How bad is this damage / how easy to repair?

[joelhemington]

I've seen guys fix worse. The big question is what does it look like inside and how much is it discounted below fair market? In addition, there could be an awful amount of other thing that need replacing before I'd consider taking this on. From the one picture it's very hard to tell.

[Cadence]

From the pic? I would worry about structural damage to the transom.

[HopCar]

That’ll buff right out.

[Wallaby]

Correct me if I am wrong; Morgan O/Is are solid lay up where the primary damage is. Anyone know how thick? My Catalina/Morgan is about 1-1/4" solid glass in this area--having drilled through it. That said, get inside the damn boat and look at this area. If the inside surface is fractured, whole different problem. If you don't already know to do this, the project is too big for you. One crappy photo of the outside is not enough,



From the 'crappy' photo I see a lot of surface damage, significant delamination. All fixable. Any offer more than $1 is too much IMHO. Far better, newer boats are auctioned after every named storm.

[alansmith]

I'm in Wallaby's camp. Anything can be fixed Clemroc. But the look of the boat in this poor picture says the transom will be the opening salvo on your checking account. This boat is probably close to derelict status. You have to go to the boat and survey it yourself. Don't even bother having the boat professionally looked at until you get boots on the ground and a good look-see.

I took a boat 3 years ago. A 28 foot Sharpie. She leaked like hell on our test sail. Trailerable boat. I could see fiberglass tape problems on the chines. But she was salty and the price was right. Good boat for the San Francisco delta due to her shallow draft and centerboard + rudder both being able to be adjusted due to shallow water. I am already 45K dollars into her refit and she is not done. She is a plywood boat and so I had to sand her down to bare plywood, then fiberglassed her. The toe rails were wonky. So I had to strip all of the weird fiberglass off of her and redo the whole deck and toe rails. She sits in a storage facility waiting my next big go at her. Almost all of it was my labor. Out of the 45K...maybe 10 K of it was for professional help teaching me how to fiberglass and tip and roll.

So, Clemroc, it is always about time, cost of materials, professional help when you need it, skill sets, and how badly do you want to do this? There are countless videos on YouTube with young couples who buy beat up boats and spend 2-3 years redoing a boat and then sailing off into patronage seeking clients to support their adventures. I'm not saying …."Don't buy this boat"...I'm saying ….be fully aware of what you are stepping into. I learned a lot about fiberglassing. I have a full time job so my funds are pretty good. But if I had to do it all over again. I wouldn't do it. It was too much time. It was filthy dirty work. It is dangerous work for allergenic reasons and lung health reasons. You find dozens of things that need to be repaired as you go along that you didn't account for. If you are a guy...how do you just let those things slide? I couldn't and I bet you couldn't either.

It's like going to the senior prom in high school. Your hormones are raging. Some beautiful young girl is giving you the signal she wants to dance. You dance...it leads to a slow dance. Your bodies are pressed one another and your impulses are off the chart. Three months later you get a call from her. "I'm pregnant!" Your life is now consumed with damage repair and long term responsibilities that you had not expected with "the dance"....taking on a major project is full of romantic ideas about bringing her back to her glory. You have been seduced by some part of your id (do you read Freud? If not, you should. Read about the id, the ego, and the superego) Taking on a project like this is some serious cat sh!t. It is a marriage in almost every aspect of what that means. Except there are no E ticket rides in the bedroom. All of your time, all of your money, and energy will be dedicated to her for no less than 2 years....longer if you still work.

If you are married...you will soon be divorced....smile....you will have a new woman to support. Except now you will be sending a good portion of your funds to the ex and eating Mac-n-cheese and hotdogs...peanut butter and jelly on white bread can get you by for many days...think long and hard Clemroc. There are many sailors on here who can attest to what i'm saying about divorces due to boats. It is a sick thing really...and quite tragic.

[Clemroc]

I can't find the offer again, but it basically survived a hurricane and had another boat crash into it or something. The rigging and masts need to be redone. It seems the interior was spared, but the outside is damaged everywhere lol

While I am a very handy-man kinda guy, I have no experience in this. I'm sure I could learn, but as was mentioned by many of you, I don't think it'd be worth the investment (and potential risk of sinking).

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by Clemroc

.......................
........... The rigging and masts need to be redone.........

Masts (plural), so it's a ketch? Redone? .....If redone means replaced, then the fix on the transom is a trivial part of the expense. What's the general geographical location of this boat?

[a64pilot]

If done by a real pro who is an artist, cause this much exterior glass work requires an artist, it will look perfect, so much so that it will be hugely obvious.
Now a neophyte can fix it, and make it seaworthy, but it won’t look very pretty once you get within about 50’. I fixed an unrepairable boat in my youth, a little boat that my Brother wrecked on the trailer and the 10 hp get home motor busted through the hull in the bow, plus it’s keel was busted, we fixed it, looked pretty bad, but it worked. The keel leaked and we had to get on plane every few hours and remove the plug to drain it out.

[Mike Banks]

A piece of cake compared to some I have done. Not a quick fix, but a certain one is possible--and it can be done by someone used to using epoxy and the appropriate painting sequences after the repairs are effected.

[mvweebles]

I'm a pretty good DIY guy with many things. If this were left in my hands, it would like doo-doo when done. Fortunately, skilled fiberglass repair is fairly easy to find and, in my experience, fairly fast to do. If the visible damage is the extent of the damage and all else is in reasonable shape, I'd consider it under the right set of circumstances. Looks to me like the rubrail (which appears to be the deck/hull joint as another post said) wore against a pile or something, probably during a decent storm. There appears to be enough structure left that you can layer multiple layers of fiberglass up, but you will indeed grind back several feet in all directions to be able to feather in multiple layers of fiberglass.

With all repairs of this nature, the challenge is the everything else that you find. Paint, etc.

[DeepFrz]

Cheap boats can get very expensive real fast or at least as fast as finances will allow. If you are looking for a project boat to fill your time for the next few years then great, if that's your thing.

[Hardhead]

Generally, for every 1 thing repaired on a boat, 2 additional problems will be found. Extrapolate that, and consider how long it will take before the project list is completed. One man's experience.

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by GRIT

I have to wonder how much fiberglassing experience the previous two posters have.

It looks like severe dock rash to me. Storm damage of some kind. I can't see any more than you can, but I don't see what the big deal is. Morgan OI's have lots of glass overall. I'd guess you could take that stern right out, and still sail her, temporarily...

I think post #2 had it right.

Cheers.
Paul.

Agree. This looks like superficial damage from being driven into perhaps, a cement dock or a steel boat. If there is no damage closer to the waterline, take a careful look at the rest of the hull and deck.

But be aware that boats of this type and age are selling very cheaply anyway so you don't want this one unless you can get it for a real steal.

[nortonscove]

Totally dependent upon the rest of the boat. Not hard to repair for sure. I would look at the inside and determine the extent it has damaged that. If it hasn't you are in business. Simple fibreglass work is all about patience and I've done jobs where once complete it can't be found by those that did not see the hole once all the grinding is done. I actually felt better about the work I'd done than the original in most cases.

[stimpsonjcat]

That boat has been on various for sale sites for several years.

I periodically look for Morgan OIs as they are high on my list for a great-loop boat.