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Okay, I sailed that T****N 33 that I have been looking at, last evening. 12 kts of wind or so in Solomons, MD, and a lovely warm evening. I just wanted say that, no matter what the issues are with cored hulls in general, this 1981 T****n 33 is a spectacular boat. Solid, tight, great to windward. Turns on a dime. And the boat is beautifully maintained. All of 2 spider cracks on the original gelcoat. I am in lust (and it has nothing to do with TB's family pictures).
Cuncur you are right V. But there have been numerous and contentious threads concerning (ssshhhhhhh) balsa cored hulls, which the '81 tartan 33 has. No reported problems with bottoms on these boats that I can find, and the magnificent condition of the boat gives me confidence. This guy is a sailor's sailor, and has loved this boat well. We shall see....
I agree. It's basically an "either/or". Either the boat's got a core as water-free as the day it was laid down, or you walk away, because no good can come from a soaking core.
Bardo -- Cored hulls usually elicit that knee jerk reaction you allude to because some people like to scream "fire" for no good reason. There are thousands of cored hulled boats out there doing just fine. And there are thousands of solid glass boats out there with voids in them. Go figure. In either case, a good surveyor will find any problems and then you take it from there. A good boat is a good boat no matter what the hull construction is. The T-33 is a great boat. Go for it!
BTW, I generally would prefer foam core materials for the hull, rather than balsa. The more compressible foams are better in terms of dealing with damage and may absorb an impact enough so the inner laminate isn't breached. It is also not subject to rot in the case of a laminate penetration, but still needs to be surveyed quite carefully.
Would the T33 you sailed be Magic or Tango? I took a look at Tango about a year ago; seemed like a nice boat. They've both been on the market for quite some time.
I have looked at both Magic and Tango as well. Concur good boats. This is an order of magnitude better and fully equipped including newer sails, brand new bimini, dodger and connecter etc.
Bardo...re: cored hulls.
My problem with them is for cruising to distant places and the difficulty of repairing such hulls should they be broached. Assuming you get a clean survey from a good surbeyor and don't do anything to let water in between the "sheets", I don't see any reason not to get one for US Coastal cruising.
The difficulty of surveying such a hull has been noted before so you might want to ask around about who the racing sailors use for surveys since most of those hulls are cored and you want someone with experience.
Bardo,
I have a 30 year old T-37 with partial coring and have owned the boat for twelve years. I have not had a problem at all with the coring and have drilled a couple of thru holes for seacocks, the outer skin of glass is quite substantial and could stand on its own. I'm not sure if the T-33 shares the same fibreglass layup, but they are both S&S hull designs so they could.
As others have said, get a good survey and you'll be fine. If you have to do a repair on it, it's not technically difficult, but could be expensive if you get a yard to do the work. Good luck, sounds like you've found a great boat.
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