# Hull Repair recommendations



## Volunteered Slavery (Jul 23, 2011)

So I returned from a beautiful day in the gulf to a 2 by 4 foot section of fiberglass showing on the side of my hull under the water line that I noticed once the boat was back on the trailer. Its actually a flap that is c-shaped and still hanging on at it's forward side...I suppose it was something like a blister that worked it's way lose and cracked around (there are crack lines underneath the gel coat that look like short 2-4 inch gray lines). It looks like the pain and gel coat just pulled away from the fiberglass (which is still intact on the boat). 
My question is has anyone had this happen to their boat and how much am I looking to have someone fix this. Also if anyone knows of an affordable person who does quality work I would like to get it fixed so long as it doesn't end up costing too much (I don't want to pay a grand for a boat that didn't cost much more than that to begin with). The boat is a 20 foot 1995 Walkaround that is otherwise in good shape. The fiberglass still feels firm where it has been damaged. 
Thanks 
:whistling:


----------



## Volunteered Slavery (Jul 23, 2011)




----------



## JoeyWelch (Sep 25, 2009)

WOW!! What brand is the boat?


----------



## oxbeast1210 (Jun 21, 2010)

:blink: Ouch!


----------



## Volunteered Slavery (Jul 23, 2011)

It's a 1995 OMC Neptune 206...been great besides this little incident...


----------



## Volunteered Slavery (Jul 23, 2011)




----------



## oxbeast1210 (Jun 21, 2010)

Looks nice where did you get that top?


----------



## Volunteered Slavery (Jul 23, 2011)

Came with it, I don't know who made it for the guy I bought it from but it came in handy the last weekend of red snapper season this year when it rained for 5 days straight...even though we ended up soaked through the bone. It goes all the way around to keep the cockpit dry during a downpour.


----------



## SHO-NUFF (May 30, 2011)

Ouch, Looks like you hit something, or your stringers are rotten as Hell. A lot of good folks on here that do Fiberglas work that can help you out. I have never seen a hull delaminate like that before unless it flexed really bad.


----------



## KPTN (May 21, 2009)

hard to tell from the pictures but it looks like the glass is delaminating and seperating, probably due to water intrusion. polyester resin is not water proof as many people think and that could have started as blisters or may even be due to poor layup at the factory. I'm no expert but i think your problem is bigger than just what you see there and i doubt seriously if someone will fix it for a thousand. i would contact x-shark or paul bolden customs and get a soild opinion.


----------



## Big Mikes Fiberglass (Sep 23, 2008)

If you would like a free estimate, I would be happy to look at the boat. 

Thanks,
Big Mike
www.bigmikesfiberglass.com
850-206-4499


----------



## Volunteered Slavery (Jul 23, 2011)

I don't think I hit anything because of how the damage is shaped (no dents that I would think a floating board or debris would cause and the front side is the "better" side, I would assume if I hit something it would pull from the front backward where as this is peeling from the back forward...) But I sure hope that it's not due to damaged/rotten supports inside causing it to flex but I feel that is possibly the most likely culprit...


----------



## Volunteered Slavery (Jul 23, 2011)

Definitely, where are you located at? The boat is here in Gulf Breeze/Oriole beach area...


----------



## sosmarine (Sep 28, 2007)

Fayne Limbo in Milton. He is off Nichols Lake Rd 723-2473


----------



## Huff (Jan 17, 2008)

Big Mike is a stand up guy!!! He does great work!

Mike I have a couple jobs I would like you to take a look at also!


----------



## Murphy's Law (Sep 27, 2007)

Huff said:


> Big Mike is a stand up guy!!! He does great work!QUOTE]
> 
> +1 Good guy great work !
> 
> Sent from my HTC EVO 4G using Forum Runner


----------



## CootCommander (Aug 24, 2008)

sosmarine said:


> Fayne Limbo in Milton. He is off Nichols Lake Rd 723-2473




+1 for Fayne! He's a stand up guy that does great work.


