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
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"What the hell's the deal with this newsgroup...
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