Posted by jmike on 06/20/15 - 5:59 PM
#1
anyone seen this before or have any idea of the severity? i'm considering purchasing this boat and in general the boat is in excellent condition, very few penetrations in top side of hull, no bottom paint, only some minor scratches on bottom of hull, very minimal spider cracking ( looks like it has been under cover most of its life ), transom drains not corroded, etc.. all in all, looks like it was meticulously maintained; however, in this one spot, there is a depression or dent as shown in the pic. it is about 8 inches in diameter and just looks as if something pushed in the side. but there are no cracks, no other indication of a repair, discoloration, etc. when knocking on the hull, i can't feel any softness or hear any hollow sounds. i have inspected it closely and it just looks like this portion of the hull sunk in about 1/4 to 1/2 inch ( max at the center ).
i have an 1983 15 ft and know that very small depressions can be typical, but never seen anything this size.
if it is just cosmetic , i'm also wondering how difficult it would be to repair .
https://www.flickr.com/photos/1342007...ed-public/
thanks!
Mike
Posted by wing15601 on 06/20/15 - 7:23 PM
#2
It's kind of hard to see what you're talking about in the photo but in any case, you could sand away the gelcoat, roughen up the surface and start filling with layers of fiberglass mat, starting with small circles, ending with a piece just below the rim of the depression. Sand it fair then fill with a mixture of resin and microbaloons and fair that in to fill any depressions left then reapply the gelcoat. Sounds easy and it isn't. We're it me I would either live with it or find a glass man for an estimate.
Posted by jmike on 06/20/15 - 8:02 PM
#3
wing15601 wrote:
It's kind of hard to see what you're talking about in the photo but in any case, you could sand away the gelcoat, roughen up the surface and start filling with layers of fiberglass mat, starting with small circles, ending with a piece just below the rim of the depression. Sand it fair then fill with a mixture of resin and microbaloons and fair that in to fill any depressions left then reapply the gelcoat. Sounds easy and it isn't. We're it me I would either live with it or find a glass man for an estimate.
thanks for the feedback. it is kind of tough to capture in a pic, but it is that dark spot right above the lettering on the trailer, and to the left of the trailer tire. there isn't much else to see since the gelcoat is undamaged, looks original, just sunken in a little bit.
I have found a few references to early 80's hulls having a cosmetic problem, manufacturing defect i suppose, where the foam could shrink and pull in the shell. I was thinking maybe this was something similar.
Just based on the overall condition, i'll probably go ahead and purchase the boat tomorrow and probably live with it. before doing so, was just trying to understand what i was looking at.