Information required beneteua 38 keel please

G

gafferduck40

Member
Joined
8 Jun 2007
Messages
33
Visit site
Hi I am relatively new to boats and need some advice please .



I am looking at buying a beneteau m38 approx 15 yrs old. The survey seems to be a good report apart from it mentions that there are some minor stress cracks to the fibreglass hull at the forward keel bolts. According to the survey this is not considered to be a problem at this moment but needs to be monitored.



Could someone enlighten me a bit more is this going to be a long term expensive problem or is it common for this to happen and is it safe to sail?

Any info very much appreciated



Thanks

Frank
 
To me minor stress cracks at the front of a fin keel can only get worse! modern boats have a very narrow base to their keels & the beneteaus often have prounounced bulbs at the bottom of the keel.
The keel area will be very highly loaded. I would investigate further!
 
Its probably touched the ground at some point in its life, the forward motion pushes the keel back and up, it pulls the hull and inner lining down at the front and pushes the rear of the keel upwards, stress cracks appear, if it is serious you can see the deformation as an upward dent at the back and a lump at the front. You can see the stress cracks under the floorboards in the inner hull. In the worst case scenario the inner hull is detached at the back, this is quite obvious to see. There would appear to be minor damage and the surveyor is doing what all surveyors do which is to cover his arse!. In light of my comments ask him to explain more, is the inner hull joint sound? does the hull need repairing? get his replies in writing. If any thing needs doing get an estimate and knock it off the price,
Stu
 
Agree with Stu. If necessary get a second opinion. If the boat is out of the water and resting on its keel have a look for any deformation around the keel area on the outside. Also for any problems with sealer coming away from the keel/hull joint or loose keel bolts/nuts. If the keel has hit something hard there may be signs of dents or scrapes on the front of the keel.

You are paying the surveyor to give professional advice and this is just the type of issue when they earn their keep!
 
GRP boats used to copy wooden boats with an outer skin and ribs and stringer (longitudinal beams) but the outer hull and the ribs and stringers were formed in GRP instead of wood.

An number of manufactures (incl Beneteau) discovered that economies can be made by making a GRP outer hull and GRP inner hull shaped so that when they were glues/bonded together the inner molding combined with the outer was very stiff and effectively formed fibs and beams.

On impact to the keel stress cracks can appear and on a conventional boat these are cut out and repaired and the resultant repair is normally stronger. While the same can be done to with a bonded inner moulding the joint between the two mouldings is not visible and its more difficult to determine the extent of any debonding.

Make sure this last aspect is thoroughly checked by a surveyor and get it in writing.

I have a charter boat and this year a charter put it on the rocks. It was surveyed and all the stress cracks quickly identified as minor as all the members were visible. This winter they have all been easily cut out and repaired. It was with this risk in mind that I crossed off any boats with bonded inner & outer skins from my list.

Having said that there are many happy Beneteau owners and Beneteaus satisfactorily on charter.
 
Again, Frank, back to your surveyor. He is in the best position to advise the extent of the repairs required (if any) and obtain quotes. Nobody here could even hazard a guess without detailed inspection.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top