Any problems with Crestliner transoms?

[farginicehole]

I posted this in the Crestliner forum, but I'm not sure how much traffic that gets.<br />I went last weekend to look at a '97 Sportfish 2050. It has a 150 hp Johnson on it, and a 15 hp kicker, which is mounted on an OMC bracket. I noticed a weld on the outside of the top portion of the transom (port side). It was around an inch and a half long, and looked like some sort of repair. I asked the guy, who says he has owned the boat since new, and he said that a crack started developing and they fixed it under warranty. He also said that subsequent years of this boat had some sort of "plate"(?) installed on the inside of the transom by the factory. Does anyone know anything about this? Has anyone had any similar issues with Crestliners of this era? Thanks!

 

[Boatist]

Re: Any problems with Crestliner transoms?

I have a 1980 I/O and have had no problems but then and outboard has a totally different transom.

 

[farginicehole]

Re: Any problems with Crestliner transoms?

Yeah, I imagine they are quite a bit different. Thanks for the reply though. Anyone else have an outboard Sportfish from this era?

 

[radioactive]

Re: Any problems with Crestliner transoms?

Well, this is what I have been looking for. I have a 1989 Phantom 170 with a 120 Evinrude motor on the back. I noticed a crack in a weld at the right side hull/transom last year. After some investigation and a fight with Crestloser to get some warrenty service (they wanted us to ship the boat from Winnipeg to Little Falls MN... not a chance)I now know I have a far more serious problem. When the SST was attached to the boat it missed a set of gussets in the transom and as such there is really no structure holding it on. I now have buckled ransom gussets as well as the seam between the transom and top deck of the boat, on both sides has split. I have noticed a crack on the left side hull/ transom interface. I am a Mechcnical Engineer by trade and i know exactly what the issue is... poor design and manufacture. And as far as service goes, Crestliner is a waste of my time. SO the solution I think is going to be to cut the transom off, fabricate new gussets and rebuild it from there. We are just lucky that we did not have the transom unstitch and drop the motor on the highway, someone could have been hurt. I have pictures and all kinds of documentation if you are interested in chatting.

 

[farginicehole]

Re: Any problems with Crestliner transoms?

Wow! This boat does not have the SST, but I am somewhat familiar with those as my mother has an early 90's Eagle with that style of transom. I too am a mechanical engineer, and that repaired crack in this boat I am looking at kind of concerned me, as I have no idea what caused it and if all they did was weld the crack in the exterior aluminum or did more thorough reinforcement/correction of the problem. It also seemed to me like the entire transom flexed quite a bit as he lowered the main outboard (noticed he didn't have a transom saver for trailering either), at least as compared to my '91 Alumacraft Competitor 185CS. Thanks for the reply!

 

[radioactive]

Re: Any problems with Crestliner transoms?

Hey, good to know i am not the only one with a problem. By the time a crack shows up in a welded structure the failure is most likely already significant. i think the connection of the transom to the top corners of the deck on each side are worth a look mine have cracked off and have not been carrying the transom loads for some time. i would love to see what this "plate" is. I know that the SST transom was installed inside the two supporting gussets in my case. as such they are not carrying the load and the momnet down to the hull. it is a case of a bad design and terrible customer service as far as i am concerned. i have many pictures if you would like to see my hull/tramsom failure.

 

[farginicehole]

Re: Any problems with Crestliner transoms?

This wasn't a weld that was starting to crack - it was the aluminum that was actually getting a crack/tear in it! I know others who love their Crestliners, and I've always thought they were good quality boats, but what I saw on this particular transom and am hearing about yours kind of scares me away from this boat. Thanks again for the replies, and I wish you luck getting your boat's issues resolved!

 

[Salmonseeker]

Re: Any problems with Crestliner transoms?

Hey guys I have a 2004 Crestliner Angler 1600 SC. I bought it new and have only used it one season. I noticed a small crack in one of the welds on the transom. I investigsted a little more and found several more small cracks in the welds. They begin at the end of the welds. The longest crack is about 1/4 inch long.<br /><br />Not to bad for a Almost brand new boat. Just Kidding. I think I will ignore it for now unless it gets alot worse. I love the boat but am not to sure about these cracks.<br /><br />Jay