i am purchasing a cheoy lee offshore 27 (1971), and noticed that the foredeck above the v-berth area seems "bouncy". i couldn't see or feel rot or moisture. the teak deck has been removed so i'm wondering if the area is somewhat thin with some give,or the boat has serious problems. i'm a first time buyer and would like some insight before paying for a survey. is this normal ? thanks in advance! Rik
"bouncy" foredeck , problem?
- Thread starter rik19502
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Normal??
Does not sound "normal" to me. If the surveyor finds something "abnormal" be sure to negotiate the cost of having it fixed in the price.
Does not sound "normal" to me. If the surveyor finds something "abnormal" be sure to negotiate the cost of having it fixed in the price.
Delaminated?
Since she's a fiberglass boat, I'd suspect a delaminated core. If you want to check before engaging your surveyor, you can use a plastic hammer. Find some areas which are firm, tap them, observe the sound - which should be a sharp click. That's what non-delaminated sounds like. Now check your bouncy area. A hollow thud when you tap them means that the wood - balsa, ply, whatever - sandwiched under the fiberglass has detached from the skin and has quite possibly rotted. This is liable to be a pretty major repair job, though perfectly possible. Dick
Since she's a fiberglass boat, I'd suspect a delaminated core. If you want to check before engaging your surveyor, you can use a plastic hammer. Find some areas which are firm, tap them, observe the sound - which should be a sharp click. That's what non-delaminated sounds like. Now check your bouncy area. A hollow thud when you tap them means that the wood - balsa, ply, whatever - sandwiched under the fiberglass has detached from the skin and has quite possibly rotted. This is liable to be a pretty major repair job, though perfectly possible. Dick
Same Problem
I have a 1971 Ericson 29 I bought last year that has the same problem. The deck along the port side are spongy and I am confident it is a rotten core. My boat has a balsa core in the deck and from what I have read water got in around bolts or something and over time rotted out the core. This fall I plan on cutting out the top layer of fiberglass, removing the old cord and replacing with epoxied plywood. I will then bond the old skin back on. I plan to repaint all the non skid with some type of rubberized compound so hope this will mask most of the cut mark. The best I have read is to do this from below but I don't think this will be practical. If it is a good deal on a good boat it is worth it.
I have a 1971 Ericson 29 I bought last year that has the same problem. The deck along the port side are spongy and I am confident it is a rotten core. My boat has a balsa core in the deck and from what I have read water got in around bolts or something and over time rotted out the core. This fall I plan on cutting out the top layer of fiberglass, removing the old cord and replacing with epoxied plywood. I will then bond the old skin back on. I plan to repaint all the non skid with some type of rubberized compound so hope this will mask most of the cut mark. The best I have read is to do this from below but I don't think this will be practical. If it is a good deal on a good boat it is worth it.
My bouncy deck
My C22 had a bouncy deck on one side. I went in from underneath with a few exploratory holes and found that the core was solid but had simply delamed from the top fiberglass. I used an oil gun to inject penetrating epoxy into the space and then weighted down the deck. The repair went perfectly and the four or five small holes in the V-berth were easy to fix, unlike a major repair done from topside. If you decide to go this route I can give more details about how to do the injection. My deck is now rock solid.
My C22 had a bouncy deck on one side. I went in from underneath with a few exploratory holes and found that the core was solid but had simply delamed from the top fiberglass. I used an oil gun to inject penetrating epoxy into the space and then weighted down the deck. The repair went perfectly and the four or five small holes in the V-berth were easy to fix, unlike a major repair done from topside. If you decide to go this route I can give more details about how to do the injection. My deck is now rock solid.
Thanks all !
appreciate the info. sounds like a pass. thank you for the immediate responses. I'm not ready for that kind of fixin' just yet. peace, Rik
appreciate the info. sounds like a pass. thank you for the immediate responses. I'm not ready for that kind of fixin' just yet. peace, Rik
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