Cracks around Scuppers

[dvd]

I've been boatless for a few years now and am trying to correct that situation. Here is a late 80s Taiwan-built boat that, so far, has met my criteria. Looked it over good yesterday and am about ready to make an offer with the usual contingencies (survey, sea trial, mechanical). I'm fully aware of the issues with teak (potential water intrusion, maintenance), have had teak decks on other boats and will accept the needed routine because I like their look and feel.

I'm a little concerned about the cracks I saw around the scuppers. They look like they would have the potential to get the deck core wet. I'd like to get opinions on 1) why they are there and 2) what's your assessment for the risk of water intrusion?


Thanks,

 

[Arctic Traveller]

The photos look identical to the scuppers on my Defever 49, cracks and all.* The scuppers are inserted in one piece into matching holes cut between the outer hull, and what I call the hull liner. I'm not sure how they were originally sealed, but after time they loose the seal. Virtually all of ours are cracked, some worse than others, and yes I do think they contribute to water leaking into the boat.* On several of mine, I reefed out material along the crack, and then filled with epoxy, thickened with a filler.* Perhaps a better solution would be to fiberglass over the cracks, making sure that all the water will still drain out.*
Would I let this problem stop me from buying the boat?* Not if all the major systems checked out, and I loved the boat.* There is no boat in the world that will not have problems of some sort or another, they just need to be solved.* If you love the boat, and the price is right, go for it, and then figure out how to solve the problem.* A good surveyor should include this on the survey, and it's now a point to negotiate* price with...................Arctic Taveller

 

[FF]

They could be cracked from flexing between the hull and deck , or at some time they could have been used as Hawse holes to tie up?


The ones designed for line work usually have a bronze casting to stop damage.

 

[dvd]

Thanks for the input -- she will be surveyed, but it never hurts to have more opinions/information. In general, the boat appears to be well-built and properly maintained, so I'm optimistic going into the survey. I just wanted to make sure this didn't reflect some known flaw in material or construction method that I didn't know about.

Thanks,
David

 

[jleonard]

My '83 40 Albin has some cracking like that as well, but not as severe. It has been repaired in the past, and it's time for a little more work, thanks for the reminder.

 

[skipperdude]

I don't think just filling with epoxy will do the trick you need to grind it down and put a layer of glass over the area.**Epoxy will just crack with the flex of the boat you need the cross layers of fiber glass to prevent the cracks from forming.

SD

 

[Fotoman]

skipperdude wrote:

I don't think just filling with epoxy will do the trick you need to grind it down and put a layer of glass over the area.**Epoxy will just crack with the flex of the boat you need the cross layers of fiber glass to prevent the cracks from forming.

SD

G-Flex epoxy from West System should work good for this kind a repair.

*

 

[skipperdude]

Fotoman wrote:


G-Flex epoxy from West System should work good for this kind a repair.

I still think you are just gluing the pieces together.
That is more than likely why the cracks appeared in the first place.

The glued edge will just crack away pulling the substratta away.

I am not saying the epoxy glue will crack but it will come off taking more of the surface area it was bonded to with it.

The epoxy will bond great to the surface but you will only have the small area that the epoxy is applied to to hold everything together.

In my opinion you need to sand down the affected area and apply some fiberglass
tape or fiberglass cloth to form a new surface. Covering the entire area back to about 3 or 4 inches from the edge of the crack. You can sand the edges to make the repair almost invisable.

SD






*

 

[Arctic Traveller]

FF wrote:

They could be cracked from flexing between the hull and deck , or at some time they could have been used as Hawse holes to tie up?

Did that once, ran a fender line through it.* BIG mistake....................Arctic Traveller

*

 

[Fotoman]

Great solution Mike. Thanks for the idea.