2019 Sunfish Worlds boat: deck failure

Scottb

Member
I purchased a 2020 event boat, and had it shipped. Boat arrived in great shape except for a gauge in the bottom from the mast. I fixed this myself and went on. The boat arrived in the winter and was washed, waxed and put in storage. I pulled the boat out this week, and the deck around the mast step has started cracking. I noticed several small gel cracks and went ahead and sailed the boat. After one night of light air racing, 3 to 6 mph, the cracks have significantly grown. The shop I bought the boat from is closed until morning. Has anyone had warranty issues on an event boat? Are event boats covered under warranty, or am I screwed? This is something I can fix, yet I don't want a brand new boat, with an inspection port in the front deck and extra glass added. The Harken hoister straps, were no where near the failing area. Is the deck layup too thin, or gel coat too thin and becoming brittle as the boat cures.
 

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Whoa, those are odd cracks for such a new boat... and I agree with ya, I don't think the straps are the issue, I'm thinking of several possible scenarios:

A) Underlying glass is too thin on that side of the step, hence the surface cracks.

B) Some clown slammed the mast down on the deck next to the step, initiating the cracks which then grew worse.

C) Same clown (who weighed a considerable amount) stood right on that area of the deck.

D) All of the above, LOL. :confused:

P.S. If the seller doesn't make things right, send the Italians over to his house... :eek:
 
Glad you’ve got good, clear pics of the packaging and initial damage, as well as your perfect storage method. It will be interesting to see how they respond and the wording of your warrantee will mean everything.
 
After my second sail, the boat now has gel coat cracks in the deck non-skid area. Racing tonight and the breeze is up, bringing a tow line.
 
Maybe it's due to some factory defect, courtesy of the builder... glass too thin in that spot, or whatever. Sure seems odd for such a new boat. :confused:

Hey, ChernobylWorker, I like the moniker... and I'm guessing ya need no running lights at night (skipper glows in the dark, LOL). ;)
 
Please keep us informed on the outcome. I would be very upset if my new boat came this way. I am hoping they send you a new, undamaged boat as that is the only reasonable solution!
 
That boat has gone from England to Bonaire to some point in the US for distribution to ScottB. So maybe it was badly packed or damaged at some point in its travels.

Good point, the transportation industry isn't what it used to be... I noticed that decline over the years while trucking, picking up freight at port & rail yard warehouses. More damage, workers not caring, freight skewered by forks, even faulty securement at sea. Ever see that photo of the container ship with a bunch of containers MIA? They went over the side... might have floated for a little while, depending upon the freight, but I reckon most of those containers wound up at the bottom of the sea. Then there's the outright vandalism: a good example would be Hawaiian airport workers kicking the fins off surfboards in board bags, deliberate vandalism designed to keep haoles out of the lineup for awhile. It's conceivable that some disgruntled transportation industry worker saw the packaged or crated boat and thought, "Rich man's toy, who cares if it gets thrashed?" Ya never know in this crazy modern world... I'd like to think it was simply a factory defect of some sort, the boat built on a Monday or Friday, LOL. :confused:
 
The underlying glass can be reinforced, once the OP installs an inspection port. Using the mast step to help bolster strength, in addition to the extra layers of glass on or under the deck, would effect a solid repair. OP, if you wind up going this route, be sure to flip the boat topside-down when you do the internal work, so gravity comes into play and the catalyzed resin doesn't drain away. Put the flipped boat up on sawhorses, a high rack, whatever, so you have room to work. After you cut the hole for the inspection port, you might hold off on the actual port installation until the glasswork is done, since that will offer a little more room for your arm as you deal with the glass repair. Meh, maybe the seller will exchange the hull for ya, saving you the trouble. Quien sabe? :rolleyes:
 
Well of course you can reinforce the glasswork....i was stating that the common repair method of grinding the cracks and refilling, would probably crack again, due to poor layup procedures or current design. Shoot....glass in an aluminum plate or a 4x8 sheet of marine plywood, for that matter....and go in from the bottom if you're flipping the boat. Sounds like warranty work to me, not performed by the owner....but typically most manufacturers don't cover gelcoat cracking, unfortunately. Extreme stress cracking might be another issue, which this situation seems to be approaching.
A couple phone calls seem to be the next action.
 
Yes, I agree, just sayin' that the OP *could* repair the boat and make her solid IF the seller/builder fails to honor the warranty, or if the warranty is written in such a slick manner that the seller/builder can *legally* skate and shirk responsibility & moral obligation. There's a phrase which has gone the way of the dinosaurs---moral obligation---but who knows? Maybe this time the warranty will be good, I certainly hope so, but all is not lost if the OP gets wanked, it'll just cost a bit more to make things right, LOL. I shouldn't laugh, Lord knows I've been on the wrong end of that stick multiple times... :confused:
 
I agree....if that's acceptable to the owner. I've worked at boat dealerships for over 3 decades, and Its the rare case gelcoat defects are covered. This seems like a rare case. The hulls are so thin to begin with that any skimping will be a big deal in integrity. AquaFinns are even worse and not much thicker than a single layer of woven roving, with some chopped mat thrown in for the heck of it. But I doubt there is a local dealer authorized for warrantee work, that a repair to this level is cheaper than replacement. 75% of replacement cost usually is a totaled boat. I'd be shocked if L.P. authorized the owner to do warrantee work.
 
