[Public-List] Surveying older boats? Determining if they are seaworthy... (The myth endure, JB)

[John Birch]

Hi Randy, 
I would suggest there is a mindset in the industry promoting embrittlement
of Older GRP layups, which I believe is fictitious wrt Whitby boats and
other well built older boats. I suspect it is a vested interest mindset to
get people to buy new boats and pay a princely sum, rather than to buy an
older and usually a better built boat for substantially less money.

I suppose the only way to prove this myth false wrt a specific vessel would
be to take a fresh plug out for a new throughhull and send it to an
engineering firm specializing in this sort of thing for documented
destructive testing to disprove GRP embrittlement.

I suppose a GRP layup unprotected with gelcoat or other coating would suffer
UV degradation over time leading to greater issues. Yet any boat so
protected by gelcoat (even a chalky gelcoat or painted) would not become
embrittled. However, clearly, somewhat older boats have just recently
completed the Golden Globe round the world race and none broke up due to
load cycling or other dynamic hull issues, some failed and were abandoned
for other reasons like pitchpoling and losing their rig - I can't think of a
more rigorous hull test.

Having drilled out for a through hull myself on our now 50 year old A-37MkI
and examining the plug, I can say for an absolute certainty the plug appears
as solidly well laid up as the day it came out cured from the mold. It was a
beautiful thick layup with no bubbles or voids as one would expect.

>From time to time I have surveyed boats for insurance condition and
valuation, which have been accepted as valid by those insurance companies,
and never found a boat with a suspected total layup issue (found limited
delamination on some, but nothing massive and usually linked to an old
impact accident or poor yard blocking during seasonal layup). Mind you, I am
particular of the kind of boat's apparent condition before surveying. I
don't survey boats showing an apparent lack of maintenance - ie, I don't
survey sh*tboxes.

Never the less, the myth endures in some quarters. Yet if hull
embrittlements were true there would be a raft of older boats breaking up
and sinking during normal operations. I have yet to hear of any of our types
so doing.

My two cents anyway.

Best of luck with your sale Randy, she looks like a nice platform.

JB

-----Original Message-----
From: Public-List [mailto:public-list-bounces at lists.alberg30.org] On Behalf
Of Randy Katz via Public-List
Sent: August 28, 2020 10:54 AM
To: Alberg 30 Public List -- open to all
Cc: Randy Katz
Subject: [Public-List] Surveying older boats? Determining if they are
seaworthy...

Greetings, Fellow A-30 Owners,

I've written recently because an interested party is having an
insurance person inspect the bottom of my 1967 A-30 next Wednesday to
determine if it's insurable. If not, no sale.

Someone during the insurance discussion mentioned being sure the inspector
has experience with older boats. What about that? What difference, I
wonder, would one allow for a boat being older?

I know of two methods of hull assessment. One is tapping the entire surface
with a plastic hammer to listen to the sound and being sure there are no
"soft spots." The other method could be the dreaded moisture meter, which
seems to offer wildly varying outcomes depending on the type of instrument
and experience of the user.

While the boat had around 10 blisters 20 years ago, since ground out and
epoxied, I know the hull to be sound and the survey back then confirmed it.
I guess no one knows this for sure, but what will be the ultimate fate of
50+ yr. old fiberglass? Does it eventually develop soft spots & at some
point fail? Does that make it wise to check each year in order to avoid
surprises? Or does the stuff simply last and last and last?

Alberg owners, who possess some of the oldest fiberglass hulls around, are
among the pioneers with regard to this experience. I suppose some of us
will be around to witness and learn from the final outcome.

Thanks,

Randy Katz
#249 Simple Gifts
Bellingham/Seattle
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