2006 320 Construction

[mhtimber]

Hi folks,

I just heard back from Sea Ray regarding the construction of my boat and thought I would share it with the forum for those that may be interested.

My 2006 320 has a solid fiberglass hull, made with Vinylester resin. This is a higher quality resin than polyester and provides better flexibility and bonding, which also reduces the possibility of osmotic blistering.

As expected, there is coring in the deck to provide rigidity and strength. The coring material is polymer-coated balsa wood, which I am also pleased with as I believe the tubular cell structure of wood provides superior resin absorbtion than other synthetic materials which often have spherical cell structure.

The deck and cockpit liner are bonded to the bull with a bonding compound and the hull / deck joint are fastened with stainless steel fasteners and sealed with marine sealant.

I am very happy knowing that my hull is solid fiberglass right up to the deck.

My opinion of Sea Ray has improved throughout my discovery process and I feel like I understand the trade-offs they made in designing the boat.

Cheers
Jeff

 

[tbirdvet]

Thanks, nice to know. I assume the 330 would be the same.

 

[mhtimber]

Thanks, nice to know. I assume the 330 would be the same.

You can find out by emailing SR with your HIN#, via the support link on their site.

I've been reading the thread on YachtForums about the 63' Bertram that sank and was having real concerns about my boat given the bad press Sea Ray and many other builders have had in the past with coring problems and delamination issues. I thought that my 320 was a cored hull and was very relieved to find that it's solid.

My primary concern if the hull was cored was that there were no visible indications that the through-hull fittings were not drilled directly through the core rather than through solid glass molded in specifically for the through-hull. Being a solid hull probably explains why there are no visible provisions for the through-hull.

In case you haven't seen the Bertram thread here's the link, it's definitely an eye-opening read. http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/g...ion/12434-bertram-630-sportfish-sinks-26.html

Cheers
Jeff

 

[Vince_nj1]

I thought Bertrams were designed to take a beating? Does this mean I can drive my 320 like an off shore speed boat? :grin:

(I love this picture... I wonder if anyone was down in the cabin..)

 

[KayKook]

Just curious, what would you have done if you found out your 320DA was not a solid fiberglass hull and used polyester resin ?

 

[mhtimber]

I thought Bertrams were designed to take a beating? Does this mean I can drive my 320 like an off shore speed boat? :grin:

(I love this picture... I wonder if anyone was down in the cabin..)

That is an awesome picture!

 

[mhtimber]

Just curious, what would you have done if you found out your 320DA was not a solid fiberglass hull and used polyester resin ?

Good question, I had actually thought a lot about that before I got my answers.

I would have done a thorough inspection of every hull penetration, looking for signs of poor sealing, water incursion, etc. If I found areas of concern I would seek professional input and possibly have the suspect fitting removed so the hull could be inspected for water, rot, etc. and then rebedded correctly.

I would also be more vigilant about how the boat is set on the hard and where the stands and blocks are placed, to ensure the hull is not damaged as a result of improper set up.

I would inspect every penetration into the hull proper for proper sealing / caulking (cable runs, equipment mounts, etc.) and reseal as necessary.

In short, I would be very vigilant and very proactive.

I own the boat, I'm upside down in the boat so I can't sell it without writing a large check, it's in my best interest to take good care of her. Luckily, we really like the boat and do not need to sell her or even want to, so being upside down just means that I put my hard earned cash to more productive uses than in a fast depreciating luxury item that's basically impossible to get rid at anywhere close to what I paid for it...but then, that's part of boating no matter what brand you buy new.

The Vinylester was a very nice surprise, it costs more than polyester because it's more expensive to produce and it's a better material. The next step above Vinylester is epoxy, and only very expensive and generally custom or limited production boats are made with epoxy as it's very expensive compared to the other resins used in boat building.

 

[trit21]

mhtimber, during your research did you learn anything else about the 320 that would be beneficial to us 320 owners. It seems as if you have done a fair amount of research on the 320 and was wondering what else you may have learned. Obviously being a 320 owner I would like to 'pick your brain' in regards to our boats...thx.

 

[BON DIA]

FYI...our '05 340, made in Knoxville right beside your 320 with the same resins, was hauled in Nov '09 by Eriksen Marine http://www.eriksenmarine.com/ for bottom job including an epoxy barrier coat. After power washing & gelcoat sanding no blisters or hull defects were observed. In retrospect we could have gone another yr or two before doing the bottom job but we were spooked by a much newer 40 that had numerous blisters discoveredwhen hauled to add thru hull underwater lights.

