Just a touch Captain

[davidpm]

Catalina 309 about 2 years old was being driven hard in the fog and the pilot fell asleep at the wheel and hit a buoy. Probably going 6 knots.
I was not on board at the time but supposedly it made one serious bang and a pretty good gouge on the port side near the bow.

I've got a few questions.

1. If it's not leaking how urgent is it to get the scrape fixed. Can water leach in now that there is no gel coat more than usual?

2. How about the chances of other collateral damage, bulkhead broke loose, de-laminated glass, damage to the opposite side of the boat, etc.

3. What else should be checked for?

Got a good bang on the stern too.


This guy got about 1,200 miles over water on this boat in three months with almost no experience beforehand so with only a couple of bangs I think he did pretty well.

[sailingdog]

Yes, water can get into the laminate there... since the gelcoat is far more impervious to osmosis than the regular laminate.

It really depends on the damage, and it is hard to say what it might be, since the speed, angle of impact, point of impact, what it hit, etc all will make a difference.

Good bang on the stern??? define good bang... You need a survey.

[davidpm]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

You need a survey.

That actually brings up another question.
In a case like this is a surveyor best or a glass guy and a quote.
Maybe insurance even.

[sailingdog]

A good surveyor is going to be more likely to catch associated damage than a fiberglass guy IMHO.