2006 22 classic cracks / Firewall Panel question

[JParanee]

George

what year were those boats ?

[gcarter]

George

what year were those boats ?

i'm not sure....probably '02-'08

[yeller]

Does that just happened naturally? Or was it from landing hard and the boat did a natural twist starting at the cross beam at the bottom and delaminated and loosen the firewall piece?

I personally don't consider that "natural". I think the boat landed real hard. If there was only the glass damage, and it looked like delamination, I wouldn't be overly concerned, because that can happen where fiberglass ends if it wasn't wetted out enough, but the fact that the firewall popped off also, would really concern me. The firewall is screwed in pretty good, so it'd take a fair bit of flex to rip the screws out.

The issues George is referring to were a result of Donzi moving the stringers further apart to accommodate the 496/8.1L. Cracks could show up at the base of the stringer, but normally showed up on the underside of the boat first, at the inner lifting strakes.

There's been no mention of anyone checking the underside of this boat. If this hasn't been done, it would be foolish not to. The cracking at the lifting strakes has been known to progress far enough that the glass breaks entirely through, allowing water into the bilge.
Although the damage shown on this boat is different, it does show signs that it sustained some type of flexing, so I'd check it over with a fine tooth comb. Any cracks on the underside might just show up as light pencil marks. That's what mine looked like. If I hadn't know of the issue with other boats, I would have brush mine off thinking it was nothing, because it looked like (less than) minor gel cracking. If fact, you couldn't see them with a flashlight. I had to use a 500 watt halogen work light to see them, but when the glass guy ground into it, the crack went over 1/8" into the fiberglass.

I'm not trying to scare anyone, I'm trying to help. Stopping the problem earlier is far cheaper than waiting until the glass breaks completely through.

[Carl C]

This is what the bottom cracks look like when caught early. The tape is there so the camera could focus. They are structural but can be fixed. Your crack is on the hull side and needs to be investigated further.

[Morgan's Cloud]

I personally don't consider that "natural". I think the boat landed real hard. If there was only the glass damage, and it looked like delamination, I wouldn't be overly concerned, because that can happen where fiberglass ends if it wasn't wetted out enough, but the fact that the firewall popped off also, would really concern me. The firewall is screwed in pretty good, so it'd take a fair bit of flex to rip the screws out.

The issues George is referring to were a result of Donzi moving the stringers further apart to accommodate the 496/8.1L. Cracks could show up at the base of the stringer, but normally showed up on the underside of the boat first, at the inner lifting strakes.

There's been no mention of anyone checking the underside of this boat. If this hasn't been done, it would be foolish not to. The cracking at the lifting strakes has been known to progress far enough that the glass breaks entirely through, allowing water into the bilge.
Although the damage shown on this boat is different, it does show signs that it sustained some type of flexing, so I'd check it over with a fine tooth comb. Any cracks on the underside might just show up as light pencil marks. That's what mine looked like. If I hadn't know of the issue with other boats, I would have brush mine off thinking it was nothing, because it looked like (less than) minor gel cracking. If fact, you couldn't see them with a flashlight. I had to use a 500 watt halogen work light to see them, but when the glass guy ground into it, the crack went over 1/8" into the fiberglass.

I'm not trying to scare anyone, I'm trying to help. Stopping the problem earlier is far cheaper than waiting until the glass breaks completely through.

Completely agree with you here , as well as George's previous remarks about the intensity of slam that some boats can experience . In a previous life , in an un-named boat I decided it would be fun to go out for a fun run in a serious small craft warning . I was doing great until a freak gust caused the boat to come down a little off side and crash into a 5' trough . The slam was so great that I thought I had crushed a disc in my spine .Back at the bay I discovered a crack in the inner liner almost identical to the one in the original photo .

I just find it very strange where this fault lies on the hull . I too have a feeling that it was caused by a very , very hard landing and judging by the crack's location I wouldn't be surprised to find spiderwebbing in the gelcoat up near the rub rail and on the deck as well .

Carl's photos illustrate how subtle they can be , and even MORE subtle than his show . You have to look very carefully to see them if they are there .

[gcarter]

As I mentioned previously, my 22 was built in '87 by a different Donzi owner, but that didn't mean they were any better, in fact, they were somewhat lighter.
Here's a picture of a crack in the same area, i.e., the aft edge of one of the inner lifting strakes. This crack was over 12" long.
If you want more info on my boat and what I did, go to
http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthre...-serious/page4

[gcarter]

The issues George is referring to were a result of Donzi moving the stringers further apart to accommodate the 496/8.1L. Cracks could show up at the base of the stringer, but normally showed up on the underside of the boat first, at the inner lifting strakes.

Actually Glen, the wider strakes/stringers came along in '94.
What has always interested me, is why the '94-'02 boats seem to be OK?
IMHO, Donzi changed the layup schedule in '02, or so.
I suppose, deep down, that's why they felt obligated to fix them.

[yeller]

Actually Glen, the wider strakes/stringers came along in '94.

I did not know that. Do you know if they moved the entire stringer, or just in the bilge?
My 2004 had only the bilge portion of the stringer further apart than the stingers ahead of the bilge bulkhead. Maybe the "splitting" of the stringer happened in the later boats? In my opinion, not having a continuous stringer could result in greater flexing of the hull.

[gcarter]

Glen, I've only seen your deck off, so I can't speak for the rest of them. I'd guess they're all the same.

[Carl C]

"Hot Shot" Mick's 2004 496 22 Classic had the same wide stringers and wide running surface and never had any cracks and it was always on Lake Erie. He had a Raylar kit on it too. I looked under it myself because I know where to look and no cracks. My '05 had them but I caught it early and Donzis cool reinforcement kit worked and then I beefed it up more when I powered up and no cracks after 10 seasons on the Great Lakes. This is what mine looks like now.

[Selenium]

I had them check the stringers and they told me it looked fine. They found another crack lower near the bilge area hair line crack about 6 inches long. Both are now fixed...and $1400 later. Thanks for all the feedbacks.

[RickSE]

I've had hairline stress cracks in this same area, lower outside corners of the firewall, for quite some time. Mine are fairly thin the have never developed into anything more than a hairline. I always figured this to be a hard spot in the hull when the surfaces around it can flex.

Selenium, Like Yeller says, I'd make sure you look under the hull at the inner lifting strakes. It looks like you have a hairline at the base of the stringer in the one picture. This was usually a sign of flexing of the inner panel between the stringers, along with diagonal hairlines across the inner panel surface.