Cored Hulls Up North?

[redstripesailor]

I'm planning on living aboard in Rhode Island next winter. I'm currently looking at my options and I was wondering: Is it important to have a cored hull for insulation reasons? I imagine condensation can get pretty bad during a New England winter, is it much worse in a solid glass hull than a cored hull?

[Sequitur]

My hull is solid below the waterline and end-grain balsa cored above. I did a considerable amount of sailing last winter, and spent many nights aboard in temperatures ranging a few degrees either side of freezing. Winters in Vancouver (also called Raincouver), on the Westcoast (also called the Wetcoast) are famous for their long periods of non-stop drizzle, interspersed with a couple of days of clear cold weather. These conditions make the area a great test lab for live-aboard comfort.

Using either my Espar hydronic system at sea or my portable heaters when plugged-in alongside, my boat stayed warm and comfortable and the relative humidity stayed in the 55% to 60% range most of the time. Except the few times when I boiled pasta, or other such, with all the ports and hatches closed in the incessant rain, there was no noticeable condensation. The bilges remained dry, so there was no behind the scenes condensation, and my bed always felt dry.

So, to answer your question, I would think that coring above the waterline in a hull will contribute significantly to the interior comfort.

[sailingdog]

Yes, cored hulls and decks are considerably warmer and less prone to condensation than uncored fiberglass hulls and decks.

[redstripesailor]

thank's y'all. that's what i thought. i've been sailing for 15 years, all of it on wooden boats. this fiberglass stuff is all new!

[Sequitur]

Looking back to the winters of the early 80s in my 1969 Mariner ketch (48' for moorage for 31' of waterline ) with its inch-thick solid fibreglass hull, I recall having to lay-out towels along the shelves and sea berths where they met the hull in order to absorb the runnels of condensation on the interior of the hull. I even remember a few times when it got so humid that it actually "rained" in the boat.

God bless the modern cored hull, and so many other advances in boat design and boat building technology.

[windyspirit]

We lived aboard a wooden hulled vessel for 17 years. Make sure you have good fans, ventilation and a good sweater to wear. That keeps the 'wet-coast' humidity out!