2003 Bavaria 38 Cruiser bilge area crack

[Florina]

I'm about to purchase a Bavaria 38 Cruiser from 2003. The boat is really well maintained both inside and outside. The current owner is known to have taken good care of her both in aspect and in maintenance. However there is something that puzzles me in regards to an inside crack that it has in the bilge area. He mentions it was there when he bought it from the previous owner back in 2008 and it never showed any signs of expanding or taking water through that crack.
We have taken it out on the sea a couple of times, both in high winds and strong waves and it doesn't seem to take any water nor show any other signs of damage.
I'm just afraid that it might be a structural issue around the keel. The crack seems to be in the aft area of the keel.
I'm planning to have it lifted soon so we can inspect that area.

I'm attaching a couple of photos with the crack and the ones I received from the owner with the boat lifted back in July.
Has anyone experienced this before and has any suggestions on what it might be?

Thank you

[JEN-et-ROSS]

Could be just an overlap in the GRP layup, hard to tell, but a surveyor will take the necessary steps to certify that it's either cosmetic or a result of damage.......
If in doubt walk away ........

[Yngmar]

Get yourself one of those USB pinhole inspection cameras (with LED light) and stick it in that limber hole, perhaps with a bit of wire coathanger attached so you can steer it. Then you can see the uncoated fibreglass inside the hollow stringer. This will tell the trained eye what's going on in there, whether the stringer is detached, delaminating (white areas) or if it's just cosmetic. Take lots of photos.

A small impact could cause this damage and the rest of the stringer and keel attachment would still be strong enough to keep the keel from moving, but it should then be repaired by grinding off the brown flowcoat and laying up more glass over the area. During grinding, the extent of any delamination will become visible. It's a messy job though and depending on where it is, you may need to remove some/lots of furniture to get there.

[SYJetzt]

Usually the bilge comparments like in your photo should by dust dry and clean. As shown on the photo the area seems to be wet, so something is wrong.
If i would sale this boat, i would give this compartment a proper cleaning. I would doubt about the proper maintenance, and for the messy cabling in this compartment too.
Hands off without a diligent survey!

[tiger79]

Doesn't look great for 2 reasons - (a) the crack, and (b) the presence of water.  I'd want a thorough survey of the area, or perhaps I'd save my money and just walk away....

[IslandAlchemy]

Do you have a photo showing where in the bilge this stringer crack is?  Is it at the back of the keel or at the front?

[symphony2]

In the second photo the keel to hull joint looks sound and no distortion in the hull aft of the keel so probably not been grounded. If the crack has been there for 14 years, probably not serious, but essential you get a thorough inspection from your surveyor.

[Markus]

The floor grid is first glued and then tabbed with fiberglass cloth to the bottom. The crack looks like it's through the tabbing but difficult to say for sure from the photo. Some significant force has been required for this to happen so either grounding or some mishap lifting the boat. There may be also delamination of tabbing from grid/bottom in the area. I have marked a couple of other possible cracks in the photo.

This does not sound like the worst kind of grounding damage, and everything can be repaired, but I would strongly recommend a through professional survey of the whole grid system and keel area. It's impossible to tell anything from the two outside photos.

[Baltic]

Hi

Look like.
Already repainted by topcoat.
Might be. Some GRP repair works have been made...

[Markus]

Hi

Look like.
Already repainted by topcoat.
Might be. Some GRP repair works have been made...

Well noted, it looks like there's a color change there so not the original topcoat.

[kavok]

I suggest to see all the beagle under all the floor, even all screwed floor, between Kell and engine. At this point is better to see all the boat beagle at the same time, pulling out all the floor.

[tiger79]

I suggest to see all the beagle under all the floor, even all screwed floor, between Kell and engine. At this point is better to see all the boat beagle at the same time, pulling out all the floor.

That's a huge job - much cheaper just to walk away and find another boat to buy.

[Markus]

I suggest to see all the beagle under all the floor, even all screwed floor, between Kell and engine. At this point is better to see all the boat beagle at the same time, pulling out all the floor.

That's a huge job - much cheaper just to walk away and find another boat to buy.

I think he meant just removing all the floor boards and inspecting, not actually removing the grid...

[HappyAfloat]

Hi

Look like.
Already repainted by topcoat.
Might be. Some GRP repair works have been made...

Well noted, it looks like there's a color change there so not the original topcoat.

That looks like a standard finish to me, my 38 is the same. There is a colour transition from the bilge flow coat to the grid where the tabbing has been painted over.

[tiger79]

I think he meant just removing all the floor boards and inspecting, not actually removing the grid...

Regardless, if you were selling would you let some random prospective buyer dismantle the interior?

[Markus]

I think he meant just removing all the floor boards and inspecting, not actually removing the grid...

Regardless, if you were selling would you let some random prospective buyer dismantle the interior?

If the buyer wanted to inspect under the screwed down floorboards I would definitely remove those for him. Anything other than that would sound quite suspicious to me if I was buying... Of course it's a bit different matter if the seller cannot be present.

[kavok]

I think he meant just removing all the floor boards and inspecting, not actually removing the grid...

Regardless, if you were selling would you let some random prospective buyer dismantle the interior?

That part is where you can see  damages due to keel grounding.

[alecholmes]

I am an owner of the same boat model and year. Give this one a miss, there is obviously something amiss with the bilge area and there are no limber holes standard in this location.

[Florina]

Thank you all for your taking the time to comment and provide suggestions. We decided to hire a surveyor to come and inspect the boat thoroughly. Depending on what he finds we will decide how we'll proceed.