1985 Hunter 34 Purchase

[Mike Kegley]

Greetings everyone! Great forum here and it has already been a huge help with research on known issues with mid 80's 34's prior to purchase. Hoping the experienced here can help shed some light on a potential issue I discovered on a boat I am considering purchasing. All in all, it appears to be a well maintained solid boat. The previous owners maintenance documentation shows the keel on the boat was dropped and rebed 2 years ago. The survey turned up the following.

"The keel needs to be reconditioned and reset and the damage to the port
side of the keel should be re-worked as moisture was noted."

While the survey makes no note of it, I took notice of the following issue in the cabin sole in the forward part of the boat. Cracking in the fiberglass around the forward keel bolt backing plate and wrinkles and cracking in the fiberglass on the lower bulkhead on the v-berth side. The boat has spent it's time in the Chesapeake so the chances of a hard grounding are probably minimal. Wondering if what I'm seeing here might be indicative of a significant structural issue? Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated. Moisture tests were done on the compression post and came out good. There is no buckling or cracking on the upper cross member.

Thanks in advance!
Mike

 

[markwbird]

That would definitely give me pause. The H-34 utilizes a structural "skeleton" with a fairly thin hull. That area where you have cracking and what appears to be some evidence of buckling is a big part of that skeleton. That is right there near the compression post. Have you had it out of the water? Damaged keel and what appears to be a damaged frame. I might have to pass on that.

 

[geek_guy]

I'm not positive that the wrinkling is structural. I only say as if that was buckled that badly from damage I'd expect the area under and around to be distorted. Doesn't look like it is so where would the distortion have come from. Is it possible that it's only gel coat(Skin) that is come away from the internal structural fiberglass? I'd be interested to see if you can pull that split away and see if the underlying glass is actually solid. I suspect it may be. I actually wonder if the second issue is just gel coat as well. Again I don't see any distortion on it or around.

 

[Mike Kegley]

Thanks for the feedback. The boat was hauled and the only issues were those as noted with the hull/keel separation which as I understand is fairly common on these boats. When I first spotted the buckling and cracking pictured it did make me pause and initially think this was structural in nature. The more I study the cracking the more I agree with geek guy's assessment that it might be superficial. If the entire cross member were forced upwards due to an impact or structural issue one would expect to see buckling on the top and aft side of the cross member of which there is none. My current theory is that this could be freeze damage cause by water being trapped under the cabin floor on the forward side of the cross member that pushed upwards on the floor causing the buckling and outward cracking. I'm going to go check it out one more time with a focused light and pick to probe the cracked area a little more in hopes of determining what's under the top cracked layer. If I buy it, I'll definitely be cutting that section out and replacing it accordingly.

 

[kloudie1]

I agree.. may be structural.. It may be some delamination in the beam sides caused by compression.. probing will tell ya. I would be a bit nervous about it until I was sure that it is not structural.

 

[splax]

The damage shown appears to be a separation of the gel coat layer(s), especially in the bilge area where the false bilge was/is in place. I would be concerned about the compression post condition as a twisting angular force caused by the boat experiencing a violent broach or knock down might cause gel coat layers not well adhered to slip and buckle. Has the standing rigging been thoroughly inspected?

 

[Mike Kegley]

A moisture meter was used to check the compression post with no moisture detected but the teak was not removed to check the condition of the compression post. If I end up purchasing the boat I will replace the compression post regardless. All the standing rigging was noted to be in good shape aside from a small amount of corrosion on the port chain plate. Going to check her out again tomorrow and bringing a friend along for a second set of eyes. I'm not a afraid of or a stranger to doing glass work so as long as I can determine with some level of certainly that the bottom isn't going fall out II will probably pick her up as my winter project. It's great time of year to buy get deals on boats around here and in this case the owner has moved to the other side of the country. The boat is in a slip and needs to be moved and winterized soon and the owner just doesn't want to deal with it. The negotiated price is 9k on the boat which should leave me plenty room for repairs and improvements.

 

[Jackdaw]

The damage shown appears to be a separation of the gel coat layer(s), especially in the bilge area where the false bilge was/is in place. I would be concerned about the compression post condition as a twisting angular force caused by the boat experiencing a violent broach or knock down might cause gel coat layers not well adhered to slip and buckle. Has the standing rigging been thoroughly inspected?

Hopefully, NO BOAT would suffer keel damage from a broach or knock down. I certainly would not step foot on any boat that I thought might.

 

[Richard Bryer]

Couple of other possibilities: The boat was set down too hard on a haulout ( front of the keel touched down first) or the shrouds were tightened down too much putting enough pressure on the mast base to cause the rib section to be slightly bent. I would suspect what you are seeing is superficial, that is a thin layer of gelcoat. I wonder why the keel had to be re-bedded? Is it a shoal draft or a deep keel? At that price you can afford some repairs- especially if you do them yourself.

 

[Mike Kegley]

It is the shoal draft keel.

Thanks to everyone for all of their input. In the end, I decided to buy her. I took a very experienced friend with me on Saturday to give the boat another full inspection and address my concerns. After some prodding and poking on the cracked area of the cross member with a dental pic and thorough inspection of the surrounding area, our conclusion on the buckling/cracking is that it is superficial, not structural and potentially caused by a localized downward force on the cross member.

 

[jk kudera]

Looking at the picture you posted I agree, the damage seems to be only the outer part of the stringer, and should not be a problem. I am an owner of a 34 for 26 years.

 

[PGIJon]

If it were a problem with the stringer, could it not simply be reglassed????? -Jon