I was just thinking that I'm in a lower socioeconomic class than y'all, I've never purchased a brand-new boat, and the boats I bought were all so old that any warranty which might have existed certainly had already expired. The boats also had the added benefit of needing extensive repairs right off the bat, LOL. :confused:

I suppose I could start robbing Circle Ks, that might give me enough money to pay for a new boat. Problem is, the two Circle Ks in this burg might not have enough between 'em to pay for a new boat, I'd probably have to rob a bank instead... ;)
 
Economic levels exist all the way up to the top. Im shocked when I see someone plunk out (with a loan usually) $300k for a new cruising sailboat, to only have it depreciate at $20k/yr. Powerboat owners are even worse with their money. Imagine $5k to fill up your fuel tanks!! Shoot..slip fees (per year) for said 60ft Hatteras, at a covered dock are about the cost of TWO new Sunfish!!!
 
Yeah, I hear ya there, and I know a little about that whole scene from working those Dago marinas... and working aboard sportfishing/excursion craft. Man, I wish I had the money for a Hatteras, probably go with the Hatteras 53 Fisherman with extended afterdeck (web ad says 'extended cockpit'), I always liked the styling. Sacrilege, such words coming from a lifelong small craft sailor, but IF I had the money... LOL. :rolleyes:

Over the years, I've had a recurring dream of owning some huge megayacht, only to use it as a tender to my new Laser, LOL. Laser in a cradle, davits or deck boom handy... now THAT would make a STATEMENT!!! Of course, one trip to the fuel dock and the dream would become a nightmare: "CHA-CHING!!!" Wallet would be emptied, bank accounts drained... it's an ugly scenario. :eek:

Better stick to the small craft, I intend to pick up some sort of small sailboat once this present situation improves. Something for the local lakes, and runs to the coast once the 'Covidiocy' dies. As for small craft sailing, well, there's something the rich elitist tards can never take away from ya: even aboard your humble Laser or 'Fish, you're still a "yacht owner!!!" LOL. ;)
 
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I wonder what they are going to do with your " old" boat?
Hopefully, not pawn it off on an unsuspecting sailor.
 
I see I hadn't commented. :rolleyes:

Sounds like they are cutting the boat open to understand failure reason.
It looks like it was driven--hard--onto a beach. :eek:

Was the damage you fixed underneath consistent with that scenario?
 
'Guess the damage underneath was superficial.

The "stress cracks" appear as arcs, as though the mast had been forcefully driven forward. (Consistent with a World's boat—and a beach:oops:—plus cracks that are easy to overlook).
 
'Guess the damage underneath was superficial.

The "stress cracks" appear as arcs, as though the mast had been forcefully driven forward. (Consistent with a World's boat—and a beach:oops:—plus cracks that are easy to overlook).
So they were sailing the boat upside down on to a beach and that’s what caused this damage due to the mast??
 
I purchased a 2020 event boat, and had it shipped. Boat arrived in great shape except for a gauge in the bottom from the mast. I fixed this myself and went on. The boat arrived in the winter and was washed, waxed and put in storage. I pulled the boat out this week, and the deck around the mast step has started cracking. I noticed several small gel cracks and went ahead and sailed the boat. After one night of light air racing, 3 to 6 mph, the cracks have significantly grown. The shop I bought the boat from is closed until morning. Has anyone had warranty issues on an event boat? Are event boats covered under warranty, or am I screwed? This is something I can fix, yet I don't want a brand new boat, with an inspection port in the front deck and extra glass added. The Harken hoister straps, were no where near the failing area. Is the deck layup too thin, or gel coat too thin and becoming brittle as the boat cures.
I have the exact same cracks on a brand new sunfush....used only once in 8-12mph winds and noticed the cracks the day after. Sent info to LaserPerformace. Hopefully it'll be resolved quickly.
 

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I have the exact same cracks on a brand new sunfush....used only once in 8-12mph winds and noticed the cracks the day after. Sent info to LaserPerformace. Hopefully it'll be resolved quickly.
Wow, those look exactly like my pictures. I had to stay on Laser Performance. The dealer (The Dinghy Shop), was great to work with, as they were sort of stuck in the middle. Good luck.

The first boat, had a 2020 HIN. It was replaced with a 2019 HIN, although still brand new. After one sail, in the replacement boat, I have some faint gel cracks on the stern deck. These are where it rounds down on the edge. I now think it has to do with clamping of the deck to the hull during the build process, too much pressure. The mast step on the 2020 boat never leaked, and appeared solid. We held the boat with the mast in, and tried to see if the deck would flex. Nothing flexed. I think the structure is solid on these boats, cosmetic only.

I had a 2016 LP built Laser that had some gel crack areas cave in on the cockpit radius. I fixed that myself. The Laser Performance dolly that came with the worlds boat also had cracks in several of the plastic fittings. Replacing it with a Dynamic dolly, and looking for a late Vanguard boat, to use as my main race boat.
 
The topic of this thread needs an explanation:
These boats were raced about ten days in Bonaire for at least 4 hours a day in medium winds (5-15 mph). Then they were transported back to LaserPerformance (LP) in the USA, and distributed to dealers. Subsequently, at least two of these boats developed cracks near the mast tube after very little time on the water, as described in this thread.
Was this due to the transport?
Note though that these boats were built in the UK and transported to LP in Rhode Island and from there to Bonaire. Or perhaps directly from England to Bonaire?

Calling Sherlock Holmes on his cell/mobile...
 
Jeez... just looked at some of the damage pics in this thread, hard to believe those cracks appeared in relatively new boats. Sign o' the times, I reckon, with everything made more cheaply nowadays. :confused:

Frankly, I'd be PO'd if I threw down good money for a newer boat, just to have those cracks develop in record time... must be some thin and heller cheap glass around those mast steps. Maybe they're "watering down" their resin, LOL. ;)

Next up: the full-blown socialist model, cracked and fully unworkable from the outset, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Damn, sometimes I slay myself... but I DO feel sorry for those good folks who shelled out money for these nautical lemons, like paying for a Lamborghini and getting a Ford Pinto, LOL. :eek:
 

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