ran into pier...cracked fiberglass

[halltrail]

Ok, long story short, rescued two paddle boarders on river today....who got caught in heavy current and wind. They hailed me down and had no life preservers. I picked them up and returned them to the fishing pier they launched from (this is not a boat launch pier) i got them as close as I could and while the were trying to get out of the boat the wind and current pushed me towards the pier much faster than I anticipated. the girls safety was my first concern and really didnt have time to do anything but try and lessen the impact by reaching out to the pier pylon to slow the boat down....still hit pretty hard. The port side hull 4 inches from the stern hit. I have an 10 inch vertical crack in the fiberglass. Not all the way through; however, I do see a small hair line crack on the inside. No water was coming in.


Ok im so upset, i can barely think. It is an 1985 seafarer...but Ive spent a lot of time getting her on the water. Been great for 4 weeks. Caught my first rockfish last week. Ill post a few pictures. I guess im looking for thoughts on this.....is the boat done...is it repairable, is it worth repairing...have it checked? Anyone dealt with this before?

and fellas, I know i made some mistakes like not staying away far enough away from the freaking pier...and maybe I should have just taken them to a ramp....New boater here...and i just learned a few hard lessons.

 

[HMBJack]

Three things:
1. Talk to your insurance agent on Monday. You might be covered.
2. Take it to a yard and have it fixed, and
3. Relax. It's a boat... Things like this just happen once in a while

 

[halltrail]

Thanks, That is what im going to do...probably head over to marina in the am.

 

[jbrinch88]

I wouldn't worry about it too much, it can be fixed and pretty easily. Hardest part is matching gel coat on an older boat.

They'll have to grind down around the crack until they reach the level where it stopped, unless its through the boat. Either way it needs to be ground down, glassed, faired, and lay down some gel coat.

 

[onoahimahi]

Ouch..!

"No good deed goes unpunished..." :?

This kind if repair is not that difficult and you could do it yourself if you or any of your fishing buddies are handy.

It's a little bit like the first and last steps of a transom repair - consider your crack to be the "cut line" in this transom repair video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oJnOm7v4Pw

Instead of just cutting the glass, he flairs it with the grinder so he can build it back up when he puts the fiberglass panel back on at the end. You need to do the grinding he does at 49 seconds and build it back up as he does from 7:40 to the end.

I think you would need to grind a larger taper then he did, however. When you take if to the shop for your estimate, ask him how he will fix it and he will tell to convice you he knows what he is doing. If you don't like his price, take his description as your repair instructions and give it a go. Good luck.

-Scott

 

[The_Chain]

I've found the dock pretty hard before..it happens even to the most seasoned boaters. Relax I'm sure insurance will cover you, your probably in for your deductible and the worst part...wait time while it's getting fix up I'm the middle of the summer

 

[mboyatt]

Dang, you really nailed that pier. That is quite the ding. As others have pointed out, this is definitely something that can be repaired and would be worth doing as opposed to getting rid of the boat. I would start with a couple of quotes and see if your insurance will cover it (as others have noted). If that doesn't do it, tackle the repair yourself. Looks like it is all above the waterline, which is good. I feel your pain!

 

[onoahimahi]

I suspect it cracked like that because the impact was so close to the transom which is so stiff - you can see how the crack followed the line of the transom. I'll bet if the impact occurred a few feet forward the hull would have just flexed and absorbed it, perhaps with a bit of cracking above the rub rail. It must have made a sickening sound...

 

[wahoo33417]

That's quite an ouchy. But you did it helping some other people out. Nothing to feel too bad about there.

 

[halltrail]

Thanks Everyone. I got a temporary fix...but will be fixing it my self the right way a little later next month. Im going to grind out from inside and outside and re-lay the fiberglass.