Foam-Cored Hulls!

[Leee]

Enjoying this informative discussion on a subject relevant to a couple of boats I am considering.

Just curious, Cheechako, what was your 44' cored with and what manufacturer and model was it?

[Cheechako]

The 44 was a ta chaio (CT) built Tanton 44 cutter. It was probably my favorite mono design of all time. It was balsa cored from the deck to the waterline and solid below that. Unfortunately, a through hull was put in the core (at the factory) just at the water line (the core on that side extended probably 6" below the water line... chinese quality control!) The through hull bedding leaked over time saturating about 12" vertically and about 20 feet long! A long strip was sawed out of the boat, the soggy core removed, new kelgecell foam put in and reglassed and faired. The entire boat was repainted. I decided to paint the decks as well etc. $40,000 later it was done! Strangely, that's one of the few boats I ever made money on when I sold it!