BlewByYou88
Member
Now I'm questioning Sea Rays quality and engineering..... 268's Beware! I noticed this last season that there was a slight divot in my bow about half way down that extends from one side of the Bow to the other. Everytime someone walked across this point, it would bow terribly. Well, it started showing stress cracks in the gelcoat, so now I'm worried about the glass... Just a weak spot or???? Well, as luck would have it, it would appear that the soft spot is directly over the cross beam in the cabin where the curtains attatch. Strange right? I would have thought that would be a strong point since there are wooden cross beams glassed in under the deck....CAN YOU GUESS WHAT SEA RAY DID?
I pulled down the headliner and everything looked fine....I relaized the deck had a Balsa Wood core....ok so the only way to find out more would be to bust out the first layer of glass on the underside of the deck, and chop out the balsa...or go through the top and tear up gelcaot and non skid....I decided on going in from underneath the deck.
So, I thought, might as well bust out the cross members first, as I will probably have to put up new wood and re-glass anyway. Upon busting out the cross members, I found Sea Rays Fatal flaw in the Bow, and what caused the soft spot. There was no coring or second layer of glass under the cross members....in fact the glass is thin...scary thin...I can push with one finger and barley any pressure and make the deck flex up and down....
Attached are the pics of my reign of frustration on the bottom side of the deck....I don't have the pics of the low spots on the bow.
I cut out a 1.5' section the whole way across the underside of the deck. My plan is to take a piece of Oak or Maple and coat it with resin, and use a jack to push it securly up into the deck structure. This should make it far stronger in this area and act as a more stable filler than the Balsa Core. Then reglass all exposed areas with some Woven glass for the second layer. I will keep you guys posted as I progress.
If you guys see anythign strange or have better ideas...please feel free to chime in!
:smt101
I pulled down the headliner and everything looked fine....I relaized the deck had a Balsa Wood core....ok so the only way to find out more would be to bust out the first layer of glass on the underside of the deck, and chop out the balsa...or go through the top and tear up gelcaot and non skid....I decided on going in from underneath the deck.
So, I thought, might as well bust out the cross members first, as I will probably have to put up new wood and re-glass anyway. Upon busting out the cross members, I found Sea Rays Fatal flaw in the Bow, and what caused the soft spot. There was no coring or second layer of glass under the cross members....in fact the glass is thin...scary thin...I can push with one finger and barley any pressure and make the deck flex up and down....
Attached are the pics of my reign of frustration on the bottom side of the deck....I don't have the pics of the low spots on the bow.
I cut out a 1.5' section the whole way across the underside of the deck. My plan is to take a piece of Oak or Maple and coat it with resin, and use a jack to push it securly up into the deck structure. This should make it far stronger in this area and act as a more stable filler than the Balsa Core. Then reglass all exposed areas with some Woven glass for the second layer. I will keep you guys posted as I progress.
If you guys see anythign strange or have better ideas...please feel free to chime in!
:smt101