Bow in Hull

[Troy Allen]

I'm looking at purchasing a 1978 27' Hunter. On my pre-survey inspection I noticed a slight bow or dip in the hull on the starboard side where the hull sits on the cradle support arm. The boat has been sitting in its cradle for the past 2 years. It looks like the weight of the boat is too much for the hull in that spot. I'm thinking that the boat has rested in the cradle to long and when I left it off the cradle the bow or dip will disappear. Is anyone one familiar with what will cause such a thing to occur? Would such a thing be considered a major problem? Or when I lift the boat off the cradle will the bow disappear?

 

[Stephen Ostrander]

cradle problem

The fact that the boat has been on the cradle for 2 years shouldn't be a factor if the hull is placed on the pads. Usually the hull will pop back out into place but I would definetly have a competent surveyor look at it.

 

[Ken Palmer]

Similar problem

My H33 had an indentation and some oili-canning at the starboard rear support of my cradle. This was caused because the yard had not adjusted the screw of the pad to fit the boat. The boat should have all of it's weight on the keel, then have the pads adjusted to support the hull. To insure this now, I lower the pads abaout an inch every spring after they take the boat off the cradle. This forces them to adjust the pads to a correct fit when hauling in the fall.I had the boat surveyed, and the conclusion was that this was a non-critical area. The hull regained it's correct shape when the cradle was adjusted correctly the following year.Ken Palmer, S/V Liberty