Hi everyone. I was going through some of my thermal
images from past surveys and found a few I thought you would all like to see and to show you how well this technology works for trouble shooting hulls,
boat systems, and verifying that damage does or does not exist. I took these
images during several surveys of
power and sailing vessels with a "Flir" brand "E50" infrared thermal imaging
camera. Here are a few:
This is a thermal image of a powerboat above. Using heat from the inside of the
cabin (causing thermal conduction) I was able to see the
fiberglass laminates and the
deck frame
work to look for suspected damage.
This is what
core replacement look like in the
deck of a sailboat (the darker rectangular shape). The new
core was a PVC type core surrounded by the existing original Balsa
wood core deck. It was unnoticeable on the bow deck until I turned the thermal imaging
camera on.
This is a loose
keel during the bottom
inspection. This was a bolt on type
keel on a 1981
Irwin. The
keel bolts were loose when inspected from the inside of the main
salon.
This is a thermal image of a large
fuel tank as seen through the
aluminum of the
hull. Notice the transverse frames as well.
This is moisture /
wood deterioration behind a bulkhead on a Bertram Sportfish in the aft main
salon area near the window.
To most this technology is unknown. I also advise that anyone using the thermal imaging camera to scan your vessel or vessel's
engine be at least a level one certified thermographer. There is a science to it. Shadows and reflective objects can be mistaken for anomalies. The images also need to be properly tuned based on the environmental conditions at the time the thermal images are taken to have the ability to identify actual anomalies. If not properly tuned, the anomalies can hide within the image as some anomalies may only be a few degrees in difference in temperature.