10 meter express Inspection- advise

[Mapleport]

I am inspecting a 1983 10 meter express this week. The crusaders have 300 hours on them and look to be in good working order. I am going to have the stringers and bulk heads checked for moister. Is there any other character trait these boats are known for that I should take extra precaution with? This is a freshwater boat and will remain that way.

I am getting back into boating after a 4 year hiatus. Very excited but I want to make sure I am buying right (this time).


Advise is greatly appreciated.

[todd brinkerhoff]

I would recommend a good surveyor. If that boat is an express, it will not have any wood in the stringers. Good luck.

[gdcardoza]

Where is the boat located?

[RWS]

a complete in water and out of the water survey is required.

there can be no compromise on this at all.

RWS

[prowlersfish]

a complete in water and out of the water survey is required.

there can be no compromise on this at all.

RWS

A survey is a good idea for sure .

[P-Dogg]

a complete in water and out of the water survey is required.

there can be no compromise on this at all.

^^^^^ This.

Your best maintenance dollars are the ones spent not buying crap in the first place, particularly ones spent on a survey.

Welcome to the forum. Let us know how it goes.

[bjanakos]

Spend hundreds now to save thousands later... Not that you should order a survey for every boat you "kick the tires" on, but if you are serious about taking owner ship, a survey is in order.

[Mapleport]

Thanks all for the responses. The survey revealed a crack in the stringer just forward of the motor mount. It looks like the crack had been repaired and has cracked again. Since they are all fiberglass stringers, my thought is this can be repaired by a quality mechanic and perhaps they first repair was a out dated (the boat is a 1983).

Thoughts?

[todd brinkerhoff]

The great thing about fiberglass is that you can always repair and modify it. It sounds like it was repaired improperly. Is there wood in the stringers?

For the engine mount areas, you can also laminate stainless steel around the mount areas. If there is wood in the stringers, you may have some rot or moisture issues, which will require some additional attention and costs.

[rickalan35]

Did the survey turn up any other issues?

[Mapleport]

Moister was relatively low (teens and twenties). The radar arch will have to be replaced and there is smoke in some of the windows.

Compression came back strong at 120-130.

Thoughts on cost for the stringer repair?

[rickalan35]

I like Crusaders. I like low hours more than some people do. That's a neat boat.

But, getting your hands on a radar arch might be somewhat difficult. Do you have any thoughts on how to go about that?

I guess that the cracked stringer makes me nervous. I wonder why that particular point is so stressed as to have cracked? Prowlerfish has made the point that the stringer may be wood encased in fibreglass. If the wood has rotted, then the fibreglass alone will have had to absorb the stress when running in rough water which may have caused the damage.

After first getting permission from the owner, I had my surveyor go back to the boat and drill test holes in the stringers to test the wood for rot. He repaired his test holes using the West System. Cost me $250 Canadian funds. I bought the boat after this test was successful ('94 Trojan 370 Express) which is a descendant of the boat you're examining. You might considering doing the same thing.

[todd brinkerhoff]

If it's an 83 10 Meter, the stringers have no wood, so core rot is not an issue. I'd try to nail down why it failed, but it should be a pretty straight forward repair. The radar arches on those boats were cored with balsa. If someone drilled a hole and didn't properly bed it, it'll eventually rot. Common issue, and happened to mine. I rebuilt mine, as did RWS. There was a guy on here called natchamp that built a very cool aluminum one. They are not easy, and to hire someone will be about 4k. It does offer you the excuse to get a full aluminum top though, and get rid of the arch altogether.

[todd brinkerhoff]

Sorry...repeat

[todd brinkerhoff]

Natchamps amazing top. This guy did some amazing work and created a very unique, one-of-a-kind 10 Meter.

http://www.trojanboats.net/wforum/viewt ... &start=210