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- Thread starter ProbeGT
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I'd say just buy one...Harbor Freight has them as well as ebay for relatively cheap:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=67143
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sonin-50218-Dig...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item45ed1f4b00
http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_tr..._nkw=moisture+meter&_sacat=See-All-Categories
Alternatively, my suggestion is you can call a few professional surveyors and ask them.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=67143
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sonin-50218-Dig...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item45ed1f4b00
http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_tr..._nkw=moisture+meter&_sacat=See-All-Categories
Alternatively, my suggestion is you can call a few professional surveyors and ask them.
This site contains eBay affiliate links for which Sea-Doo Forum may be compensated.
I'm not familar with the $13 one's quality, just pointing out that they can be purchased, but typically tools from that place work well enough in a bind.
Looks like you have a decent answer though...You had a surveyor do it before, so you can get in touch with a surveyor again or bite the bullet and purchase one for yourself.
If you do happen to get one, let us know which you purchased and how well it worked out for you. I'm sure others have had similar questions about this topic before.
Looks like you have a decent answer though...You had a surveyor do it before, so you can get in touch with a surveyor again or bite the bullet and purchase one for yourself.
If you do happen to get one, let us know which you purchased and how well it worked out for you. I'm sure others have had similar questions about this topic before.
Yacht or Seadoo?....
I'm not trying to be funny here but I had to research this question so I could understand the reason for a "need" for this type instrument in Seadoo's.
The Seadoo is not suppose to be kept in the water for long periods of time. Most riders use them on week-ends and those who own waterfront property, have a floating dock of lift. As long as the hulls are washed and waxed once a season, you should have no problems with delamination.
Those who have wrote in and said they did leave it tied to a dock or at a boat house through the summer months have also stated they used a bottom paint and anti-fouling. If the bottom coat is applied correctly, it should last for 3 to 5 years. With some of the expensive bottom paints lasting even longer.
I've seen problems from delamination and water leaks associated with it but that was when I had a sail boat. I was once a member with a Catalina forum. I had a 22ft wing keel. At the local marina, I saw many, many boats that were blistered and suffered from delamination because they tried to clean the blister out and just gel-coat and bottom paint over it. You really can't do that. When you have blisters, you have to grind them out and rinse them thoroughly. They have got to be dried well, usually with a heat lamp. Only then can you make repairs that will provide the hull with the original integrity.
For a typical Seadoo, not left in the water regularly, I don't see a reason for such an expensive tool. Please elaborate when you find what your looking for and for what type boat you need it for.........:cheers:
I'm not trying to be funny here but I had to research this question so I could understand the reason for a "need" for this type instrument in Seadoo's.
The Seadoo is not suppose to be kept in the water for long periods of time. Most riders use them on week-ends and those who own waterfront property, have a floating dock of lift. As long as the hulls are washed and waxed once a season, you should have no problems with delamination.
Those who have wrote in and said they did leave it tied to a dock or at a boat house through the summer months have also stated they used a bottom paint and anti-fouling. If the bottom coat is applied correctly, it should last for 3 to 5 years. With some of the expensive bottom paints lasting even longer.
I've seen problems from delamination and water leaks associated with it but that was when I had a sail boat. I was once a member with a Catalina forum. I had a 22ft wing keel. At the local marina, I saw many, many boats that were blistered and suffered from delamination because they tried to clean the blister out and just gel-coat and bottom paint over it. You really can't do that. When you have blisters, you have to grind them out and rinse them thoroughly. They have got to be dried well, usually with a heat lamp. Only then can you make repairs that will provide the hull with the original integrity.
For a typical Seadoo, not left in the water regularly, I don't see a reason for such an expensive tool. Please elaborate when you find what your looking for and for what type boat you need it for.........:cheers:
Well, when I sold my boat 2 weeks ago, the surveyor found a lot of wet areas on my boat, and a big delaminated spot under the hull. I had this boat for 1 year, and bougth it from a boat shop where it stayed inside on trailer for 5-6 months. When i was the owner, I never left the boat in the water. Where all this moisture came from?
The speedster i'm going to see tomorrow also passed a survey last year, the owner said he never left it in the water but he had to repair a little moisture spot under the hull. So I'd like to have a moisture meter to seek potential problems on it.
The speedster i'm going to see tomorrow also passed a survey last year, the owner said he never left it in the water but he had to repair a little moisture spot under the hull. So I'd like to have a moisture meter to seek potential problems on it.
Moisture content?
I find that very interesting, since most people don't even consider "delamination". It isn't something you typically see with our boats or skis.
The occurance of delamination occuring on your behalf is practically nil, from what you've just stated. So, that leaves manufacturer defects. I would almost bet this is fairly common since 90% of the population would not think of something like this, to a boat that is not left at dockside.
Delamination occurs when the glass fibers begin to seperate, allowing water to seep in and continue the process to the point that the hull will loose it's integrity, eventually failure and sinking.
It's not uncommon to see this in outboard boat transoms. Anywhere you drill a hole through the fiberglass, you set yourself up for the start of delamination. But what I find unique in your thread is, we don't leave our boats in the water and if 90% of the time, delamination in fiberglass is caused by water, how is it getting between the layers of fiberglass with a solid gel coat. If you leave it in the water, then you have barnnacles and other marine growth that can penetrate the hull and start this process. But, not from just normal use like you pointed out. If this has truly happened in your instance, it's not somthing you did. It would obviously be from a defect in the fiberglass during molding.
