CONTINUOUSWAVE

I've done a lot of reading on Whalers over the past few days, including the possibility of water intrusion and parts of the famous Chainsaw Whaler thread.

A [Boston Whaler boat of unknown year, model, and length, as seen in illustrations below but later clarified to be a c.1990 GUARDIAN 25 that was used by a local sherrif] has dozens of cracks and chips in the gel coat, some spider cracks, a large transom crack, and what appears to be water ingress at one of the scuppers. Obviously this needs some work.

Q1: Is this a project boat or a throw-away boat?

Q2: Are we talking about tearing out the entire deck and transom?

Q3: Or just patching some areas?

Q4: Can anything be done to further investigate the situation?

Q5: Do the scuppers easily pull out?

Q6: Do we need to drill holes around the cracks and see what's there?

Q7 [Will we find] Rotten wood, wet wood, and water?

Appreciate your advice.



[Nota Bene: I have reduced the number, dimensions, and file size of the many attached image files.--jimh]

There are some spider cracks in the transom splashwell area.

The hull sides have abrasions and some parts have missing chips of gel coat.

Trim tab mount has stress cracks at fastener holes.

What is the model, length, and year of the boat that you have asked us to evaluate?

The hull has had a rough life.

To assess the transom integrity you need to test its rigidity by using the gear case of the outboard engine as a lever. See if you can deflect the transom.

Stress cracks often appear in areas where the gel coat resin layer has been applied too thickly. This happens typically in areas where there is a bend in the surface, which in the mold forms a recess. If the transom has any flex, it can also create stress cracks.

Minor abrasions to the hull along the chine lines are common.

What I find most interesting in the illustrations is this hull appears to have been molded in some portions with a gray gel coat finish, and then subsequently been painted to an off-white or white color. The paint appears to be flaking off. The use of a gray gel coat finish would be typical for a boat made for military use. It appears that any sort of sanding or fairing will result in a change in color to gray from white. This probably means that the entire boat will need to be repainted. At least, that is the impression gained from viewing the illustrations, particularly Fig. 3. It looks like the interior was originally a gray gel coat. The hull may also be painted, but the illustrations do not show it as well as the interior illustrations.

To know if the hull contains entrapped water is impossible from a photograph. Please see the FAQ for more information about entrapped water.

To restore the boat to a like-new condition will require considerable work, but I would not characterize the boat as a "throw-away", unless there are further problems with the basic structure and integrity of the hull. But it will be a project.

Radial stress cracks at fastener holes are usually caused by poor workmanship when the fastener was initially installed. The gel coat layer must be relieved and made larger than the fastener in order that the process of initial threading of the fastener does not crack the gel coat.

Thanks for the detailed reply, jimh. It is a [c.1990--please use four digit for year designations--jimh] 25-foot Boston Whaler. I suspect the model is Guardian but not sure. It was previously owned by a sheriff's office, which I guess explains the gray gel coat.

I do not intend to restore to like-new, only to get to a functional state and make repairs to prevent further damage.

Re entrapped wate: if this boat were operated in this condition for a year or two, is it likely that water has ingressed at the various points of damage as pictured?

Or is the damage not deep enough to allow in water?

I have read the FAQ and will read it again.

Thanks,
Matt

I would be most concerned about ingress of water into the hull if you find areas of damage on the running surface of the hull where the damage is so deep that the laminated layer of the hull has been completely removed and bare foam is exposed. When the boat is operated at speed on the water, open areas of the running surface can be exposed to high pressure water, and the water can begin to break the bond between the hull laminate and the cured foam. A small chip of gel coat that exposes the underlying laminate on the transom would not be a huge concern, although it could cause water to begin to permeate the laminate if the boat was left in the water for a long time and the area was under water constantly.

Also, any fastener or drain or other area where there is a penetration of the gel coat layer that is located below the water line is suspect for a possible point of water intrusion, such as lower engine mounting bolts and SONAR transducer mounting screws. To test, remove a fastener and observe if water weeps out from the hole. A drop or two is typical. A sustained weeping over hours and days is not typical.

Thanks for the clarification that the hull is a c.1990 25 GUARDIAN used by local law enforcement.

Who painted it white?

Also, the 25-foot hull is a great hull. It would have to be a total wreck to have lost so much value that it wouldn't be worth fixing up.

That is a great hull and a great find that you have. Here on the Texas Gulf Coast that is a gem and a boat like that could have a tree growing out of the center of it and it would still sell as a project boat for a lot and would get completely restored. No such thing as a 25’ Whaler too gone to restore here. It is the most sought after Whaler in the area absolutely well worth the restoration. They also sell for a very very high price and sell fast (actually all Whalers in this area are way overpriced)

The crack on the transom looks like a total transom fail and delamination. That is where your attention should be. Next thing to look at is the fuel tank. I wouldn’t worry too much about water in the hull since it looks like it was dry stored, no bottom paint and no slime line.

There is a great video on Youtube. Search “Total Boat works” “replacing the transom in a Whaler”. This is a 3 video series and covers the restoration approaching from the outside to completely replace the transom on a 25’ Commercial Sheriff Whaler like yours. Big project but very doable. It covers it with great detail. Everything else looks cosmetic and is normal spider or screw cracking.
I say get the transom core replaced and hang motors again, then use it hard. Run it like you stole it.

Archie