FCT3 tower crack, Correct Craft and Roswell just say sorry

[farkash3rd]

So the FCT3 tower on my 2010 SAN 210 cracked on the port side over the winter. As soon as I noticed it, I called my local dealer and the service tech said he would check with Correct Craft, saying he had heard of the problem before. I spoke with Roswell and they said they are no longer covering replacement of this, despite it being a design flaw, because they have been sending out notices to every dealer since 2010 for them to check/modify every FCT3 to prevent it from cracking. Of course, the tech at my dealer says he never heard about the service bulletin.

Correct Craft responded that they will not cover the repair either, so I'm basically out of luck and will have to pay for the repairs out of pocket. Extremely frustrated that the original dealer did not fix this during the 2.5 yrs they serviced the boat prior to my purchase of it. Of course, my local dealer also says they are not responsible either since they didn't sell me the boat. Still waiting for a repair quote.

I've always wanted a Nautique and heard how great their quality and service was, but I'm starting to doubt that...

Any thoughts/ideas/other avenues to try?

[robertsmcfarland]

Sorry ,that's a bummer, I had a section replaced on my 230 but my crack was up by the starboard speaker , they had to powder coat before they replaced, was not associated with freezing , if you have to pay, you might want to just purchase and replace the damage port leg, instead of fixing, but sure price will be determinating factor..it could also wait till after season.

[Nautiquehunter]

This has been a widely discussed known problem for years . Roswell stopped warranty on them last year saying they gave ample notice and time for dealers to correct the problem. I don't agree with them . If you build it WRONG you should correct your mistake no matter how long it takes. I just received multiple notices from GM about the Ignition switch on my 08 HHR . How is it that GM could find and send notice to hundreds of thousands of past owners but Roswell and Nautique couldn't or wouldn't track down and make sure the necessary repairs were done . How many boats with defective towers were built in 2010? They all have HIN numbers . Nautique has records of where every boat was sent . The dealers have records of every boat they sold. So if they really wanted to how hard would it be to track down and make sure the defect was corrected? The fact is that they relied on the dealers to cover their A$$.Now they say they are no longer responsible for their mistake is because they gave their dealers ample time to make the repairs. So now the owner is left holding the bag. 2010 is still under warranty but the flawed part is not. This dosnt sit well with me I expect more form Nautique and the venders they choose .

[Nordicron]

I agree it's kinda crap for a company of this magnitude in the water sports world to not reach out to their customers about this. It's also ridiculous that the dealers never checked on this when boat was in, isn't there a service history that is attached with the boat? Dealer who sold u the boat should help you out with this repair at the minimum.

I would think Rosewell and Nautique would feel somewhat of a liability here with this. Let's say your out boarding and have the tower come crashing down on someone's head, nice little lawsuit waiting to happen I'd say.


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[pe4me]

Disclaimer: Totally my opinion as ignorant as I may be with all thats known and written on the subject.

Here is the link to Tracy (from Roswell) post regarding recall/bulletin...unfortunately it appears you are late to the party. I see both sides and would not be happy either. Whether I bought used or new, this is a true danger. People try to compare this to the auto industry but I think this is a unique part in a craft that is regarded as the best. Recall/bulletin whatever term you want to call it, a bad part was put on a great boat. Roswell is a direct reflection of Nautique period. I understand they went to the internet, sure there was a bulletin/recall/whatever, I understand boats get sold here and there and everywhere, but just because the guy before you didnt do his due diligence doesn't mean the next guy should be told to walk? People should look into what you are buying, but people are lead to believe you are buying the best and the LAST part of a wakeboard boat I personally would question is whether or not the tower sound.
As a business owner (small), I see the headaches of each party involved. To me, the labor involved in making a person spending HUGE money on the premier boat builder is peanuts, assuming you are hoping he buys a new G in few years when he realizes that Nautique IS the brand to own. You could frame it another way to, if my 3 kids were sitting in the back seat and god forbid something let loose...due to a known issue that could lead to failure...would the circumstances hold up in court? No idea, but those are chances I wouldn't be taking.
You are brought on as a sub to build the part with a specific purpose. Your design is inherently flawed. Own it. Make a deal, have a conversation, we'll cover labor, we'll cover materials or something seems to be in order.
This is sort of contrary to what I thought the first go around. My first thought was yeah, do your homework, check all the design tendencies, call a dealer and make sure the boat you interested in has been serviced properly. One is buying a USED boat.
Then you think about it, it is just a unique situation in a niche industry.
Sorry, but you got to get the tower right if you are a tow boat.
I think the parties involved from the manufactures have taken great steps to right a wrong...not sure double stamping with a post on a forum and an official letter/release/bulletin lets a company off the hook for a screw up of this magnitude.

[farkash3rd]

If you build it WRONG you should correct your mistake no matter how long it takes.

This is my feeling exactly the more I think about it. I didn't pay this much money for the highest quality tow boat just to end up replacing defective parts on my dime.

[ddipert]

I would be pissed if my tower had this issue.

Interesting note to make that the video (from the like posted above) says to make a 1/8" hole but the bulletin says 1/16".

