[MC1600]

Does anyone know if the foredeck on the 4000 Express (1999 if it matters) is cored or solid fiberglass? I’m talking about the area forward of the windshield, by the bow pad. When I had my headliner down last year I thought for sure I saw the underside of bare fiberglass but can’t remember for sure. Figured I’d ask here if anyone knows. 

Thanks!

[hiccup]

It is cored. It would be fiberglass on both sides of the coring--gel coat over glass on the outside and raw fiberglass on the inside, with balsa in the middle. Let me guess, the bow pad attachment points penetrated the coring and water got in?

[MC1600]

Windshield, though I guess it could be those connection points for the bow pad. Of course this reveals itself during a survey. Never showed any signs, not soft or anything for the four years I’ve owned it, but of course the surveyor is making it sound like the boat is basically trashed. Ugh…

[hiccup]

Can be very expensive to remediate, lots of pictures available online showing examples. That said, the only way to know 100% is to actually see the coring, either through core samples or removing the top layer of glass. What the surveyor comes back with is an educated guess. Is he basing his opinion on moisture meter, percussion sounding, thermal camera, all the above? Is he saying it is delaminating or just wet?

If they're looking for a reasonable allowance to address, it is probably best to just continue with the sale, perhaps see if they'll meet you halfway. If they're looking for a huge reduction, I'd let them walk and sell to someone else with a less-nervous surveyor.

Just my 2 cents.

[MC1600]

Very helpful — thank you. They’re claiming delamination. No idea on the tools used but I like those talking points and will ask.

The whole thing seems a bit squishy to me (pardon the pun). Surveyor says a 4x4 section delaminated, got wet repeatedly, and even likely froze several times. To your point, I can’t imagine that’s not hard to ascertain without better evidence. The real kicker is then a fiberglass guy got onboard to look at it and says it’s a 2x12 section. That’s like the entire foredeck!? There’s also quite a difference between 4x4 and 2x12.

Of course every repair option seems to be blowing up the top/front of the boat and rebuilding. No one even considered trying to do the work from underneath when I asked. Plus, I find it VERY hard to believe this is all going on yet I feel NO softness whatsoever walking around up there. Solid as a rock.