hull repair for new guy

[81eluderio]

hey all. just picked up an 81 eluder i/o pretty cheap this week. i got it home and in the driveway and saw water dripping from the boat about 3-4 feet from the back of the boat. clearly it is not from the drain.

upon further inspection there is a penny's thick crack (at widest) about 2 1/2 feet long. it goes from the starboard corner of the flat bottom keel to the bottom of the keel. it appears to only be a shade deep aka beyond the gelcoat and into the glass just a bit. i've done my best with pictures here and hopefully they help. is this a simple grind, refill the crack with 'glass or would i need to remove the damged piece entirely and replace with fresh materials. if anyone could give some instructions or refer me to another thread that would be great.
-dan

the first picture is up the keel towards the bow, the second and third picture is a crack closeup. (haha) heres the link to my google web album

 

[Old Hickory]

hey all. just picked up an 81 eluder i/o pretty cheap this week. i got it home and in the driveway and saw water dripping from the boat about 3-4 feet from the back of the boat. clearly it is not from the drain.

upon further inspection there is a penny's thick crack (at widest) about 2 1/2 feet long. it goes from the starboard corner of the flat bottom keel to the bottom of the keel. it appears to only be a shade deep aka beyond the gelcoat and into the glass just a bit. i've done my best with pictures here and hopefully they help. is this a simple grind, refill the crack with 'glass or would i need to remove the damged piece entirely and replace with fresh materials. if anyone could give some instructions or refer me to another thread that would be great.
-dan

the first picture is up the keel towards the bow, the second and third picture is a crack closeup. (haha) heres the link to my google web album

You may have some rotten balsa up in there. It's hard to tell fom the pics. I see black iside the crack and that isn't good. try setting your camera to "macro focus" to give clearer close ups. And repost the pics so we can see a little better.

As far as getting it fixed; I suspect you may have some core repair to do. Cooprider has an excellent article on just that. he has a link at the end of his signature on all his post's. I also believe teamhart2 did some core repair on his; he's got a 5 star thread on his rebuild just a few threads down from yours.

From the looks of the damage it appears to be pretty extensive; the fact that water is leaking from the crack could mean water is between the layers of your composite hull or the breach extends thru the hull to the foam under your floor. the only way to find out is to remove the damage and see what comes out.

there a several here who have done these type of hull repairs; I'm sure they will chime in and give you much better advice. Good luck.

Hick

 

[teamhart2]

Doesnt look good, Prolly some rotten core as well as some plywood rotted. The pad (flat thing on the bottom) in mine, and Im guessing in yours is plywood. You may have had some delam there and then water seeped in. I had some space between the bottom of my pad and the plywood which let things flex a bit, prolly would have ended up with something that looks like yours if I hadnt fixed it.

First thing I would do is shove a screwdriver in there and see what sound it makes as well as if it goes way in or not. Then get under the boat and with some light on the hull just above the crack press hard with your hands, if theres rotted core the fiberglass will flex quite noticeably.

Then decide how much of a repair your wiling to do, if its as bad as it looks, youll be doing pretty much everything I did on my rebuild, tearing out floor and fiberglass from the inside and then any rotted core and/or the pad. Then youll repair the crack from the inside, put in new pad/balsa, fiberglass over all that, and then go from the outside and repair the outer skin by grinding it nice and then workin some fiberglass in there and then fixin up the gelcoat.

Let us know how further inspection goes, dont be afraid to dig into that crack a little, even if everything is good behind it, youll be grinding a lot of that area out anyways.

 

[Kary]

Fix it right

If you cobble it, the guy three sales down the road is going to own it and he may have kids and ya don't want them in a sinking boat.

Pull the floor, gut the core, repair the crack properly inside and out. Recore and floor.

I have seen so many hack jobs that were done "right". A lot of thought needs to go into it to determine the proper procedures and repair.

 

[81eluderio]

alrite. when i get home/time in the next day or two ill crawl under, poke around and take some more pictures.

 

[cooperider]

Yep its very bad.

Thats not just cracked. Its failed, and starting to delaminate. Karys right, this is an inside and out job. To have it done, might cost more than a better hull would cost. To do it yourself, would be cheaper, BUT its a big repair, that will take a long time.

Your not going to hear me say this often, but part this one out, and find another hull. I've parted out better.

I mean, part of me wants you to save it. The other part knows, when its time to move on. Sorry, I feel bad for you and this boat, I really do.

You should kick the ass of the guy that sold it to you.

 

[Mark]

You are going to have a dog's breakfast under that floor. You should try to get your money back from the seller. There is a serious lack of disclosure here. He must of known about the crack, but even if he didn't, it is old damage and he owes you your money back.

 

[yellowfiero88]

I agree with what is already said. That is real bad. I would not hesitate to try and get my money back for that one. You said it was cheap but how cheap (if you dont mind me askin)? Might be better as a parts boat.