With the price of the newer Seadoo's reaching into the $50,000 USD, I guess protecting your investment with the moisture meter would be to your advantage. I have been in boats for over 40 years and have never had or seen anyone use a "surveyor" before buying a recreational boat. I can see it if I were buying a million dollar yacht, but not a jet boat. Of course, this is only my opinion and experience living in the southern U.S..
I would be curious about this surveyor that found this big spot under your hull. I would also want to test many boats to form a base line. I don't think it's possible to have a 100% moisture free environment, on Earth anyway.
If you've seen a hull being made and formed, then the glass being attached, you can see where they would almost need a vacuum type atmosphere to make sure they had 100% moisture free glass. Any tiny air bubble that go un-noticed, could start the delamination process. So, that would lead you to believe that these builders are certain there are no air buddles in the resin.
This is a really deep subject and in your case, a very important one. In all my years, I've never seen a concern to the degree that a special meter was needed to protect or get a sale on a sport boat. I've been here now since 2007 and you are the first member to ask this question. So, it's really not something a lot of people with our Seadoo's are concerned with. Now, go to a sailboat or yachting forum, I'll bet you see a lot of comments or people looking for information about this subject.
Thanks for the update and input. I hope you use this device on many boats, even new ones to see what kind of moisture percentages you come up with.:cheers:
I find that very interesting, since most people don't even consider "delamination". It isn't something you typically see with our boats or skis.
The occurance of delamination occuring on your behalf is practically nil, from what you've just stated. So, that leaves manufacturer defects. I would almost bet this is fairly common since 90% of the population would not think of something like this, to a boat that is not left at dockside.
Delamination occurs when the glass fibers begin to seperate, allowing water to seep in and continue the process to the point that the hull will loose it's integrity, eventually failure and sinking.
It's not uncommon to see this in outboard boat transoms. Anywhere you drill a hole through the fiberglass, you set yourself up for the start of delamination. But what I find unique in your thread is, we don't leave our boats in the water and if 90% of the time, delamination in fiberglass is caused by water, how is it getting between the layers of fiberglass with a solid gel coat. If you leave it in the water, then you have barnnacles and other marine growth that can penetrate the hull and start this process. But, not from just normal use like you pointed out. If this has truly happened in your instance, it's not somthing you did. It would obviously be from a defect in the fiberglass during molding.
With the price of the newer Seadoo's reaching into the $50,000 USD, I guess protecting your investment with the moisture meter would be to your advantage. I have been in boats for over 40 years and have never had or seen anyone use a "surveyor" before buying a recreational boat. I can see it if I were buying a million dollar yacht, but not a jet boat. Of course, this is only my opinion and experience living in the southern U.S..
I would be curious about this surveyor that found this big spot under your hull. I would also want to test many boats to form a base line. I don't think it's possible to have a 100% moisture free environment, on Earth anyway.
If you've seen a hull being made and formed, then the glass being attached, you can see where they would almost need a vacuum type atmosphere to make sure they had 100% moisture free glass. Any tiny air bubble that go un-noticed, could start the delamination process. So, that would lead you to believe that these builders are certain there are no air buddles in the resin.
This is a really deep subject and in your case, a very important one. In all my years, I've never seen a concern to the degree that a special meter was needed to protect or get a sale on a sport boat. I've been here now since 2007 and you are the first member to ask this question. So, it's really not something a lot of people with our Seadoo's are concerned with. Now, go to a sailboat or yachting forum, I'll bet you see a lot of comments or people looking for information about this subject.
Thanks for the update and input. I hope you use this device on many boats, even new ones to see what kind of moisture percentages you come up with.:cheers:
Well, the surveyor was a nice guy, he had a little hammer and he shown me were the wet spots were and why he could tell the was delamination (he hit the area and you can hear there's a resonance in the area). It's hard to tell but in another area where there was no de-lamination (let's say 3-4 inches from the wet area) when he hit the hull with the hammer, it was really making a different sound, a more solid one. I Plaster drywall walls as my job and I immediately recognized this particular sound wich also occur when there's air bubble in a drywall joint. That guy learned me a lot of things to look at when I'm buying a boat. The bad part is I had to cut my boat 1000$ because of needed repairs. Actually, for a boat more than 10 years old here insurances demand that you do a boat survey every 5 years (one company even asked every 2 years wich is ridiculous). Since delamination is a serious problem that can cost a lot of money to repair or even cost the boat itself, I'm really concerned about the hull quality i'll buy before spending 9000$ on the speedster I want to buy. There were also wet area near my jetpump (mercury jetpump) but not delaminated. Why was that, I don't know, there was no breach visible or deep scarch (scarf? scratch? sry my english isn't perfect). This guy really scared me when he done the survey on my boat, I never tought this could happen on a boat that's not left in water. He told me because these boats take a big beating, fiberglass tends to work and water get trough. I'm going to take a look at the speedster this afternoon but i can't test it yet since lakes are not ready in his area. If it's good i'll give an acount and return test it before i buy it but i'd also like to scan the hull to make sure it's safe and good.
