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View Full Version : My boat is finally fixed..



Jabba_
06-11-2011, 01:48 PM
During May this year I had a incident on Jumping pin bar... At the time I thought I had only cracked my windscreen, and a tiny crack in my splash well (Thinking it was just a gel coat crack)...

It happened like this.. The tide was on the bottom half off the run out.. The swell was only suppose to be 4ft. It was infact 7ft.. It was 6am and the sun was not out yet... I motored up o the head off the calm water to find the channel out, it was not there, and waves were breaking everywhere on the outer back... I had the boat in reverse holding us still against the current
I was looking south east where the channel would normally be, and I was thinking to myself, "This if f##ked". I was just about to make the call that where not going out when Scott and Jay shout out "Matt A WAVE"... I slammed in to full forward trying to get over the wave before it broke.. The wave broke 2m in front off me and I punched through the broken wave cracking my windscreen. Amazingly I didn't get any water in to the boat..

The wave behind it was bigger, and now where in the impact zone.. I gunned it again and throttle back as I hit the base off the wave. I was airborne, and as I landed the wave had passed under us, I landed stern heavy and the skeg just hit the sand bank... I then powered up to the next wave and we made it pass.. the rest off the day was great..

The following weekend I was the support boat driver for an outrigger team in the Gold Coast cup.. It was after that I noticed the crack had doubled in size, and I then notified my insurer (Club Marine) knowing now that this crack was not just in the Gel coat...
I asked them who they recommend as a repairer and they sent me to a repairer in Labrador, I call them Repairer 1.. (I wont name them in this thread for legal reasons.. so PM me if you want to know)

So I took the boat to Repairer 1 and they had it for 2 weeks and my windscreen and crack were repaired..
The next weekend I took the boat out for a shake down run to make sure everything was in order.. Well the first thing that I noticed was my throttle and gear shifter was as stiff as hell and impossible to make minor adjustment to the throttle.. I went up to the seaway and back to loaders cr.. I check the splash well and the crack was back, I couldn't believe it... So on monday morning I called Repairer 1 and told them about the crack and the stiff throttle.. I then delivered the boat to them on Monday afternoon..
They confirmed that it was indeed broken and the throttle linkage grommet was installed back to front..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y159/jabba1/5582cff3.jpg
It cracked again after only 10 minutes on the water (flat water)
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y159/jabba1/09b7c515.jpg

Repairer 1 contacted my insurer to ask permission to repair it again.. The asessor asked to have the transom opened a little bit to see if there is any rot in there, and if there is I would not be covered for the 2nd repair.. No rot or structural defect was found, so I was covered.. But now my transom was butchered.. Even the plywood in the transom had been cut...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y159/jabba1/2ca4607f.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y159/jabba1/32722092.jpg

The owner off the company called me with the price off the quote off the repairs ($16000) and he also told me I might be up for some off the cost due to the boat being 7 years old.. I didn't understand that. He was also pushing for me to install a full width pod which he said he can do for the same money..

I didn't like what I was hearing and it sent off alarm bells, so I made a few phone calls which confirmed what I was feeling about this Repairer 1...
The next day the asessor turned up to have a look at my transom... I later received a call from him. I told him how I felt, and he also had the same gut feel... He told me to get it to Hayden's Wyld about Boats.. I was only to happy to get it there as he knows alot about Seafarers..

So the boat is now at Wyld About Boats and he organized for some fibreglass repairers to come and have a look... Basically trying to gauge what is going to be the best way to fix my transom.. After a week and a half, Hayden contacts The Hains Group, and ask if they would be interested in repairing the transom.. Which they said yes too...

So its off to The Haines Group, but the timing couldn't be worse. Brisbane boat show was on in a weeks time so the factory was to busy to look at my boat, and the following weekend it was the Northern territory Boat show.. So I had to wait, as this was no easy fix.
3 weeks later, there going through my repair working out what will be the best method to get it back to full strenght and look original... In the end they decided to just gut its and start all over as there was too much damage caused by Repairer 1...

So a quote went into my insurer, and it took a week to get a reply from them.. Then my insurer ask for a detailed report.. The quote was excepted, but it took 1.5 weeks to get the authorization paper work through to Hayden...

So now my transom and splash well is completely repaired and looks like new.. Haines Group did a fantastic job, and it strong.. The transom ply was replaced, the knees (There are 3) were cut out and replaced.. And they loaded it with extra glass...

I took the boat out last weekend and gave it a good work out, and not a smidge off a crack was evident, and the motor performed faultlessly. Hayden also raised my motor 2.5" with a offset plate, which worked great and lifted my WOT speed to 59mph (GPS)

Last weekend I had a 2 day RDO so on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, I sanded the antifoul of the hull. Thanks again to Hayden for lending a pair off boat stands
Bloody tough job.... I did use Hull Strip on a section off the boat, but it made it much harder to sand, and soften the epoxy primer, so I had to sand it off as well.

The antifoul had been slowing down my boat for 2 years and it was getting worse.. When I first got my E-tec I was hitting 56mph consistently, and now I was only getting 54mph, as the antifoul was getting rougher and patchy, it was causing more drag..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y159/jabba1/e7a41437.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y159/jabba1/96dce320.jpg

So now the boat is back up at the Haines Group to get the bottom two packed white...
I think it should look good once I get it back... I will post a picture once its finish..

Just want to thank Hayden Wyld, and the Haines Group for doing a great job...

Roughasguts
06-11-2011, 02:34 PM
Whats that black stuff there on the cut out there Jabba????? looks like mould to me...

Cheers

Jabba_
06-11-2011, 03:37 PM
Its not mould, I know that for a fact, cause I thought the same... Its just the coating from the jig saw blades when they cut the section out....

Jarrah Jack
06-11-2011, 03:39 PM
Just as well you didn't have to pay for it Jabba, at least you know its been done properly and the transom is better than new. Is the boat always undercover as a matter of interest? Good to see no rot at all in the old transom.

The nerves must have been going after that bar workout.:o

Jabba_
06-11-2011, 04:40 PM
I keep the boat under a poly tarp.... I do wish I had under cover storage...

Yeah shat a brick when I saw that wave just stand up in front off us..

Apollo
07-11-2011, 07:29 AM
Glad it has all worked well in the end. Congrates to all that were involved and did what they should have.

LittleSkipper
07-11-2011, 07:47 AM
Hi Jabba. If your after a decent boat cover rather than a poly tarp as they disintergrate over time being exposed to the weather try Storm Covers Australia,they have a wide selection of boat covers to choose from whether it be a custom fit or a semi-custom fit boat cover.I have the semi-custom fit which almost looks like a custom fit cover.(See Pic)

7318673185


I keep the boat under a poly tarp.... I do wish I had under cover storage...

Yeah shat a brick when I saw that wave just stand up in front off us..