268 hull bubble

[hkg4142]

I am looking at a 268 islander, 1995 and today when doing a seatrail the boat ran great, engines clean as a whistle and fired right up after sitting for over a month of no use. After we pulled her out I was doing a hull inspection and noticed this raised area on the port stern area of the hull. I have attached pics. When we looked down in the bilge after pulling the rear cooler out you can see that the raised are on the hull matches up with a piece that in on the interior port side wall. Can anyone give me more details on this. The raised area did not feel like there was air or water between it and the glass. Also on the bow hatch that leads into the cabin the gel coat is heavily cracked and chipped away, the gel coat looks to be about 1/4 inch think, is that correct?

Notice the area that has a shaded area, you can see the shape of the raised area.

Here you can see the darker area is where it starts then goes up about 6 inches.

Another

 

[seasick]

Tough to tell fo sure but I would walk away. It is possibly delamination of the glass from the inner core or the bigest osmosis blister I have seen.

 

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

If you push with your finger, does it flex? Could be an old repare and the gel coat is bubbling?

 

[hkg4142]

No flex at all, when i ran my hand over it it was smooth and almost rounded. But it does not give or flex any more than the surrounding hull. Thanks for the input.

 

[seasick]

No flex at all, when i ran my hand over it it was smooth and almost rounded. But it does not give or flex any more than the surrounding hull. Thanks for the input.

Are ypu saying that when you push with your hand, the surrounding hull flexes???
If so, dont walk, RUN

 

[no problem]

The hatches of that era typically don't match the rest of the boat. Mine aren't nice either, they almost seem painted. Other threads mention the gelcoat used on hatches was inferior. With that lump in the hull I don't think it matters. Since its on the integral bracket it may be a sign of internal flexing or a one time trauma.Congratulate yourself for finding that one while someone else still owns it. No amount of reassurance from anyone would make me comfortable with what may lie beneath that one. Run Forest, run!

 

[richie rich]

thats a delamination for sure....there's no structure in that area of the gunwale to pull away from unless its a cored gunwale...gel coat should only be 20-30 mils thick.....250 mils??? way too thick and it will crack....either a poor spray job from the factory or a repair gone bad. Walk away.

 

[gerrys]

Sounds/looks like some repairs gone south.

 

[Parthery]

I remember reading in the 50 years of GW history book that they replaced a bunch of hulls that had delamination problem...was that in the 80s or 90s? I wonder if maybe this was one of them....

 

[uncljohn]

you said "engines". What power is on this? Its a eurotransom. It almost looks like the euro-transom has flexed downward, like it had too much weight on it during dry-storage. That bow is directly under the euro-transom.

I'd walk away at a brisk pace. Not necesarilly run, but this is a major concern.

 

[richie rich]

The Euro transom theory is a good call..didn't know they had issues with them....does it have any type of bulge on the opposite side as well?

After looking at the pictures again and seeing the color variation in that area as you mentioned, it almost looks like a repair was made and the bulge is extra glass/filler that wasn't faired correctly...that's why it won't flex.....its solid....but it is still bad repair job

 

[hkg4142]

The point does not flex at all... transom has no signs of cracking or stress, the starboard side does not have this. Engines are twin 200s, took to a glass repair shop and he said it does not look like delam after using a Teflon hammer on the inside and out. Not sure on repair job gone bad, but the pic made it look like a different color, the color is the exact same as the rest of the hull. Again directly on the inside of the hall is a one of the interior core supports. Besides this the boat is great... really hoping it turns out to be nothing major, will know more after survey I guess.

 

[uncljohn]

it may be a repair, and it may not flex at the current time, but if it WAS a repair, it was likely a repair of a flex. :?

You didn't say what power is on the boat? Are they Yam 4-S 250s?

I bet if you call Grady and ask them if they send boats out of the factory like this, you would get a big "No!"

 

[hkg4142]

Engines are yamaha 200s.

 

[uncljohn]

there's a weight diff of 200# if we're talking 2-S vs 4-S.

I don't think that should be too much weight even if you have 4-Ss.

Me personally, this would need to be the best deal ever for me to buy the boat. Its either a repair job (god knows what could have been broken) or its an indication of a structural problem w/ the hull.

That 'blemish' isn't going to get any smaller.

If, after a week, no other Grady owners here say they've seen this, then assume its something definitely wrong w/ the boat.

 

[enfish]

I remember reading in the 50 years of GW history book that they replaced a bunch of hulls that had delamination problem...was that in the 80s or 90s? I wonder if maybe this was one of them....

For what it's worth, our 1995 208 hull was completely replaced in 1998 under warranty because of a delamination problem.