Hi, I am looking at a used NDK Explorer Lv (standard layup). The boat is a few years old, but has only been in use for one season. The front deck over the bulkhead is rippled with an indent directly over the bulkhead. This occurs to a lesser extent over rear bulkhead. I was told that this occurred due to heat build up in the hatches, and does not affect the integrity of the boat. Do you think this is an issue beyond cosmetic? Do you think it would affect resale value in the future if I were to buy this boat, and then later decide to sell it? I have always owned plastic, so not sure what to expect with glass. Thanks!
Not unusual
especially in an NDK. It may have come from the factory that way.
Check the area around all three bulkheads for spider cracking, on both the deck and the hull. They use a lot of gelcoat on their boats, which leaves them prone to cracks which are only cosmetic, but indicative of flexing. If there’s no spider cracks, it’s a fair bet that the boat hasn’t flexed much right there.
My better half’s Explorer LV spider cracked on the deck over the rear bulkhead pretty significantly after only a month of using it, and it had been sitting in a warehouse for a year before she bought it. And she babies her boats, and stays away from rocks and gets out in the surf rather than running them up the beach.
ANd if you’re concerned about flex from heat expansion, drill a tiny (Smallest drill bit you can find is plenty) pinhole in the bulkheads right in the center - problem solved.
Rippling and heat
You might have to explain rippled. Are we talking pruney skin rippled or slight wave, like how window glass in an old house might look?
The boat, even if left in direct sun on the hottest day can’t get hot enough to ripple on it’s own. And while plenty of folks will point out NDK’s track record of quality, you can’t build a rippled boat with a gelcoat finish in a female mold. I’ve seen boats hung in rafters go through garage fires come out rippled. You can buff out the smoke damage, but I wouldn’t want that boat.
Seeing slight waves in the finish is not abnormal in any glass boat. The deck of the LV Explorer is exceptionally flat. It would easily show any imperfection.
Don’t worry about resale value. If it will hurt the value later, you should be getting one heck of a deal now. You do plan on paddling the boat right? Plan on putting some scratches on it and smack into something real hard to show your prospective future buyer that you loved the boat and paddled it hard. They’ll be more envious of the good times you had than a slight cosmetic blemish.
ripples
no not pruney skin…wavy like an old window. Of course I intend on paddling it, but wondered if it would be an issue if I did want to sell it someday. The current owner told me it was from heat build up, so I assume it did not come from the factory that way. I did not notice any spider cracking. She assured me it was cosmetic, not a structure issue, but since I’ve never owned a glass boat, I wanted to confirm this.
NDK flat surfaces
i agree with the poster about NDK’s and their very ‘Greenlandic’ stylings, with lots of flat surfaces. i’ve never seen one that doesn’t have rippled surfaces.