what to do with boat with cracked keel?

[fishingmad]

hello all...

would appreciate some advice on what I can do with my boat. It unfortunatly suffered a crack in its middle hull (its a trihull) a couple of days back. and I had just had the motor serviced!!

I've got a 75hp Chrysler engine which still runs great and the trailer is in ecellent shape (I repainted it and bought new winch, coupler and wheels!). the people at the marine shop think the crack cannot be repaired with just fibreglass resin, which means I have to scrap the boat sadly.

marine guys will only gimme 200 bucks for my motor and trailer.! trading it in was not feasible as they did not have anything nice I could upgrade to.

any suggestions as to what I can do? or who can help. who would want to buy motor n trailer separately?

[Guest]

I can't believe that a fiberglass boat could not be repaired (unless the whole thing is rotten and even then you can cut the rot out and fix it).

How big is the crack and is it running against or with the keel?

This is a repair that you could almost do yourself, not very difficult to patch glass.

To me it sounds like the marine guys are either looking to scam you out of your motor or are trying to talk you into a new boat.

Any more thoughts on this anyone?

[This message has been edited by Tom Herman (edited 07-15-2004).]

[Gus]

http://fishingminnesota.com/ubb/Forum78/HTML/000547.html

I'd see if one of these is still available.

[Guest]

Yea, that would be an idea too, but I think the aluminum one is gonzo.

Depending on the crack though, I would guess you could fix it for under $50 and about 2 hours of time doing it. Heck, give me $100 and I'll do it this Sunday!! ...lol

[Big G]

I may have the same question........

I have a tri-hull that has a crack on the "left" keel. It is up towards the front of the hull. It was patched a "little" before, but I think it cracked further. I would say the cracks are probably 2 feet long and it does seep water.

Is this a safety concern, where I have to worry about the boat "blowing apart". If I lay fiberglass there, will it "hold".

Should I "stop drill" the cracks???

Tom, where are you located? Sounds like you've done this before. I may want you to do it for me????

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Let em go, so they can grow!

[fishingmad]

thanks for all the advice!

tom,

the marine guys told me that the wood in the keel may have rotted thru, resulting in the split. the split is abt 5 ft long along the center of the keel and its taking water in. they say that the coating probably came off the boat and water seeped into the fibreglass....

why don't you come take a look at the boat and see if its repairable.?

[Guest]

LOL

Sauk Rapids.

Yea, I have repaired glass boats before, but I'm no pro at it.

There are a number of things you could do, none of which are orthadox, but they will work. Glass repair is pretty easy if you follow the instructions. It's also best to patch on both sides, this gives you the maximum bond and strength. Also patch it well beyond the actual crack in all directions. If you really want to make sure it does not split more, you can always rivet or screw a few strips of sheet metal or even wood across the crack and glass it over. This is the least desired solution and also the most ugly.
There's also little tricks here and there, but it really is quite easy to do yourself.

[fishingmad]

i'll be willing to pay if it can be fixed for the 50 bucks like you said!

[fishingmad]

well thanks tom

am gonna see what I can do, if not, will be looking in Val's direction for a new boat.

[Justfishing]

Can you get to the inside of the boat above the crack. If you can then I think you could you use something like Seacast pourable transom. If you can pour a transom I would assume you could fill the area with seacast and fiberglass the outside.

[fishin789]

I have a fibberglass trihull that had the keel ware out from beaching the boat. i've glassed it back up twice now with no problems.
My ex father inlaw had the same boat and it split at the keel when we were on vaction at lake vermilon. He filled it with silicone and duct taped it. and we fished out of it for three days. when we got back he took it in and had it fixed. the wood wasn't rotted on his so i don't think it was a big deal fixing it. couldn't even tell it was cracked when they got done.

[Steve Bakken]

The most important factor to look at before you look into fixing it is what kind of condition the stringers are. We get a number of boats that come into our shop with these types of cracks that are a result of completely rotten stringers. Without the structural support of the stringer, there's just too much flex for the 'glass to withstand. We have replaced the stringers themselves and then repaired the fiberglass itself and it works beautifully. I would suggest looking at this first. Then if the stringers are completely shot, weigh the value of the boat against the cost of repair. If you need a rough idea of what it's going to cost you, give us a call and we'd be happy to look at it and give you a rough idea. If your stringers are good, then what we would probably do is to feather the 'glass out a ways from the crack, re-laminate it, and then gelcoat the repair so that it looks original again. Good luck. Hope your stringers are ok. If you have any more questions, just post them and I'll try to help.

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Steve @ Bakken's Boat Shop www.bakkensboatshop.com

[Jim W]

I am moving to equipment expert forum. You'll get more help in there!

Jim

[Ufatz]

I don't like to rain on anybodys parade, but it looks to me like you are ready for a new boat. If water has been getting up into the hull, and it sounds like it probably has, you are faced with likely serious structural damage. There is NO WAY to get that rot out of there, and if you seal over it with new glass you only prolong the inevitable day when something simply collapses.
Sorry, but in my opinion your boat is ready for the boneyard. Don't put any more money into it.

[Guest]

Exactly, if it is rotten, its hard to fix if it is rotted a lot, small areas can be fixed, but I have seen boats that you could push your thumb through with little or no effort. Steve is right on about the stringers. I guess check for rot and go from there.

[fishingmad]

thanks for the advice abt the stringers.

did go speak to Shorenam boat works guy, Mark, yestersday. he was pretty nice about things. estimated abt a couple of hundred bucks to fix things. will tell him to check them stringers today when I bring my boat in.

if it gets any more than 300 bucks to do the job, I'll get a new boat.

is it really complicated to drag a motor off my boat onto another boat? my boat motor is rigged up to the steering console. the marine guys estimate it will take 400 bucks to do the transfer!!!!! some of my friends think it can be done by 4 chaps with some muscle power to pull the motor off and splice a few cables. whatdya think?

[Big G]

I did it by myself with an 85hp. I used a saw horse. It probably helped that the unit had tilt/trim.

You shouldn't have to do much splicing........

It probably didn't hurt that I'm 6'7" @ a healthy 3 bills.........So, I didn't need any help.......

[Lost]

Hey Steve,

Where's your shop again? I'd like you to take a quick look at my recent purchase and maybe see what you'd charge to get things up and running.

Do you work on outboard wiring to the throttle control as well?

[Steve Bakken]

We're just outside of New Richland, between Mankato and Owatonna. In regards to the motor work, unfortunately, that's one thing that we don't do. We get alot of referals from the area dealers, so we try to respect our relationship with them by not trying to compete with them for services that they provide.

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Steve @ Bakken's Boat Shop www.bakkensboatshop.com