Crack in hull - fibreglass repair

[SummerTrance]

Ive just discovered a crack on the bottom of my 4.4 fibreglass runabout. The crack is approx 80 cm long, on the starboard side about half way between the center and the starboard edge. prob just slightly towards the stern from the middle of the boat length ways (if that makes sense)

Does anyone have a recommendations for a fibreglass repairer on Brisbane's northside ? If I get home in time Ill be taking it to a bloke at Scarby marina tomorrow for a look.

Also does anyone have any advise on how a crack like this would be fixed, and any idea on how much $$$$ I should be expecting the repair to cost ?

94153

94154

94155

[Jarrah Jack]

Ouch...A bigger problem may be found when you look for the cause. Are the stringers ok? Is it setup on the trailer right?

[Chang Jiang]

Mate before you look at repairing the crack, do you have any idea what caused it? and how long it has been cracked? what is on the inside of the hull in this area,?? is the crack just on the chime (strake) or is it in the hull ?? some times a builder will fill the strake with foam or even wood then glass over. I would not repair untill you know how and why the crack has happend, it is hard to tell but in the pictures there appears to be small raised bubbles is this true or is it just an area where touch up painting has been done?

cheers terry

[Noelm]

Any repair from the outside will be a patch up at best, it will need to be repaired from the inside to be permanent, and that will involve cutting the floor out, which may reveal other damage.

[SummerTrance]

Ive only owned the boat about three weeks. Im not sure if was there before or not, as I didnt crawl under the boat before purchase (silly in hindsight)

The first two times I took the boat out there was no water out of the bungs after retrieval. Third time out there was about 300 ml from the bungs, and last trip was prob a couple litres. The last two trips have been pretty choppy out in the bay.

The floor and stringers were done 12 months ago apparently. I can see that the floor had been done but cant check the stringers. Transom was done 3 years ago.

Having just spent all my spare cash on the boat and upgraded motor, I cant really afford major repairs, so Im hoping for the best.

94157

[SummerTrance]

Ouch...A bigger problem may be found when you look for the cause. Are the stringers ok? Is it setup on the trailer right?

Stringers shoud be ok. Seems to be on trailer ok.


Mate before you look at repairing the crack, do you have any idea what caused it? and how long it has been cracked? what is on the inside of the hull in this area,?? is the crack just on the chime (strake) or is it in the hull ?? some times a builder will fill the strake with foam or even wood then glass over. I would not repair untill you know how and why the crack has happend, it is hard to tell but in the pictures there appears to be small raised bubbles is this true or is it just an area where touch up painting has been done?

cheers terry

No not raised bumbles. What you can see in the photos (which looks like bubbles) are flakes of 'f'glass chipped off. No idea what inside the hull in that area. And no idea of the cause.

The first time I took the boat out, the winch on the trailer failed, and I had to drive the boat onto the trailer. Damage may have occurred then.


Any repair from the outside will be a patch up at best, it will need to be repaired from the inside to be permanent, and that will involve cutting the floor out, which may reveal other damage.

Not what I wanted to hear. But thanks.

.

[MrNanks]

That is a bugger mate. I feel for you.
I hope the result is not too bad for you.
I cant help fix it but if you want a trip out on the water while it is getting fixed , you are more than welcome with me.

Cheers Dave

[Shark Poker]

Hi Summer Trance,
Do not stress. By all means take it to the guy at scarby for a appraisal and quote.
Lee at Northside Fibreglass Repairs (Frederick St, Northgate) is a nice enough bloke, I would certainly ask him.
If their suggestions point to an external repair, go for it.
The comments in the above post are too true, however....
I had a couple smaller cracks fixed in the past on a couple different boats - a Haines and a Seametre - fixed without any worries.

[SummerTrance]

Thanks fatBouy, I tried to call Northside Fibreglass Repairs today but the number in the Members Business Directory was disconnected

And thanks, MrNanks :thumbup:

[Scalem]

Hi Marc,

My old Mustang 1500 got a new floor and tranny by Arnolds. Before I sold her I had them go over it again as there were a couple of potential repairs I could spend my money on and charge more for the boat or let the new buyer see the repair estimate and do it himself. They are a great bunch at Arnolds, wouldn't go anywhere else. http://www.arnoldsfibreglass.com.au/

Good luck with it all mate.

Scalem

[solemandownunder]

BUGGA....BUGGA...BUGGA.....>:(

Whatever the repair costs to get the desired result will be worth it M8.

As you know, I have seen the boat on the water & she is a Beaut.

One last bit of advice.....whoever does the job....get THEIR expert advice as to any further upcomming issues....may save any dramas down the track.

Ray.

[Muddy Toes]

My money would be to get Benny that used to work at Arnolds a call on 0403430442.

He is a master of his craft (see what I just did there?) and he is also very reasonably priced thus making him very difficult to get a hold of but he's the man I'd trust with this job. If you even took it up to his place on the Sunny Coast just for him to look at he'd be able to tell answer all your questions.

[ozscott]

Second Benny ...(ex Arnolds....)

