Suggestions and Questions ...

Posted By: Gene Bragalone - #485/5.2
Date: 5/25/07 7:52a.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

In Response To: new boat owner's questions (Paul)

1. Should I repair that minor crack in the hull? If so, what's the best procedure? >>>> Probably. Jenny is right on with her suggestion there. Is the crack well above or below/near the water line? That will determine the urgency. There is a lot of information on how to repair such damage on this site and others as she suggests. 2. For wood, is there an inexpensive alternative to teak? >>>> Jenny's suggestion is correct on all counts. Marine ply is very reasonable and with some judicious cutting you can get it all done with one 4x8 sheet (but you can't "rough cut" seat tops with straight lines for that to happen. You will end up just over 2 inches short width wise if you do that with 4x8 sheet.) The least expensive is birch but I would go with African Mahogany (Khayla) which is a little more. Teak is also available but a little more expensive and harder to find. Either way it has to be sealed ... WELL. Make sure to use OUTSIDE finishes with UV protection. 3. Should I exhibit patience and resurface the deck before my first launch? Or can I get a witness who says I need to get out on the lake ASAP? >>>> IMHO, if it ain't broke ... spider cracking becomes apparent on virtually all older glass boats that have seen considerable sunlight. If you can polish it up and live with it, I would ... unless the cracks are large enough to admit water. Painting the surface is never as durable as original gel coat. I was forced to repaint mine (Interlux Brightside, you can see how I did it here. Maybe it will scare you off. http://picasaweb.google.com/gbragalone/BostonWhalerHarpoon52Redo ) and it looks great, but it does knick and scratch more easily than the original gel coat. 4. That anchor for the shroud has two screw holes on the base. Now that I've stripped the screw shafts out, should I search for a larger anchor with a different hole pattern? Or what else? >>>> Did you really rip off one of the chain plates for one of the main shrouds???!!! That is amazing. Most (all 5.2s?) Harpoons have 5(or 6, can't remember)1/4 inch bolts set up to hold the chain plate with "shear strength (pressure ACROSS the bolt from the side)" and it would take and ENORMOUSE amount of power to pull those out, and the forestay mounts with FOUR screws ... so it is not clear to me what actually came loose. Got PIX? If your shroud set up is different and has 2 topward facing screws, it looks like a replacement job and ... it ain't enough! This needs some investigation!!!!!!