Calling All Fiberglass Repair Pro's - 13 ft 1973 Sport - Hull Crack

[arnoult504]

I recently bought this 1973 Boston Whaler 13 ft Sport, and need to repair this crack on the starboard quarter of the hull.

http://s1291.beta.photobucket.com/use...t/library/

Is this fixable? If so, how do i properly do this?
All comments/advice is appreciated by those who have done/seen a repair like this done.This is my first restoration and i'd like to do it right.
Thanks

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Calling All Fiberglass Repair Pro's - 13 ft 1973 Sport - Hull Crack

You're link's not working. YOu can post the pic using the IMG Code from photobucket.

 

[arnoult504]

Re: Calling All Fiberglass Repair Pro's - 13 ft 1973 Sport - Hull Crack

apologies, here we go:

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Calling All Fiberglass Repair Pro's - 13 ft 1973 Sport - Hull Crack

Are these cracks also on the port side?

There also seems to be a crack just below the screw eye in the center of the pix.....

What size engine is that hanging on the transom & is it what came on it originally?


I think more pix & some inspection are in order. Some shots showing the exterior rear corners of the transom, the complete front & rear of the transom (shot from behind the boat & inside the boat) and possibly some of the transom to hull bottom corner....

Those look like stress cracks, from the weight & torque of an oversized motor, running too fast in heavy seas or crossing wakes, or possibly a weakened &/or compromised transom.......

But the cause is irrelevant, getting it fixed & water ready will just require some investigation to assess how to reach those goals..

 

[sphelps]

Re: Calling All Fiberglass Repair Pro's - 13 ft 1973 Sport - Hull Crack

It kinda looks like it was struck on the side somehow. Maybe the black mark on the rub rail was from something hitting it..

 

[arnoult504]

Re: Calling All Fiberglass Repair Pro's - 13 ft 1973 Sport - Hull Crack

The boats got a 1995 Force 40hp 2 stroke outboard on it that i believe has always been on it.
heres some more pics you requested curt

the topcoat/nonskid on the interior is old/dried/cracking/peeling in a lot of places but from what i understand this can all be fixed with sanding and painting. im really just concerned with the cracks that may go all the way to the foam of the boat. all help is apreciated.
thanks

 

[arnoult504]

Re: Calling All Fiberglass Repair Pro's - 13 ft 1973 Sport - Hull Crack

more pics

 

[mrdjflores]

Re: Calling All Fiberglass Repair Pro's - 13 ft 1973 Sport - Hull Crack

one scary thought is that your transom core is rotting, allowing the entire transom to flex and twist, which in turn is cracking the glass all around the stress points and corners...
like what was mentioned before, i think further investigation is required....
some core samples into various parts of the transom would shed some light on things.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Calling All Fiberglass Repair Pro's - 13 ft 1973 Sport - Hull Crack

I don't know enough about Whaler transom construction to say for sure that there is a rotten transom core, but those cracks all definitely look to be stress cracks. It's just a matter of figuring out what caused them, abuse, heavy use, weakened transom are all possible...

Like I said, I don't know that much about Whalers, but I suspect that some of the anti-skid was applied by a previous owner. I suspect that the factory would have only applied it to areas where you might step, not up vertical surfaces & sides in the splashwell. Since you bought it as is, there's no way to know what it covers.

Since generally your boat is constructed like this:

It makes assessment & repair somewhat more complicated then you'd expect.

Do you have access to be able to see or reach up under the splashwell? You can take some core samples of any available areas of the transom in a few different areas, high/low port/starboard FROM the INTERIOR. Take GREAT care NOT to drill thru the transom. You're looking for light & dry shavings, dark &/or wet shavings indicate the transom may be compromised.

A 1/4" +/- drill bit, marked w/ tape for depth:

Obviously you don't want to mark it nearly as deep as that pix shows.