Cracks on a sailboat
Posted by Arrighetti@reddit | sailing | View on Reddit | 16 comments
Hello, I've been searching for a sailboat since April, 12k budget (small repairs included) and I've found this 1990 1/4 tonner. This would be my first sailboat. I've checked for everything: damage, leaks, osmosis, suspicious cracks etc.
I stumbled upon a leaking kneel stepped mast and leaking shrouds plates, the windows are leaking too - but the leaks are evident when it's raining heavily for a prolonged time. I believe it's all fixable, right?
What preoccupies me are this cracks on the fibreglass deck under the shroud plates: are this cracks dangerous structural damage? If I push my hand on the cracks the structure seems solid, not elastic nor crackly.
Fastbac@reddit
Unless the leaks just started, it’s highly likely there is core damage, which is much more to repair than just fixing the leak. I’d look for something that doesn’t have problems like that when you buy it.
2airishuman@reddit
For $12k you should be able to find a boat that doesn't leak, and then you can just go sailing.
Fixing one portlight (window) can easily be an all-day project with $200 of materials. How many portlights are leaking?
The stress cracks in the gelcoat are common and not ordinarily a concern.
Leaking chainplates are common and easy enough to caulk although a permanent repair can be elusive.
Whether these things have led to core rot, who knows, depends on whether the manufacturer cut away the core at these points and sealed them with filler. Screwdriver test is a good way to start.
Arrighetti@reddit (OP)
Thank you. I will try the screwdriver method everyone is suggesting. The boat is selling for 9.900eur, I will check the chaiplates again and eventually, if it's not that bad i will lower the price. I've also forgot to mention that the shrouds are (also) anchored to the hull below deck.
2airishuman@reddit
ok. I know the prices of modest boats like this are lower in Europe than the USA. Around here you could buy 5 of those for that much money. Anyway the chainplate arrangement you describe is a common one. The problem is that there's going to be some relative motion between the chainplates and the deck whenever the boat flexes and that's going to stress the caulk and cause leaks over time. I have to fix mine next spring, in fact.
Whole-Quick@reddit
The second photo, the one with the tape peeled back, makes me concerned about deck core rot.
The use of tape itself is a red flag. Clearly, there is a leak, and just as clearly, the owner isn't interested in fixing it.
I see a horizontal metal plate surrounding the chain plates ( or shroud plates, different terms in different areas I suppose) either only blackness under it. Is that a void? Is it just rotten core, which tends to be black? Can't tell from photo, but I'm very suspicious.
The screwdriver method may help, as would a surveyor or even a friend with a moisture meter.
Even if you have some core rot, it's repairable, even on DIY basis if you are willing to learn and aren't fussy about the cosmetics of your repairs. Basic core repairs aren't hard if you follow good instructions. And a good skill to learn.
Are you sure the bulkheads that the chain plates are attached to are not rotten? That leaking water definitely goes somewhere.
I understand that you have a limited budget. If you're willing to take learn, do lots of DiY repairs, and take some chances, it might work out for you.
Good luck!
MWorld993@reddit
These are stress cracks in the gel coat. They can occur around stress points and the issue can be fixed. I would be more concerned about water intrusion to the wood core or to the bulkheads that the chain plates bolt to. I highly recommend two Don Casey books: Inspecting the Aging Sailboat, which will show you what to look for. Also Sailboat Hull and Deck Repair which covers how to repair it. Between the two books, you can assess what is wrong and how to fix it, and then determine if you still want to proceed with buying the boat.
Whole-Quick@reddit
Excellent recommendations! These are great for learning.
Guygan@reddit
Unless you want to race, and love to putter around and do maintenance, then a 1990s 1/4 tonner is probably the WORST boat you could buy. Like, by a lot.
Arrighetti@reddit (OP)
That is exactly what I am looking for haha
Holden_Coalfield@reddit
Parts of the core are rotten. . Find a solid boat. Get a heavy screwdriver. Drop the handle on the deck areas lightly from a free inches. If it bounces, awesome. If it goes thud, bad rotten there. Sometimes it’s limited. Most of the time it’s a little everywhere. Rotten chain plate areas are of specific concern
Arrighetti@reddit (OP)
how do you know that parts of the core are rotten?
Holden_Coalfield@reddit
looking at the picture and experience. Also the previous owners use of duct tape seems funny. Basically, it looks bad.
stress cracks on a boat are normal, but they usually appear in areas of the fiberglass deck that have stress issues from the layup and mold shape that are just so hard to resolve and are of no real concern. Those appear on corners, angles, steps, and are caused simply by original layup. You can fix them , but they don't usually flex.
Spider cracks from imapct should be fixed and aren't always major jobs, but do need to be at least sealed if no water has intruded.
n0exit@reddit
Arrighetti@reddit (OP)
Alright, as Holden said then. Thank you.
BlackStumpFarm@reddit
Marine surveyors use a moisture sensor on areas like this to determine the degree of moisture out of sight in the core. On a C&C 25 I owned a few years back, a survey for insurance purposes found serious moisture problems in the core around the mast step. Re-insurance was dependent on repairing the problem. The DIY repair involved de-rigging, cutting away a 2’x2’ section of the deck to remove the rotten balsa core, applying a total of 23 coats of fibreglass mat and resin, refinishing the final coat with non-skid deck paint to match the rest of the deck and re-rigging. It was a lengthy, time consuming and costly repair of a boat I had owned for a while and planned to keep for a while longer. Obviously a professional repair would have been even more expensive. From that experience, I wouldn’t recommend buying a boat with this known problem.
foilrider@reddit
The spider cracks in the gelcoat are a lot less of a problem than the waterlogged deck you'll have where the chainplate leak is.