 

[mhtimber]

mhtimber, during your research did you learn anything else about the 320 that would be beneficial to us 320 owners. It seems as if you have done a fair amount of research on the 320 and was wondering what else you may have learned. Obviously being a 320 owner I would like to 'pick your brain' in regards to our boats...thx.

Hi Tom, the hull construction is the major piece right now. I love to study boat design and I'm slowing chipping away at the Westlawn yacht design program www.westlawn.edu. One of the things I've learned is that boats of different sizes, shapes, weights can be compared to each other through ratios known as coefficients of form. This enables you to compare different boats to designs that are considered long term successes and be able to quantify your results. I plan on using my 320 as a study project and taking her hull measurements before spring launch and then calculating her coefficients against other brands as well as similar designs from great designers. I am going to post my results on several of the major forums where boat designers hang out, like yachtforums.com, boatdesign.net, etc. and hope to get feedback, coaching and guidance.

I will also be posting here on CSR. My ultimate goal is to design and build my retirement boat, which will be my next boat. The Westlawn program is all about design, so I'll be basing my final project on my retirement boat.

Jeff

 

[mhtimber]

FYI...our '05 340, made in Knoxville right beside your 320 with the same resins, was hauled in Nov '09 by Eriksen Marine http://www.eriksenmarine.com/ for bottom job including an epoxy barrier coat. After power washing & gelcoat sanding no blisters or hull defects were observed. In retrospect we could have gone another yr or two before doing the bottom job but we were spooked by a much newer 40 that had numerous blisters discoveredwhen hauled to add thru hull underwater lights.

Hi Bon Dio, nice boat and glad to hear that your hull is built similarly and that your haul out inspection went so well; encouraging! The Sea Ray customer service rep that responded to my inquiry stated that the Vinylester resin resist blistering. I'm not sure how many boats in our age and size range are built with Vinylester but I do know that it's a lot better than polyester resin in terms of it's ability to withstand flexing, resist cracking, etc.

Solid hulls built with Vinylester resins are a very good foundation for long lived boats.

I would encourage all Sea Ray owners to send their HIN# and find out how their boats are made. Whatever the answers are you'll be better equipped to know how best to maintain your boat and what to keep a watch out for.

Jeff

 

[mhtimber]

mhtimber, during your research did you learn anything else about the 320 that would be beneficial to us 320 owners. It seems as if you have done a fair amount of research on the 320 and was wondering what else you may have learned. Obviously being a 320 owner I would like to 'pick your brain' in regards to our boats...thx.

On second thought, there are a few other points that kept coming up on this forum, on boatdiesel.com and yachtforums: Sea Rays tend to leak around hatches, port lights, radar arches, windshield screwholes and the factory caulking doesn't stand-up well. To keep your Sea Ray in top form requires vigilance and proactiveness in detecting leaks and fixing them.

This is not a knock on the boat, just something to keep in mind and stay on top of.

I suggest getting a copy of David Pascoe's book, Mid Sized Power Boats. It may seem that he has a thing for Sea Ray but he has a lot of valid things to check for and if you read enough of his writing you'll find that he actually rates Sea Ray as fairly well built boats, he admittedly knit picks on issues that he feels Sea Ray should have caught and he bases this on their higher price point so I can see his point. You likely won't enjoy his writing if you're sensitive to criticism about your boat, but you will definitely learn a lot about things to check for.

So, another project next year will be to inspect things like my fuel tanks to make sure they aren't sitting directly on the hull just waiting to rot; and many others points called out in his book that are common faults in Sea Rays and other boats but also worth fixing to avoid bigger problems down the road.

Pascoe's web site is yachtsurvey.com, lot's a great writing including a three part article on rough water seamanship. You have to have a thick skin reading Pascoe, but you'll also learn a lot of really valuable information and get pointers to even more places to learn about boating, boat construction, sensible design, etc.

Hope that helps.

 

[Two Peas]

OK, so here's a dumb question: What type of moisture meters do surveyors use to test the hull? Are there special fiberglass versions? I've seen wood, concrete, and paper moisture meters - but not a specialized fiberglass one...

 

[mhtimber]

OK, so here's a dumb question: What type of moisture meters do surveyors use to test the hull? Are there special fiberglass versions? I've seen wood, concrete, and paper moisture meters - but not a specialized fiberglass one...

I don't know but if you check out yachforums.com, boatdiesel or yachtsurveys.com likely you'll find a lot of surveyors who could tell you.