Allied Seawind 30 Soft Spots?

[gerryandnancy]

We just had an Allied Seawind 30 (1972) surveyed ...waiting for the report seems as though she had a few soft spots at the boarding stanchions and one other on the top sides port. She is a beautiful boat and has been with the same owner for 29 years...lovingly cared for it seems. Your thoughts on the boat and/or the soft spots? We are new and from Salem, MA.

[Cheechako]

soft spots....? Is it a cored hull?

[gerryandnancy]

Thanks for the reply. The wet spots (detected with survey meter) are not soft...
They are on the top deck near the boarding stanchions and a bit forward where it looks as though a heavy object may have been dropped there. Tiny circle of crazing and then the water detected around the spot.

We love the boat but want to make sure she is as sold as she seems.

[Talbot]

You are looking at a 37 year old boat - It is not a question whether a boat of that age has problems.

It is a question of how easy/expensive is it to solve, and can you live with that.

[barnakiel]

If cored hull then delaminated. Possible to fix but only for a real do-it-yourself epoxy addict.

Otherwise, if just cruising in vicinity, fix it, use it.

[Cheechako]

If those are the only two wet spots in the deck in a boat that old it's really pretty good. If they are not very large it's real good. Did the surveyor tap out the deck with a hammer or something like that? or just use the meter? (FYI: "Topsides" normally refers to the hull from the deck joint down to the water line.)

[gerryandnancy]

Thanks for the replies. The wet spot in on the bridge deck!! Yikes, not the hull. The surveyor did use his little hammer and it is not soft. Guess we will go over the completed survey when it arrives. He took digital photos of everything and is sending a CD.

[Fishspearit]

I wouldn't worry about it. Worry about deck problems when the core gets saturated and the deck has a soft, spongy section.

The Seawinds are great boats. We lived and cruised on one for seven years. It will take you anywhere you dare to go.

[Cheechako]

I tend to trust the hammer more than the meter. if the hammer rings true it's usually dry inside, if it varies as you move along and becomes "dead" that likely means wet core. Good luck! People are usualy pumped and financialy committed at the stage you are, but take a deep breath and think about each thing you consider "must haves" to be done to the boat....

[Ocean Girl]

Love Allieds! Great boats, very well built, the deck to hull joint (which I am sure your surveyor looked at) should be checked very well. Mom had an Allied seawind ketch (Alexandra out of kemah, TX, don't remember her hull#) and only sold it because she met my dad and he had the bigger boat. She did have trouble with a leaky deck to hull joint, but other than that she loved the boat.
One thing about soft spots is- if it feels about the size of a quarter then its probably about the size of a softball. BUT, something that size can be fixed pretty easy possibly just injecting the areas with a good penentrating epoxy, your surveyor would be the person to give you advice about the best way to fix it. My parents sailed around the world with a soft spot on the foredeck and in the cockpit, so really they are not the doom they may seem BUT it really depends on the location. Soft spots anywhere near the midship, the very forward, and aft ends, would concern me due to it being near the chainplates.
I wish you good luck on the purchase of the boat. Welcome to the forum.
Cheers,
Erika

[gerryandnancy]

Thanks, Erika. We really love the boat and will have someone going over the survey with us (a third opinion, if you will). My husband and I visited Kemah before the devastating hurricane. It was a beautiful place...so many boats coming and out.
Nancy

[s/v Moondancer]

Make fixing the soft spots part of the purchase agreement, get an estimate and have the seller escrow sufficient money to pay the bill and then some for the unforseen.

The real fix is to grind off the top layer back to good core and replace the core and the top layer. Cost will be per sq ft. Gets more complicated if it involves stanchions and chain plates.

It is essential to find out where and how the water got in to soften the core.

Phil

[pressuredrop]

i have a 1964 allied seawind, hull #25, that was converted to a pilothouse sloop at some point in her life, i spent the summer building the interior and replacing the entire electrical system (solar panel etc.) and have gotten very intimate with her, gotten to know all her nooks and crannys well. overbuilt is an understatement when it comes to these boats, i have some soft spots, i would est 15% of the deck and i am going to recore in the next month or two, but i will tell you that the fiberglass skins are soo thick in some spots that there are spots where there is no core and no flex.

anyways, about that hull to deck joint, OG, do you have a diagram or can you describe how it should look, it appears on my boat that it is all glassed together and is honestly one of the best hull-deck joints ive seen, i am assuming that this is not orgional, as when the boat was refit about 20 years ago it was insanely overbuilt, just curious...

Ben

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and Welcome aboard!
I was fortunate enough be invited for a sail on a Seawind many years ago. Great handling boats. There is nothing on them that can't be repaired and they were built well.
regards

[Ocean Girl]

anyways, about that hull to deck joint, OG, do you have a diagram or can you describe how it should look, it appears on my boat that it is all glassed together and is honestly one of the best hull-deck joints ive seen, i am assuming that this is not orgional, as when the boat was refit about 20 years ago it was insanely overbuilt, just curious...

Hey ben,
I will ask my mom if she remembers the deck to hull joint issue a little better than I. I remember that it was an unusaul layout (not your typical flange type) BUt we never considered it unseaworthy just prone to leak. If I remember correctly the answer was to glass it all in (like yours) but she never got the chance due to sailing off into the sunset with my new dad
Erika