Bubble / Pocket in Helm, finish caved in! Anyone else seen this? (pics)

[Kells]

Hello All,

So I was detailing the helm with the marine wax and what at first glance I thought was a bug, ended up being something much worst!

I noticed a 1/4" hole in the helm, and the finish or layer of the helm that was caved in, is sitting inside of the hole.  It does not go through to the other side, it's just as deep as it is wide.  I am picturing a bubble near the surface of the helm while being manufactured.  the part that was the exterior is thinner than a piece of paper or eggshell.  Obviously this is not standard helm thickness or the slightest touch would crumble the entire helm!

i just went back to review the photos I took at the dealership and there is some coverup or repair that is obvious in the picture that I did not notice earlier.   

Zoomed in:

After wiping with terry cloth towel with key for scale:

 

[BigKahuna]

Looks like a new helm at the end of the season! Do you have access to it from underneath?

 

[Geoffrey & Brenda]

Well that stinks! But you know the routine, call your dealer, email them the pics, and set a time for them to look at it.

I really don't think a new helm is in order, fiberglass and gel coat repair is not difficult, and being new (not sun faded) color match will not be a problem. Heck, i just got done repairing one of our Seadoo's, a 3" x 8" dock slam, you can't tell it ever happend.

Since the gel coat is the first layer to go into the helm mold, it can cover up any air pockets in the fiberglass. Which makes it hard to detect them unless they are visible from the inside. And typically gel coat is only 8-10 mils thick, so yes, kind of like an eggshell.

Let us know how this works out for you!

 

[sunnyside360]

I've had very similar imperfections --- one on a Larson and one on a Sea Ray both of which were repaired.  Both were on the bottom along strakes and covered under warranty.  You could not see where either was repaired and I never had any problems while owning.  Another time a relative hit my dock with the rear/top corner of my 24' Sea Ray and it was repaired like new -- needed both fiberglass and gel coat to fix --- insurance covered that one.

My guess is it will be repaired like new under warranty (assuming warranty hasn't expired).    Good luck.

 

[SEMPERFI8387]

Yeah, I'm sure these types of repairs at the factory level is not uncommon. Def contact your dealer though to get the issue noted and or in process.

 

[Kells]

@Geoffrey & Brenda, good info!  Sounds promising that it may be an easy fix

@BigKahuna - Yes I can reach up there from the inside, but I don't feel anything out of the ordinary (Fiberglass splinters are no joke!)

 

[BigKahuna]

Oh yeah it can be repaired. My kids hit each other when we had 2 jet skis and you couldn't tell they were even damaged. But if it's flimsy in that one area of the helm..........where else is it going to poke through? Just a thought............

 

[Freeride]

mine also has a little indent to the right of yours. al though it is not near as big as yours. I just thought it was imperfection in the gel coat

 

[Kells]

so I called the dealer, their warranty department said not a problem. They'll take care of it. Said that does happen and explain to me on the process of the gel coat in that it does happen. But its not a problem they can't fix. He said I'll have to get it out of the water so that does sound like a repair for after season. I'm not worried about it sounds like it will be a non-issue.

 

[1Tiredlady]

Nice to know that it will not be a battle to get it repaired. Its amazing how stressful that kind of thing can be. Grab a flesh coloured bandaid, slap it on and call it good until it gets too cold in your area to hang out on the toon.

 

[Kells]

keyword is "airvoid" or "air void" for future people searching.  Dealer just called me to come out for some warranty work and mentioned that.