Damaged Hull and repair to ballast tank

[pdistefano58]

Hi All,

new to me 1997 Hunter 26

I purchased the boat with damage to the hull with the intention of doing the repairs from the outside. Further inspection show the damage also cracked the ballast tank. The repairman is competent and wants to cut the galley floor to access the tank and make the inside repair, the exterior was patched.

I was wondering if we could install an access hatch to the floor so he can get to the damage and have a future access instead to repairing the hole and sealing with fiberglass. Would this hatch cause any issues with the boats structural integrity? I just thought it would be cleaner than the fiberglass patch. Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Photo of the damage to the hull
How do you know the tank lid is damaged? Any photos of that

 

[pdistefano58]

Here are some pictures of the damage and repair
The trailer strut scored the hull while the boat was pulled out of the water

 

[pdistefano58]

One more picture, we jacked the boat up to clear the post to move for repair

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

the tank lid is one solid lid dropped into place over the hull that is bonded together with marine putty with the exterior of the seam around the top of the lid is fiberglass in. The inside of the tank lid is gel coated.
The floor pan w one solid piece that goes over the water ballast lid which marine putty was placed in areas to keep the tank lid steady due to water in the tank.

Before proceeding any further, how you know if the top of the interior tank lid is damaged or not as you would have to cut into floor pan?

 

[Project_Mayhem]

Posting mainly to follow this thread but take some pics of the interior floor. If you can, take some of the underside of the floor to see if there's any bracing in that area. Dave is extremely knowledgeable when it comes to Hunter boats.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Spoke with the owner this morning and have a telephone call planned this Saturday with the repairman. Will keep you abreast of what will be done.

 

[rgranger]

Posting mainly to follow this thread ...

Posting for the same reason... and to let you know that you can accomplish the same goal by clicking the "watch" button at the top of this thread....

 

[Project_Mayhem]

Posting for the same reason... and to let you know that you can accomplish the same goal by clicking the "watch" button at the top of this thread....

View attachment 214584

Im familiar with this contraption you speak of. I figured some more pics would be helpful in determining the best route for repair

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Spoke with the owner and the repairman on Saturday. There was a crack in the hull possibly due to the trailer. However, the hull appears to be indented in. I asked if the centerboard felt pinched between the hull and keel tray. The owner said yes. I advised the weight of the boat without water ballast is strictly supported by the bunk boards. I said that was due to:

1. Bunk board supports too short
2. Rear support curled upward into hull
3. Bunk board supports not evenly adjusted

the crack which went through the hull completely was repaired with no damage seen to the water ballast tank lid. The repairman wanted to in essence to strengthen the repair to the backside of the hull by accessing through the floor pan without knowing the construction of the Hunter 26.

The water ballast tank lid is one solid piece that is bonded to the hull using marine putty and tabbed in outside or top it the lid’s perimeter with 3-4 layers of fiberglass.
The floor pan is one solid piece. There is dead air space between the lid and floor pan except for areas of marine putty between the two to keep the lid from flexing. The repairman has chosen it would be easier to go back through the hull.

I learned many years ago you can put a backing plate behind the hull without an inspection port. Simply cut a hole, sand inside the hole about 2-3 inches and clean with acetone. Then using either chicken wire, cardboard or wood, lay two to three layers of fiberglass with string through on top slathered with resin and hardner. I would also slather the inside of the hole were sanded. Insert the chicken wire or other medium into the hole and pull it against the inside of the hull and let dry. You have a backing plate. I forgot the wire, card board or wood has to be shaped a little larger than the hole. In addition the resin used needs to be non porous for underwater. The edge of the hole from inside to outside should be 45% or greater greater angled out. The repairman knows the procedure and will use it instead Oh going thr topsides. He has my number

I advised to put dye in the water tank to see if there’s any leaks along the perimeter of the water ballast tank lid

 

[pdistefano58]

I wanted to thank Crazy Dave for all his help we are very grateful for him taking the time to talk with us and walk us through the solutions. We plan on launching the boat again this weekend and doing the dye test. thanks for your support, I'll post the results.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

Spoke with the owner and the repairman on Saturday. There was a crack in the hull possibly due to the trailer. However, the hull appears to be indented in. I asked if the centerboard felt pinched between the hull and keel tray. The owner said yes. I advised the weight of the boat without water ballast is strictly supported by the bunk boards. I said that was due to:

1. Bunk board supports too short
2. Rear support curled upward into hull
3. Bunk board supports not evenly adjusted

the crack which went through the hull completely was repaired with no damage seen to the water ballast tank lid. The repairman wanted to in essence to strengthen the repair to the backside of the hull by accessing through the floor pan without knowing the construction of the Hunter 26.

The water ballast tank lid is one solid piece that is bonded to the hull using marine putty and tabbed in outside or top it the lid’s perimeter with 3-4 layers of fiberglass.
The floor pan is one solid piece. There is dead air space between the lid and floor pan except for areas of marine putty between the two to keep the lid from flexing. The repairman has chosen it would be easier to go back through the hull.

I learned many years ago you can put a backing plate behind the hull without an inspection port. Simply cut a hole, sand inside the hole about 2-3 inches and clean with acetone. Then using either chicken wire, cardboard or wood, lay two to three layers of fiberglass with string through on top slathered with resin and hardner. I would also slather the inside of the hole were sanded. Insert the chicken wire or other medium into the hole and pull it against the inside of the hull and let dry. You have a backing plate. I forgot the wire, card board or wood has to be shaped a little larger than the hole. In addition the resin used needs to be non porous for underwater. The edge of the hole from inside to outside should be 45% or greater greater angled out. The repairman knows the procedure and will use it instead Oh going thr topsides. He has my number

I advised to put dye in the water tank to see if there’s any leaks along the perimeter of the water ballast tank lid

Even most paid support isn't as good as Dave's advice!