CHeers

[burleygu]

give Adam a bell from Fmi. He is located at caboolture Just fixed an identical crack in my neighbours boat. Which we found out was a result of the trailer not working right for the boat. Where the spring hanger is between the 2 springs on a dual axle trailer it was seized. giving the trailer next to no suspension which caused the crack. Hes a top bloke Adam And would be able to repair that not a problem!
his no. is 0410130887

[hally]

arnolds fibreglass repaires at hemmant rate there work highly 38901768

[JB sniper]

Adam Milner at Jacobs well is great to mate, and he was the best price I came across. Ph 0404050310. Won't go wrong givin him a call

[FisHard]

I don't know how many times on Ausfish I've given Adam (see above post) a wrap, but here's another one! He's Da man!

[matt fraser]

Not good! Ouch! It could be a big job, but could also be fixed relatively easily by someone with the skills, experience and equipment on hand.

If you are on the southside, you could try John Brider at Loganholme, very experienced an reasonable price 0418 841 388.

He's semi retired, cash only.

Cheers,

Matt

[SummerTrance]

Thanks for all the referrals guys. I have contacted one of the guys recommended in this thread, and will be getting the repair done in next few weeks.

[SummerTrance]

Hey guys, Well due to an unexpected and expensive mechanical repair to my work van, the boat repair has to be put off for a while longer.

I've found something that may possibly be the cause of the crack, and Im after your opinions.

On the trailer, the second crossbar (from the front) has bent forward a bit, and the keel roller was not holding any weight of the boat. It looks to be holding the boat, but on closer inspection I can actually spin the roller when the boat is loaded on the trailer.

I was thinking that because there is no support between the front rollers, and the third keel roller and skids, that the boat may have been flexing a bit during travel. After I purchased the boat a month ago, It did a 500 klm round trip to Hervey Bay. Fixing this problem seems to beas simple as raising the height of the keel roller.
The crack is on the starboard side, on the inside of the chime which is just inside the skid on the trailer. The boat had new stringers and floor 12-18 months ago, and new transom 3 years ago.

So here's the question...... Do you think that that the second keel roller not taking any weight during travel is....

A. The most likely cause of the crack.
B. Could possibly be the cause of the crack.
C. Unlikely to be the cause of the crack.

94492
This keel roller can be spun whilst boat is loaded.

94493

94494

94495

[Justin Rossiter]

I'm going A.....

[Crunchy]

No expert but I'm going with B, think about the amount of stress on a hull when pounding through waves vs a bit of unsupported load on a trailer???

[Noelm]

B with a touch of C.

[Fed]

I was going to go with D. Not the cause of the crack.

BUT, looking at the winch pulling vertically instead of horizontally combined with an enthusiastic ratchet strapper at the rear anything could be going on with that setup.
If the boat is more or less rocking front to back on the front of the skids and winched down at the front & back then that will put heaps of stress on the hull.
The boat is supposed to sit on the trailer & be restrained, NOT tightened down hard.

[Justin Rossiter]

I think that is a good point Fed, often see folks with the ratchet tie downs doing them up as hard as they will go, can almost here the hull creaking.

J

[SummerTrance]

That's some great info thanks Fed, and you have highlighted things Ive done wrong.

Firstly, on the trip back to brisbane from Hervey Bay (because the road was so bumpy on the way up) I put an extra ratchet strap over the boat just beind the windscreen. Both straps were done up tight.

Also the trailer is a tilt trailer. The four times I loaded and retrieved the boat, I didnt use the tilt and just winched the boat on.
Another thing, the very first time I used the boat, the trailer winch crapped itself. I had to drive the boat onto the trailer (not using the trailer tilt) and I recall at one point the boat pivoting on the skids. Possible cause right there.

[Jarrah Jack]

While I agree that the trailer may well have caused the problem there may also be an underlying problem with the stringers not doing their job. Impossible to tell without pulling up the floor which would be part of the repair anyway.

[darkside]

The other trap for young players, is using the ratchet strap to tighten it down hard enough to squash the boat a little, then leaving it in the shed or yard for months with the tension on. !!!

[SummerTrance]

So I took the boat to the repairer today and pretty quickly got the news I was dreading. Floor and stringers appear to be stuffed.

You may recall that when I purchased the boat I had been told new floor and stringers. The repairer says what it looks like is that they just laid a sheet of ply over the old floor and glassed over it.
Thankfully the transom (which was supposedly done 3 years ago) is still strong.

Unfortunately I cant afford to replace the floor and stringers at the moment, so just getting the patch up job on the crack done. The repairer said it should last for a while if I take it easy, while I save for the major repairs. I know its a band-aid job, but I its the best I can get for now and im desperate to go fishing.

Im pretty angry with the bloke I bought the boat from, seeing as the new transom, floor and stringers was the major selling point for me. The outboard that was on the boat wasnt running great so I replaced that as soon as I got the boat. I had got a mechanic to check to check the original motor but didnt think I had to worry about the boat. A lesson learnt the hard way.

[MrNanks]

That really sux mate.
Its not nice when you buy a major purchase in good faith and you get shat on like that.
It is a tough lesson that we all should be reminded of when we are next in that situation.

I hope you get out on the water again soon.

Don't forget my standing offer of a trip on my boat if you want. No guarantees to catch fish.

Cheers