Wet fore deck

E

Expresstire1

New Member
Jul 7, 2013
2
Boston
Boat Info
1997 sun dancer 300
Engines
Twin. 5.7
Help
In the process of buying a 1999 340 dancer . Had it surveyed today and there was a significant amount of moisture found 3 x5 section from front of hatches .
Surveyor didn't seem overly concerned however said it has to be repaired within a year or two. Approximate cost of 2k .

should I be concerned ? Paying 45 for her . in great shape other than this issue and a Gen that is seized ?

thanks for your help ...
 
Your year is very similar to my 97 330. I has a similar issue when I purchased mine. I had it repaired the second year of ownership and while the survey claimed water. But when the repair was done the shop said the core was dry and the resin had failed so the repair was less. The area repaired is rock solid now with no issues. If you get the repair done make sure you pay to have them remove the headliner and come in underneath the fiberglass. If they cut the deck which is the chaeper and quicker repair you will see it, it is difficult to match the non skid pattern especially if you have the wavey pattern not the diamond one. How much are you budgeting for the genny repair? Worst case would be replacement with a new low profile 5kW unit which are not cheap but a great upgrade.

Sent from my Galaxy S3
 
I wouldn't count on the $2K figure being accurate. It's possible, but if they have to go in and replace the core, it could triple the cost (or more), depending on just how much of the interior they have to remove to expose the area.

I have a similar issue being handled now, and I was told during the survey that they could repair it from the top. However, once I talked to the fiberglass guy, they explained that going in from the top is not recommended due to the fact that they have to feather the repair around the cut up to about 8 or 9 inches. In the end, they said that they would have issues matching the gel coat color and non-skid texture, and the repair is more likely to fail than going in from inside.
 
If you are really set on buying THAT particular boat, I'd use both of those failures to negotiate for a much lower price. Let's face it, the seller is going to have to do either of two things...the first would be to repair the items himself, or second would be to reduce the price of the boat by the estimated cost of repairs.

When you get estimates on the cost of repairs, have the estimators give their bids on the high side.

I guess my main concern would be why you are looking at a boat that you know has two deficiencies. There are a LOT of 330's out there for sale. I'd be looking for one that didn't have the water problems or the seized genset. Just sayin'

My best piece of advice to people who are looking at a boat...The wrong boat, at the best price in the world, is still the wrong boat.
 
A seized generator is a simple fix.......it has ingested water while it was being cranked. The fix is a new or re-manned one........that is $5000-$7000.

A3' x 5" is a big repair on a deck. If the core is wet, then it will involve either a ton of non-skid which takes a real pro do repair correctly or the cabin headliner will have to be torn out and a lot of grinding done inside the boat. From the exterior, the non-skid deck will have to be cut back to the margins where there is no non-skid and even then the non-skid will not match exactly. This takes a real gelcoat pro to get anything close to an acceptable cosmetic repair. You will be cleaning up fiberglass sanding dust out of the interior for years if the repair is done inside.

I used this phrase earlier today in another post, but it fits perfectly here. There are entirely too many older 340DA's out there to take on a project like this, so I would do a "Run, Forest, Run" and keep shopping.

The practical economics here make this a risky proposition to ever come out on. First, the broker and seller are likely to low-ball or try to get the boat fixed on the cheap. This could easily run closer to $10K than your $2K estimate when you consider all that must be done and all that must be disassembled to even get to the core. The other factor you must consider is that on a 1999, no insurer is going to bind coverage without requiring you to do a survey so the repair has to be done right or you may have to do it over.

Keep shopping!
 
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I have done a core repair, from the inside, on the deck of a 340 of this vintage, so I have some real world advice for anyone considering having it done on a boat they intend to buy: Find another boat. Having said that, if you are still dead set on this particular boat, for whatever reason, then here's a small snapshot what you're looking at:

I did mine from the inside, for reasons previously stated - the inner skin is only about half as think as the outer skin, so it's easier to do a proper repair from a structural standpoint (less grinding and less fiberglass to replace), and there is no concern with the cosmetic aspect. But, you have to essentially gut the interior. You didn't mention precisely where the repair needs to be done, but if you want to save and reuse the headliner (I did), you have to peel it away from the deck, starting on one side or the other. This requires removing the hanging lockers, headliner panels, window trim, forward curtains, trim, and a host of small items, most of which are installed with hidden screws. Then you have to very carefully pull down the headliner, and not rip or stretch it in the process (not easy!) I used various sized putty knives, scrapers, and razor blades to get this done, without damaging the headliner or foam backing. It's painstaking work.

Next, I lined the entire repair area inside the boat with plastic sheeting - floors, walls, everything. In the end, I had a plastic phone booth I was working in, for precisely the reason Frank mentioned - if you don't encapsulate the repair area, you'll be pulling fiberglass out of your behind for years to come. Next, you have to cut the inner skin out. I have found that the best way to do this is with a pneumatic reciprocating saw, fitted with a very short blade. These saws have about a 1/2" stroke, and with just the right length blade, you don't have to worry about cutting the outer skin. So, you'll cut down the inner skin, and get a look inside, and probably find out that the repair area is larger than you first thought. Once water gets into the core, it migrates, and even the coring that has not yet rotted is likely wet, possibly softened, and may need replacement too. Now the repair just expanded, and you're cutting again.

Once you're confident you have exposed and removed all the weakened coring, you have to dry what remains. Because the coring is only exposed at the edge, thorough drying can take weeks, or longer, to accomplish. I use a combination of a dehumidifier in the boat, and heat lamps placed outside, shining on the deck. Again, this has to be done PROPERLY. If the deck gets to hot from the lamps, the fiberglass can be weakened. You are just looking to gently warm the deck, similar to a warm sunny day. Anything more is risking disaster. It's a slow process, and will very likely take weeks or a couple months to do thoroughly.

Once dry, you have to do the repair. You have to grind the underside of the deck, to promote a solid bond with the new core and resin. You also have to sand the skin you previously removed, if you plan to put it back. You'll need the proper resin (I use West System 105 pretty much all the time), thickening agent, catalyst, balsa coring, fiberglass cloth, etc. You'll need to dress the edges of the cut area, fit new coring, bond it in place with the old skin, and find a way to apply even compression so there are no voids, and that's not easy from below, with gravity fighting you (I try to use a vacuum bag whenever possible, but this also requires preparation and knowledge of what you are trying to accomplish). Once the skin is back up and cured, you have to reinforce the cut edges, and that requires more grinding and fiberglass work to re-establish the proper skin thickness and structural integrity.

Then, you have to put back all the interior you removed, and make it look like the whole thing never happened. 2K for the repair of 15 square feet? At $100.00 an hour, that's only 20 hours, and doesn't include materials. Forest, get the hell out of town.........don't run, buy a dragster.

Dale
 
Wow Dale, you made that sound so easy.......LOL


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Todd
 
I would clock the repair more at $15k-$20k.
 
My 330 DA had an approximate 48" diameter delamination fix near the small port skylight between the deck hatch and windshield that cost around $5,100 in 2012. Thread is here. The previous owner had it done. I don't know if it was done from above or below. I haven't found any fiberglass crumbs inside and can't see any visible scars outside. Maybe it was repaired from the outside and they re-skidcoated the whole deck. I don't know what the original non-skid was supposed to look like to know the difference. It is kind of a smooth bumpy finish now - not like the sharply cut pattern that was on my old 260OV.
 
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