need help understanding coring issue

L

LawDawg79

New Member
Jul 23, 2008
21
Fairview Heights IL
Hey guys, just wondering about the coring issue with some of the mid 90's searays. I keep reading about having the survey done to make sure the core/foam doesnt have moisture in it. I know moisture in between layers of fiberglass probably isnt good, but my question is this, what happens to a boat that has moisture in the core?? What is it that starts breaking down? what are the issues to deal with? Im not thinkin about buying one with moisture issues, but just want to understand
 
1st pic is balsa core, and what it looks like when it gets wet

2nd is what wet balsa core looks like when its allowed to "dry out", I say this because it CANT BE DRIED OUT, once its wet and started to rot it must be replaced.

3rd is a cut-out of a cockpit sole showing good glass, but also shows how thin most glass is, so you can imagine when that core gets wet how weak the area becomes.
Last pics is just some nastier core and one showing the start of the process.

deck.jpg



core.jpg



april+002.jpg



7.jpg


5.jpg
 
HOLY CRAP!!:wow: I didnt realize it was THAT BAD when this stuff got wet....im starting to have second thoughts completely on a cored hull boat, even if I have a survey done that says all is ok, what if 3 years down the road I start to have problems?? I just dont know what to think, :huh:I really like 95 and later 400 and 450 DA's but wow, shame on searay for making such a potential disaster, I was thinkin worst case was like your glass would start bubbling or something, not the front half of your boat falls off...LOL so I take it a 96-97 450DA is cored below the water line as well??? :smt009
 
those did not fall off, the skins were cut to repair them.

You will have a hard time finding a boat with no core, a good survey will pick up on any issues, and a day or two of removing and resealing things will insure many years of trouble free boating.
 
you can remove and reseal stuff?? I didnt think it was that easy to seperate the glass on these... I mean I have no problem doing my own maintenence on the boat, in fact I plan to do just about everything cuz I enjoy working on my stuff, I do all the work on my BMW's as well, I think its just my slight OCD that I know its done right if I do it
 
your not understanding, a person cant remove the skin and reseal or recore, its a job for a professional.

what you can do is remove and reseal what will cause the rot to begin with- deck hatches, windless, cleats, fills, railings, portholes, horns, thru-hull fittings, etc..
basically anything that is mounted where there is wood needs to be resealed, even if it was properly sealed when the boat was built that sealant only lasts so long- then its time to remove, clean, and reseal.
 
Ahhh gotcha, that makes more sense :grin: and sounds like a super fun project :thumbsup: LOL

Thanks for the info guys, like I said, Im totally new to all this but love learning, thats why im starting a year out before I even start looking at boats, I have alot to learn
 
lawdawg
part of what was said above is true - tough to find boats with NO coring whatsoever - but it is very possible to find boats with solid BOTTOMS. most boats have cored sides and decking, which is not going to have as much potential for being catastrophic as a soaked bottom. my old SR is solid bottom and i THINK the sides are solid as well. i only say this b/c i replaced the ER vents this spring and was able to see the cross section when i took the old ones off.
 
I have the same fears as LawDawg. Buying something that is sound only to have it turn to junk at a later date. Yeah, I know, proper maintenence, yada yada... In the real world not everything or everybody is perfect...

I just walked away from a decent deal on the perfect boat (for me) because it had a cored bottom. It's fine now. Later, who knows. It's just too easy to cause a problem. The yard slides the strap of the lift across a thru-hull fitting and disturbs the bedding. We have all seen things that shouldn't happen. The consequnces of any oversight are too severe...

Is there a place where one can find reliable information on what years/models/brands/etc. are cored?

To that end my '86 DA250 is solid bottom, solid hull sides and cored deck.


Thanks for any info,
Frank
 
Previous to obtaining the current boat I had not owned a Sea Ray and was concerned about coring as well. However, do your research as I did and you will probably come up with the same conclusion as I did. Sea Ray designs and builds an excellent boat and uses coring where it enhances the performance. For example I had my S.R. dealer install some underwater lights and asked to keep the drill samples. They average 25mm thick with two 2mm cores in the middle. The bit of core is done for sound deadening and strength, obviously not as a cost-cutting measure. There are large areas of solid 'glass wherever thru-hulls are located. Our hull sides have no balsa....Hope that helps.
 
yah its the what ifs that make me nervous.. But im pretty good about maintenence... I guess its just a roll of the dice....but I really like the 96'-97' 450 DA's, I like the 400's too
 
sadly calls to SR are not always accurate, if the boat in question is in that before or after core time frame it could go either way.
You would think it would be more accurate
 
Having looked at these models for over 6 months before my purchase here are a few points. We surveyed a 1997 400da that its starboard side had a place about 20 feet long and 4 feet wide that was wet. We did not buy her. It did not make me quit looking at those models but made me much more aware of the survey. FrankW has written much about this subject and I would tell you to find and read these. We still bought our 450DA cored bottom and all. SURVEY, SURVEY AND SURVEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JC
 
as was stated before by someone, what do you do if YOU are the seller of this boat with 80 square feet of wet coring? if it's OK now and you dont do annual hull surveys, you wont find this problem out til the prospective's survey does (at re-sale time). a boat is a bad enough investment if you sell it in absolute MINT SHOWROOM CONDITION. what kinda licking are you going to take if you are now stuck with an albatross?
 
Even though the bottom is cored, the 450 has solid pads in the bottom where intakes and transducers are mounted. Just be careful if you see a boat that has had other holes cut for mounting anything other than factory intakes and transducers in any place other than the pads engineered into the bottom for that purpose. There are ways to do it that do not pose a risk to the core, but you will need to be sure that the added intake/transducer was done correctly.

Similarly, be careful of any cored hull, bottom or sides, that has a damage history, repaired or not........there are some good fiberglass guys out there and there are others who get in a hurry or are forced to do a repair before drying or removing rotten coring. A wet core and the ensuing repair isn't necessarily the kiss of death, but if the source of the moisture isn't found and eliminated or if the repair isn't done correctly, the boat's overall value is going to suffer until the repair is correctly done.

I also think there are some signs of moisture in the core long before long before something like 80 ft/ square has to be cut out and fixed. I find it hard to believe that there were no visible signs like mold, algae, staining, or a soft sole long before this much cutting was necessary.

Additionally, almost all surveyors now have access to moisture meters so the risk to a potential buyer who does proper due diligence should be very slim. Further, once have done your due diligence and you own a larger boat with cored components, there should be no need to retest moisture readings unless you fail to maintain the boat by periodically rebedding deck fittings and hardware or unless you penetrate the core in some manner.

Finally, if you don't want a cored hull boat don't look at Sea Rays over 34 feet, Hattaras, Bertrams, Tiara, Cabos, or a whole host of others.

If you don't want any coring at all, I hope you enjoy your new canoe or canbote...! (I don't know of a Sea Ray that doesn't have a cored deck or transom).

I guess I'm with Jaws on this one. Do your research and you find that this is an often discussed subject where there is more talking going on about Sea Ray core problems than there are Sea Ray core problems. I've owned a 450DA since 1997. She is a great boat, is one of Sea Ray's best ever designs, is one of the most efficient larger boats when equipped with 3116 or 3126 Cats, .........and I'll have to tell you that worrying about core issues on my boat isn't very high on my list of stuff to worry about.
 
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Well, youve kinda set my mind at ease frank, Im not so paranoid now..... I just did a quick google search for marine non destructive moisture meters and my search brought up quite a few ranging from 400-1000 dollars... doesnt seem like a bad investment to have just to run over the hull a couple times a year.
 
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