2006 Monark Hull Damage

[Fishinguy40]

So today I put my 2006 Monark King 185 on the river, only the second time this season. Last week was the first. Both times I noticed that she is really taking on more water than usual and I have to constantly run the bilge pump. So when I get home I put a garden hose in the bilge and crawl underneath. I find three separate cracks in the aluminum hull. Two appear to be right along the ribs. I am not aware of any incidents that would have caused the damage. So I'm not sure how or why the cracks developed. I am sure that the hull has a lifetime warranty.

I searched the internet for Monark and it appears that they were bought by Starcraft. I cannot find a direct customer service number for Starcraft. And of course this late on a Friday afternoon none of the local dealers are answering their phone.

Anybody know anything about Monark boats? Were they bought by Starcraft? How long will I be without my boat while it is being repaired. Can/will they just weld the cracks or is the repair more extensive than that? Some pics are below.

[RuKiddingMe]

Yikes - that is alarming, I own an 04' King 170. I know the mother company for Monark was/is Starcraft and I beleive the Monark name now goes by Starweld and is still on the Starcraft umbrella.

(Note from Admin. Please read forum policy before posting again, thank you)

Good luck - please be sure to post your experience.

[Fishinguy40]

I finally got my insurance out today to look at the boat. I guess they've been swamped with claims due to the storms we had last week.

Insurance company feels that this is a warranty claim. The cracks are directly under the console along the ribs. According to the adjuster, they see this occasionally with aluminum boats. I guess it was a very common issue with one manufacturer a couple years ago (not Monark). The hull flexes when when loading/unloading the boat on the trailer. The aluminmum eventually fatigues and cracks.

I have been in contact with the dealer that sold me the boat and they have forwarded the pictures and info to Starcraft, who did buy out Monark. I will update when I find out more.

My fear now is; will Starcraft pony up and fix it and fix it right. According to the adjuster that means pulling up the deck, cutting out the flotation foam and welding the cracks as well as re-inforcing the hull so that it does not flex. And how long will I be without my boat?

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Bummer. It is most likely going to take a while. Good luck and let us know. Maybe they have somebody local that they use.

[Fishinguy40]

Got a call at 7:15 this morning from the dealer. The hull does have a lifetime warranty, since I am the original owner they will fix. So today I am emptying the boat and will trailer it to Minong, WI. That is where the dealer is. They closed their MN stores a couple years ago. The dealer will ship to Starcraft in Indiana for the repairs.

It is a bummer that I will be without the boat. But so far I am happy with the response. It only took two days for the dealer/Starcraft to review the pics and agree that it is warranty.

I just hope they are as good with the repairs!

[Gus]

Good luck. Let us know how it comes out. Sure stinks for you to be without a boat! But best I guess to have it repaired properly. Being as it is not that old, that would be my first priority. Good luck!

[BartmanMN]

Not having the boat will really stink, but having it properly fixed will be huge. That is really bad damage.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

You can always post in the open seat forum for now. Glad to hear they are responsive.

[Fishinguy40]

I sure hope my luck gets better!!!

Trailer the boat to Minong, WI yesterday which is about a 2-1/2 hour drive for me. 13 miles from the dealership I get a flat on the trailer. Totally shredded the tire. Didn't have a spare so I left it on the side of the road, drove to the dealership. Bought a spare ($137) and borrowed couple blocks of wood as the boat was sitting on a soft shoulder. Open the tailgate on my truck to throw the wood in and the trim piece around around the handle falls off on the ground. My wife just looks at me and laughs. "What else can go wrong today". We both said it at the same time...LOL.

Oh and the black flies were horrible. My ankles/legs got eaten alive as I was changing the tire on the trailer!

[BartmanMN]

"when it rains, it pours"

[Fishinguy40]

As I said in a previous post, I dropped the boat off at the dealer on June 29. Today it is July 10 and I find out that my boat is still sitting at the dealer and has not been shipped back to Starcraft for the repairs yet.

I AM NOT HAPPY!

[BartmanMN]

I suppose they will not load your boat up until a new shipment of boats arrives and they can load it on that trailer. Probably not likely they would 'spring' for a special delivery of your boat.

Sucks, but likely the reality of the deal.

Good luck

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

To bad you didn't just drive it to them. We're are they located?

[SpecialK]

New Paris IN according to the HSOforum

[Snowking]

I've had this happen twice to my boat. It's a fisher witch is owned by tracker took it to bethel marine they gutted it and took it to George's in ham lake. Both times I had my boat back in two weeks. Good luck sort of sounds like you can use some.

[Valv]

It's located in northern IN. If I was you I'll take boat there myself instead of waiting until dealer has a load coming, it could be months.

I know it's a pain, but it will speedup the process quite a bit.

[Fishinguy40]

Well my wife isn't happy either and decided to get involved. She called Linc Rec, the dealer that has our boat, and went straight to the top. Got hold of the owner's wife, who wasn't very nice or sympathetic about our situation. Her attitude was that they were doing us a favor. Those were her exact words. She wouldn't even let my wife explain why we are frustrated and she hung up on my wife. Now I listened to the conversation and yes my wife was frustrated and upset but she was not rude or mean. Wife called again and this time got the husband. He at least listened to my wife and agreed that our frustrations are valid. He did give her the contact information for the cutomer service manager at Starcraft. He called this morning and agreed that after driving almost 3 hours to deliver the boat that it should not sit there for almost two weeks. He is supposed to contact the dealer today and get things worked out.

Isn't it funny how sometimes a woman get things done that we can't! We will wait and see what happens next.