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I'm going to check out a Eastward Ho 31' this weekend, and although the condition of the boat seems to be good, I'm a bit worried about the deck to hull connection. Apparently the joint on this boat is made with adhesive only, no mechanical fasteners are used. The marine survey did not note any problem with this joint. Should this method of construction be of concern?
Thanks,
Matt
I'd be a bit surprised by that, since CE Ryder, the company that made the Eastward Ho series of boats, is pretty well known for very solid construction of the boats they built. Some modern boats are being made without mechanical fasteners... but I don't remember any older ones being made that way. Could it be that one of the previous owners re-did the hull-deck join and went with only adhesive?? What year is the boat??
By 1981, the adhesives may have been advanced enough that doing a hull-deck join with just adhesives was possible... I don't know off-hand what they would have used or whether it was good enough. I haven't seen any complaints on the CE Ryder boats, regardless of brand, regarding bad hull-deck joins, so I don't think it'll be a major issue. A good survey will tell you if the hull-deck join is leaking to any major degree. So will looking in the lockers and nooks and crannies on the boat.
The marine survey done in June did not find any problems with the joint, but I sail on the south side of Long Island and sometimes the wind and waves can get a bit gnarly so I want to be on the safe side.
Thanks for the info. Do you know much about Eastward Ho's? I haven't found much info on them except for one post which stated the company wasn't well managed.
I wouldn't say I know a lot about them... I do have some experience with them since a friend owned one for five or six years... and the build quality wasn't bad, as was the case with most of the CE Ryder boats, like the Southern Crosses, Sea Sprites and Eastward Hos, are pretty solidly built.
One of the issues, especially with the Southern Crosses, IIRC, was that many were factory built but owner finished. The interior quality on the owner finished boats varied from amazing, like one I looked at last year, to abysmal, like another I looked at last year... The first was finished out by a master carpenter, and the work was phenomenal... and well thought out..with easily removable furnishings so that hull access wasn't compromised seriously... the other looked like someone with an all expenses paid shopping trip to Ikea and a hot glue gun were let loose on the poor boat. From the looks of the second boat, much of the interior would have fallen apart if it had gotten wet for any extended period of time... particle board was their primary construction material... and it is not a good material for use on a boat.
I've also been on a few Sea Sprites and Southern Crosses during my time in the OPBYC... There was a website that I found last year that had a fair bit of information on all of the CE Ryder boats... I'll see if I can find the bookmark for it... I kind of doubt it as it was two computers ago for me.
The 31' IIRC.. Seemed to be okay as heavier cruising sailboats go.. I didn't sail on it much...spent more time re-fitting it when they first got it.. sold it to buy a SC35 IIRC.
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