----------



## Kim (Aug 5, 2008)

That is plain old impact damage.  You hit something while tooling along my friend. Sorry that it happened to you, been there and done that myself. First question for you is do you have insurance? If so that would take a lot of sting out of it except for the deductible. Just make sure that you have someone that knows what they are doing do the repairs for you.


----------



## X-Shark (Oct 3, 2007)

> (no dents that I would think a floating board or debris would cause


FYI: Fiberglass does not "Dent". It flexes and breaks or delaminates which appears to be what you have?


----------



## Dragonfire21281 (Apr 7, 2011)

call paul at paulcustoms.. pm sent with his number


----------



## Patriot (Jun 4, 2009)

Yup...that's impact damage. May not have happened that day, but something hit the area with sufficient force to seperate the laminate structural integrity.

The curved shaped cracks in the core laminates are the tell tail. Outer laminate pulled away, and judging by spidercracks, some water may have got in there and helped the process along.

You see this type of delamination of high performance race boats after they get stuffed real bad. Blows the kevlar sheets right off the boat.

Of course, your boat isn't the same, but the result is very close.

It can be fixed, but the structural repair you need may be cost prohibitive.


----------



## tljbabc (Oct 22, 2007)

Call david norwood at 850-565-0698 he does outstanding work and great prices


----------



## Volunteered Slavery (Jul 23, 2011)

*Well...*

Well it looks like it's water damage/flexing in the bottom of the boat possibly due to a rotten/cracked/something messed up stringer. Quotes ranged from expensive to more than I can afford either fixing the whole side/other side from the outside to also fixing the stringers first before fixing the glass (even had one guy tell me "you don't even want to fix it for what it will cost you" and didn't bother with a quote) ...but then I guess that's why they say boat stands for break out another thousand 
I'm thinking more about either cutting my losses and selling the motor/trailer, or finding a good hull to put my motor on...any ideas? I've started looking on craigslist...wondering if anyone knows anybody with a boat without a motor that would sell the boat for cheap...the evinrude runs like a tank (gotta love those 2 strokes) if anyone wants a good 150 with a couple years under it's belt...
Thanks for everyones 2 cents and a big thanks for those that came out and gave the boat a look.
Tripp


----------



## oxbeast1210 (Jun 21, 2010)

Sorry to hear that I'll keeps ears n eyes out for ya .


----------



## Patriot (Jun 4, 2009)

Try looking at theft recovery and repo boats. Most are late model and very clean.

http://salvagedirect.com

http://www.yachtauctions.com/inventory.php

Nice 22 Grady rig http://www.yachtauctions.com/listing.php?vessel=6915

Good Luck.


----------



## oxbeast1210 (Jun 21, 2010)

VSlave what did you decide to do??! just curious what you did


----------



## Volunteered Slavery (Jul 23, 2011)

I think I'll be selling her for a reduced price since I can't afford to put the money into it to fix it right now and hate to see it sit around...I thought about finding a good hull to switch the trailer and motor to but haven't found anything for the right price yet...it's worth upward of 7500 bucks if the spot was fixed but it's probably a 1000 dollar fix...I'm open to offers if anyone is interested in the motor, other parts, or the whole thing for a decreased amount....


----------



## X-Shark (Oct 3, 2007)

> it's probably a 1000 dollar fix.


Think again.... The deck has to be cut. The Stringer needs to be fixed. The outside of the hull needs to be fixed.

Cutting the deck, I bet there are seat box's and possibly the fuel tank needs to be removed. If your that far I bet the fuel fill /vent hoses would be due for changing while your there. The list will Grow & Grow.

Here's my saying.

Quote: "How many seeds are in a Watermelon?"

Answer; You don't know till it's cut open.

The same applies to this job.

Cutting it open is one thing.....putting it all back together...HeHe

Your in the $5000 repair range.


