Found a crack :'-(

Can anyone recommend a surveyor in Southern Maryland? My intention was to use Mike Previti but I am unable to contact him (left VM, e-mail, etc...)
 
Good Grief said:
Can anyone recommend a surveyor in Southern Maryland? My intention was to use Mike Previti but I am unable to contact him (left VM, e-mail, etc...)
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Hi,
I would recommend choosing a surveyor that is certified in the sams book. (Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors) I have included the website address. Just click on USA, then Maryland. I used Lon Acheson and Richard Warren. Both were very knowledgable and professional.

http://www.marinesurvey.org/members.html
 
I think what you are seeing is an area with cosmetic filling (plywood and expanding closed cell foam) to fair and flatten the bottom of a storage area in or near the keel of the boat. A storage area in the keel would be almost useless unless it was filled. There is one hell of a lot of glass in that area so unless there is physical damage to the exterior of the hull the crack is non- structural and is just cosmetic in nature.

This is far from a definitive diagnosis since I'm pretty much guessing at the location of the crack and what I think I'm seeing under the floor. Get it surveyed then grind out the crack and re-glass the bottom of the compartment when you have time.
 
Thanks for all your help. The gentleman who did the purchase survey looked at the pictures but not at the boat and his conclusion was the same as Franks. However I was uncomfortable not having an experienced eye look at the boat as we were also taking another couple. So, I called another surveyor, and when he saw it immidiately told me it is unsafe to use and that I should contact my insurance company. He saw other things I did not see, a crack in the opposite compartment, Not as severe, but a crack. He looked at things and places I did not. He suspects it may have been dropped when being blocked. When I tried to settle up with him he refused to accept payment (pity?). So, tomorrow I'll call the insurance company and we'll go from there. He did paint a grim picture on possible failure mechanisms of using the boat. So, the obvious follow up question is, are there Searay certified repair facilities? Anything I should know about dealing with the insurance company? I honestly don't know when or how this would have occured. Haven't been through any storms or hit anything. It was sheer dumb luck that I even found it as it can't be seen when accessing the area. Thanks again. As I learn more, I'll post updates to this thread. Hopefully I won't learn too much ;-)
 
sfergson727 said:
Man, that sucks, and is exactly what I was afraid of after looking at your pictures. Unfortunately I have nothing to offer for dealing with the insurance. I will relay this story though, maybe it'll help.

I purchased a 1995 270 DA from a reputable dealer in Cincinnati back in 1998. The boat appeared to be in pristine shape, and I enjoyed a full season on it with no problems. The next spring, I noticed little spider web cracks from the top of the gunnel to about midship from the windshield back to the stern. I took the boat to a trusted fiberglass repair guy, who tore the upholstery up and found evidence of a previous repair. The entire port side of the boat had been caved in at one time, my surveryor, a cincinnati local (highly recommended) missed it completely, but then so did I, as there were no cracks until the following spring.

First thing I did was go back to the dealer, and confronted them, boat in trail. The claimed they knew nothing about it, but would try to find out from the previous owner. Of course, the PO lied, but the dealer was able to get the service records from the outfit in Rogers City, that did the repair. A tornado had struck and a 100 year old tree fell on the boat and crushed it, six months prior to selling it to me. I wondered why a Minnesota boat was down in Cincinnati for sale at the time, now I knew why.

Well, my insurance didn't do diddly to cover it, but the dealer in Cincy was able to convince the dealer in Rogers to redo the repairs free of charge. The only cost I incurred was getting the boat up there. I didn't feel that I should be stuck with that, but didn't want to complain when the cost to repair the boat was going to be in the thousands. That boat was repaired, and to this day, it has held up. (It is kept locally)

So, I would submit, that your first action would be to confront anyone and everyone who has blocked the boat during it's lifetime and try to get them to fess up. Talk to your insurance company also, they may suprise you. Lastly, the boat is repairable, so once the repair is complete, forget about it, and don't let it spoil your feelings for your beloved boat.
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Boy, you're lucky they fixed that. All sales final, as is, where is. I can't believe the shop agreed to fix it again. They were technically under no obligation.

Doug
 
Dropping a boat and causing that much damage would have also caused some physical damage to the exterior of the boat. Did you notice any evidence of an external repair like fine cracking in the gelcoat radiating away from the impact site?

