crack at base of swing keel n 1990 daysailer

[wayrider]

Hi,

I am thinking of buying a 1990 daysailer on ebay. However, there is a crack at the base of the swing keel housing. The bid now is at $750, less than an hour to go. Looks like a decent boat from the photos - trailer included. My question - how serious an issue does this present? This is the area most sensitive to pressure in the hull. Here is a picture.
Thanks folks!

Bill

[K.C. Walker]

Bill,

If that is the only issue with the boat, it's not a big deal and an easy repair.

Of course, one has to wonder why it would have cracked. It almost looks like it was a factory defect, in that case an easy repair. If it cracked because of stress on the hull from underneath, then there might be other issues. The Rebel boats have a balsa wood core in the hull. This makes a nice stiff boat if no water has penetrated the core. If the boat has any cracks that have allowed water to penetrate the core it will have soft spots where the core has rotted. If it's a localized spot it's not too bad a repair. However, it can be a real problem to repair if the area or areas are large and need to be re-cored.

[GreenLake]

Mine is cracked there (perhaps not as deeply) but I've never seen reason to worry about it.