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Formula 353 with cracking engine bay liner and excessive stress cracks on bottom

Old 03-29-2016, 06:41 PM
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Default Formula 353 with cracking engine bay liner and excessive stress cracks on bottom

I am making a new thread for my repair on my Formula 353 with the engine bay liner failure. What got me to look at my boat a little closer was when I noticed some cracking around the engine mounts as well as some stress cracks in the engine bay in what I thought were odd locations. After seeing Chris's thread:

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/f...r-chillin.html

I dug a bit more to find out that was dealing with the exact same issue. So this thread is going to be my step by step in how I fixed the issue. Glass Dave has been a HUGE help in giving me time to bounce ideas off him and maybe saving me some steps. There is no doubt that his approach was needed due to the unknowns he was dealing with. Lucky for me I can get some of the info from him to know how deep that I am going to have to go! So thanks Chris and Glass Dave for being one step ahead of me.

I am not saying that my repair method is the best way to make this repair but as I progress I will update what my thought process is and maybe even Dave and Chris can chime in. I hope that this will allow others to see what the process can be god forbid they have to deal with the same thing. It is not a death nail in the boat. It is fixable and so far it does not look like an awful repair but is a technical one.

I am lucky that the manufacturer of Plexus is in the same town as my boat is in. Tomorrow I will be calling them up and seeing if there is any way that I can get them to come out and look at the boat, or maybe I can bring it to them. I will know more on this soon. My hope is that maybe they can let me know if they have any products that I should be looking at and or ideas on repairs.

The first picture is the one that made me think that maybe I was dealing with the same issues as Chris. It is the port motor mount. If you look behind the mount it has a crack at the bottom of the mount towards the transom.

I think we have all beat the Formula being responsible to death. I would like to keep this thread about the process and how it is done. If you have questions about why we are doing something a certain way or maybe some input on how we can do it better that is what this thread is for.

Thanks!
Attached Thumbnails Formula 353 with cracking engine bay liner and excessive stress cracks on bottom-1-cracks-around-motor-mount.jpg  
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Last edited by Audiofn; 03-29-2016 at 07:00 PM.
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Old 03-29-2016, 06:51 PM
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This image shows the plugs in the bottom of the boat. These are used I can only assume to inject the plexus into the underside of the liner.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]553178[/ATTACH]

Stress cracks in the floor.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]553179[/ATTACH]

Using a FEIN Multi master and a Bosch wood/metal bit I was able to very quickly cut a perimeter cut around the floor. I held back from my ultimate cut locations because I will radius all the corners for added strength. If you go to a hard corner then it can make a weak spot.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]553181[/ATTACH]
Attached Thumbnails Formula 353 with cracking engine bay liner and excessive stress cracks on bottom-2-plugs.jpg   Formula 353 with cracking engine bay liner and excessive stress cracks on bottom-3-stress-cracks-floor.jpg   Formula 353 with cracking engine bay liner and excessive stress cracks on bottom-4-start-cut.jpg  

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Old 03-29-2016, 06:59 PM
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This was the piece that I removed. As you can see the Plexus did not hold at all.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]553182[/ATTACH]

This is the floor were I removed that piece. You can see were the cavity is not 100% filled.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]553183[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]553184[/ATTACH]

This is what concerns me the most. There are HUGE gaps under the stringers. This I would assume should be down on the bottom of the boat (or very close) and have plexus between it? It is very inconsistent. There are some places that look like they have plexus and others that do not...

[ATTACH=CONFIG]553185[/ATTACH]

This is the middle stringer as you move away from the center of the boat farther up the V. On this side anyhow it has no plexus under it at all. So I can only guess that the hull would have flexed in that area as it was smashing through the water?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]553186[/ATTACH]
Attached Thumbnails Formula 353 with cracking engine bay liner and excessive stress cracks on bottom-5-piece-removed-between-stringers.jpg   Formula 353 with cracking engine bay liner and excessive stress cracks on bottom-6-plexus-under-removed-piece.jpg   Formula 353 with cracking engine bay liner and excessive stress cracks on bottom-7-plecus-under-liner.jpg  

Formula 353 with cracking engine bay liner and excessive stress cracks on bottom-8-gap-under-center-stringer.jpg   Formula 353 with cracking engine bay liner and excessive stress cracks on bottom-9-gap-under-middle-stringer.jpg  
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Old 03-29-2016, 07:18 PM
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Jon,

Great start to this thread. It is amazing to me how similar our issues are. When I started the thread with the issues to mine it was truly to bring exposure to all Fastech owners that there maybe other boats out there with similar issues. I am glad I was able to make you and hopefully others aware of possible concerns. I know you have a ton of work ahead of you. Dave will be a huge help with this project for you as we all know he has now first hand knowledge of it. I never imagined I would have you or anyone else in "my shoes"...fixing their boat. I am looking forward to your progress. I am certain Dave will chime in as well to share his expertise and insight. As others have mentioned, it is NOT catastrophic by no means. Does not make this any easier I know but certainly gives light at the end of the tunnel that it can be fixed...better than what it was when manufactured. I will share photos of mine either in this thread or mine as I get more from Dave...

Chris
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Old 03-29-2016, 10:57 PM
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Chris, I hope people will know what to look for and not get caught with their pants down like we did because we did not know what to look for. Only blaming myself! I also don't have the motors in my boat at this time so I kind of got lucky with that as well. So hopefully I can put the hammer down and get her done. Stay tuned I guess. Getting the Plexus out is what worries me the most. It looks like a nightmare and what seems to be the hardest part.
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Old 03-29-2016, 11:14 PM
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The liberal use of high explosives removes that pesky plexus every time!
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Old 03-30-2016, 04:56 AM
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Old 03-30-2016, 10:46 AM
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Ugh....
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Old 03-31-2016, 11:34 AM
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Well I guess I need to get my butt down into the bottom of my Bilge and see what I can see.
What year are your boats?
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Old 03-31-2016, 02:07 PM
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Originally Posted by Back4More
Well I guess I need to get my butt down into the bottom of my Bilge and see what I can see.
What year are your boats?
Mine is a 1999

Chris
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