Problems with This old Boat

When I first looked at my boat there were some warning signs that I should have paid closer attention to.

The major was the water in the bilge. It is a know problem that the Newport 16 keel bolt leaks. Unfortunately this was not the only source. Personally I do not like a wet boat. Moisture inside a hull can cause delamination, wood core failure and mold. After some close investigation I found out that my boat had them all.

Failed Hull Deck joint. The original hull-deck joint was built using a turned out flange, bonded with a resin filler. A rubber rubrail was pop riveted through the flange. Over the years the resin had cracked and my stbd aft joint had separated. I found this one the first time that I took her sailing. With the boat heeled, water would pour into the bilge. This is note safe situation.




The internal berth liner had separated from the hull. The berths are a part of the emergency flotation. This is something that had to be fixed to make a safe boat. The liner also supports the cockpit sole and keeps the hull from flexing.

Wood core breakdown. The cockpit and berth seats and transom are wood cored for stiffness. Award Boats used a low grade OBX type flake board. Moisture delaminated the wood from the fiberglass skin. You could hear the crackling when I walked on the seats.

Running rigging set up wrong and worn. The previous owner was not a sailor. Lines were not marine grade.

In the future blogs I will explain how I set my repair priorities and the detailed repair results.