I got a crack next to the keel on my 1976 SeaRay (30ft). The BoatUS
surveyor reports the stringers are rotting away inside and the hull flexed
when they put the boat on a stand for the winter. The stringers under the
engines are still in good shape. The damage is about 10' from the bow.
BoatUS will not cover rot. What are my options? I know I can repair the
crack, but will the boat be seaworthy? Should I get rid of it ASAP?

On Sat, 16 Oct 2004 21:26:22 -0400, "Mark"
wrote:

I got a crack next to the keel on my 1976 SeaRay (30ft). The BoatUS
surveyor reports the stringers are rotting away inside and the hull flexed
when they put the boat on a stand for the winter. The stringers under the
engines are still in good shape. The damage is about 10' from the bow.
BoatUS will not cover rot. What are my options? I know I can repair the
crack, but will the boat be seaworthy? Should I get rid of it ASAP?

Relax and think about it for a second.

The boat survey now becomes a part of the boat record - how much do
you think you will get for the boat with rotten stringers? You have
to disclose those you know.

As to repairing the crack, if it did this on a stand, what about hard
pounding, wave action, etc? The flexing is going to continue.

I'd repair the stringers unless it's a really bad job (like having to
remove the entire floor, cabin, etc.).

Either way, selling or repairing, you are going to have to spend
money.

Later,

Tom

"Beware the one legged man in a butt
kicking contest - he is there for a
reason."

Wun Hung Lo - date unknown

A question ... is that insurance surveyor speculating that the stringers are
rotting maybe to avoid paying the claim? Or is "rot" obvious or visible? A
tough call ... if it was me, I'd get an estimate or two on the stringer
repair, and based on that decide on having the repair done or not ... or
selling as is. E.g. an interested buyer might choose to buy, have the repair
done, then have the survey done ...


Mark" wrote in message
...
I got a crack next to the keel on my 1976 SeaRay (30ft). The BoatUS
surveyor reports the stringers are rotting away inside and the hull flexed
when they put the boat on a stand for the winter. The stringers under the
engines are still in good shape. The damage is about 10' from the bow.
BoatUS will not cover rot. What are my options? I know I can repair the
crack, but will the boat be seaworthy? Should I get rid of it ASAP?

Oh yeah ... what I was thinking is that it could be sure, you repair this
crack but if the stringers are bad, then maybe down the road there will be
another crack to repair, and another crack to repair, ...

"Bowgus" wrote in message
...
A question ... is that insurance surveyor speculating that the stringers
are
rotting maybe to avoid paying the claim? Or is "rot" obvious or visible? A
tough call ... if it was me, I'd get an estimate or two on the stringer
repair, and based on that decide on having the repair done or not ... or
selling as is. E.g. an interested buyer might choose to buy, have the
repair
done, then have the survey done ...


Mark" wrote in message
...
I got a crack next to the keel on my 1976 SeaRay (30ft). The BoatUS
surveyor reports the stringers are rotting away inside and the hull
flexed
when they put the boat on a stand for the winter. The stringers under
the
engines are still in good shape. The damage is about 10' from the bow.
BoatUS will not cover rot. What are my options? I know I can repair
the
crack, but will the boat be seaworthy? Should I get rid of it ASAP?

"Mark" wrote in message
...
I got a crack next to the keel on my 1976 SeaRay (30ft). The BoatUS
surveyor reports the stringers are rotting away inside

Bummer, that can get really expensive.


The stringers under the engines are still in good shape.

Really? That is generally where they rot out first.

What are my options? I know I can repair the crack, but will the boat be
seaworthy?

Not without repairing the stringers. To repair the crack and not repair the
stringers would just be a waste of money. There is a good chance it will
crack again when the sling it up to put it back in the water and even if it
made it into the water okay you are likely to have problems later on. That
rot isn't going to get better on its own and it is very likely to get worse.
If you don't fix it you could have your hull break apart the next time you
get into rough conditions.

Should I get rid of it ASAP?

If the boat is in a repair yard then I would at least get a quote on getting
the stringers replaced. Brace yourself, this will not be cheap! You may
have to spend a few hundred dollars just to figure out how bad the problem
is. They will need to take core samples along the length of the stringers to
establish how far the rot extends.