----------



## pappastratos (Oct 9, 2007)

Dude, look for a hull without a motor or bad motor. Do check the transom & floor. I see good deals regularly. Ask boat dealers. Here in Alabama, there was a guy that had a 19' Hydra Sports Hydra-skiff without a motor for ??$2500?? 
19' mako $2000 http://mobile.craigslist.org/boa/2595024931.html 
19' carolina skiff $2400 http://mobile.craigslist.org/boa/2609129758.html


----------



## answer24 (Jan 15, 2008)

shipshape tv had a show on a few years ago,he had damage like that on his boat bluemoon a 23 seabird and thay fixed it from the bottom without cutting up the floor, it can be done if you could find the video it could be helpful


----------



## X-Shark (Oct 3, 2007)

That boat bluemoon a 23 seabird it has a cored hull. What they did was remove the Balsa core in that boat and replace it.

There is a LOT of difference in these 2 boats.


----------



## sosmarine (Sep 28, 2007)

As I recommended before Fayne Limbo in Milton. He is off Nichols Lake Rd 723-2473


----------



## Volunteered Slavery (Jul 23, 2011)

I believe I'm going to either find a center console hull in need of a motor or sell the random bits and pieces of my boat...depending on if I get any offers on the motor...too expensive to fix and I don't have the time or tools/skills to repair the hull to a state where I'd be comfortable taking people out into the gulf on this hull...so if anyone sees a good hull for sale for relatively cheap (2k or so) or wants to purchase the motor for a decent price (130hp OB w/ 25 inch shaft) let me know:thumbup:


----------



## answer24 (Jan 15, 2008)

before they reworked that 23 seabird they did a show, that boat had a hole in the bottom of it and they repaired it without cutting up the floor, it can be done, no big deal


----------



## X-Shark (Oct 3, 2007)

But!......They did not repair a stringer. These two boats are designed differently.


----------



## answer24 (Jan 15, 2008)

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/Fiberglass_Boats.htm check this out


----------



## answer24 (Jan 15, 2008)

how do you know stringer is broke ,is the floor buckled,i don`t think you can tell without acess hole to see one way or the other,hard to throw away a boat with fixable damage


----------



## jsims006 (Jun 15, 2011)

Ouchies! either way it sounds like $5000 would be about the same that it would cost to outfit a new (to you) boat. 

Please keep this thread updated... I read this as an "oh crap this could easily happen to me, then what would I do" thread.


----------



## X-Shark (Oct 3, 2007)

answer24 said:


> how do you know stringer is broke ,is the floor buckled,i don`t think you can tell without acess hole to see one way or the other,hard to throw away a boat with fixable damage


I'll give you my standard answer.

How many seeds are in a Watermelon?

Answer: You don't know till ya cut it open.

It's the same with a boat. Floors don't buckle from a broken / cracked stringer usually....At least I've never seen one buckle. But the bottom of the hull flex's as it crashes thru the waves. Flex something enough and it will crack.


----------



## answer24 (Jan 15, 2008)

I used the wrong word,probably from doing body and fender work for 25 years ,yes if the floor is stress cracked or has a high spot might have a stringer problem,but until you get access you won`t know.I say it is already messed up putting a hole in is not going to mess it up anymore


----------



## X-Shark (Oct 3, 2007)

Correct.... The other saying is;

"You have to break some eggs to make a Omelet."

But that hole you cut has to be put back together. Then there is the problem with hiding that repair. nonskid gellcoat can be a PITA to make match. This creates more work. $$$$


----------



## Patriot (Jun 4, 2009)

Please do not do a substandard repair and then sell the boat. 

Best case, you open up the deck and inspect. If no stringer problems or internal cracking on the hull laminate, then you document with photo's and repair the inspection hole(s) in the deck. Then repair outer hull. Documentation will keep you clean with insurance and/or a future buyer. 

If you are not comfortible with the process, hire a contractor. 

If you are not comfortible with any of it, strip the boat and take it to the dump.


----------



## answer24 (Jan 15, 2008)

I`am talking about a hole were the damage is on the outsde bottom !!!not on the inside floor . thats all I have to say about this


----------

