Cored hull? 1999 3300 SCR?

[mkl101]

So I have my boat 1999 3300SCR up for sale. Potential buyer asked that it have a presale in and out of water inspection not a full survey. The guy doing the inspection tells me there is 5 soft spots in my bulsa cored hull? Everything I find online states its not cored hull and a solid fiberglass hull. If that's the case how possible is it that solid fiberglass has gotten soft spots? He was basically doing a tap test where you could hear the difference in the sound of the hull out of water.

Needless to say he contacted the buyer last night and the sale is off. I'm really hoping that he was wrong and a normal surveyor can check the boat over correctly and give me better results.

Thanks
matt

[Gugi47]

Originally Posted by mkl101

So I have my boat 1999 3300SCR up for sale. Potential buyer asked that it have a presale in and out of water inspection not a full survey. The guy doing the inspection tells me there is 5 soft spots in my bulsa cored hull? Everything I find online states its not cored hull and a solid fiberglass hull. If that's the case how possible is it that solid fiberglass has gotten soft spots? He was basically doing a tap test where you could hear the difference in the sound of the hull out of water.

Needless to say he contacted the buyer last night and the sale is off. I'm really hoping that he was wrong and a normal surveyor can check the boat over correctly and give me better results.

Thanks
matt

Yes, you can have soft spots in the hull. And yes, can be detected by the sound.
If you hit a submerged log with speed, that can create a soft spot and sometimes you do now that happen because the way the boat is jumping in the waves. Sorry for the bad news.

[mmwjr]

To my knowledge the hull is not cored but solid glass. Blisters can create soft spots. Useing a dead blow hammer on can detect issues by sound but a moisture meter should be used to determine the extent of absorbed water.

I would have a local fiberglass person evaluate the hull and maybe even pay if he can provide a certificate of condition.

Did the surveyor identify the alleged soft spots for you?

[mkl101]

Yes he showed them all to me. Showed my how when tapping on the hull the sound changed for each one.

[jparsons121]

The hull is solid glass...only the transom is cored, with plywood.
I suppose there could be blistering or a remote possibility of some delamination, but that would be a real surprise.
Since we don't know the surveyor, I have to ask how qualified did he seem to be? Thinking the hull was balsa cored tells me he he may be a bit inexperienced. My hull is good and you can hear difference in the soundings when tapping over portions of the hull depending on what's behind that spot.
Tapping near a stringer or bulkhead, etc will sound different.
Cored hulls resonate differently as it is usually issues with the core that change the tone.

John

[mkl101]

Originally Posted by jparsons121

The hull is solid glass...only the transom is cored, with plywood.
I suppose there could be blistering or a remote possibility of some delamination, but that would be a real surprise.
Since we don't know the surveyor, I have to ask how qualified did he seem to be? Thinking the hull was balsa cored tells me he he may be a bit inexperienced. My hull is good and you can hear difference in the soundings when tapping over portions of the hull depending on what's behind that spot.
Tapping near a stringer or bulkhead, etc will sound different.
Cored hulls resonate differently as it is usually issues with the core that change the tone.

John

This was my hole point. He's been in boat business forever. I'm not sure what he was thinking. He kept saying that's why I don't like cruisers. I kept saying is a maxum. He kept going on about the cored hull. That drove me to Google it. Almost tempted to get my own survey but don't want to pay for it.

[Gugi47]

Originally Posted by mkl101

This was my hole point. He's been in boat business forever. I'm not sure what he was thinking. He kept saying that's why I don't like cruisers. I kept saying is a maxum. He kept going on about the cored hull. That drove me to Google it. Almost tempted to get my own survey but don't want to pay for it.

Wait for another buyer. But everybody will ask for some inspection.