Hole in the Bottom of Daydream

P

Pat Anderson

New member
When we returned from the Friday Harbor CBGT and were washing the boat, I noticed a 4' scratch in the bottom that was clear through to the fiberglass matting. So we found a fiberglass and gel coat repair place not too far away and brought the boat in for that. Estimate was $1300 including a charge for taking the boat off and on the trailer. When he was finished with that repair and getting ready to put the boat back on the trailer, he found a hole near the transom the size of a quarter and it was wet. He put his moisture meter on the area and determined it was wet inside. We gave him the go-ahead to do what needed to be done (What can you do? We have a lot invested in that boat and need her seaworthy, right?). A two foot square hole was cut and he tried to dry the balsa out for 2 days but it wasn't happening. SO...he cut the whole mess out, replaced the balsa and sealed off the dry balsa with fiberglass. And made it look purty again. We picked it up today. So happy with the final bill, really--$3100 TOTAL, tax and all. We are going to try to claim it on insurance. We have no idea how it happened or when but we have noticed water on the garage floor all the time and never really looked into it. Thought it might be from the bilge or plug drain. In retrospect, we grounded hard last June on the way to Pender Harbor at the mouth of the Fraser River-only time we can think it could have happened. A) Thank goodness this boat sits on a trailer and is not in the water full time, and B), thank goodness our wonderful repair guy found the hole.
 
Ouch--those boat dings hurt! (in more than one way!). Glad you found the hole, before more core became wetter. It is almost impossible to dry balsa, and many other cores out, once they are saturated.

I assume that the repair was done from the bottom?

A comment--the C Dory22, 19 16, which have good access to the floor are going to be easier to repair, than a boat where there are fully glassed in floors, fuel tanks etc between the open sky, and the inner layer of glass.
 
Pat and Patty,

I'm so glad he found the hole and repaired it before anything catastrophic occurred. Now you'll be able to enjoy this beautiful weather in this beautiful cruising area this summer. :thup
 
Thank goodness Daydream is safe. See you in Ladysmith at the gathering. I hear the Chowder guy has something new up his sleeve.

Martin.
 
Patty has posted our issues with the hole in the hull of Daydream. We can tell you first hand, if you need fiberglass repair in Washington State, THE place to go by us is Sterling Kayaks and Fiberglass in Belllingham. Talk to Jim Teshera, he knows his stuff and will treat you right!
 
Sorry to hear of your hull damage, but glad everything turned out alright and you guys are safe. Ditto on enjoying the great cruising this summer, heck, this year!
See you out on the water.
 
I'm sorry to hear about your boat. I had a similar experience with a boat your age -- a period when from what people reported on this site, the quality control C-Dory quality may have suffered. A very fine and almost undetectable (at first) hairline crack formed in the gelcoat in a slight depression near the stern of the cockpit floor. I ignored it at first, but it eventually widened so that one could slip a playing card inside. They cut out an approximate 6 inch diameter hole out of the floor, dried out the balsa wood core, and $1,000 later, it was fixed. I recommend that anyone who bought a C-Dory after 2000 check for hairline cracks in the cockpit floor in areas particularly where they are exposed to water, and consult with a professional to see whether action in warranted.

Rich
 
C-Nile":s30pjg7b said:
I recommend that anyone who bought a C-Dory after 2000 check for hairline cracks in the cockpit floor in areas particularly where they are exposed to water, and consult with a professional to see whether action in warranted.
Click to expand...

I definitely think it's good practice to keep an eye on one's boat and closely examine anything that seems suspicious (plus consider preventative core work), but I think "any boat built after 2000" is perhaps a false category. For one thing, C-Dorys were made by loads of different builders, in a variety of locations, during the past fifteen years; and for another, there is no reason that a 2000 or older boat couldn't have a similar issue. Too, it sounds like Daydream's issue(s) was caused by a grounding, not necessarily an original defect.

Not saying there is never any variation between boats, or variation in quality control, but I just don't think the 2000 and prior are magical in any way, and neither do I think post-2000 (as a group) are inferior. I'd guess there is more variation in individual boats (of any given year), just because they are made by people in a production setting, there are lots of steps, and things happen.

Anyway, of course I'm all about inspection and closing off the core (as many are probably sick of hearing), but I just don't agree with "be especially careful of any boat built after 2000."
 
Agree with Sunbeam--You should not paint a certain period of C Dory building with a broad suspect brush. As I understand it the same crew worked on C Dorys after the change of hands, which occurred in the early 2000 era (not necessarily in the year 2000).

A crack in laminate would not necessarily be a defect in the building process. There should be several layers of mat and cloth over the core at the least. Places where I have taken samples of the inside bottom of the hull (which I assume you are equating to cockpit floor), there was at least 1/8" of glass, with reasonable laminate. I can see where short cuts can and have been made, but usually this is not in a flat exposed surface.

A boat which lives in environments where there are freeze/thaw cycles and water gets into any minor defect are subject to more stresses than a boat which is kept properly covered and protected.

I agree that DayDream's issues are far different than what is described. Yes there have been some defects in boats--but certainly not limited to a specific year or model.
 
Pat and Patty,

Sorry for the bump and $$$ but glad it's found, fixed and all good now. Looking forward to Ladysmith too. Nice to have a dry boat.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Glad to report a happy ending...Progressive Insurance (mostly) came through for us! Check should arrive on Tuesday. I cannot say enough good things about Jim Teshera and Sterling Kayaks and Fiberglass. If you need fiberglass repair, they are the ones to do it!
 
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