Recoring... ???

Soft spots in the deck of a seventies boat are not uncommon and are a cosmetic problem, not a structural problem. When evaluating this area and the ports a clean professional finish usually denotes good work. If the ports are secure, don't leak, and look well-finished; I would accept them. The rudder, of course, is of structural concern. It is not uncommon for delamination (port & starboard) cracks to appear in a old boat. The typical and best repair is to open the rudder; remove damaged core material; check for corrosion of the post and tangs. If the metals are sound, the rudder can be successfully rebuilt with fiberglass cloth tabbed over the original seam. Often, rudders rebuilt in this manner are stronger than what comes from the factory. I think a survey for purchase is always a good idea. 'take care and joy, Aythya crew

I would recommend walking away from this boat. It says:

Surrounding areas of ports were recored and injected with epoxy.

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Epoxy injection rarely is a good solution. If they recored the area around the ports, why would they need to inject epoxy if it was done properly???

Also, the quality of the recoring job can vary a lot... and without knowing who did the work and what kind of quality of work they do, it can mean that the work may have to be redone in short order, if it wasn't done properly.

backcreeksailor said:

I'm looking at a boat that has the following listed in the description and I need a little help in determining exactly what I should take away from it...

"...The deck walkways were completely recored, new fiberglass skin and paint. All port lights were removed, reglazed, and rebedded with butyl tape. Surrounding areas of ports were recored and injected with epoxy. The rudder was recored, reglassed, and refinished."

I don't know what is involved in "recoring", but I'm assuming it was needed as a result of water intrusion and/or other core rot/breakdown issues. This is on a late seventies Catalina that's within my price range.

Does the description above sound like the actions of a boat owner that's just diligent with maintenance of an older boat. Or should I be concerned that there's some larger long-term systemic issue with the coring of this boat that the owner is just trying to bandage over, which will likely end up being a financial nightmare for the next owner?

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If the repairs are not apparent, especially the decks...then they are well done and what you have is a boat with some expensive work completed...making it more attractive than the many boats for sale with similar work either not done at all or done in a DIY hack.

So to me, these repairs IF WELL DONE are a plus or at least not a negative...as long as a diligent survey signs off on the current status of the the boat.

Whether the repairs are cosmetically apparent have little to do with whether they are structurally sound. The finish and fit of the repairs could be perfect, but doesn't say anything about how strong the repair is.

As an example, one of my friends is a food prep artist for photographers... and she makes a beautiful turkey for the holiday photos... it looks perfect... However, if I were invited to eat her cooking, I'd hesitate. Her turkeys are usually raw, browned with a blowtorch and coated with motor oil... Not exactly edible-regardless of how good they look.

sailingfool said:

If the repairs are not apparent, especially the decks...then they are well done and what you have is a boat with some expensive work completed...making it more attractive than the many boats for sale with similar work either not done at all or done in a DIY hack.

So to me, these repairs IF WELL DONE are a plus or at least not a negative...as long as a diligent survey signs off on the current status of the the boat.

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I understand that repairs can be done well and they can be done poorly. So the work is definitely something I'll have examined by a professional surveyor if this boat becomes a serious candidate for purchase.

But is the consensus here that Recoring work (in general), isn't an unusual repair to see done for the upkeep of any late 70's early 80's boat? Or should I be concerned that these repairs were necessary at all?

I just want to know if it's worth my time to go look at this boat, or if I should write it off my list of potential candidates.

Just another opinion but from my own experience re-coring in boats this age on deck is pretty common. As for whether you should walk away from it or not would depend on having a professional look at the work and the price of the boat. I would not walk away for this reason alone.

From your post it says the decks were completely recored. That tends to lead to a positive instead of a touch up job. People have a tendency to only recore areas of heavy damage and leave trapped moister behind. I can also understand the injection of epoxy around the port lights along with re-coring, this based on my own experience.

As to the rudder I can not offer any help as I have had no experience in that type of rebuild.

Again it all comes down to the quality of work. That along with price and condition of the remainder of the boat.

You have a boat that was heavily water damaged and subsequently repaired. You have no warranty from the repairer, no way to tell how well or thoroughly they were done.

So the question is...do you want to gamble on the quality of that job? Or just walk away?

I'd say RUN away, because if the boat needed that much work, it was not getting routine maintenance to keep the water out--and that says there probably are other things (like routine oil changes and a dry bilge) that were also ignored.

Still...if the price is right and the work looks perfectly done, sometimes a gambler wins.

"Do ya feel lucky today?" [Dirty Harry]

But is the consensus here that Recoring work (in general), isn't an unusual repair to see done for the upkeep of any late 70's early 80's boat? Or should I be concerned that these repairs were necessary at all?

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It's very common. If done well, then it's nothing to worry about.

NOLAsailing said:

It's very common. If done well, then it's nothing to worry about.

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I agree. Rudder and deck re-coring are quite common on this vintage. A competent surveyor can tell you if the job is well done or not. This is not a reason to walk away.