Soft Fiberglass on Bow of a 2003 Fiesta Vee 270?

RinkerLKN

Hi All, 

I am new to this forum and looking for some advice.  I am possibly looking at a very expensive repair to my boat.  Currently, I have a 2003 Fiesta Vee 270 that appears to have soft fiberglass on the bow.  I walked out onto the bow for the first time (since I bought about a year and a half ago) and noticed the fiberglass is not solid like the rest of the boat.  It has a good amount of flex when I step on it.  I took the boat to a fiberglass guy and he says the balsa wood across the bow needs replaced do to water leaking in from the windshield wiper motor mount.  We have stopped the leak but now I am trying to figure out if this really caused the top to be soft or is this normal for this boat.  The questions I have are as follows. 

1. Is this common for this boat to have a soft deck?

2. If not, does anyone have any experience with this problem as to how to fix it? 

3. If this needs repaired does anyone recommend anyone for this kind of work?  I live in NC but will take it anywhere to get it fixed correctly.

4. Does Rinker offer any warranty on this kind of issue?

5.  Has anyone every turned this in to their insurance?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!  Thanks In Advance!

 

Black_Diamond

It happens and $$$ to fix. You might try for an estimate and give it a try with your insurance.

TikiHut2

Welcome to the forum!. Here's my $.02c

#1..yes if it's older, but not normal for a well cared for boat

#2..Many older sailboat deal with this because of all the deck penetrations from hardware and fittings and there are hundreds of d-i-y forums and posts on techniques to fix it. No magic bullet and none are very easy, but it's done often. Seems to me that West Epoxy Systems has a good blog on that issue.

#3...Ask around for the local guru of glass work. They're typically a slightly off center bunch but talented with glass work and rebuilding a ceiling/deck.

#4..it'd be warranted for a year or so but after that it's up to the owner to maintain the integrity of the caulking etc...

#5...I strongly doubt that insurance will cover this considering the boats age.

Sorry if that's not what you'd hoped for but hey, they're boats and they do age rather aggressively if let go even for one season. Let us know what you find an we'll help any way we can. Mike