Did you or the surveyor sand away any bottom paint to see evidence of external damage?
 
fwebster said:
Dropping a boat and causing that much damage would have also caused some physical damage to the exterior of the boat. Did you notice any evidence of an external repair like fine cracking in the gelcoat radiating away from the impact site?

Did you or the surveyor sand away any bottom paint to see evidence of external damage?
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Agree. More investigative work is due - sounds like you're doing that, though. The keels of these boats are very strong - there's an excellent chance (if it was dropped) that there would be no structural damage. But as Frank said, there would definitely be evidence.

Another possibility is being slung wrong.

Can you confirm that this "floor" is just that - a false floor?
 
The boat is in the water. I spoke w/ insurance coompany, they have authorized $$ to have boat pulled and blocked. Future $$ depends on finding. If it is a manufacturers defect, their buck stops there and I'll have to deal w/ Searay. Do I have a chance if it is a manufacturers defect? Are there searay authorized repair facilities?
 
Today, the surveyor I initially contacted and that performed the pre-purchase survey looked at the boat. His conclusion right now is that something 'shocked' the boat. Dropped, or something else. He is confident that it is not a faulty manufacturing and offered to help me put together a case should the insurance company try to wiggle out of the claim. I'll have the boat hauled/blocked/washed this week and wait for the insurance inspector to see what's next.
 
I think you're going to be SOL with an insurance claim.
You say nothing has happened to the boat since you've owned it- and damage resulting from a sudden and accidental "occurence" would have needed to happen while you've owned the boat- not the prior owner. The fact that it's not a manufacturing defect doesn't mean your insurer is on the hook...

You'll need to prove what happened, and when it happened...
 
OK, it's been a month. The boat has been hauled, blocked, soda blasted and inspected stem to stern. There is no evidence of previous damage. It does appear that there are some deficencies in the manufacturing of the boat. In a nutshell, it looks like the platform that the forward berth rests on was not properly installed and that years of use and hull flexing ahave manifested into the cracks I found. I'll post pictures and provide an update with link when available. I can't see the insurance company agreeing to cover this but there is still hope. In the mean time, does anyone have any experience in building a case to present to Searay? I recognize that the boat is 11 years old but it appears to clearly be a manufacturers defect. Thanks.
 
If I'm picturing this right that is right about where the eyelet for the trailer winch is.Make sure that sucker hasn't been pulled through at some point from someone pulling too much on it.
 
Not necessarily a manufacturing defect, we'd need a lot more detailed pics to see how it was "put together".
Fact remains, that simple abuse can also cause what I believe I'm seeing in your pics.
Drop the boat off the top of some big waves for an afternoon, or slam it at 30 knots into 6' headseas, and I'm pretty sure I can duplicate what's in those pics...

You can try, but I'll take 100 to 1 odds all day long that SR isn't going to be responsive to that type of damage on an 11 year old hull. Since it's just the berth platform, and not structural as you say, just glass her back together and move on...
 
I have never known Sea Ray to fail to repair a structural defect, no matter how old the boat is. The problem here is that glassing the bunk to the hull in not part of the boat's structure. You will not get Sea Ray to help unless you do it thru a Sea Ray dealer. Every SR dealer should have the capability to do this repair. Remember, the dealer is your advocate with SR, not your adversary.

That said, in the grand scheme of things, this should be a simple, easy and not a very expensive repair to do. The biggest potential cost is going to be controlling and cleaning up the grinding dust. You should be able to significantly reduce the cost if you remove the bedding and personal effects in the bow then protect the rest of the interior with polyethylene sheeting yourself rather than paying an expensive fiberglass technician to take care of it for you.

Good luck....................
 
I would take Frank's advice here. Not only will you save money, but you will have the opportunity to do a better job about the grinding dust. That stuff is insidious. It will get EVERYWHERE. I would remove all that I could including curtains, put sticky plastic over the carpet and drape plastic over everything else. Then when you clean up after, wear gloves, long pants, long-sleeved shirt and a respirator.
 
New pics posted here http://s181.photobucket.com/albums/x295/abmwrider/boat/ they are the 1a-10a pics. The 9a-10a pics are looking up at the berthing platform that appears to have not been properly seated during assembly, the other pics are the damage believed to be caused by allowing the hull to flex (over time) because of the inadequate seating/support of the structure.
 
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