Boat hull maintainence

What are some of the diagnostic equipment used to monitor hulls, and hull maintenance requirements

 

small hammer.. tap tap

 

Good insurance

 

Fitzgerald999, considering the possible number materials a hull can be built of and the various approaches toward maintenance of each, this question will need considerable refinement to answer.

 

Which material?

edit: oh, PAR was faster...

 

Ultrasonic thickness gauge (works very well on steel and aluminium, but needs setting up for the specific material. Can work for GRP, but can be a pig to setup)

Paint thickness gauge (also ultrasonic).

Ultrasonic tap hammer (has a learning curve)

Echoscopic analysis (GRP, detect delamination)

Hole saw (works very well, but there is a small drawback...)

For some boats good insurance and a torch are the best solution indeed...