270SLX
Member
- Dec 12, 2006
- 290
- Boat Info
- 2005 270 SLX; Navman 5500; no trailer; Dry stacked.
- Engines
- 6.2 320 HP Bravo III drive.
From my prior post, you may recall that my 2005 270 SLX became waterlogged between the hull and deck with a weeping crack on the bottom chine below the waterline toward the bow. I called Sea Ray Customer Service and the SR factory team was dispatched to Davenport.
As I understand it, the hull had a flex point caused by a design flaw that put too little heavy woven fiberglass in the right places. The flaw has since been fixed in later builds. Early 270 hulls with the flaw don't flex under way so much as when placed on blocks with the bow end of the keel on a block and the stern and sides on blocks or jack stands. I'm sure you've seen many a boat stored that way or supported that way while the boat is being serviced.
The factory team of Barry and Richard were forthright in explaining everything. I was very impressed with that.
Barry explained that the problem caused the hull to flex so that it "rolled in" along the bottom chine which is where my weeping cracks appeared. So, the water in my hull got there through the crack while under way. It did not come from rain water seeping in through a defect in the deck/hull seal as I had thought.
My boat had been on blocks and jacks several times as my various stress cracks in the deck and hull have been repaired. So, the theory is that it cracked when one of those repairs was being made and the crack remained undiscovered as it was hidden by my boat cradle and could only be inspected if I was brave enough to walk under the boat while it was on a forklift. (That's against OSHA rules at 29CFR 1910.178, by the way.)
The fix: Barry and Richard cut away nearly the entire bottom of the ski locker. They raked out and removed the waterlogged expandable foam. (They could not get 100% of the foam out, but assured me that what's left won't cause an expansion problem when the boat freezes this winter.) Then they built it up with the the strong woven fiberglass and screwed in and sealed a panel to seal the deal. They put in A LOT of new fiberglass. Instead of nonskid textured decking on the bottom of the ski locker, I now have a nice diamond plate type rubber mat that actually looks pretty nice. Barry assured me that the fix will make the boat at least twice as strong as it was and will be sealed so that it is absolutely impossible for water to get from the deck into the space below. The expanding foam was not replaced. It's only function was sound attenuation and the added fiberglass will double for absorbing vibrations so that the hull should be no less quiet than before.
I'll note too that the crack that the local tech fixed two weeks previous opened up again once the boat was put on the blocks so Barry and Richard had ground it all out again for a final and lasting repair.
I'm hoping the extra rigidity will also prevent any further recurrence of the cracks I've had between the windshield and the bow seats as well.
While they were at it, they waxed the boat partly in order to find any cracks or defects to be repaired. They fixed a crack in the deck and even some hull damage that was a total mystery to me. Maybe a forklift did it at the marina. They repaired the 3/4 full transducer in the waste tank, secured a sagging portion of the head ceiling and I don't know what else. In other words, they did everything I could think of and everything they could find to restore my satisfaction with Sea Ray. They really are great guys.
I feel that Sea Ray has identified the root cause and has effected a solution that will restore my confidence in the boat and cause me no loss in resale value.
Would I rather have had a new boat that didn't require major surgery? Sure. But, under the circumstances this is the best outcome I could hope for and I am more than satisfied.
Hooray for Barry and Richard of Sea Ray. Now if only the Mississippi River would slow down a bit from the recent floods, I'll be back on the water.
Dennis
As I understand it, the hull had a flex point caused by a design flaw that put too little heavy woven fiberglass in the right places. The flaw has since been fixed in later builds. Early 270 hulls with the flaw don't flex under way so much as when placed on blocks with the bow end of the keel on a block and the stern and sides on blocks or jack stands. I'm sure you've seen many a boat stored that way or supported that way while the boat is being serviced.
The factory team of Barry and Richard were forthright in explaining everything. I was very impressed with that.
Barry explained that the problem caused the hull to flex so that it "rolled in" along the bottom chine which is where my weeping cracks appeared. So, the water in my hull got there through the crack while under way. It did not come from rain water seeping in through a defect in the deck/hull seal as I had thought.
My boat had been on blocks and jacks several times as my various stress cracks in the deck and hull have been repaired. So, the theory is that it cracked when one of those repairs was being made and the crack remained undiscovered as it was hidden by my boat cradle and could only be inspected if I was brave enough to walk under the boat while it was on a forklift. (That's against OSHA rules at 29CFR 1910.178, by the way.)
The fix: Barry and Richard cut away nearly the entire bottom of the ski locker. They raked out and removed the waterlogged expandable foam. (They could not get 100% of the foam out, but assured me that what's left won't cause an expansion problem when the boat freezes this winter.) Then they built it up with the the strong woven fiberglass and screwed in and sealed a panel to seal the deal. They put in A LOT of new fiberglass. Instead of nonskid textured decking on the bottom of the ski locker, I now have a nice diamond plate type rubber mat that actually looks pretty nice. Barry assured me that the fix will make the boat at least twice as strong as it was and will be sealed so that it is absolutely impossible for water to get from the deck into the space below. The expanding foam was not replaced. It's only function was sound attenuation and the added fiberglass will double for absorbing vibrations so that the hull should be no less quiet than before.
I'll note too that the crack that the local tech fixed two weeks previous opened up again once the boat was put on the blocks so Barry and Richard had ground it all out again for a final and lasting repair.
I'm hoping the extra rigidity will also prevent any further recurrence of the cracks I've had between the windshield and the bow seats as well.
While they were at it, they waxed the boat partly in order to find any cracks or defects to be repaired. They fixed a crack in the deck and even some hull damage that was a total mystery to me. Maybe a forklift did it at the marina. They repaired the 3/4 full transducer in the waste tank, secured a sagging portion of the head ceiling and I don't know what else. In other words, they did everything I could think of and everything they could find to restore my satisfaction with Sea Ray. They really are great guys.
I feel that Sea Ray has identified the root cause and has effected a solution that will restore my confidence in the boat and cause me no loss in resale value.
Would I rather have had a new boat that didn't require major surgery? Sure. But, under the circumstances this is the best outcome I could hope for and I am more than satisfied.
Hooray for Barry and Richard of Sea Ray. Now if only the Mississippi River would slow down a bit from the recent floods, I'll be back on the water.
Dennis