help on hunter 34 keel pan

[iceblue77]

Hi Everyone,
I recently checked a Hunter 34 from 1984 and got a surprise when checkin the bilge, i found the following (broken or previously cut glass) that you can see in the attached pictures. I will like to know a serious opinion about what could be happening here? is that a major issue? will you have to remove keel and work on correcting the glass?
Boat was on the water therefore could not check the keel but owner said that the bottom was done few months back. Need advise as we are looking to purchase it in the next few days but want to square this out before deciding.
Thanks to everyone.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

The pictures do not really show what's in the bilge or the relationship between each picture, hence I think you will get various replies as to what has happened here.

IMO, the keel has suffered a major impact at high speed for a sailboat. I am sure you will also find major structural damage.

I'm not sure what we're looking at in the above pic, but I'm guessing the RH portion of the pic. shows the bottom of the bilge and the LH portion is a ledge above the bilge. The crack and separation, IMO, reinforce the idea of a major impact.

Boat was on the water therefore could not check the keel but owner said that the bottom was done few months back.

Will you have it inspected by a surveyor while on the hard ? ? ? ? Personally, I don't think it's worth the cost of a survey. I would suggest getting away from this as fast as possible.

 

[MFD]

I do not know, and hopefully some other H34 owners will be able chime in, but my hunch is that this boat was built 'full pan style', which some of the European vendors still do and perhaps seems neat when the boat is first built, but ultimately just causes an inability to inspect things over the years?

need help on false bilge in Hunter 34-bilge liner

As 34 owners know, or will soon deduce, the hull liner gives the false impression of being the bilge,which I will refer to here as the "false bilge", when the real hull bilge is below the liner. Has anyone drilled thru the liner bilge bottom, then dried and filled the real bilge liner? What...

forums.sailboatowners.com

Meanwhile, @iceblue77 I would simply show your pics to the seller/broker and tell them that you are still interested, have some questions, and need to hold off at least a week pending outcome. A clause like that should be in any presale agreement that you signed (if the broker was ethical) or shook hands on.

 

[MFD]

Also - looking at your original pics. I would be concerned about long term separation of the hull mold from the pan mold. It is hard to tell, but it seems to me that probably there is more going on there than just dealing with the false bilge.

From my modest and informal understanding, for modern boat construction, which people were trying out and still learning with in the 80s, with the 'hull+pan' assembly process. A lot of the structural integrity with things like the forces/loads from the mast and chainplates to the keel and the boat itself - the 'pan' mattered.

More modern designs are 'hull & grid' molds - the 'pan' being more about providing quick and easy interior finishings where appropriate. Basically a 2.5 or 3 step approach for a somewhat higher initial cost but much more durable and maintainable.

From your pics, it looks like the pan on that boat, which probably includes some structural integrity, has seriously separated from the hull itself?

 

[dlochner]

Somebody went at it with a cut off wheel and an angle grinder. The why really isn't important, the why wasn't it properly repaired does. There are many more boats in the sea to look at.

Thank the seller for his time and walk on by.

 

[RoyS]

What diochner said.

 

[kloudie1]

Yep, looks like someone went kinda out of the lines with a cutter.. The false bilge has been removed but it looks like the cutter went after some more stuff. There is some structural stuff that has been cut.. Walk away..
here is the area showing the pan to hull joint: The right side picture is the false bilge top about half removed showing the 25 year old mess underneath.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Thanks @kloudie1 . Your pics do a nice job of showing the construction of the bilge area. It's a disaster that the OP doesn't need in his life and the original cause of that disaster is only of academic interest .

 

[Allan12210]

The intent was sound. The execution, not so much. If the boat didn't stink when you got inside it, mission accomplished. This was a well known issue with the H34 and H31 of this era. Water would be trapped between the pan liner and the boat hull. Removing the bottom of the pan liner also removes a rotten, stinky piece of plywood and allows the bilge pump to be mounted directly on the hull interior bottom (the true bilge). Don't worry, it's 1=3/8 inch thick there. Use 1/2 in screws. In my case a lot of the retained odor magically went away once the festering sewage was cleaned out. Once the cheap multitool was available at Harbor Freight, I trimmed off those points in the fiberglass and it looked much neater. A dripless shaft seal kept the bilge dry for many years.

i don't like the use of a terminal strip in the bilge. That can get wet with seawater and short out any number of accessories connected to it. If the wires are not sealed, then water will wick up inside the insulation as well. I made all my wires passing through that area continuous except where they needed to connect to the bilge pump and float switch. Those I crimped and coated with liquid rubber.

 

[Hollyberry]

I'd say this one's a firm PASS...

 

[Mike Oldak]

I can't really tell from the photos, but are they "cuts" or "stress cracks"? If they are cuts, then they maybe a different approach to fixing the H34 hidden bilge issue, which everyone now just opens up the bottom. Can't tell if the PO was trying to open up the side walls as well as the bottom. REGARDLESS, just for piece of mind, get a surveyor and get a real answer, not just them thoughts from myself and others who aren't there and can't really give you the best advice.