[davidpm]

I'm thinking it might be useful to have a list of specific problems that are known to plague specific boats.

I'll start out with the one I know about.

Catalina 30 from about 1987 and earlier was built with plywood sandwiched between two layers of fiberglass in the keel stump.
This plywood rots and the keel bolts loosen up.
You can not just tighten the bolts as they have nothing to torque down to.
This shows up as the "Catalina Smile" a crack between the keel stub and the bolted on lead keel that can not be patched successfully.
There is a tech note from Catalina on how to fix it.
It involves digging out plywood and replacing with solid glass and then torquing the keel bolts at best or replacing them if they are corroded.
This is a good thread with pictures:
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/boat-review-purchase-forum/40630-catalina-30-a.html

Please mention the boat and the problem and the fix if you know.
This will be a good resource for folks shopping for a specific brand.

 

[Skipper995]

Holding Tanks

Many Hunters were built with aluminum holding tanks. They should be replaced as soon as possible before they begin to leak. Urine and sea water are very corrosive to aluminum and will eventually eat the tank from the inside out. From the outside the tank will look good as new but this belies the smelly mess that awaits. Replace it sooner than later for your own sake.

 

[smackdaddy]

Skip, this is a little off topic - but I dig the avatar dude! Nice.

 

[scottyt]

my 83 hunter has fiber glass tanks

but the 75 to 83 hunter 27 has a balsa core under the compression post, and a very shallow bilge like about 4 inches. the compression post is also fir, so it does rot if the boat gets too much water in it, which happens to be about 6 inches worth.

edit both things are not really a problem, unless its not watched and the boat gets way too much water in

 

[davidpm]

Someone mentioned a boat that used aluminum tanks. What was that?

 

[paulk]

One of the best places to find "issues" with different boats is in Practical Sailor's Used Boat Buyer's Guide. They go through a wide range of builders and designs, generally not witholding any punches.

 

[roline]

The Lapworth Cals 28 to 40 ft had a twartship support beam under the cabin sole that was tabbed to the bulkheads for support. It was mild steel and suffered corrosion. Most restored boats include the replacement of the dreaded beam. I found a couple pics for reference attached below. If you surf the web you can find many articles of this restoration process.

 

[Ken05]

All boats are a giant POS - except for mine.

 

[davidpm]

One of the best places to find "issues" with different boats is in Practical Sailor's Used Boat Buyer's Guide. They go through a wide range of builders and designs, generally not witholding any punches.

I just checked that out. Looks like it costs $10 for each review unless you by the books which don't have all the reviews.

 

[blt2ski]

I have a PS review of my boat, available somehow on the net by a search. Frankly, what a joke! While some of the info was good, other parts, frankly, I think were made up! They claimed 600+ hulls were made in 2 yrs, reality was, only 300 in three years, Altho if you include the later 6 yrs where another 400 were made with the same hull, 2 different deck/sail plans.....then you have over 600, but over 6 yrs! The review claimed some had outboards, but I find no record of that any where, they also claimed 70% were fin keeled, 30 with a CB, again, no record per say, and of the 15 I know of here in the US/Canada, all but one are fins, all but mine have wheels, I have a tiller..........Again, not sure I want to put a lot of faith in some of the reviews. As my boat was also done back in ther early 90's, and some long term issues as I describe below, may not have shown up as of yet!

Anyway,

Jeanneau's, mid 80s and some other brands with glued on foam back vinyl will fall off as the foam is beginning to disinagrate! I've replaced ALL of the hull/head liner in mine. Beneateaus from the same era had the same issues. The Cal 9.2 above may also have some of the same issues, as it was a Ron Holland Jeanneau Rush design, built here in the states, when Cal, Ranger, O'day and Jeanneau were all part of the Bangor Punta conglomaration.

Marty