Cracked pipe on hardtop tower

[ROBERTH]

Anyone had problems with their aluminum pipes cracking?
A couple of weeks ago running offshore in 2-3' seas (closely packed) we noticed movement on the hardtop. Wasn't really running hard...approx. 27mph and ride was not bad. Later when we returned home, we saw where the front mounts came loose. Remove bolts cleaned up and recaulked and retightened all bolts. Added some extra SS washers since the single one seems too flimsy when tightening up on the cabin carpet.

Anyway, later when cleaning up the boat, I found 2 cracks near the top on the rear most vertical pipe, just under the welds on both sides.

Talked to Marine Fabricator and they said if they come loose, they will crack. They actually knew where the cracks were when I explained to them the front was loose! So sounds like this happens often enough for them to know about it. Told me to always check and retighten all bolts at least ever 3-6 months! I didn't know that was a problem, so now I am in the know and will try to keep them tight.

Will take it in this week and drop off to get the cracks repaired.

Searched around and don't find much about this issue......

 

[Pay2Play]

Had the same issue... crack right under the weld, had my friend weld it up. No bolts were loose.

 

[nevsatII]

Just curious what year and model is your boat?

 

[ROBERTH]

1992 25' Grady White Sailfish Sportbridge.
Was very surprised to see cracks on the pipes! One of the first things I noticed on the Grady was how beefed up the tower is that supports the hardtop. I guess the loose front was the major cause. I don't see a lot of corrosion on the aluminum. It was well taken care of over the years. But I am sure over time, stress can weaken.

I did find some other posts on THT where others have had this happen to other boat brands like Hydra Sports, Edgewater to name a couple of strong brands.

 

[G8RDave]

I snapped both sides of mine running through what I later found out was a hurricane. Had them welded and broke one side again running through rough water. This time I had an extra support sleeve welded on and it has held great every since.

 

[ROBERTH]

Dropped off the boat for repair to hardtop and hope to get back before end of next week.
The welder looked over the situation and showed me that it still has a lot of movement. He is going to put some additional gussets in the corners to stiffen more and check all stantions to make sure they are tight.

I am also having him make up a stand pipe to run my wires from radio box down to helm since I had to pull all the wires out of the pipes, will make it much easier to rerun and much shorter runs. Should have had this done before I put in all the new electonics, so glad to get it done now.

Fingers crossed this will resolve any more issues with cracking. Here is a pic of one of the corners.

 

[BobP]

Been there done that.

The newer hardtops have a much different rear support all across the product line.

Knee braces were added to mine in the corners.

Get this fixed otherwise remaning elements in the structure will be overloaded and eventually all will crack clear. Check front support legs too.

If you ever see a crack, stop and drill one 3/16 in hole at each end of the crack to relieve the stress it will hold otherwise when you get back to dock next time it will be extended all around.

 

[ROBERTH]

Bobp, Good idea on the drilling at end of cracks. Thanks for making me feel better in that I am not alone in this issue. The Admiral was pressing me that I did it! :roll:
Hoping that this guy I took it too will get me fixed up right with the extra bracing. He actually builds towers and does lots of repairs, so has the experience from what I have been told. He seemed to be very thorough when checking the top and was concerned to ensure all fasteners were tight and would double check to make sure as well as look around for any other issues. He is also going to fill in the holes where the wires were running previously in the pipes to help strengthen those areas now that the wires will be going through the stand pipe.

Will take a few pics when done and show the results of his work. Hope to get it by this Friday and rerun all wires in time to get some water time this weekend!

 

[Finatic]

I had the same thing happen on my Gulfstream and when the welder came over to look at the repair he noticed that the problem was that most of the main supports were lose. We went through the entire boat and tightened everything up. The welder added two extra braces and protectives sleeves, so far everything has held up for the last 2.5 seasons. I'll try to post some pictures of the repair when I get to the boat this weekend. Overall it was relatively inexpensive repair.

 

[ROBERTH]

Pics would be great! Interested in the sleeves......

 

[antaris]

Yeap, here we go - one more. I got both upright "handles" on rear of structure crack on my 2000 Adventure 208. Here's a picture on the boat's blog (which I cannot embed in this page, sorry, tumblr does not allow): http://adventure208.tumblr.com/tagged/hard_top

 

[ROBERTH]

Ok, got her back! Excellent job done by the welder! I was very impressed. Looked factory and the gussets were a surprise. Triangles instead of pipes! It actually looks good and is much stronger.
Running in seas this weekend, I could tell a huge difference in stablity.

 

[ROBERTH]

Oh yeah, and also the stand pipe! No more exposed cables/wiring! It was so easy to run the cables/wires through this down into the cabin! Should have done this in the very beginning! The wiring all wrapped up and protected. Before, I had wires all over the place.
Pic one shows the wires coming down into the helm box and then running to the right corner, then down into the cabin head where I have all the networking mounted. Convenient to the switches and wiring.