How bad is this???

[Moor]

This is the mounting plate towards the back of my bilge, that the rudder cable mounts to (see pics). Went to tighten the nut on my prop shaft packing seal and noticed the first layer of fiberglass is cracked. How worried should i be over this? What would cause this to happen? 1988 sunsport 454....

[FULL-THROTTLE]

I think you need to pull off the loose paint first, the re-evaluate. It appears to be just the paint is lifting.

[Moor]

I'm going to do that now, just got home from work. I hope your right and I'm just being overly paranoid. I'll report back...

[vvfdfirefighter]

I think you need to pull off the loose paint first, the re-evaluate. It appears to be just the paint is lifting.

I'll have to agree, mine did that a couple years ago. Although not such a big piece, more quarter size. Turned out to just be paint. Noticed it while i was pressure washing the bilge

[DAFF]

I would get ready for some soft plywood in this region. Looks like delamination of previous repair work. The good news it is an Ez fix, just time consuming.

[Moor]

Ok i picked at it and its definatly more than just paint. Theres a layer of resin and a few fiberglass strands. I think DAFF might be right, it almost looks like a prior repair, but i dont think theres any plywood there, its in the hull of the boat? Its in the water tied off to my dock, doesnt appear to be leaking and the hull doesnt sound like theres a crack when i tap on it. How worried should i be about this ?

[vvfdfirefighter]

Ok i picked at it and its definatly more than just paint. Theres a layer of resin and a few fiberglass strands. I think DAFF might be right, it almost looks like a prior repair, but i dont think theres any plywood there, its in the hull of the boat? Its in the water tied off to my dock, doesnt appear to be leaking and the hull doesnt sound like theres a crack when i tap on it. How worried should i be about this ?

Oh man, sorry to hear. However if it's assembled like mine, the rudder hub is mounted to plywood then to the Hull. As with anything dealing with wood and water, I'd say keep an eye on it. If it's leaking it's doing damage. You just might not see the leak because the water may be under the layer of glass. It might be OK to keep riding it for what little is left of the season. Sounds like a good winter project. HHowever That's STRICTLY just my. 02¢

[TitanTn]

That hump you see that the bracket is attached to is wood. The best solution is to cut it out, bed new wood, and re-fiberglass. Really, a fairly simple job, but as said before, time-consuming. I too would vote for this to be a winter project. See if you can seal it up with resin or something now so it doesn't get worse too quickly. Ride it out for the summer.

[bens250ex]

wait till winter you will be fine to use it till then. Fairly simple repair.

[Kma4444]

Doesn't look ominous to me, as with any other part of the old boats made of wood, it will need replacing at some time, but I certainly wouldn't worry about it this year. That doesn't even look wet under the glass. Looks like a spot where even the factory did a weak lap job on the layup. They weren't always all that tidy with stuff down in the bilge.

[wotan2525]

Mine has this same problem. I've never been able to figure out if it's bad factory glass or a bad 3rd party repair. Regardless, it's never gone deep enough to expose the wood and my rudder is tight and doesn't leak. I've had the rudder out several times and this area has never been soft. The same problem has happened at other places in my bilge. I wouldn't worry about it.

[Moor]

Thanks for the info and the .02 cents guys... i didn't think it was anything too pressing, but with my boat in the water i was a little worried about a delamination or crack anywhere in the hull, especially since i put a fair amount of ballast in the boat. I'll keep an eye on it and ride it out till the winter when i can remove the back seats and do a proper repair.

@ Kma4444 - the glass underneith is defintely dry, no water seeping out anywhere. Do you think this is just a bad job from the factory? if so is it safe to assume its only the top layer or two that is lifting up? I can't tell if it was a prior repair down there, everything looks untouched. I dont want to keep picking at it too much right now.... Wotan, your boat is doing the same thing, but your plywood is nice and dry right? How long has your boat been like this?

[wotan2525]

8 years probably? Every time I clean the bilge I find chipped/broken pieces of fiberglass. I probably should have ground it down and fixed it when I replaced the stringers but it was just one of the things that got skipped.

[Kma4444]

Yeah, I would not pay it any attention if it looks clean under there. If your OCD kicks in, you could do as Wotan is talking about but it seems like it would mostly be for entertainment?!?!?!?!? ;)

[Moor]

wotan- if yours has been that way for 8 years i definately feel much better about it now. The other night i had a nightmare that my boat sank overnight. I walked down to my dock at 3am to make sure she was safe and sound lol. Sounds like i might just need to seal it up with some resin, and forget about it for 4 or 5 years untill i need to do the stringers...

[jasun]

The other night i had a nightmare that my boat sank overnight. I walked down to my dock at 3am to make sure she was safe and sound lol.

I have done that before with my old Glastron I had... Walked down the shore at 5am to find it had come untied and was beached 3 places down....

[wotan2525]

wotan- if yours has been that way for 8 years i definately feel much better about it now. The other night i had a nightmare that my boat sank overnight. I walked down to my dock at 3am to make sure she was safe and sound lol. Sounds like i might just need to seal it up with some resin, and forget about it for 4 or 5 years untill i need to do the stringers...


Haha! Well.... I am probably one of the only members on here that did actually have their boat sink. It was unrelated to this problem, though. ;) Stringer condition is much more important!

[Moor]

Wotan, how did your boat sink? My stringers are still solid and motor mount bolts are tight. Thats why im hoping my issue isn't major, i don't want to have to start cutting the glass for at least a few more years,

[wotan2525]

Wotan, how did your boat sink? My stringers are still solid and motor mount bolts are tight. Thats why im hoping my issue isn't major, i don't want to have to start cutting the glass for at least a few more years,

Stringers were rotten. I tried to quick fix them by using epoxy and larger lag bolts. Went 10 miles down river for a breakfast on a second date and came down from the restaurant to the boat tied to the dock but sitting low. Made it to the nearest shore before it sank in 2-3 feet of water (water was over the floor.) Later, found that the engine had pulled loose from the mounts, twisted on the mounts, then caused the prop-shaft to wear through the shift log causing a decent leak. 2+ years before she was back in the water. :(

[Moor]

Ouch! That's a hell of a repair. how did the rest of your date go?