Crack in partition

[RicM]

I just got off the phone with the surveyor who was checking my perspective purchase of a 2003 Albin 28 TE in Stamford CT (see the thread "New to the Board and Shopping"). The only thing he came up with is a crack in the partition between the engine area and the fuel tank. It is about a foot long and down to the plywood. Albin claims this partition is not structural and sbould be patched to protect the underlying plywood but is not a cause for concern. The surveyor agree's. Has anyone on the board run into this? It's worrisome on several levels. The owner wants to fix it himself, I almost rather he didn't so I know how it's done. Opinions?

[Elizabeth Ann]

Hi RicM,

I actually just posted to your other thread. Adrian surveyed my boat too and he found some things that needed to be addressed b/f our purchase. Our boat was somehow brokered by Prestige for Albin headquarters....at least that is the short story. They had their in-house (or should I say under-office) privately owned boat yard take care of our repairs.

Anyway, I'm unsure exactly what your problem is. Is it a stringer? No, you said it's a partition so I'm thinking it's one of the three or four bulkheads in the boat.

Obviously it should be repaired, but I would't want it just seald over, I would want tohe void FILLED and SEALED. They are probably right that it is not structural in the fact the the boat will not have a catasrophic failure. These bulkheads exist mainly to support the upper deck (downward pressure) as a fitting point for the stringers along the length of the boat and to reduce noise forward of the engine compartment.

I'd trust Adrian that it isn't structural, but I wouldn't want the owner to fix it himself. See if you can knock down the price and have it repaired the right way.

Did Adrian make a suggestion on how to fix it?

[RicM]

My first thought was to keep the owner out of the repair, but apparently he is pretty pissed about the whole thing and is determined to make the boat right. Peter at Prestige seems to have his own idea about how it should be repaired, which sounds fine. I have requested that the repair be included in the $10K escrow being held for the motor test and sea trial. Adrian will look at the repair and if not satisfied an amount will be withheld from the escrow to make it right. It's never easy.

[Elizabeth Ann]

Ric,

I don't think Pete at Prestige will screw you. He's a fairly tall and large guy right? I'd trust him and let him handle it. He took care of everything for us, our sale went through him. Tell him that John and Brian from Long Island say hello.

The escrow was something that baffled me a bit. I mean I know why they do it, and it's simply because it is too early in the winter to un winterize the damn boat, seatrial, etc etc. So they do this escrow thing to make you sleep better. I'm thinking that it should just be repaired, but that's me.

I'd trust Peter (if it's the same guy I dealt with) and I would certainly want it repaired by a third party (i.e. not the owner crawling down in the bilge himself). Luckily we didn't need to hit the escrow on our deal.

[tomcat rio]

...objective surveyor approve any repair...but my opinion is that the plywood betweed the tank and the engine bay is not structural . i.e., if you like the boat, i wouldn't let this item preclude a purchase...
...
one thing worth considering is that if the reapir is too 'beefy' (stiff) to the point where flexibility is reduced, it may actually ADD a structural stress point . at least that's what can happen with aircraft structural repairs. in which case, stress cracks in the longitudinal stringers ( where the engine mounts) may result.

[RicM]

As I muse on this some more....why is the crack OPEN now? The boat is on the hard on some rather uneven looking ground. I wonder if the hull is torqued as it sits there? I wonder if the crack would "close" when the boat was back in the water or the loads equalized? In that case to "repair" it now would in effect freeze it in the torqued state, or at least freeze the partition in that state, the hull would no doubt return to shape leaving tension on the non structural panel. Perhaps it would be better to do nothing until the sea trial and check it again?

[Mariner]

Ric,

I agree 100%. Don't repair any cracks like that until the boat is in the water. My guess would be that it won't close up, but why take the chance. Just get a price reduction and fix it yourself later. It's an easy fix and should only take a couple hours. Knock $1,000 off the price and call it good.

[Tuxedo]

Ric -

I also agree about waiting to fix it till it's in the water.

I'm pretty certain that Albin just paints those partitions with gelcoat instead of paint, so what you are seeing is probably just a place where the partition flexed a little and cracked the "paint". Should be a simple fix, if you can get to it.

[RicM]

I have uploaded a picture of the damage to the partition under discussion to the photo gallery. I still have not figured out how to insert the photos into a post as I see others do, but I'm working on it. This looks to me like they caught the oil pan on the partiton when swingin the motor in. My inclination is to do nothing about it until the gas tank (which I assume is the red area) needs to be moved for some other purpose.

[RicM]

[RicM]

What are the stages? I am accepting the "crack" which looks to me like someone belted the plywood with the motor when it was being swung in at the factory. It doesn't look like a stress crack, and the partition is not structural and is not connected to any cored area that would allow water incursion. Albin, and the surveyor both say it's unimportant so thats what I'm going with. Signed Acceptance of yacht today, sea trial next in April.

[chiefrcd]

I agree...it's a non-structural divider, I see no issues at all...put a coat of paint over it and move on...my fron divider actually has a little door that is removable....

[Mariner]

It's non structural and I'd leave it be. But I would definitely paint it or seal it up in some way, as that exposed wood in the bottom of the bilge could rot, and you don't want that.