Tracker Targa cracks in hull

[rossma]

On 7/28/10 my husband and I purchased a 2000 Tracker Targa deep-V 18WT. We are new and inexperienced boaters, and just wanted something to take out on the lakes and do a little fishing. To make a long story short, we noticed a lot of water coming out of the drain after the boat was retrieved. With the help of a lot of folks on another part of this forum, we finally were able to figure out (to our dismay) that the hull has three cracks in it, on the left mid-part of the hull!

I guess Tracker does have some sort of limited warranty on the hull but it involves the welds and rivets, and the cracks are independent of these.
Needless to say we feel awful about this! My question is: are cracks like these something that can be reliably repaired, and how would one go about this process? I sure appreciate any feedback that you could give to me. Thanks.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Tracker Targa cracks in hull

Welcometo iBoats!
Anything can be fixed!!!! Pics will help us to help you. Check out my signature to see how to load your pics.

I'm just sayin...

 

[oops!]

Re: Tracker Targa cracks in hull

lol....i just replyed to your other post asking you to post down here....

again...welcome to iboats.

sorry about your plight.

ok...lets get started.
as my friend woody above ^^^^^stated....we need some info.

fiberglass or alum hull?...please post pics including an overall pic of the area of the keel where the damage is.

if you dont know how to post pics here....there are tutorials in the non boating tech forum.

cheers
oops

 

[rossma]

Re: Tracker Targa cracks in hull

It's an aluminum hull. We're working on the pics. (It's raining here and rather dark out.) I sure appreciate you guys taking the time to reply!

 

[rossma]

Tracker Targa cracks in hull pictures

Tracker Targa cracks in hull pictures

On 7/28/10 my husband and I purchased a 2000 Tracker Targa deep-V 18WT. We are new and inexperienced boaters, and just wanted something to take out on the lakes and do a little fishing. To make a long story short, we noticed a lot of water coming out of the drain after the boat was retrieved. With the help of a lot of folks on another part of this forum, we finally were able to figure out (to our dismay) that the hull has three cracks in it, on the left mid-part of the hull!

Needless to say we feel awful about this! My question is: are cracks like these something that can be reliably repaired, and how would one go about this process? I sure appreciate any feedback that you could give to me. Thanks.

I did the best I could to get the pictures on here and I don't know if it'll work or not, but I will keep trying, if not.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Tracker Targa cracks in hull pictures

Re: Tracker Targa cracks in hull pictures

Not an impossible repair........... A photo of the entire boat would also help to know where the cracks are and why they might be there.

Okay here is some help

Pictures - 640 x 480 is the forum size and instructions on how to post them can be obtained in the top three posts located here http://forums.iboats.com/forumdisplay.php?f=32


We will guide you and give fairly easy instructions.

 

[109jb]

Re: Tracker Targa cracks in hull pictures

Re: Tracker Targa cracks in hull pictures

The Targa is a welded aluminum boat. It is very hard to see what is going on from the small pictures, but in general anything on an aluminum boat can be fixed. There are a few options.

First is to take the boat to someone who can weld the cracks. Obviously since the hull was welded from the factory the alloy use is a weldable variety. I would personally look for someone who could TIG weld it. In order to do this, anthing on the inside of the hull will have to be out of the way. This includes any flotation foam that may be there. Once welded, the weld can be sanded down and faired into the hull. Finally, re-painting the hull to match the rest would make the repair almost invisible. However, This repair could leave stresses around the weld repair which would mean the crack would eventually come back.

Another option would be to patch the cracks with another piece of aluminum riveted or welded on top of the cracks. If I went this route I would rivet using sealed blind rivets. The ends of the cracks should be stop drilled. This involves drilling a small hole right at thee end of the crack to relieve the stresses to prevent it from cracking any further. Once stop drilled a patch of the same thickness material as the hull is fabricated to cover the crack. Then 2 rows of rivets are placed around the perimeter of the patch and the patch is riveted on with a sealer between the hull and the patch. Obviously this will be a visible repair but has been done for years on boats and airplanes too. From the standpoint of what would last longer, I would trust this repair over welding, but it is visible. The patch would have to be about 2 inches bigger than the crack on all sides. For example, if the crack was straight and 4 inches long, tthe patch would need to be about 4 inches wide and 8 inches long. If the crack is accessible from the inside then use solid bucked rivets and also put a patch on the inside.

I know it sucks, but I hope this helps.

 

[rossma]

Re: Tracker Targa cracks in hull

Hello,

I just wanted to update you all. I wrote a lengthy letter to the man who sold us this boat, expressing to him how I felt about him selling us a boat that leaks. To my great surprise he showed up at our home yesterday to look at the boat, and last night he and my husband took it out on the water for an hour or so. He told my husband that he is going to arrange to have it repaired and claims that he did not know it was that way when he sold it to us. Who knows if he will follow through with this, but we have decided to give him a chance.

I am most grateful to all of you. Your advice and assistance has been invaluable to us. What a great group of people you are! I'll let you know how we make out. (Who knows - we may end up dealing with this ourselves anyway.)

~Rossma