Hole in the Hull--Weakest Link

[Freestyle]

Visited my boat on the hard today getting a bottom job. While changing the strainers I noticed I could see daylight through a crack the thickness of a nickel and about a 1/2 inch long just aft of the stuffing box on the port side. While much of the hull is about an inch thick, the curved area aft of the stuffing box is about 1/8-1/16th of an inch.

I controlled my urge to 5200 the hole and am having it glassed ($$). It looks like the type of crack that will grow if unattended to. The boat has been bone dry lately which I now attribute to a barnacle attaching itself to the area of the hole and growing to clog it up.

It is the first thing construction-wise on my boat that I am unimpressed with.

Bruce

1976 43 DCMY

 

[SeaEric]

Define "bottom job" Do you mean blister repair and the hull has been peeled? If so, it needs some re-lamination. If not, 1/8 to 1/16 inch thick on the bottom, or any area under the waterline is NOT structurally safe. I would have any suspect area sounded out and built up as would be prudent.

 

[Genesis]

You would be surprised how thick these hulls are - and are not - depending on where you are on the boat.

I am replacing an old dual-setup transducer (depth separate from speed/temp) with a new-style one. Leaving the old depth sounder part in for now (its actually structurally bonded - I can probably get it out but only with a LOT of work) but ground off the through-hull part of the speed/temp, popped it out, and that's what I will put the replacement part in (since the hole size matches, among other considerations.)

The hull is a bit less than 1/2" thick in that location - just aft and port of the port gear.

Now closer to the keel, its a LOT thicker (I replaced a transducer mounting block there a few years ago.)

1/16th-1/8" thick though is definitely an error - it sounds like someone screwed up when the stern tube portion of the hull was laid up. Fix it right - that sort of thing is dangerous, although that immediate area isn't one I'd expect to be at risk from impact damage.

 

[Freestyle]

Follow up on the repair.

The yard says the area in question didn't get any glass and was doped in with putty. The area around the initial thin hole broke off by the finger full until glass was reached about 5 inches later.

We took a hammer to the same area on the other shaft and it did not show signs of delamination or this strange material. Yard guy thinks the strange material was done at Hatteras and not later. I was glazed over by the cost of the repair (pulled shaft etc.) and can't remember his analysis on this.

I guess it only takes one guy on a production line to take a shortcut and a product comes out with a problem. Albeit, the putty material lasted 30 years.

Bruce

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Curious. What makes you think this was an OEM fix and not damage that was repaired (if I can use that work in this case) at some time later?