Aquasport Hull Integrity

[Captain]

Somebody over at another boating forum made some disparaging remarks recently about the hull strength of old Aquasports. The comment seemed to suggest that the hulls of some older Aquasport models were "paper thin" to quote this poster. :x

Anyone care to compare Aquasport fiberglass work in the hull relative to other production CC's?

[captin.kid]

All I can say is that my 1979 200 CCP hull is like a tank. When I was in high school we would run it onto the oyster reefs in Galveston Bay all the time dumb and drunk  and it still is rock solid. Also just if someone out there might know wasent the fiberglass had layed on the older hulls??

[Argo]

I cant find a hollow sound anywhere my hull when thumping around on it with a rubber mallet.  It is rock sollit and thick and heavy as hell.

[Radioshop]

I think lots of people assume they're weak because if you pound the side of a 22.2 with the palm of your hand, the hullside will deflect in slightly.  I've done this test on a newer 170 Striper as well, so I think it's universal to the modified vee hulls.  I think they're designed to give a little.  This doesn't ammount to being weak.  Also, the 22.2 (mv) weighs in around 2800 lbs (no waterlogged foam), which is pretty durn light and, that also might lead folks to think they're weak.  I've never tried the whack test with one of the deep vees that has the big top cap.

[Wilson]

I agree most older center consoles withoug foam between the liner and the hull may seem to be "thin."  But Look, these things don't hold up for 39 + years if they are poorly built.  I'll take those any day over these new bulky eurotransom POS's with 20 square inches of fishing room on a 25' boat.

[armando]

i have an 1974 as 19.6 inboard that i am rebuilding and the only place that the hull is kind of thin isunder the foam stringers,and i only found that out after i removed them.nothing another layer of wovenroven cant fix before the new stringers go back in.

[Barnacle Bill]

A cousin of mine has lived in Miami since the early 1950s and been a boater his whole life there. As he has told me many times...small boats built near Miami are widely used in Biscayne Bay and get "proven" very quickly. If they stay in business a few years you know they don't fall apart. Aquasport was originally built in Hialeah...just up the road from the bay.

[jack1747]

Tough hull

http://forum.blue-crab.org/index.php?topic=1367.0

[Anonymous]

I am on my third Aquasport now since 1984, my first was  a 1977 Xscape tri hull ,85 johnson javelin , 2nd 1980  19.6 ospryey 115 evinrude, 3rd and present 20 WA deep V 175 johnson looper, after the first purchase and heavy pounding on LI shores on all 3 hulls you cannot find one stress crack on the hull , hence the reason I own this brand boat .My present Aquasport I have owned for thirteen yrs.

[Capt. Bob]

Wow!
Thread resurrected after almost 4 years.
Welcome aboard GMAN.
They built them good in Hialeah (for the most part).
Oh and your post is worthless without pics.

Aquaporn please.

[GoneFission]

The pre-Genmar Aquasports had solid fiberglass hulls.  After Genmar, some were cored - some stayed solid glass.  For example, mine has about 3/4" of solid fiberglass in the hull and up the sides - here's a picture of a piece I cut out on the side, just above the waterline, to install a cooler drain:



I can't speak to the very early (pre-1973) Aquasports, but by the late 1970s, Aquasports were generally build like tanks!  SeaBob confirmed on another thread that the later Genmar Aquasports he built had balsa or plywood cored decks and foam cored transoms.  Yes early Aquasports had plywood cored decks and transoms too, but the hulls were solid glass.    

Remember that most of the resin/epoxy in fiberglass is a direct petroleum product, so glass hulls are basically made of oil.     As the price of oil goes up, so does the price of epoxy/resin AND the price of making the boat!  That has put several boat makers out of business as the price of the boat may not have been able to cover a large increase in the price of key raw materials.  

Hope this helps - see ya on the water!

[LilRichard]

I found a few thin spots on my hull during the rebuild, but like someone above said, if I am just now rebuilding a 1971 boat, that says something about the quality!  It was especially good compared to boats of that time, for example my '71 had foam stringers, while other boats (that are considered well built - like Makos) had wood.  In that respect, they were ahead of their time.

GF, I did not know AS ever made cored hulls - you always surprise me with tidbits I was unaware of.

[thill]

The hull of my 1971, 170 CC seems very solid, as does the transom and the floor.

The liner, on the other hand, particularly where the rodholders are, is very thin.  If I put a trolling rod in the holder, and there is a heavy pull to the side, the area actually flexes.

I doubt it would ever break, but perhaps that's what made someone think they were "thin" boats.

-TH

[seabob4]

AS certainly did some hullside coring ABOVE the waterline, but never below.  All glass.  Typically, in the keel area, you were looking at at least an inch thick, somewhat less as you moved outboard.  But the chine area was about 3/4" thick.

Our inspectors also had to do burn tests on samples taken from production boats.  Weigh the sample, incinerate it to burn off all the resin, then weigh again.  Tells you the glass/resin ratio.