I took the Otter (D4) out for a day of fishing and when I returned to the gravel ramp I beached her and then stepped out onto the ramp. Thats when I heard a cracking sound. This morning I inspected the hull and sure enough the epoxy on the outside of the hull had cracked. The crack is between the front seat and middle seat on the starborad side and maybe 6 inches long. I can only assume; a: I need to lose weight and; b: this area wasn't well supported by water and/or land and gave way.
Besides being really pissed off, I want to fix this and prevent it from happening again. Short of building a new boat with better wood, I can only think of one think to do. To beef up these areas I am considering placing fiberglass fabric over the bottom of the hull and in the floor areas inside the boat. I am hoping the fabric will keep reinforce the areas and strenthen the boat. Does this sound reasonable? Would this actually strengthen the hull or just make it thicker and heavier? Anybody else have a better idea?
I have included some pictures, such as they are. Ignore the white streaks, those are sctratches in the paint that look much worse with the flash from the camera.
Remember on my website when I said, "I will always worry about the quality of the plywood", and "I have had visions of stepping into the boat and my foot going through the floor"? Well, now I think I know why using good plywood is so important. Funny, I can lift the boat by the cleats on the knees, but can't step on the floor for fear of breaking it.
This is very disappointing. Thanks for your help in advance.
It is probably the wood. Even cheap wood will be sufficiently strong to support your weigth in the water but when arriving at the ramp, the hull probably touched the bottom while you were still in it.
I had a PK78 made of cheap Lauan and my children jumped in and off with the boat dry, never a crack.
There was probably a void in the plywood there.
OK, let's fix it.
Fiberglass the bottom. If you can, fiberglass it inside and outside. You will have a super strong boat but a little heavier.
It is extra work but it's the only way to save it.
Almost any type of glass will do but if you buy it from us, pick the 9 oz. woven.
My depression is quickly turning to determination.
I am not sure if the wood is affected. I can see the wood from the inside and it is not cracked. This area is only epoxyied with removable carpet.
Thanks, Jacques. I will use the 9 oz woven on the entire hull bottom and the inside areas I can get at (the floors, my seats are sealed and filled with foam).
A few questions:
Will the paint and primer need to be removed or just roughed up. I have Interlux Pre-Kote primer and Parker's Duck Boat Paint.
Do I need to wrap the glass up the sides of the hull a few inches or just keep it on the bottom?
What kind of plywood is this boat made of? Is there a weak spot caused by a void ?
I'm building a D-4 right now and want to avoid as many pitfalls as possible.
Charlie
If it is not the wood, it may be just the fairing.
If the fairing was done with a putty mix of microballoons and silica but with too much silica, it will be brittle. That skin may have cracked. In that case, it is just a matter of painting over it.
Anyway, extra glass may not hurt in case somebody steps in the boat while on the concrete ramp.
My plywood is an oak veneer plywood. I doubt the interior wood is oak. It has voids. I would spring for the marine plywood if i did it again. Not only is it devoid of voids, so to speak, but it isn't that expensive when you are talking 3 sheets, I think, for the D4. How much am I going to spend making this repair? Probably a lot more in both money and time than I saved on cheap plywood.
I did not use any silica in the hull. I did you microballons (damn purple stuff). I am coating with the fiberglass anyway. I want a bulletproof hull that can stand up to some rough treatment (concrete ramps, stumps, rocks,etc.)
yes. that says it all. Hey... my shortest post! almost....
I've found that the cheap hardwood veneer plywoods have barely enough veneer to call it oak, or birch, or whatever, and a massive cheap middle ply. The Doug Fir cheapies have a bit more of wood on those outer plies, almost equal to the cheap middle ply. Seems the better route if cheap is the word of the day, but checking must be dealt with with 4 or 6 oz cloth. I syringed epoxy into all visible gaps or voids at the edges.
sand down to the wood, barely, by the cracks, and investigate. Its the first step. You may just need glass and reseal, refinish...
But, if it did break at a void, drill into the void (but not through the other side), buy some cheapie syringes at West Marine or equivalent, and pump those voids full of epoxy before going any further. In a couple of weeks you may be in the water again (and I'll be jealous)!
Get the most out of the expense of the repair so it becomes a present and future asset. Don't just fix it. Back to the shop.
I've been cautioned by a few boaters about stepping in small dinghies when they are not in the water. You now have a stronger experience of the risk. I don't mean to make light of it. The water supports the weight of the occupant distributed over the plywood interface with the water (sort of). On dry ground, you are really stressing the structures of some designs that are otherwise wonderfully engineered for strength and light weight in their intended environment and usage. Air is quite a different density of *liquid* than water.
Again, you may be fine. Just dig a little and see the magnitude of the problem so you can address it all before refinishing. It may drive you really nuts if you patch and refinish and didn't fill all the void, and the sucker cracks again. But if that happens, remember this and try to laugh.
I've gained a confidence in these designs by seeing the pictures and hearing success stories with relatively few problems. Even if all the plywood proved to be horrific in your boat, its a success because it wasn't that expensive a lesson, and no one got hurt, and it wasn't a Vagabond! You've gained valuable experience to bring to the next boat. But, Enjoy the fix and conquering the problem, or make the right judgement call if the wood is really that bad!
I didn't like it when my first stringer snapped (I really did NOT like it!), but then I had to laugh as it was only a stringer, and no one was hurt, except my pride! And I got to experiment with patches and strengths of ripped stringers with and without even the slightest knots in them. I'll never allow a knot in one again without re-inforcing (if clearer wood is not available). No one got hurt!
Let us know how it turns out and what steps you take after a sanded down test investigation. Pictures, pictures, pictures!
