Split bottom Crestliner
I have a 2016 VT 18, I bought new. I’ve had the trailer axle come loose 3 times before Crestliner replaced it. The first time it came off was the first time I took to the lake the morning after I bought it. In March of this year I went to the lake and got into some 3 foot waves and ram about 6 miles back to a cove by the ramp I put in at that was out of the wind, fished for about 45 minutes before I realized the front of the boat was setting higher than usual out of the water. When I stepped into the bottom of the boat the carpet was wet. I went straight to the back hatch and opened it up, batteries liked about an inch being under water. Bilge pump shorted out so I started up and ran around the point to the truck. Barely got it loade up. First thought is I didn’t put the plug in but I had. After I pulled plug and started draining water out I noticed water was leaking from the keel of the boat, got underneath and the keel on the right side had cracked about 4 ft. Drove back to my hometown which was 26 miles from where I was at to the dealer that I had bought the boat from. They informed me that they no longer carried that line of boat and would not elaborate why. The closest dealer to my house in Oklahoma was Shreveport, I took the boat down there the first week of April to try and get hull covered on warranty. Crestliner said they would take care of it. The dealer finally informed me after a month that Crestliner was sending a section of the keel that the dealer could have welded on and that it wouldn’t bother the performance of the boat. I finally got a call last Thursday that the boat was on its way back from the welder and I could come down and pick up Saturday. I called dealer Friday afternoon and ask if it was still a go for me to pick up Saturday and I was told that they would test it for leaks Saturday and for me to start down around 800 AM. It’s a 4.5 hour drive to Shreveport from my house. I started down at 800 and made 60 miles when they called and set boat was still leaking and would have to send back to the welder. I asked where was it leaking now and said it looked like it had split above the section that had been welded on. So now I’m problem looking at another 3 months before it’s fixed. I met a man in my hometown that had a 2015 Ranger RT 188 that had a similar problem two years ago. Ranger just sent a new boat instead of trying to repair. I thought Crestliner was a reputable boat maker but now wouldn’t buy one or recommend a friend to buy one. If anyone else has had an issue like this I’d like to know how they had there problem solved.
I have a 2016 VT 18, I bought new. I’ve had the trailer axle come loose 3 times before Crestliner replaced it. The first time it came off was the first time I took to the lake the morning after I bought it. In March of this year I went to the lake and got into some 3 foot waves and ram about 6 miles back to a cove by the ramp I put in at that was out of the wind, fished for about 45 minutes before I realized the front of the boat was setting higher than usual out of the water. When I stepped into the bottom of the boat the carpet was wet. I went straight to the back hatch and opened it up, batteries liked about an inch being under water. Bilge pump shorted out so I started up and ran around the point to the truck. Barely got it loade up. First thought is I didn’t put the plug in but I had. After I pulled plug and started draining water out I noticed water was leaking from the keel of the boat, got underneath and the keel on the right side had cracked about 4 ft. Drove back to my hometown which was 26 miles from where I was at to the dealer that I had bought the boat from. They informed me that they no longer carried that line of boat and would not elaborate why. The closest dealer to my house in Oklahoma was Shreveport, I took the boat down there the first week of April to try and get hull covered on warranty. Crestliner said they would take care of it. The dealer finally informed me after a month that Crestliner was sending a section of the keel that the dealer could have welded on and that it wouldn’t bother the performance of the boat. I finally got a call last Thursday that the boat was on its way back from the welder and I could come down and pick up Saturday. I called dealer Friday afternoon and ask if it was still a go for me to pick up Saturday and I was told that they would test it for leaks Saturday and for me to start down around 800 AM. It’s a 4.5 hour drive to Shreveport from my house. I started down at 800 and made 60 miles when they called and set boat was still leaking and would have to send back to the welder. I asked where was it leaking now and said it looked like it had split above the section that had been welded on. So now I’m problem looking at another 3 months before it’s fixed. I met a man in my hometown that had a 2015 Ranger RT 188 that had a similar problem two years ago. Ranger just sent a new boat instead of trying to repair. I thought Crestliner was a reputable boat maker but now wouldn’t buy one or recommend a friend to buy one. If anyone else has had an issue like this I’d like to know how they had there problem solved.