crack in my hull!

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woodrat

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Jul 27, 2004
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I have a 16' 1989 Valco bayrunner that I have had for a year and a half. Despite its clipper bow, it does bang some when running in short chop, but after all, I bought a solid welded hull instead of a riveted one so as not to have worries like that. Well, last week my brother and i are out i nthe ocean salmon fishing and noticing htat the bilge needs pumped alot, but it is pretty sloppy water and we chalk it up to that. The next day though, we stay in the river where it is calmer and we still have too much water in the bilge! even with the pump running. So I take a closer look at the pump and realize that it is no longer pumping, so I pull out the spare bilge pump (yes, I was actually carrying a spare! And I will never go out again without a spare pump!) and hook it up and the boat pumps dry finally. But two hours later, its getting pretty full again and now we are starting to worry that something else is amiss. <br /><br />When we pull it out at the ramp, I walk around it and sure enough, there is about a 30" long crack on one side just above the chine, and the beginnings of one on the other side! Aaaggh! My boat! So now I am on the beach, until I can pull all the floorboards (and console..ugh!) and take it to a welder and hope it can be fixed. There used to be a big heavy roof structure attached to the console and I took it of when I got the boat. I am hoping that that roof thing is what caused the problem by loosening the floor beams and it's not just a weak boat design that will always have these kinds of issues. <br /><br />has anyone else experienced this? What did you do? Can it be reinforced?
 

tommays

Admiral
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Jul 4, 2004
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Re: crack in my hull!

i would be worried about metal fatigue if you just weld the crack closed and those ARE SOME BIG CRACKS<br /><br /> a larger plate and braceing can be welded inside the hull<br /><br />it should be MUCH bigger than the affcted area to stop it from spreading and to spread the stress over a wider area to stop a repeat<br /><br />if you clean it up and look close you will see a spiderweb of small cracks around the one that opened up<br /><br /><br />tommays
 

pod184

Cadet
Joined
Jul 4, 2005
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21
Re: crack in my hull!

Without seeing the boat, this is just a thought. Could the "big, heavy roof structure" that you removed be by any means a structural element? Maybe it stresses the hull differently without the roof.
 

woodrat

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Jul 27, 2004
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949
Re: crack in my hull!

No the big heavy roof structure was a custom job by the previous owner and was so heavy that it was practically tipping the boat over. He had 16 mile radar mounted up there on a 16' boat! And after having it start to loosen the console from the floor a couple of times, I got sick of messing with it and took it off.
 

bluesea

Recruit
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Apr 27, 2010
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Re: crack in my hull!

i used to weld for a living i could not agree with (tommays) any more he,s right about the stress fractures in the metal having a much larger plate support welded in place will help with the weaknes
 

northernmerc

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 6, 2009
Messages
401
Re: crack in my hull!

Years ago, I had a Lund that came off of Wollaston Lake in northern Saskatchewan. It was a nearly new boat, but it had taken a beating in its short life and had numerous cracks in the aluminum and lots of bad rivets. It leaked like a sieve.

I replaced the bad rivets myself. A sheet metal/plumbing shop experienced in welding aluminum worked on the welding. They did a great job and it never gave another problem as long as I owned it.
 

5150abf

Vice Admiral
Joined
Aug 12, 2007
Messages
5,808
Re: crack in my hull!

Make sure whoever welds it for you drills the ends of the cracks, just a small drill will do.

It will stop it from cracking more, even after welding the crack could still be there and start to grow again.
 

Bob_VT

Moderator & Unofficial iBoats Historian
Staff member
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May 19, 2001
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26,019
Re: crack in my hull!

i used to weld for a living i could not agree with (tommays) any more he,s right about the stress fractures in the metal having a much larger plate support welded in place will help with the weaknes

Thank you for your interest..... this is a 5 year old thread that was down in the archives. We usually leave threads in the archives for reference and not resurface them unless you are the original poster.

I will close this thread and let it drift away once again......

Welcome to iboats! We can always use a welder on hand for questions.

Closed.
 
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