Looking at a really nice boat, but those decks...

[Timoqueg]

Scott,

If you were looking for the extreme sport in horrific punishments to inflict on a person in the Middle Ages that they hadn't thought of yet, give them a 1970s boat with a core/deck problem. No, not just a "core" problem or a "deck" problem, but mix 'em up. That is it - bingo! Yes, there is the rack, dunking, all those things with spikes on them, etc., but they didn't have fiberglass boat core and fiberglass+core+deck problems in the Middle Ages. Forcing someone to fix "that" would have gotten the truth out of anybody!

So, when you are on the TV game show called "Name That Boat Owner's Headache," after the electrical problems, the wet iron keel, and the keel that grounded under full sail, what you found there is the boater's bonus headache question.

Scott, I have pulled three boats from the grave. Now, - today, hindsight, I would look at the survey, both of them, and ask myself this question, "Do I have my own, personal experience fixing the items noted on the surveys and am I really, really good at it?"

[Timoqueg]

Alansmith, your reply to this question is the cold, stale, sailing sandwich of boat repair, lol.
I would rather you walk up to my boat and shoot a hole in it than mess with that deck.

[Near2KR]

Originally Posted by picklesandjesse

Not the same displacement or volume as the Irwin. Do you get the feeling that some of us want you to save this boat ?? I singlehanded the F and C 44 a few times. Who needs friends ??

Oh, I'm fully aware of how different these two beasts are. But the size and cost of things such as sails, ground tackle, winches etc are closer together than apart. In the relatively expensive northeast us, berths are much less available for boats over 40ft as well.

Still nice to see that there are others that find her bones attractive.

[roblanford]

I once bought an Alden steel ketch that "deserved" to be saved. An old salt welder tried to warn me off by saying 'John Wayne was a great actor but it was a waste of time and money to do CPR on him'. Listen to him, not like I didn't.

[Timoqueg]

Folks,

Maybe we should be thinking on a larger scale? Perhaps we should form a company called www.oldboatinterventions.com?

[lifeofreilly57]

I am currently in the middle of doing a deck strip and glass. Fortunately the deck core in this boat is not compromised, I am getting rid of the teak to reduce the amount of maintenance and eliminate future issues. Removing the teak, which requires prying it up and stripping it took 4 days of labor by two people, all while my sons removed the screws. Forget saving the teak, it,s usually bonded and screwed to the deck, your going to be ripping it up and being able to get maybe 15% salvageable.
Scraping and using solvent to remove the sealant residue is 4 days (on a 47 foot boat) for one person, then sanding is another 2-3 days by one person.
In my case I am not going to even try to individually fill every screw hole, I'm just going to squeegy thickened epoxy into the holes, then lay a layer of biaxial glass onto the deck. Of course before doing so I have to fair and sand the deck prior to glassing, and then do it again prior to painting.
In my case it's worth it, the deck core is solid and dry, as for removing all the deck hardware, including the glassed in chainplates, I would have done this on any boat I've just purchased. One of my first "big" boats rained as much inside as it did outside, I decided that was not a good condition at the time, since then, I always strip the deck and rebeded all the deck hardware on any boat I've owned, it is a bit of labor, but pays countless dividends down the road, you don't get dripped on in you berth, your deck doesn't rot, and your interior doesn't turn to crap. A little mold anyone?
Yeah, the deck work is going to cost me about two weeks of solid labor, followed by about 3 days of remounting deck hardware, but if past experience serves me well, it give me about ten years of leak free existence. A fair price to pay?