Hull loose when you hit the exterior of the hull

[mada]

I know this is a common problem with these great boats, but what's the best way to firm up the hull again. When I bang on the outside of the hull it appears that it has seperated from the interior insert.

How do you go about this?

[Jon G]

mada the only place the hull and inner liner touch is right at the top by the rub rail. There is a space between them with nothing but air in it. The liner rests in the top of the stringers and doesn't touch the outside hull until thetop where they are joined together with rivits or screws. Hope this helps Jon

[esoxesox]

Hey Mada, I had the same issue with my '73 20. Mine was actually detached from one aft corner to the other, all the way around. In heavy seas it would bang to beat hell and running into the waves would put a LOT of water directly into the hull through the gap. I took some time off the water last summer to get it fixed (I only have ONE SeaCraft). Here are the steps I took to get it fixed(I should warn you that I don't know that this is the "right" way to do it but the final product is great). First I pulled the rail, cleaned the adhesive out, and drilled out the rivets. I was suprised to see how closely the factory had riveted to the edge of the deck. There were numerous rivets that had simply torn through the small amount of decking on the lower border. I pre-drilled rivet holes every 4' or so prior to applying the 5200. Once I applied the 5200 I ran enough washer-backed rivets to secure the deck to the hull "horizontally" but in many areas it did not draw the two together. I immediatly secured the rail to the bow (because it was easy to see where the "V" should sit). I followed behind the rivets with SS machine screws and nyloc nuts OVER the rail through the original screw holes. They really pulled the two pieces together. I worked my way back until I couldn't get to the inside of the hull anymore. From there I used a SS screw of some sort back to the stern.

The difference on the water was instantly noticable. It ended up that much of the banging in rough seas was the deck coming down on the hull. The ride was 100% more quiet and, since the repair, I have taken no water in though gaps in the hull/deck joint...just plenty in my face.

Like I said before, this may not be the "by the book" method to fix the problem. It's just what I came up with after staring at the dumb thing for a week. I'd be interested to hear what other guys suggest for a solution.

Scot

[mada]

Scott,

Thanks for the help. I think that's it. I alway noticed the boat ran poorly in rough seas "slamming" but now that I hear your similar experience, I realize that the liner/hull seperation was causing the uncomfortable ride. Brilliant!

[JohnB]

esoxesox,
I had the same experiance with my sceptre and pretty much did the same thing you did.
It only took about a day to do the whole thing. Once that thing gets put back together with
5200, it's not coming apart again. I was really suprised how poorly they had done this at
the factory. They had used silicone which had shrank and seperated about 50% of the
way all around. In heavy seas I was getting water in everywhere, and it was not sounding
too good either. I would pull the rub rail off from any SeaCraft I would own in the future
and inspect it. IMHO, the transoms and this problem are the 2 structural achilles heels
of the boats as best I can tell. Luckily, this is a relatively easy/cheap fix. The other is not.
Anyone know what they are doing with the "new" boats. Mine is an 89 and had this problem.

[TUGBOAT]

Mada,
Ditto on all of the above repairs.I re-glassed the interior section of the gunnel because of all of the walloed out screw holes(prior).
Drilled & screwed.Riveting is the best way.
On the lower deck to the gunnel I removed the carpet foamed the gap at an angle(water runoff) Then Rhino Linered were the carpet was.I did it for easy to clean,noise reduction(Outboard)Ha.
Rod & Reel protection/noise banging,etc.Hope it all works??!!
Here is a link to the photo.I resized the photo's from last posting,Let Me know if they load OK.
http://www.frenzie.com/1983_seacraft_master_angler.htm
Scream'n Reels' [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

[ May 15, 2003, 10:14 AM: Message edited by: Capt. Brad ]