Structural Cracks on a Leopard 45?

[yacht-kauf]

Thanks for all the replies.

Does anyone know which boats Robertson & Caine build before the Leopards?
The website said that the build boats since 1991.

[atoll]

i think they were building plywood epoxy cats,see knysna yachts and cape st francis.

[Overlord]

OK...i owned a Leopard 45 for 2 years and now i have a 2003 Leopard 47.Not sure which leopard 45 those pics came from but i might have taken them as i surveyed 2 45's this year for a friend of mine. The first pic is of the flange on which the floor board over the fuel tank sits on.This molding is screwed to the curved passage way bulkhead which is 1" marine ply with a veneer .They use S/S self tappers and then a final bit of bonding paste that seals the joint. What has happened in the past is that that screw , over time , works its way loose and with heavy people walking over that area , it can stress crack.This is purely cosmetic and the cracks are in the gel coat only.
The 2nd pic is a crack in the doorway bulkhead.This is a common problem on the 45's. It seems that the bulkhead was not up to the flex from rig tension. They sent a team from Cape Town to repair them. The crack does not spread , i have been on at least 15 45'S and never seen that crack longer than an inch to an inch and a half.They rectified it on the 47
The last pic looks bad but i can promise you it purely cosmetic.They use a gel coat flow coat to hide the raw glass work beneath the bunk as its an area which is out of sight plus there is not much room to build a platform because you will loose precious cabin space. Due to normal flex in that area the flow coat cracks as it has very little flexibility. Leopards are built like brick **** houses and i am only referring to the Alex Simonis models and esp the older models .They were hand laid and built by a fledgling co trying to establish a international name for itself.They had something to prove.Now that they are up there , their quality has dropped off and are starting to use cheaper masts , refrigeration etc , etc and lighter weaker boats

[Overlord]

Just checked my pics and yes those pics were taken by me. I have about 200 more from that particular cat

[Seblawris]

Hi Chris, where can I see the pics? would like to compare them with what my surveyor has found.

[Seblawris]

Here is what we found. We did not have the time to take the trim off and see behind it and check the bulkhead.

[Overlord]

Hi , you can call me on 252 269 7240