I'll be watching these repairs closely.
Keep the information and pictures coming.

Thanks for sharing.

Pure speculation on my end but my gut feeling is that it is not a Plexus issue but asking a lot for the build team. The work time with Plexus (at least back then) was very very short. I just can't see a way to do all the work they had to do and have it be correct unless they had a HUGE crew on it? Again just speculation as I have no idea how they do it in the factory. I know Plexus is fantastic stuff but very hard to work due to the time limitations and required compression specs. I have more guesses but because they are just that I will keep them to myself.

This has been beat to death on Bad Monkeys thread. I will respond to it this one time and hopefully we can leave it at that. The boat is a 1999. Hull warrantee at that time was I think 2 years? We are now at year 16 or so depending on when the boat went into service. That for me anyhow is a LOT to ask of a manufacturer. Also if Formula was to admit any responsibility in any of this they would be opening up pandora's box for liability. I hold zero ill will to the manufacturer this is a very old boat at this point. I have no idea how the former owner drove it or anything like that. Should this have happened? No clearly it should not! For me however this is easier then building a motor, so while i wish I did not have to do it, it is what it is. Move on and fix it and hope that I can get the boat back in the water as fast as possible.

I have talked to them in the past and they were fantastic. I remember it was tough to get in touch with them. Since they are close maybe I will jus have to take a drive over. ;-)

Jon,
Just to chime in here, particularly if folks are hunting for similar problems, one thing that made this more obvious to find in your case is the fact your stepped hull is sitting on that temporary non-stepped bunk trailer (not to mention with motors pulled).

I suspect the weight of a fully rigged hull sitting on a properly fitted bunk trailer would have the stringer grid and what ever plexus is in there snug up against the outer hull making it much more difficult to deflect via deflection or even a hollow sounding hull from the outside. Looking for the tell tale spider cracks in the gel from the underside would seem to be a pretty sure bet. A close visual inspection of a well cleaned bilge and outer hull will tell the story.

Another consideration (and I'm sure you know this) once you get to the rebuilding phase, you are going to need to get that boat onto a proper set of stands to be sure things are straight before doing any glass work. Kind of curious if having a factory built (for that hull) bunk trailer is your best bet? Most of the trailers I've seen under Formulas look to be very well supported.

Good thread and kudos to you for having at this on your own. Agree on getting the plexus out of there being a nightmare, specially if you are not planning to extract the stringer grid in the affected areas.

Carry on and happy to stop down to check in on your progress.

at this point it is what is, fix it and move on,
the first time you take it for a ride you will forget about all this and I am sure you will have a smile on your face.

From what I remember Plexus has a entire line of products, Some with longer working time. As for the factory procedures They buy in bulk drums and have large application guns. I think it would only take a few minutes to apply and set a liner. A crane and small crew. I think the neat thing is there is no structural wood in the hull other than the transom and 3 pcs of 4x4 directly below the engine mounts for through bolting. This was on my 382. Be sure to check the "use by" date on the tubes. Shelf life is limited.

The work time when I talked to Plexus last was 7 min.

Hi Audiofn
Here is the tech data sheet on MA425. 30~35 minutes. This is what we experienced when we did my repair. Plenty of time.
http://www.itwplexus.com/UserFiles/File/tds2/26.pdf

Thanks, Dave

Dave,

I am not sure if the MA 425 is wha they used at the factory? Do we know if that is the case? I guess at this point it does not matter for me. I am really torn if i want to use it again even just a little bit. i know what result I will get with resin and some grinding... Do I go with the known or try something that has just failed me?