique]

Air Tool
My apologies for the negative comment earlier. The bumbling idiot comment was only meant for much less than a few and it was unfair of me to put that out there on a grander scale. To be honest I didn't know how to retract the statement. It took a lot to navigate through the who said what comments that actually made the most sense in this thread. It ended up going so far off course fueled by a few when the answer was right in front of us. The core root of everything here is that a recall and service bulletin are two completely different things end of story. Roswell and CC are fantastic companies that took the proper steps to ensure this problem was taken care of. I know this because they took care of me in the past and its only right for someone to speak up when they have had positive experiences because lets be honest most don't. Drives me nuts when folks think they are owed something when they are not. Thank you for your retraction whatever it was because this could go on forever and your response above was very professional and thought out which is leading me back in. End result is success here, which happened in a very round about way, and that was the main goal.

Nautiquehunter
I'm not even going to start out of respect for this thread ending in success. Sometimes conversation needs to be very direct amongst many in order to come to a resolution which was accomplished. Feelings do not apply only resolution. Did Roswell have to do what they did absolutely not, but they did and my hat is off to them. Could this whole thread ended a heck of a lot sooner, absolutely. I have been and am the proud owner of many Nautiques and have had just as many issues if not more than the Bayliner, but that's why I love 'em! Remember that Bayliner owner is just as proud of his boat as you are of yours and should be respected for that. Trollunautique out I'm going to go back into my happy Troll house now and look forward to further enjoying everything posted on here. This site has helped me through numerous different scenarios and I thank you all for that. Happy boating everyone...

[AirTool]

Air Tool
My apologies for the negative comment earlier.....

Noted

The bumbling idiot comment was only meant for much less than a few and it was unfair of me to put that out there on a grander scale....

Nice try...but your were pretty clear IMO.

....Thank you for your retraction whatever it was because this could go on forever and your response above was very professional and thought out which is leading me back in.

I made no retraction. I edited that post for some technical clarity. I never use the reason for editing field. I just threw that comment in for fun. Just remember, I'm laughing at you; not with you.

.....The core root of everything here is that a recall and service bulletin are two completely different things end of story...... Drives me nuts when folks think they are owed something when they are not. .....

I still don't think you "get" maxwell's position, but you don't matter anyway.

....its only right for someone to speak up when they have had positive experiences because lets be honest most don't. ...

Yeah....people don't often brag about the good experiences in life...mainly because they don't have time.

That lunch made me sleepy. Time for my siesta.

[maxxwell]

SkiLunautique,
As Airtool stated, I still don't think you understand my point of view, but ok....

There is much more to the story, but for now, I will not say anything as that could have a negative impact of this resolution (not from Roswell). So.... do you guys have a recommendation on a dealership that would be willing to do this install for a fair price. We chose a dealer as close to us as possible, but they did not seem responsive.

I am not asking for any discounts, rather just a fair price for the install labor and reasonably close to North Houston

[ericchile]

"Unfortunately some dealers and/or owners have decided to ignore this service bulletin time and time again over the last four years."

I can confirm this. I bought my 2009 230 with the FTC3 tower from a Nautique Dealer in Sacramento just one year ago. Drove it to Utah. Very Very luckily I read up on this form about my 230 and found the issue. Talked to the local dealer who said "yea it's an easy fix, but you have to bring it in and it will be the hourly charge" (since I am not the original owner). So I drilled it myself.

IMHO issuing a service bulletin, hoping that employees execute with no follow ups is what causes these issues.
Good of Rowswell to send the new parts.

[maxxwell]

Just an update on the situation....
Tracy from Roswell has been very helpful and we have contacted Dockside Marine and they have offered a very fair (very low) cost of install to do the work. Tracy is in the process of getting the parts over to the painter and will ship them to DM at no cost to me. I feel very fortunate that we have come to a resolution. We are still in the process of trying to work with the original dealer for assistance, unfortunately the weather at their location has no cooperated and they are closed for a couple of days.

I want to update all of the positive progress so as not to give false indication of the support that the manufacturers and dealers have offered. As SL stated, most people do not report these positive situations, so I will.

[nyryan2001]

Have you yet talked to the owner of N&C? Have you requested to talk to him directly??

[maxxwell]

nyryan,
Yeah, we are trying to contact him, but due to the weather over there, we have been unable to get in contact with him. Tracy at Roswell offered assistance to reach him, so we will reach out to Tracy for assistance

[AirTool]

Have you yet talked to the owner of N&C? Have you requested to talk to him directly??

Ryan....it appears there has been some effort and I would think whoever Tracy talked to was fairly high up. The ladder can't have that many rungs. See the quote below.

Just an update on the situation....
..... We are still in the process of trying to work with the original dealer for assistance, unfortunately the weather at their location has no cooperated and they are closed for a couple of days. ......