Check your hulls close...

[stream2.5]

just general PSA for the up comming year.


ANY WELDED BOAT OWNERS!!!!

INSPECT YOUR WELDS IN YOUR HULL!!!!!!!
every year i get to see more and more broken welds from ALL builders.. the most are in the "heavy Gauge " boats.... but any welded boat is succeptible to cracking and breaking.


in the past 2 months ive fixed 3 name brand boats that all suffered the same fate, poor weld penetration from obviously a push for production versus care in construction. the welds were very poor, and 2 of 3 boats in past 2 months (slow period) were totally unscratched on the hull from any impacts so just general use cracked the structure welds.

so when you pull your stored boats out for their first trip of 2011, take long weekend before hand to inspect the entire hull over and if you hve any cracking its discovery will save you from headaches down the road, and may save your life.


not to pick on brands but 1 was an alumaweld, 1 was a thunderjet, and 1 was a willie drift boat..


the alumaweld had multiple breaks, the T jet seperated where a seam met on the exterior where pretty welds were more important than actual strength and the original welder basically missed a short section and only had about .005 of overlap that had been ground off for smoothness..

the DB had 2 floor braces that broke free and caused a soft floor spot .. the aluma weld was taking on water from the broken below waterline welds that were the structure welds to the exterior extrusion. the T jet and Willie were not structure related but could have spread to become so..


take the time to look over your boats because they arent as bulletproof as everyone thinks.

 

[FishFiddle]

Good Info. Thanks!

 

[GDBrown]

Rough Roads!

Rough Roads!

The advice is doubly important if you trailer your boat over rough roads and the fit of the trailer to the boat is not the best! My boat and trailer were a poor match when I got them and one of the first things I did was to adjust the trailer bunks to match the hull better. I still need to adjust the bow stop a little before I take any long trips with it.
Any boat that is bouncing on a trailer is being stressed and metal fatigue can open up unexpectedly. That is great advise "Stream2.5", I'll be looking at my boat all year long. I've already spent money to get a few things repaired.....

My advise is simple; Get a good cable lock to keep the motor attached to the boat!:shock:

GD

P.S. The springers are on their way!!!!!

 

[Amberjack]

just general PSA for the up comming year.


ANY WELDED BOAT OWNERS!!!!

INSPECT YOUR WELDS IN YOUR HULL!!!!!!!
every year i get to see more and more broken welds from ALL builders.. the most are in the "heavy Gauge " boats.... but any welded boat is succeptible to cracking and breaking.


in the past 2 months ive fixed 3 name brand boats that all suffered the same fate, poor weld penetration from obviously a push for production versus care in construction. the welds were very poor, and 2 of 3 boats in past 2 months (slow period) were totally unscratched on the hull from any impacts so just general use cracked the structure welds.

so when you pull your stored boats out for their first trip of 2011, take long weekend before hand to inspect the entire hull over and if you hve any cracking its discovery will save you from headaches down the road, and may save your life.


not to pick on brands but 1 was an alumaweld, 1 was a thunderjet, and 1 was a willie drift boat..


the alumaweld had multiple breaks, the T jet seperated where a seam met on the exterior where pretty welds were more important than actual strength and the original welder basically missed a short section and only had about .005 of overlap that had been ground off for smoothness..

the DB had 2 floor braces that broke free and caused a soft floor spot .. the aluma weld was taking on water from the broken below waterline welds that were the structure welds to the exterior extrusion. the T jet and Willie were not structure related but could have spread to become so..


take the time to look over your boats because they arent as bulletproof as everyone thinks.

Very good post, not to bust your balls, but were the boats used in the ocean? I could see no hull damage, but slamming into waves would take a toll on welds. While out on the big pond it is not uncommon to see some of the private boaters crusing at 25 to 20 knots and crashing the waves.

 

[stream2.5]

i really couldn't tell you the useage but most were local hulls to the portland area so one would assume that they saw times at bouy 10 or out in the big pond, but none show "abuse" or lack of owner pride of ownership. the willie drift boat supprised me as i havent seen one break that way ever... may have been bad morning for the fab guy or something that just wasn't right, because it was only poorly welded in that 1 area.. every other section was well overlapped, and strong good penetration. obviously since i am a private repair shop none of these hulls were the original owners because otherwise the welds would have been covered under mfg warranty's so a full history of the boats isn't available..