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Cracked Bottom


mminassian

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I was out in the boat today and I just had gotten a new switch panel installed that lights up when the devices are on. Anyway I happened to notice that my bilge pump kept coming on and staying on and then shutting off and repeating. 

So I headed back to my marina and had them yank my boat out of the water asap and low and behold my worst fears.

boat is a 2002 MA 21 and on that boat I guess it has a center section that looks like a ridepad that runs 3/4's the length of the boat. Well both sides of this ride pad are cracked and one side has movement if you push on it while the other doesn't. The cracks run almost the whole length of this ride pad.

surprisingly its no where near the sea chest.

has anyone had this happen and if so any info on how much work is involved to fit it? I'll be having a professional do it as I don't mess with fiberglass.

thanks for the help.

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14 hours ago, mminassian said:

I was out in the boat today and I just had gotten a new switch panel installed that lights up when the devices are on. Anyway I happened to notice that my bilge pump kept coming on and staying on and then shutting off and repeating. 

So I headed back to my marina and had them yank my boat out of the water asap and low and behold my worst fears.

boat is a 2002 MA 21 and on that boat I guess it has a center section that looks like a ridepad that runs 3/4's the length of the boat. Well both sides of this ride pad are cracked and one side has movement if you push on it while the other doesn't. The cracks run almost the whole length of this ride pad.

surprisingly its no where near the sea chest.

has anyone had this happen and if so any info on how much work is involved to fit it? I'll be having a professional do it as I don't mess with fiberglass.

thanks for the help.

 

I don't know where you are located...but, this is NO SMALL Glass job.

If you can speak with the factory, they used to do "refurbs"..I don't know if it's done any more..but, they will have some recommendations.

This will be a major effort, that could require cutting out the deck, re-attaching stringers, and glassing the outer skin....I'd say you are looking at $5-8K minimum to have it done "right" and insure your safety...you'll then have a hulll to last you the rest of your life..

Sounds like the stringers seperated from the hull....I had this happen to my 2005 Pathfinder and it was found, under warranty and fixed better than new...

It will involved draining your tank, de-rigging the entire vessel, batteries, etc. taking off the console, cutting out the floor, redoing the stringers, then flipping it over to re-glass the hull and shoot new gelcoat.  This is what they did to my pathfinder and it was new factory perfect when completed...don't let someone just tell you to put a "patch" on the pads..

With the price of a new MA (you can't even find them anymore), I'd say, if you plan on staying in boating to have it done, and sleep well at night.

When the re-shoot the bottom gel, they can also refurb the top decks...you'd be surprised how beautiful your 02 will be when it's completed.

DC

 

 

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4 hours ago, whichwaysup said:

Master repair seems like the #1 place for this work.  I think they do MBCs refurbs now, but could be wrong.  

 

Wannaflatsfish, 5-8k seems low based on an estimate I got for a smaller refurb, but i may have had a guy trying to take me to the cleaners. . . 

No, Master Repair does not do this type work.  They are more of a rigging and rewiring shop for flats and bays.  They have a great sub contractor that can come in and do minor fiberglass repairs, but they aren't set up to cut decks out and repair stringers and transoms.  There are some great fiberglass shops around Stuart that does this kind of work, though.

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2 hours ago, JEM said:

No, Master Repair does not do this type work.  There are some great fiberglass shops around Stuart that does this kind of work, though.

Wow - I was sure they did that kind of work!   Two others come to mind - Glasser Boat works and the Skiff shop.  

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6 hours ago, whichwaysup said:

Wow - I was sure they did that kind of work!   Two others come to mind - Glasser Boat works and the Skiff shop.  

Do some research on Microskiff.com before talking to John Glasser. He was the man for awhile refurbishing old whiprays and such for the darkside crowd but he did more than one of them wrong. I don't believe everything I read on the internet but I personally know one of the guys. 

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I do have insurance, I will be calling to see if I have any claim but I don't know how that works.

I talked to one guy today and he is working on giving me a price for a full refurb with removing the deck etc.

I am trailering the boat to another guy tomorrow who is going to take a look at it and give me his opinion.

And tomorrow I will be calling MBG to see if they are still doing refurbs and what my options would be.

