Hull crack— how does this happen?

[Justo29]

Got some bad news from a friend n the yard today. Don’t have much info yet. Don’t know if the boat has been moved or not. Any ideas what could cause this and how serious it is? I see I white scratch mark across the crack.
Thanks much
Justin

[neilpride]

Serious?? really serious.. Has it fallen from the stands?

I see the mark of the travelift sling, something has happened.

[Kettlewell]

Looks to me like the boat was dropped on her keel.

[Justo29]

I was there two months ago when she was laid up and it didn’t get dropped. Still trying to figure out if it has been moved since then

[Kettlewell]

Apparently more boats are hit by lightning when out of the water than when in the water. That might be a possibility.

[SailingHarmonie]

EDIT: Wait... this happened WHILE it was sitting in the yard? How long was it there? Was it actually sitting on the keel? Or supported by the stands? Is it a paved yard, or gravel?

ou will get a LOT better answers if you supply more information. What kind of boat? Why was it being hauled? Was there any history?

I would say "potentially" very serious. From a photo it is hard to tell exactly what's going on there. If this is sheets of old paint and barrier coating peeling off, not a big deal. If there is ANY fiberglass laminate involved, Very serious. I can't SEE torn laminate edges, but I really can't see much.

What kind of keel is on this boat? Encapsulated? Bolt on? Damage like this to the front of the keel attachment is usually a hard grounding which pulls the front of the keel down and back from the hull. If it is a bolt on keel, there will almost always be matching damage at the aft end of the keel which is forced UP into the hull. Is there ANY evidence of grounding damage at the base of the keel below what we can see in the photo?

But, with what little I can see under the crack, it LOOKS brand new. I see no evidence of growth inside. Based on the condition of the hull under the travel lift straps it was pretty clean on haul. Was there any specific reason for the haul out?

This is just one more example of why you should ALWAYS be there when the yard hauls your boat. ALWAYS.

If you can't get there RIGHT NOW, I would have a surveyor booked to be there ASAP. If you have insurance I would call them NOW, and get them involved. I would have all communications with the yard in email or other documentable format.

[noelex 77]

What is the ballast in the encapsulated keel?

One possibility is that water has entered, rusting steel or iron ballast. Over time the resultant expansion can split the fibreglass.

[neilpride]

If there is no lightning damage to instruments, etc... and the boat left the water without that crack, I would start by asking at the boatyard office.

[Justo29]

Originally Posted by SailingHarmonie

EDIT: Wait... this happened WHILE it was sitting in the yard? How long was it there? Was it actually sitting on the keel? Or supported by the stands? Is it a paved yard, or gravel?

ou will get a LOT better answers if you supply more information. What kind of boat? Why was it being hauled? Was there any history?

I would say "potentially" very serious. From a photo it is hard to tell exactly what's going on there. If this is sheets of old paint and barrier coating peeling off, not a big deal. If there is ANY fiberglass laminate involved, Very serious. I can't SEE torn laminate edges, but I really can't see much.

What kind of keel is on this boat? Encapsulated? Bolt on? Damage like this to the front of the keel attachment is usually a hard grounding which pulls the front of the keel down and back from the hull. If it is a bolt on keel, there will almost always be matching damage at the aft end of the keel which is forced UP into the hull. Is there ANY evidence of grounding damage at the base of the keel below what we can see in the photo?

But, with what little I can see under the crack, it LOOKS brand new. I see no evidence of growth inside. Based on the condition of the hull under the travel lift straps it was pretty clean on haul. Was there any specific reason for the haul out?

This is just one more example of why you should ALWAYS be there when the yard hauls your boat. ALWAYS.

If you can't get there RIGHT NOW, I would have a surveyor booked to be there ASAP. If you have insurance I would call them NOW, and get them involved. I would have all communications with the yard in email or other documentable format.

It is an encapsulated keel. I was there when the boat was hauled out and there was no damage.
The boat is a Cheoy Lee pedrick 47
When I bought the boat I had it surveyed and there was no evidence of prior hull damage anywhere on the boat

[Lee Jerry]

Originally Posted by SailingHarmonie

If this is sheets of old paint and barrier coating peeling off, not a big deal.

It's hard to tell from one photo, but it looks like this to me - many layers of old paint and the oldest, bottom one lost all adherence to the hull.

[hugosalt]

From what little info we have. (which is not enough) We can only speculate uninformed.
Having said that.. if boat was not moved, since you last saw, I would think we are looking at barrier coat, paint, fairing that has separated from hull. If so, not serious.
Thinking rusted ballast, lightning would look a little different, with that said that I refer you to my first line.

[skipperpete]

Roughly how long has the boat been sitting on the hardstand? it’s unusual to see grass growing under a vessel in a shipyard. Is this in a region where subzero temperatures occur?

[Jenta]

Like everyone else I can only speculate on the image, but it looks like a thick shell of paint and barrier coat, maybe fairing compound as well as someone else mentioned. Not the actual fiberglass.
Perhaps a repair that was not properly done and has lost adhesion or had water penetration that while sitting on the hard has dried out, shrunk or something.

The way the seam of the separation is jagged like that with 90 degree turns and all makes me think it isn't fiberglass either.

[Justo29]

Yes it could be an old repair but it didn’t come up in the survey when we bought it. I found out the boat hasn’t been moved and it definitely looks like the fiberglass is delaminating unfortunately

[Tedd]

It's hard to tell from the photo but is that just the gel coat and paint layer delaminating from the fiberglass? If so, then it's not very serious. What do you see if you shine a light inside the opening?