88 V20 Fiberglass Problem
 

While washing the boat last time I noticed that there was a 3ft long crack in my hull right under the rub rail. When I removed the rod box on the inside of the boat I saw that it was a fiberglass lap joint between the top cap and the lower hull.

Has anyone out there had this issue?

If so how did you fix it?

i thought the cap was just screwed to the hull and the rub rail covers the screws

:thre:


Seriously, take some pics of the cracked area and the crack. It's really the only way that any of us can offer advice. One pic is worth a thousand words as the saying goes.... and this is one of those times.

When you say "3ft long crack" are you referring to an opening(no matter how small) between the cap and hull?...your second comment leads me to think so. If this is correct, then yes, I had that issue on the '74 I had. The way I fixed it was to back the upper lip of the hull w/ 1 1/2" strip of 3/4" Starboard, then replace all screws in the area of the opening which pulled everything up tight and closed the gap...what little remained, I filled in w/4200...issue resolved. There's a bit more to that procedure...if you want, I can provide more details and we might get the present owner of that hull to post up some pics...

Shoe box joint is how they are made from the factory. You sure you aren't just looking at a void between the rubrail and the hull?

Let me start by saying "You guys are awesome!"

I will try and post a pic a little later. It does seem to look like the shoe box example that was brought up.

I have not removed the rub rail yet to take a look since the boat is in the shop getting a lot of motor work done. But once i get it back its first on my list.

The Starboard strip sounds like thats the way to go. Is there any fiberglass or gelcoat to repair under the rub rail?

Thanks for all the input and keep it coming

Great...so sounds like the cap/hull separation...mine did not require any glass work...you'll have to determine on yours...treated wood CAN be used, but Starboard really grabs all the screws you'll use and doesn't let go...you'll want to use a flat-head screw and countersink each hole so you don't have screw heads holding the rub rail off when you put it back...when I did mine, I had separated about 80% of the cap from just ahead of the transom on one side, all the way around to the same point on the other side...used a couple of jacks on the inside and held it all up w/2x4 legs...that exposed the top edge of the hull...made easy to install the S'board...mark where you put screws for that so you avoid when re-joining cap AND replacing rub rail...putting it all back, I had 3 drill motors going; pilot through the glass and into the S'board, little larger for clearance THRU the glass and a phillips head to run the screw in...check yours all around, but it doesn't sound as extensive as mine was...once it was back together, was solid as a rock and watertight as a new mason jar...lol...