It would, as a minimum, be unethical and it might be downright illegal to
sell the boat without disclosing the problem . I would certainly expect the
buyer to get a survey of his own and that would probably discover the
problem so all you would do is create a lot of headaches and trouble for
yourself to try and sell it. You could try to disclose the problem and sell
the boat "as is". Someone might want to tackle a big project.

If you basically like the boat and it is otherwise in good shape then I
would fix the stringers and continue to enjoy it.

Rod

"rmcinnis" wrote in message ...
"Mark" wrote in message
...
I got a crack next to the keel on my 1976 SeaRay (30ft). The BoatUS
surveyor reports the stringers are rotting away inside

Bummer, that can get really expensive.


The stringers under the engines are still in good shape.

Really? That is generally where they rot out first.

What are my options? I know I can repair the crack, but will the boat be
seaworthy?

Not without repairing the stringers. To repair the crack and not repair the
stringers would just be a waste of money. There is a good chance it will
crack again when the sling it up to put it back in the water and even if it
made it into the water okay you are likely to have problems later on. That
rot isn't going to get better on its own and it is very likely to get worse.
If you don't fix it you could have your hull break apart the next time you
get into rough conditions.

Should I get rid of it ASAP?

If the boat is in a repair yard then I would at least get a quote on getting
the stringers replaced. Brace yourself, this will not be cheap! You may
have to spend a few hundred dollars just to figure out how bad the problem
is. They will need to take core samples along the length of the stringers to
establish how far the rot extends.

It would, as a minimum, be unethical and it might be downright illegal to
sell the boat without disclosing the problem . I would certainly expect the
buyer to get a survey of his own and that would probably discover the
problem so all you would do is create a lot of headaches and trouble for
yourself to try and sell it. You could try to disclose the problem and sell
the boat "as is". Someone might want to tackle a big project.

If you basically like the boat and it is otherwise in good shape then I
would fix the stringers and continue to enjoy it.

Rod


Aside from the stringers, you should also find out what condition the
transom is in, as it's encapsulated wood also and has a high
probability of being bad. If you do have the boat repaired, while the
cap is separated from the hull and the deck is all torn out and in the
dumpster, think seriously about a new fuel tank before the whole thing
is reassembled.

Mark wrote:
: I got a crack next to the keel on my 1976 SeaRay (30ft). The BoatUS
: surveyor reports the stringers are rotting away inside and the hull flexed
: when they put the boat on a stand for the winter. The stringers under the
: engines are still in good shape. The damage is about 10' from the bow.
: BoatUS will not cover rot. What are my options? I know I can repair the
: crack, but will the boat be seaworthy? Should I get rid of it ASAP?

I had a seal breach on a bolt holding my outdrive motor. I had glassed
in motor mounts and center stringer. I was amazed at how the rot
propagated (15 ft. down the center stringer). I still have samples
of the stuff.

The solution was to pull out the floor and remove every piece of wood that
was glassed in. For a 17 ft. outdrive boat, the cost was slightly
over $7K to do the job. The boat is like new now and I'll keep it for some
time.

b.

On Mon, 18 Oct 2004 20:48:38 GMT, wrote:

Mark wrote:
: I got a crack next to the keel on my 1976 SeaRay (30ft). The BoatUS
: surveyor reports the stringers are rotting away inside and the hull flexed
: when they put the boat on a stand for the winter. The stringers under the
: engines are still in good shape. The damage is about 10' from the bow.
: BoatUS will not cover rot. What are my options? I know I can repair the
: crack, but will the boat be seaworthy? Should I get rid of it ASAP?

I had a seal breach on a bolt holding my outdrive motor. I had glassed
in motor mounts and center stringer. I was amazed at how the rot
propagated (15 ft. down the center stringer). I still have samples
of the stuff.

The solution was to pull out the floor and remove every piece of wood that
was glassed in. For a 17 ft. outdrive boat, the cost was slightly
over $7K to do the job. The boat is like new now and I'll keep it for some
time.

A friend of mine who does a lot of marine fiberglass work just worked
up an estimate for me on that Topaz I was looking at (and still am).

Complete, start to finish, removing the engines, new stringers and
replacing the floor was a little under $12,000.

That was a 28'er.

All the best,

Tom
--------------

"What the hell's the deal with this newsgroup...
is there a computer terminal in the day room of
some looney bin somewhere?"

Bilgeman - circa 2004