Just say no to balsa?

[PalmettoSailor]

My search for my next boat seem to be coming down to 3 particular examples of the Catalina 36, Tartan 37 and Sabre 36. These are the boats that available in the local area that are going to fit my budget, are the desired size and have shoal draft.

The C36 has been the front runner because, I've been leery of the Sabre and Tartan despite their great reputations, due to the balsa cored hulls in these models. However, after revisiting my neighbors T37 today, I just feel like it was a lot more boat than the C36 in some ways. Each of these boats have their pros and cons, but am I putting too much weight on potential problems with the cored hulls on a boat from builders with the excellent reputation of these two builders?

I really love the interior joinery on the Sabre and Tartan. They are just more like what I think of when I think "yacht", so I'm starting to lean more that way. I thnk the Catalina 36 is a great boat, but don't want prematurely to rule out boats that might be offer a bit more performance and comfort when the wind/waves pipe up.

Should I just say no to balsa?

[camaraderie]

A below the waterline balsa core would kill the deal for me.

[RickLaPaz]

Give this article a spin. Just stumbled upon it tonight, since I may have a small problem of my own.

Caution: Not for the feint of heart........

http://www.marinesurveyor.com/meters.html

[uspirate]

Originally Posted by RickLaPaz

Give this article a spin. Just stumbled upon it tonight, since I may have a small problem of my own.

Caution: Not for the feint of heart........

http://www.marinesurveyor.com/meters.html

thx rick, interesting prospective.

[k1vsk]

There is lots of paranoia about cored hulls, some justified and some not. If it is properly maintained, a cored hull is not a problem. The real issue is how well it has been maintained which a careful hull survey will confirm. Far more important to me in choosing a boat would be how well the boat has been cared for and kept up which is often more difficult to determine precisely. Statistically, there are far more balsa cored deck boats around with far more things penetrating them resulting in far greater likelihood of deck core rot but most people seem to either ignore or accept that as normal.

All else being equal, the advantage of a cored hull will generally be a lighter and therefore usually faster boat which may or may not matter to you.

[sailingdog]

K1vsk--

The main difference is that the deck is not normally underwater a majority of the time... as the hull would be. If there were a core penetration, on a deck it may take several months before any real issues occur... in the hull, the same type of problem may occur in a much shorter time... and with the greater pressure of water, may occur over a much larger area.

Of the commonly used core materials, I think that Airex, or the related foams are the best material for a cored hull. It is a closed cell foam, and as such resists water absorbtion.

Another advantage of Airex is that it is relatively compressive, it may absorb enough of an impact's force to prevent the interior laminate from breaking—instead of having a hole, with water rushing into the boat, you'll have hull damage, and a boat you can still sail to someplace you can repair it. Balsa tends to transmit the impact forces from the outer skin to the inner skin, rupturing both.

Balsa is an excellent material for cored decks, which require the shear resistance and compressive strength of balsa. It also tends to localize the water damage, since it doesn't allow it to migrate, as some of the foam core materials will tend to do. It has much better heat distortion resistance than the foam materials, and as such is better for the deck, which is exposed to the sun and tends to heat up considerably. BTW, I've seen dark colored decks distort under the summer sun.

[sailingfool]

The Tartan 37 is a truly lovely boat, one that was on my short list...until I elimated any boats with cored hulls. You can make a different decision but do so knowing you are taking a chance on something that you cannot control or avoid.
As an object lession I offer the story of a friend who bought a Hinckley SW 42 a number of years ago. First rate builder, right? There is not a better. The survey was clean. His second season he noticed some blisters when he hauled, he retained the use of a different, high-end surveyor (the kind of guy most boat buyers' think is too expensive) who determined the ALL the Airex core in the hull was wet. The repair involved nine months in the shed, removal and replacement of all core, $20,000 and loss of a sailing season.

So relative to cored hulls, some posters say, trust a good name, some say trust a survey, I say "do you feel lucky today?"...

[k1vsk]

We often hear horror stories told in the second person as a reason to not do something. Blisters occur more frequently in non-cored hulls. My suggestion is find the best maintained used boat you fancy and buy it regardless of it's hull characteristics.
A more fundamantal issue with cored hulls is not the possibility of water intrusion at all but the effect of the lighter wieght hull material on the center of gravity of the boat. Obviously, cored hulls are lighter making the COG higher relative the the same design with a solid laminate hull. The effect of a higher COG on sailing characteristics can be profound and you would be well advised to consider that fact alone in your decision process.

[Sailormann]

So relative to cored hulls, some posters say, trust a good name, some say trust a survey, I say "do you feel lucky today?"...

Ditto

We often hear horror stories told in the second person as a reason to not do something.

Such as "don't touch the stove when it's hot", "don't drive drunk", "don't jump out of a plane without a parachute"... Sometimes it's good to learn from the wisdom of others. Just a thought....

[k1vsk]

Sailorman
There is a difference between hearsay and preaching common sense.