Is Scorpio Ready for the Scrap Pile?

Scorpio was "hauled out" in early October following another successful year with wins in the Big Boat Series and Stone Cup, and second place finishes in the SF-Monterey Spinnaker Cup and Aldo Alessio Regatta.  Among other things, this "haul out" at KKMI in Point Richmond, was intended to finally rectify a problem with bottom paint applied there in May.  The Micron 33 paint which was used so successfully on Scorpio for years, is no longer available due to its tin content and consequent environmental problems.  For five years or so, this paint had been permitted only on aluminum hulls which are not compatible with other traditional paints.

In May, Trilux 33 white antifouling paint was applied on the lightly sanded hull.  On moving the pads, it became clear that this paint was incompatible with the underlying Micron 33 and that the entire bottom would have to be stripped, repainted with several coats of epoxy barrier, and subsequently painted with Trilux 33 or other paints compatible with aluminum.  Because of the magnitude of this job, it would have to wait until the end of the racing season.  After some minor touch ups in late July and early August, the boat was finally at KKMI for the winter in order that the job could be properly completed.

In stripping the entire bottom, the yard workers noticed some suspicious looking surface failures and ground out several spots to bare aluminum.  These spots would require special attention, including probable welding.  On November 22nd, John Siegel met with Kim Desenberg and Ken Keefe of KKMI who expressed serious concern about the bottom and recommended an outsider be hired to evaluate the extent of the corrosion damage so that an appropriate plan of action could be taken.  The next day, Naval Architect Tom Wylie, the designer of Scorpio, met with John and Ken and spent several hours discussing possibilities and probabilities.  At the end of the session, a small screw driver was inserted into one of the suspicious spots on the hull.  Unfortunately, the tool easily pierced the skin and penetrated the hull.  The same was done on another spot.  It was concluded that these two spots were directly beneath fore-aft aluminum support angle brackets.  Other suspicious hull spots existed under the same support braces.  While there were several visible corrosion depressions in the bilge area, the most severe electrolysis was occurring beneath internal supports and were invisible inside the boat.

So ... a routine bottom job has turned in to a wake for Scorpio as we know her.

The aluminum plating in Scorpio's bilge area is 1/8" although it's doubled around the mast step.  Because of this thinness, required for weight conservation and related performance, I suppose it's not surprising that after nearly 14 years of sitting in salt water, corrosion has caused this much damage.  Given the significance of this damage and the frightening prospect of more undetectable corrosion beneath fixed surfaces, it's clearly no longer prudent to sail the boat in SF Bay, let alone across the ocean.

                        

Tom Wylie stands beneath Scorpio.  Note 2.5" holes just aft of keel - aluminum samples sent to lab.
Could it be the aluminum manufacturer cut corners?

In the course of our discussions, we contemplated doing spot repairs to known bad areas and dry sailing the boat, but after discovering the severity of these damage, this is no longer viable.  It seems that three options remain:  (1) scrap the boat and sell off useful parts, sails, etc., (2) substantially replate the bottom, and (3) build a fiberglass hull from the female mold taken from Scorpio in the early 1990s.

Replating would necessitate removing the keel, rudder and mast and shipping the boat to Jim Betts in Verdi, NV or Anacortes, WA who would remove a significant portion of the bilge area (probably about 100 square feet), weld in new aluminum, then refair and repaint the bottom before returning it to KKMI for reinstallation of the removed components.  The problem with this option is that it is difficult to know just how far to go, and the corrosion problem would continue, giving the boat a probable additional 15 years of use.  It's also a costly undertaking.

Building a new hull from fiberglass and/or carbon is expensive, as is option 2, but it would extend the life indefinitely and would essentially eliminate electrolysis concerns.  Assuming this option is considered financially viable, the question is "what other performance changes should be made?"  A new keel, lighter hull, modified deck layout are all possibilities, but would add dramatically to the cost of the program.  Finances aside, option 3 is clearly desirable.  The existing deck and interior could be installed on a new hull within six months.

Given Scorpio's dominant success under IRC which seems to be "the" handicap rule for bigger boats for the next decade, do we really want to modernize the boat and forego the rating we now enjoy?  This consideration strongly suggests we build the hull as comparable as possible to the existing one, and hopefully the performance will remain about the same.  For example, the DK46 Zephyra is an extremely well-sailed,  modern, purpose-built IRC race boat.  In Stone Cup and Aldo Alessio, Scorpio has proven she can beat this brand new boat in sufficient breeze.  This fact would argue against doing much optimization.

Within the next few weeks, we expect to apply for a couple of trial IRC ratings, in order to see the likely impact of option 3 assuming duplicating current hull weight, and reducing it by 1,000 pounds.  That exercise should result in a better understanding of how much optimization to consider.  In the meantime, Jim Betts has supplied cost estimates for the repair options.