Result of Warrior 40 Survey

[LymingtonPugwash]

Well.... after a 5 hour drive to the marina where the Warrior 40 I mentioned a few days ago is layed up, a thorough inspection showed that on both sides of the hull approx 1 foot down from the deck level and a metre or so back from the bow there are some worrying crazing/stress cracks..... then a closer inspection showed about half way along the yacht, below the water line, more stress cracks on both side of the hull.

As this part of the world has the occasional earthquake, we are wondering if the boat might have fallen over against other boats at some time in the past? Would that explain stress marks in those places?

Does anybody know if Warrior 40 hulls are susceptible to stress cracks?

I am quite sure the owner was unaware of the problem and quite shocked to hear about what we had found as the boat is otherwise quite immaculate and obviously very well looked after, but as he is not there most of the time, I suppose it is not impossible that a marina might have a bit of a tip and forget to tell the owner if it all looks generally okay?

Perhaps chrisgee who was moored there last year heard any whispers of any boats falling over during the last five years or so?

We are looking to place a lower offer to allow us to get the boat sorted by cutting back right through the gelcoat and redoing large parts of the hull where the cracks are.... It would need to be an excellent job as the boat is going to be used to sail around the world and the last thing my mate would want is to be in the middle of the Pacific and not be sure of the hull! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif What think ye?

 

[[2068]]

Sounds a bit scary to me.

If the gelcoat has cracked, that means that what's underneath is not as solid as it should be.

You need to find the root cause of this, else run away. There must be similar boats without the problems.

dv.

 

[chrisgee]

There were some boats that fell over two or three years ago at one of the yards near Nidri. You could enquire as to where this boat was before Levkas Marina, it could be of them.
If it were me I would want a very full survey done by a competant,independant surveyor.

 

[john_morris_uk]

You need a good surveyor to say how serious the damage is and what needs doing to put things right.

We had some gel-coat issues with our boat when we bought her, and she is as good as new now. Mind you the bank balance is several thousand down in favour of the GRP repair man.

 

[PeterGibbs]

Think of it this way. You spend money to have her surveyed. You have the repairs undertaken.She looks shiny again. At the next haul out, some cracks have returned or, you have other reason to suspect the hull... the keel fixings...And you're in a blow out on a major ocean...

Do you really like white knuckle rides? Around the world...with your nearest and dearest's lives in your hands?
You will save no money by buying this hull and doing it up...so where's the gain to offset the pain?

There is no real shortage of Warriers - otherwise a fine boat, I know.

PWG

 

[Bergman]

No

Walk away - whats a 5 hour drive.

You would never be entirely comfortable in the boat.

It would be a constant anxiety - everytime the boat dropped off a wave or heeled a bit further than usual.

Every time you go to the boat you will be looking to see if there are more or bigger cracks.

Warriors have a good name for building tough boats so its likely that there is something wrong - you must think so or you wouldn't be asking the question.

There is no shortage of or similar boats - give it a miss

 

[LymingtonPugwash]

Thanks very much to all of you for your very solid advice.

Your comments have swung the decicion in the direction of "forget it, there are other good boats around"!

So..... the search continues as we look for a solid GRP, bluewater capable, preferably long/long'ish keel, roomy, heavy, well appointed yacht around the 12 mtr'ish mark.
Price range between £50k and max of £100k.....

Would also consider a steel hulled yacht, as long as it wasn't built by 'Bob the builder' or his mate, 'Bob the welder'... in other words, no home built jobs as many steel boats can tend to be!

Many thanks for all your help and advice again.....