Soft spot in hull

[cunclerich]

I have a 23.5 that sits on its trailer. Today, I noticed that near after port trailer bunk the hull is slightly disfigured. It appears that gravity has put a depression where the boats weight sits on the trailer bunk. The depression is about 2 feet long and 8 inchs wide. The starboard hull above the bunk doesn't have this problem. Anyone have suggestions what I can do to fix this. I don't think it is simply going to pop itself out when I put her in the water...Thanks.

 

[owner23.5]

was this notiiced because the boat settled on the bunks differently so it was then visible ? is that area soft to push on ? its dark here so cant walk out back and start checking

 

[cunclerich]

the dent, if you will, seems to be caused by the weight of the boat sitting on the trailer...what might fix this?

 

[cunclerich]

no soft spot

was this notiiced because the boat settled on the bunks differently so it was then visible ? is that area soft to push on ? its dark here so cant walk out back and start checking

its not soft it is just dented inward caused i guess from the weight of the boat sitting on the trailer

 

[Scott2]

I had the same thing on my H23.5 hull. It is now unrepairable because the balsa wood core is completely rotted ... a $$$ job on a $ boat. The first thing I would do is get a marine surveyor out to check how saturated your hull is. Do this before you invest any additional money into repairs.

Good luck.

 

[Nicky17000]

It's strange, becouse fiberglass hulls are not THAT flexible. Are you sure it's not a shadow?
Do get someone else to see it.
As to rot, as far as I know, there is NO balsa core in that area. If I'm not mistaken, in the 23.5 , balsa core is used only in the coachroof and possibly in the cockpit.

 

[cunclerich]

Balsa core

Scott, I have been told that there is no balsa core below the waterline on this boat???? I look at the inside of the bildge and can't see any signs of water intrusion on the inside. In fact the boat was in the water for a couple of days last week...bildges dry as a bone. Pulled the boat out and the same oil can dent is there...guess I have to take it to a fiberglass guy and see what they say???

I had the same thing on my H23.5 hull. It is now unrepairable because the balsa wood core is completely rotted ... a $$$ job on a $ boat. The first thing I would do is get a marine surveyor out to check how saturated your hull is. Do this before you invest any additional money into repairs.

Good luck.

 

[cunclerich]

balsa core

Thanks...the balsa core possibility freaked me out thought the boat was taking a trip to the dump.

It's strange, becouse fiberglass hulls are not THAT flexible. Are you sure it's not a shadow?
Do get someone else to see it.
As to rot, as far as I know, there is NO balsa core in that area. If I'm not mistaken, in the 23.5 , balsa core is used only in the coachroof and possibly in the cockpit.

 

[Nicky17000]

Re: balsa core

Today I went to have a look at our 23.5 from the inside. In the area you mention, there appear to be reinforcement sandwiched in the hull.
I think the best way would be to send some photos to Hunter and ask their advice.
Even though the boat is out of production, they know best what went in its making and I have no doubt that they will give you good advice.

 

[Scott2]

Nicky1700 and Cunclerich, I was told by Hunter that there was no balsa core below the water line. However, my 1993 H23.5 CLEARLY had a balsa core (or what was left of it) when I stood by my fiberglass technician as he ground into the sandwich. It was also evident when the insurance company's marine surveyor performed a saturation test that the entire hull was cored and in similar shape.

I still say that you should get a marine surveyor out to look at the boat and do a saturation test. It is non intrusive via ultrasound and well worth the extra bucks early to avoid dumping a whole lot of money into a black hole.

If there is no noticeable exterior damage that would cause water intrusion into your hull from the lake-side, you may have developed a leak in your water ballast system.

Believe me, I don't enjoy being the curmudgeon, but just want to minimize your risk by giving you one sailor's (me) experience to consider.

Good luck... I really hope I am wrong. Please keep us posted.

Scott

 

[sesmith]

Not sure if you ever got this resolved. New member here. Noticed this discussion a couple of months ago. I was a little paranoid as we own a 93 Hunter 23.5 (no problems with ours so far). I emailed Hunter to find out more, and they got right back to me. I was told that the early boats had a balsa core added for extra support only in the hull area where the trailer bunks contact. This was changed later to extra fiberglass support instead. So, in theory, it's not terminal. The hull would have to be cut out in those areas from the outside, and the rotted balsa core replaced, and the hull repaired. So it shouldn't be a case of a completely rotted hull. I was also advised not to trailer the boat with a lot of extra weight in it (eg, don't use it like a uhaul when you go on vacation). FWIW, I thought I'd pass the info along that I got from them.