If anyone has a good shop, I'd be willing to trailer it to somewhere in Tampa.  I live in Largo currently but not afraid to drive.  I want someone who is going to do it right the first time and charges a fair market price.  Already decided that if I do cut out the deck, I'm going to be doing some replumbing, replacing the gas tank etc.  Boat was just rewired in 2012 if I remember from when flipping through the receipts from old owner.

Any other suggestions?  Really was planning on doing trolling motor and gps instead of this LOL

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Most insurance policies exclude "wear & tear", "gradual deterioration" and "manufacturer defect". In your instance something may need to have happened "sudden & accidental" to trigger coverage such as hitting an unknown object while running. Definitely call your agent ASAP to report occurrence and send them at least 2 repair quotes. Hope this is helpful. 

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If you can trailer your boat to the Fort Myers area, Jeff Chesnes is your man. He's an independent who does work for the local Maverick dealer, Fort Myers Marine. He's tackled worse jobs than this.

Number: (239) 292-6611

Email: ifxbts@aol.com

Good luck with your repair.

 

Bill

 

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3 hours ago, Bill Blanton said:

If you can trailer your boat to the Fort Myers area, Jeff Chesnes is your man. He's an independent who does work for the local Maverick dealer, Fort Myers Marine. He's tackled worse jobs than this.

Number: (239) 292-6611

Email: ifxbts@aol.com

Good luck with your repair.

 

Bill

 

If Bill is making the recommendation, I would not hesitate to use this glassman.  

 

dc

 

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I called Jeff and left a voicemail today.

i called Maverick and they are too busy for refurbs but referred me to Ted at A Main in port Charlotte. He's a minimum of three weeks out and anywhere from 1-3 to do the bot depending on what he needs to do. And needs the boat in person to give an estimate but I may go and at least get a quote since maverick recommended him.

i will try boat doctor tomorrow to see if they can give me a quote and recommendation. 

Had someone look at it today and said definitely floor needs to come out and I'm waiting on a price from him.

im quickly coming to a deciding factor of how far to take this. I love the boat and now I'm trying to decide if I do a full refurb all new wiring and plumbing and motor etc since it'll be apart of just do the barebones to get it back on the water. Some tough decisions ahead.

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10 hours ago, mminassian said:

im quickly coming to a deciding factor of how far to take this. I love the boat and now I'm trying to decide if I do a full refurb all new wiring and plumbing and motor etc since it'll be apart of just do the barebones to get it back on the water. Some tough decisions ahead.

 

It's a decision to make that only you know....

 

1.) How much do you enjoy the sport and fishing?

2.) Do you use the boat a lot?

3.) Are you happy with he hull?

4.) Do you plan on keeping the same lifestyle and fishing?

 

If you answer YES to the above, the decision is simple...refurb the boat...why? in my opinion.

1.) A new similar vessel - 2-3 year old or new will run you $65K plus, look at the market...HB - $70K for a 18' skiff, yellowfin, skeeter, etc. the list goes on.

2.) What you'll spend on a refurb, is what you'd put down on a new boat - $65K @ 15% = $15K or so for a complete redo.

3.) If you get it done by a quality guy, it will last the remainder of your life and you'll know it's right.

 

Once  the dis-assemble the deck, the re-wire is quick.  I would:

Change out all pumps

re-wire

change some plumbing you mentioned.

 

What's wrong with the motor?  You didn't mention anything here...if you go this direction....you'll be into a serious $25-30K in refurb....you can get a lot of M&R on a motor over many years for the price of a new one.....

Have the glass guy re-shoot the deck with Gel while he's doing the hull....if you keep the same color - white, it will be minimal.

At the end of the day, you'll have a great boat that will be exactly what you want, for the fraction of the $$$...keep the rebuild pics, and 10 years from now, who cares what you get for it....it's an investment in yourself and the enjoyment.

I know guys who drop $10K on camera bodies and one lense.....

dc

 

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11 hours ago, Nag Juice said:

Yeah I can only imagine! Drop big money into a 15 year old boat that you'll never get back or just cut your losses.  Do it right and keep it forever or punt.

This is it in a nutshell, if this happened to my boat and insurance didn't cover it, I'm not sure what I'd do, strip it and sell everything or basically throw money at it and own it for life.

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Dino makes some very good points!!! One trip to a boat show to look at and check prices on a boat similar to yours would give me all the incentive I would need to repair the one you have. That's why I still have a 39 year old SeaCraft, which I'm getting ready to re-power, versus a new SeaVee, Regulator or similar boat. Good luck!!!

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