Reply With QuoteI have 3 older boats two 1980s and one 1973 and they seem to be just as strong as ever.
So I am looking into getting an older boatand redo thing like the interior and drives etc. If the hull was solid in the past do they get brittle over time or does it even matter the year? Would it be as strong as a new one or close to it?
I have 3 older boats two 1980s and one 1973 and they seem to be just as strong as ever.
The ones I have thought about are 89, sleek as a matter of fact.
I think they may but if the boat is layed up solid like a Schiada or Hallett etc it should be no big deal as long as there has been no water intrusion that has got into the wood to de-lam the glass.
I had a 87 Lavey open bow. The old ones were not as well built as the new ones and tended to flex alot in the console area. It had quite a few stress cracks from flex. Jeff at Lavey told me that it has no effect on the strength of the boat and was just cosmetic. The floors in the boat were solid. I had no problems running Mead, Mohave, Havasu, etc in it for several years. The cracks didn't appear to get any bigger and we ran some rough stuff at times.
It would depend where the boat was stored and how it was protected at that time. If it was left out in the sun and covered in plastic i'd say chances are it's more brittle then a new one. If it was protected and out of the sun i'd say your ok. Fiberglass breaths and if it's unable to do so it will crack and become brittle.
Inhale!...exhale! next step "checking"
It would depend where the boat was stored and how it was protected at that time. If it was left out in the sun and covered in plastic i'd say chances are it's more brittle then a new one. If it was protected and out of the sun i'd say your ok. Fiberglass breaths and if it's unable to do so it will crack and become brittle.
Billy, so lets say that you can't keep your boat inside. How, and what would be the best way to protect it.
I'd buy one of those portable sheds. If you can't do that i'd have a cover made. If the boat has a paint job then the cover must have a sock type cover made that fits on before the typical type cover goes on. Most covers are water proof until you wash them so that will help in the rain. You can cover a boat with plastic over the other cover in bad weather, you just have to take it off when it's over (bad weather) so the boat can breat again. The guy who makes my covers also made me one that covers the whole boat including the trailer. Nice deal when I have to leave my cruiser outside. Covers can get real expensive, but no way near repairing a damaged paint job or gel coat.:idea:
Fiberglass boats don't get" brittle" with age, its the stress cracks that make it look that way. The gelcoat will oxidize and spider crack but will not get brittle. The only way to over harden a fiberglass product would be to overheat it in an oven for a long time, then the resin would reach a state of hardness that would compromise its flexibility and become brittle.
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