[nauty220]

http://www.planetnautique.com/vb3/sh...ad.php?t=28230


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[nauty220]

http://www.planetnautique.com/vb3/sh...ad.php?t=28422


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[ronskal]

I have the same year boat & tower, bought it new. Not long after I bought it I received the bulletin in the mail alerting me to have it looked at.
My tower already was in compliance with the bulletin. I'm guessing you bought this boat used from an owner who did not have the bulletin done for whatever reason.
It looks repairable, a good welder should be able to restore the seam with a slightly larger than normal weld. Then get the part repainted, black is easy to match of course.
The fix for the water freezing in there is either: install a revised rubber gasket on the base of the tower with a drain slot (what mine has); or drill a drain hole in a specific location per the bulletin.
Sorry about your troubles but you can work it out. Personally I would not fight CC or Roswell on it, easier to fix it myself.

[Montana Boat Guy]

Good afternoon everyone. Once again for I believe the fourth time on Planet Nautique this discussion has come up. Each time an owner of a used boat shares his displeasure with Roswell Wake Air and Nautique for the damage to his/her tower. Occasionally the dealer is also included in the post. I will again say Roswell Wake Air proudly stands behind its product. I alone since joining the Roswell team have approved warranty on at least 7 of these towers for cracking. Each one the boat was out of warranty. Some of the boats Roswell covered the complete repair costs alone, some shared with Nautique, one shared with the dealer. Regardless these boat owners who failed to register their used boat with Nautique were taken care of. I have sent out a few reminders to dealers directly, I have posted on Planet Nautique, I have requested and watched Nautique on many occasions send out reminders to their dealers, I have reminded technicians, dealer principals, and service managers of the need to inspect these towers as well. This inspections which takes literally seconds to see if a repair that takes minutes to do is required to save thousands of dollars. We have tried and tried and tried and still to date have some towers out there that have not been modified despite our best efforts. Several have questioned why we don't notify all owners like Toyota would for a recall. The answer is simple WE CAN'T. The NHTSA National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration has made all vehicle registration available to Manufacturers. Unfortunately this does not include boats. To my understanding of the reasoning's why is that States are not required to supply this information to a Federal administration so they don't. We have no way of knowing where these boats are if the boat is not registered with Nautique once sold to a second, third, or fourth owner. If this would have been possible we would have done it a long time ago. The next common statement is "a poor design resulting in a failure should be warrantied forever". This is unrealistic. We have provided many "good faith" warranty coverages for this product. Most of which the boat had been to a dealer or two or three that could have prevented the damage from occurring. I had one boat with a broken tower that had been to three different Nautique dealers totaling over 30 visits any one of which could have done the update. The original dealer chose not to do the update because he was in a warm weather state. The owner eventually moved to a cold weather state and the tower broke. The boat in this e-mail thread also had spent time at a dealer that could have prevented the damage as well. Roswell Wake Air has offered the owner of this boat assistance but it will not include full warranty replacement of the tower.

[UofM21]

I wonder what the repair costs? Losing customers because of this thread alone because of people's own opinions on the matter wouldn't be worth the small cost in my business plan. Either way it sucks for the OP and it sucks that the previous owner didn't fix the issue.

[Nautiquehunter]

Sorry Tracy I have to strongly disagree with you and your statement above. You are not the victim it was your company that created the problem . If you feel the dealers are at fault for not fixing your mistake then go after them . In no way can you or should you pass the blame to the boat owner. The boats in question were built in 2009 -2010 ? How many did you build? All 09-10 are still under warranty right? So how can you and Nautique make a case to not correct the part that has a known defect? As I stated before Nautique owners deserve and expect better than this . I would expect this kind of passing the buck from MC not Nautique .At this point I would not be comfortable with a Roswell tower on my new boat and would seek out other options. I hope it dosnt take a law suite after one of the cracked towers breaks loose and hurts someone to make you own up to this problem.

[scottb7]

I agree with Tracy's comments. Although the below are my own comments and I am not trying to put words in his mouth:

If you don't like the warranty length then don't buy the boat. Isn't that why some auto manufacturers have longer warranties then others. They believe there is value in a longer warranty. Everyone knows the shorter the warranty the more the risk.

Not to mention if you buy a used (or new for that matter) item and you don't go check out a forum like this and read extensively then shame on you.

But to fix your mistake no matter how long. The fact of the matter is the warranty period is NOT just for manufacturer defects. It is ALSO for mistakes of the manufacturer. (i.e. design flaws). It is for both, sorry.

What about the lazy warm weather state dealer, maybe they should pay 100%. That was THEIR mistake, right?

[jonsquatch]

Nautiquehunter The good news for you is the current crop of towers is already made by someone else, I beleive Diamondback (http://www.diamondbackwakeproducts.com/) so you can upgrade without fear.

Roswell has done pretty well by me so far for warranty concerns and it does seem like they are trying to help out where they can. I think the big problem stems from the fact that it was a service bulletin and not a recall so it isn't treated like a defect or a mistake. It does seem silly that a wakeboard tower needs to be marinized by the owner or dealer but if they have notified all the registered owners with active warranties and continue to help others I feel a little better about having a FCT5 on my boat.