"T" top froze and busted?????

[treedawg]

I washed the boat down this afternoon to knock of the winter dust.

I was more than a little surprised when I noticed 2 places on my T-top where it looked like it froze and busted.

It looks just like a pipe that froze and busted in the winter. I live just a little north of Atlanta GA and it doesn't get that cold here and we had a mild winter to boot. I don't understand exactly what happened or why.

How can this be fixed or is it fixable? Does it need fixing or can I leave it as is? My boat is long out of warranty so that's not an option.

Thanks,
TD

[arc-tek marine]

hi, this does happen, aluminum pipe condensates...thus over time leaving water inside pipe.. aluminum gets very cold...freezing water.in pipes expands...cracking pipes......very small holes near the weld will let water escape.....mainly on legs/ uprights..im not saying drill your top full of holes...just teeney holes where you think water collects......... good luck. jim www.arctekmarine.com

[DILLIGAF]

You can have it welded, but thats a winter job. You'll need to take it out of the boat, otherwise you'll have burn marks in your gelcoat from slag and what not.

Jim, I like your location under your profile. Me & you are in the same boat.

[Graceland]

Maybe Jim will chime back in on this, but I don't believe the top will have to come off the boat. My old boat was a total piece of junk and the top would get broken frequently, and it was never pulled off to do a repair. Mig or Tig don't really throw slag like straight stick welding does. Some feet or the top it's self may need to be loosened to prevent heat damage to the fiberglass, but it shouldn't need to be totally pulled off the boat.

[DILLIGAF]

I took mine in one time without taking it off, and never again, without taking it off. My console is still scared up.

Maybe you can give him a referance to the guy that did yours, as for me, I'm trying to find a new one.

[Graceland]

Ouch, man that sucks. I wonder what they did to make such a mess?

[arc-tek marine]

hey, mostly all times, repairs are done on the boat...we use welding blankets/and have a spray bottle of h20.....we cover the area that are prone to get a slag a filler rod dripped on it...........................jim

[treedawg]

arc-tek marine, What would you typically charge to repair 2 "busted" areas about 1-1.5" long?

I'd just like to have a reference when I start looking for somebody to make the repairs.

Thx for all the info!!!!

TD

[DILLIGAF]

Ouch, man that sucks. I wonder what they did to make such a mess?

I don't know, but you talk about a mad mother f#$^(!. I went and got an estimate to have my console & deck repaired, and they handed me cash money for it. The only reason that I haven't got it done is because this happened back in Feb. & they said it would take a month before they could get to it. I'll just wait till October or so when they're not so busy.

[Graceland]

Well at least they paid for it. The bad part is no matter how good the repair, it is going to show. Even if they get the gel coat matched perfectly, in 6 months to a year, it will be a different color from all the stuff around it.

The times I had to have weld seams repairesed it ran about $50 per, but it sounds like you might need some cutting and replacement pipe put in.