Gotta love Amateur Hour when it comes to boat mods!

[Carpediem44DB]

I am moving forward with building a Hydraulic Lift for the 506 with design inspiration from the Presto Marine XL500. I am building my own to incorporate a few design tweaks. I decided this weekend to remove the current davit and prep the deck for the installation of the new unit which will entail filling several holes in the deck left by the attachments of the two previous davit installs. I opened the access holes and found the sorriest excuse for core sealing I have seen to date save for no attempt at all.

I now have a new project, scoop a bunch of soaking wet cellulose core out to allow for replacing with a reinforced filler. Its a good thing this has never been a cold weather climate boat so the deck its self has no delamination or softness caused by freezing. This is exactly why I have a very hard time paying "professionals" to work on my boat. To those of you that are Professional service providers, I mean no disrespect if you are among the pros that do it right, but I know you understand what I mean because you see this kind of crap all the time and are tasked with correcting crap work. There were a couple of plates from an ancient Weaver Snap Davit system that were screwed down with out even a drop of sealant. What a Mess! I will say that I don't know that a PO did not install the Weaver system himself but I know the crane davit was professionally installed as I have the original invoice and they had to cut at least two of the access holes.
Carpe Diem

 

[BillK2632]

Wow! But not surprising - to me the only thing "professional" means is you get paid to do it, it provides no indication that the quality of work is any better. I have gotten to the point that I try and do most things myself, but realize I don't have the ability or skills to do everything, in those cases I insist on seeing evidence that the work was done correctly. I guess in your case the "professional" decided it was easier to slap a glob of caulking on the exposed core vs mixing up epoxy and doing it correctly!

 

[becnme]

Should that have been found during survey? I think the surveyor should have opened them, especially when they are obviously not OEM and in a very wet location.

 

[Carpediem44DB]

One was open at survey, That was the cause of the near sinking at Sea Trial due to the fact that at low speeds the platform is under water as a fixed stabilizer. That particular hole had been reasonably sealed with resin at the exposed core so it was assumed the other holes had been sealed the in the same manner.

 

[tc410]

One was open at survey, That was the cause of the near sinking at Sea Trial due to the fact that at low speeds the platform is under water as a fixed stabilizer. That particular hole had been reasonably sealed with resin at the exposed core so it was assumed the other holes had been sealed the in the same manner.

I’m sorry but that’s not a complete survey. Those access plates open with a 1/4 to 1/2 turn - opening the other 3 would have been a 20 second job (until the rot was noticed).

 

[Carpediem44DB]

The survey admittedly was not the best money could buy. I knew the boat had issues that would not necessarily queer the sale. The purpose for the post was not to suggest that this was a huge surprise to me more of just a heads up to folks to educate themselves on what a proper job entails no matter what the project is.
Cheers

 

[firecadet613]

The survey admittedly was not the best money could buy. I knew the boat had issues that would not necessarily queer the sale. The purpose for the post was not to suggest that this was a huge surprise to me more of just a heads up to folks to educate themselves on what a proper job entails no matter what the project is.
Cheers

Amen! I rebedded my Weaver Davit's this past off season and found similar, which were done by a reputable marina for the previous owner. Glad I didn't let it go longer before checking it out!

 

[Skybolt]

... The purpose for the post was not to suggest that this was a huge surprise to me more of just a heads up to folks to educate themselves on what a proper job entails no matter what the project is.
Cheers

Thanks for posting that exact statement. This is what makes this forum such a great resource for boat owners in general.

 

[Quint4]

Exactly why I do almost everything myself.

 

[440 Jim]

Yup...

 

[b_arrington]

Yes, me too.