I am not sure if I am missing something here but I have a 1997 382 FASTech and I don't have a liner in the bilge? Rather it is just a coat of gelcoat (rough coat) covering everything. I can see the outline of the grid system etc. Does this problem just apply to the 353's and/or later models? Or did they forget the liner on my boat??

All Fastechs 1998 and later except the 419 is built on the grid system. The only wood in the structure of the boat is the transom. Yes this Fastech has a problem but most other brands of boats in this year would have issues with wood rot by now. Jeff Wurl

Sorry, I was wrong about mine. Looking at the brochure for '97 I realize that I have the traditional stringer system (good news as far as this problem is concerned!)....

In my case it was not the plex that failed, In my opinion there was just not enough in the joint. We tested plex prior to the repair. We bonded numerous FRP pieces that had piled up in the corner of the shop. Some we cleaned, some we did not, some were painted, some were gelcoat. All the samples ripped apart way into the ply of the fiberglass. The product if applied correctly penetrates into the FRP deeply. This is why oversqueezing the joint is a very bad idea. Even the FRP that was dirty from laying outside bonded far beyond the strength of the fiberglass. Formula uses the MA425 I did not pull out of my hat.
Thanks, Dave

Sorry I did not mean to sound like I was questioning you. When I talked to the guys at Plexus a while ago they said 7 min work time. They do have some stuff that is very short so maybe they were confused or something changed in the production run. Who knows... All I do know is I am dealing with a mess! LOL

Little more time this evening before I headed home from work. I cut out some more between the outer most (large stringer) and the middle stringer.

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You can see from this picture that there was no contact with the liner.

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Again there is zero bond between the stringer and the bottom of the boat. I can't imagine that is good or desired.

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Wow Jon, That is a huge pile of plexus. Just like the porthole thing years ago, you'll get through it and it will pay off in the end. Bill

Jon do you have pics of the bottom and the stress cracks?

Thanks,
Dave

Dave i do not. I will try and get some later. The bottom is very dirty from the previous owner. I will see what I can do. I think the best course of action is to look for a hallow sound when tapping and press up on the bottom to see if it moves easily.

I would also keep post #25 in mind while looking for evidence...