coronado 35

[rappitysnap]

would anyone here happen to know if the coronado 35 has a balsa core hull below the deck/waterline? looking at one to possibly purchase and concerned about this type of construction. i would assume solid glass would be less problematic.

[Jeff_H]

The Coronado's do not have balsa coring below the waterline or below the deck line, but, they lack internal framing, have external flange hull to deck joints, and depending on the year, had a lot of chopped glass in their construction. The lack of internal framing especially when coupled with the use of chopped glass can be far more problematic than a carefully constructed balsa cored hull.

As a Sailnet Moderator I want to point out to you that questions dealing with specific makes and models should be placed in the "Buying A Boat" category and not in "Sailboat Design and Construction", a forum that is intended as a forum for a more generalized discussion of the pros and cons of various design and construction attributes.

Respectfully,
Jeff

[Sailingbum]

With all do respect Jeff the Coronado 35 was not a chopper gun hull and the hull supports were in the form of a decent/strong glassed in cabin insert / liner with lower Glassed in 3"W crossbeams for hull/keel support running from the forward cabin to the aft before tappering off. I have found the hull itself to be very strong hand laid glass with some thru-hull core cuts being 3/4"-1" thick. A weaker H/L mat Topsides at 1/4-5/16" is backed by 1/4 fiberglass liner panel at least in the Californian model.
Not a blue water cruiser at all but with a few hardware upgrades needed due to the low cost production plan the hull is sound and it makes a fine windabago for Carribean Island hopping.
I have yet to hear anything bad in it's basic contruction that wasn't due to neglect or improper maitainance. This roomy affordable boat is a Tripp.

Most chopper gunning did not start on larger vessels (because of the oil crunch and economy til' around 1974) the 35's last real year. Balsa was mostly unheard of until the mid 80's again for manufacturing economy and decreasing hull wieght.
I read a Columbia 34 (the same hull as the Coronado 35)had completed a circumnavigation around 6 years ago.

[Jeff_H]

With all due respect to Sailing Bum, the Coronado that I installed a thru-hull on in the 1970's had a large amount of non-directional material in the hull, with roving in the outer and near the inner layups as was common on bigger boats that employed chopped glass during that era. One of the guys in the yard at the time had worked at Coronado and he told me that they were using chopper gun material to build up hull thickness and how much he hated using chopper guns. As I noted in my comment, the use of chopped glass varied with the production year, especially since the last ones, which were built by Hughes in Canada, had an entirely updated structural system and lay-up schedule.

The one that I worked on had a non-structural liner that was slurried in place almost randomly rather than tabbed into place and had almost no internal structure except for partial bulkheads near the main companionway, near the head/frd cabin and a transverse frame under the mast jackpost.

Just for the record, balsa coring came into use in the early 1960's. Our 1963 Vanguard had balsa Core decks and my 1965 C&C designed 22 footer had balsa coring in its internal structure. Balsa cored hulls were tried nearly from the beginning of fiberglass boat building, but did not show up that frequently in production boats until the 1970's. Balsa cored hulls are generally stronger but more expensive to build and so rarely show up on value oriented models like the boat in question.

Jeff

[sander06]

Jeff...

Luv the "value-oriented" term!

The bottom line is that a Coronado isn't the greatest boat around.

Good-luck with your choice, Mate!

[rappitysnap]

the 71 coronado 41' i have is balsa cored below the waterline. i have looked at a 35 footer made in 75 that seemed to be a lot lighter construction. perhaps because of the rise in cost of materials? id like to add she is holding up very well for 37 year old production boat. there are better boats out there i agree but she can take you there on cruisers budget.