Advice: Is this dinghy salvageable?

[EricinToronto]

Hello everyone,

My first question on this forum, glad to be here. My friend and I bought a 26 foot Grampian sailboat last fall - my first sailboat! - and we need to get a dinghy for it, as our marina only has mooring balls.

I found this ad online for a cheap ($200) fibreglass dinghy. (Ad text and pics at end of this message) It is cheap, BUT it has some damage to it. There is a crack, I am not sure how deep, in the hull as shown (not very well) in the pictures.

My question is this: How difficult is it to fix a crack like this, assuming it has gone through the hull (but not all the way across the bottom - looks to be 2ft long or so)

I recognize it is probably really hard to tell how serious the crack is from the photos. But the boat is a two hour drive away, and I just want people's general thoughts before I go and take a look at it.
Is any crack in a boat like this a total disaster?
Or is it an afternoon of work with some patch up?
I suspect it may even float as-is, but not sure. The dinghy is not going to be doing much more than rowing ~200 feet from/to our sailboat in a very sheltered bay, so while it needs to float, it's not going to be banged about a lot.

Any advice very much appreciated. From "Stay away,that's a nightmare job" to "Won't look pretty, but will definitely float after a quick patch" let me know what you think.

Thanks all in advance, hope to be posting to this board a lot in the future.

e.

--------- TEXT of AD --------------

ex. sailboat , approx. 10.5 ft long by 4.5 wide made of fiberglass and has some cracks needs some repair, may trade for dirtbike/pt bike around 70cc

[LandLocked66c]

Sure, why not. Any fiberglass is repairable.

[bljones]

Yeah, it's repairable, but, it isn't a real good choice as a rowing dinghy. Keep looking.

[nightowle]

you can definitely fix and if there's a fiberglass supply company in your city they will give you all the info you need on the required method for fixing. But it does look like a heavy boat for rowing purposes.

[Siamese]

I agree....that thing looks heavy.

200 bucks!!!! Ouch. Seller has guts, I'll say that. $50.00 would be plenty, and it still wouldn't be that good of a dinghy.

[SlowButSteady]

It looks kinda like it had a centerboard trunk that was taken out and the hole glassed over. That might be why it developed the crack; the hull flexed too much w/o the trunk to stiffen it. If that is the case, simply glassing over the crack would still let it flex and allow it to crack again. As such, the real fix would necessitate glassing in some stringers to make up for the stiffening effect of the trunk.

I agree with Siamese. Fifty bucks, maybe even less, would be more than a fair price.

[Wingnut247]

You can do a lot better for 200.

Even at 50 bucks... consider your time and expense to fix it.

Before throwing money at any dinghy the might float... do a little research and buy the right one once.

Know that there are different designs/sizes to meet no end of variables.

How much weight in people and cargo will it be required to carry?
Towing it, davits or lifting it on deck? (not much room on your deck)
Rowing it or outboard powered?
Stability?
Sandy beaches or rocky shores?
Enough Floatation for self rescue?

[haffiman37]

Tell the owner he does not have to give you 200 to take it away, you are willing to do it for 50!
Looking at the fibers sticking out, that laminate is so dried out you probably have to 'cover' the whole hull with a layer or two.

[MARC2012]

Too much money,too much work.If close to me might take it for free if I had had a few beers,at least 6.,marc

[Minnewaska]

Pass. You'll also need to retrofit oar locks and buy oars, it seems. Find a package that is ready to go. You'll be glad you have the time to focus on your new boat instead of fixing this up.