I've been reading this forum for a while now, but finally have a good question for the more experienced people here.
I have a 1984 sylvan 16' open bow aluminum boat with 50 HP outboard, and 9.9HP outboard for trolling, I have a few issues that need corrected, and I plan to start working on them as I have time. First on the list is a new transom, probably a new floor, and consoles, and more storage this winter(if I have time lol)
The first major question I have here, is what is the likelihood that I have any serious structural damage to the hull? I ask, because I was out on lake Erie last season when it started to get a bit rougher than I like, and by the time I has halfway in I was running through 6-7 footers(4 is more than I like, but the boat handles them OK most of the time) I had someone in a much larger boat run by in front of me and their wake on top of the wave was a bit more than my boat could handle comfortably, and it came off the wave pretty hard. When the boat "hit bottom" and plowed into the next wave(still not enough to get any water over the bow yet though) the center movable portion of my 3 piece windshield dropped through between the two outer pieces. Obviously it flexed the hull enough to allow it to "open up" and let the windshield drop, but I'm concerned that it may have yielded some of the metal as it did not return back to its original width. the windshield now has approximately 1/2" wider gap than it did before. after I got the boat back on the trailer I looked it over, and aside from the windshield, there is no visible damage. no broken rivets, not even cracked paint, no leaks.... I just want to make sure that I don't need to really tear everything apart to inspect the entire structure of the boat since everything visible still looks good.
This has been a great little boat for me(a bit small, but still does what I need) and I want to make sure it stays looking good, and safe to use for a long time.
Thanks in advance for any input.
I have a 1984 sylvan 16' open bow aluminum boat with 50 HP outboard, and 9.9HP outboard for trolling, I have a few issues that need corrected, and I plan to start working on them as I have time. First on the list is a new transom, probably a new floor, and consoles, and more storage this winter(if I have time lol)
The first major question I have here, is what is the likelihood that I have any serious structural damage to the hull? I ask, because I was out on lake Erie last season when it started to get a bit rougher than I like, and by the time I has halfway in I was running through 6-7 footers(4 is more than I like, but the boat handles them OK most of the time) I had someone in a much larger boat run by in front of me and their wake on top of the wave was a bit more than my boat could handle comfortably, and it came off the wave pretty hard. When the boat "hit bottom" and plowed into the next wave(still not enough to get any water over the bow yet though) the center movable portion of my 3 piece windshield dropped through between the two outer pieces. Obviously it flexed the hull enough to allow it to "open up" and let the windshield drop, but I'm concerned that it may have yielded some of the metal as it did not return back to its original width. the windshield now has approximately 1/2" wider gap than it did before. after I got the boat back on the trailer I looked it over, and aside from the windshield, there is no visible damage. no broken rivets, not even cracked paint, no leaks.... I just want to make sure that I don't need to really tear everything apart to inspect the entire structure of the boat since everything visible still looks good.
This has been a great little boat for me(a bit small, but still does what I need) and I want to make sure it stays looking good, and safe to use for a long time.
Thanks in advance for any input.
